I had not been to a movie for more than two years, and not since COVID. But when Spiderman and Batman each coming out in the near future, it was time to play on!
Spiderman is the the first. I’m somewhat little bored of the Spiderman films however, two of my kids who love superheroes were all over it, and that’s what I too! We all looked for it. However, the people in the stand behaved like we’d walked in at their doors at 11pm on a Sunday. the seats we were assigned were covered in popcorn that was made by someone else. Then , we were forced to endure the entire the trailers.
At the halfway point of the film my daughter looked up at me and asked me, “can I have more popcorn?” I was a bit confused, I think I’ve eaten the majority of her popcorn. But no worries I jumped up to collect the refill free of charge we were promised. It required me to practically beg the staff at the concession stand to acknowledge my existence when I came back, my son informed me that I had missed the most crucial scene of the film.
The more I was excited about seeing, I was more excited to see Batman. It’s some deep psychological reflection! However, the family that was sitting behind us also had a child. Yes, it was a baby. Families with infants deserve amusement, and children can go to films if they wish. But a crying, squirming baby in Batman (and parents who are loudly “shhh”ing at the baby) is only one of the things that you cannot control in an experience in the movie theater.
One of the parents in front of us took the child somewhere other than us so we all gathered to watch the film. The only difference was that the Batman is 3 hours in length and I’d drank plenty of Coke and, well, you know. ….And the moment I got to my house, yes you’re right my son was saying “you literally just missed the most important part of the movie.” Ha. Perfect!
And there I was, in a quiet room, asking myself what had happened and even causing a traumatic experience for our family that was behind us. I was unable to control their child and they weren’t able to manage me. It’s all an aspect of the movie theater experience for everyone.
The experience is what counts. I can enjoy movies at home with my family, streaming Netflix and watching it on a crystal-clear 75-inch screen that has a stop button close in front of me. A bathroom just steps and a kitchen in the back–or the best there’s a DoorDasher waiting to take us wherever we’d like! It doesn’t mean I must go to the theatre when I want to see an upcoming film. There are other options available. If I bring my family to the theatre this is because we want an experience that we cannot get at home. Dirty popcorn, spilled drinks and bad customer service and not seeing important scenes – this isn’t what we intended to do!
I’m never going to stop watching films with my children. It’s a thing I really enjoy doing with my children. However, maybe we’ll take it off less often. There are other things that we like to do.
All this makes me think about the experience you have when working together with me. You too have options–just as I don’t need to go to the cinema, you do not need to go to me. It is my duty to ensure that my experience is an option worth choosing!