Once upon a time, before the quarantine forcefully took over the social norm, I had a weekly ritual, sometimes multi weekly ritual. It’s no secret I’m talking about going to see a movie. For well over fourteen years I watched, from a darkened corner of a dark room, images dance across a silver screen. I figured my this ritual would end at some point, but either by my own choice or my death. Instead, with every passing day, I miss my outings to the cinema. I don’t miss the depression that’s been sneaking in its place.
I never thought a pandemic would bench me. After all it is 2020 we live in a world of smart phones and facebook. Who would have thought a pandemic would still be possible, let alone put the world on hold. In the end, that’s what we’re going through right now, a world on hold.
With all that said I can’t wait to get back to the routine of going to the movies. The greatest part was always the social interaction. It didn’t matter if I was attending with a family member, a friend, or going alone I always enjoyed talking movies with someone. Attending some theaters, I even looked forward to interacting with ticket takers and concessionaires. It was folks who truly appreciate the art of cinema, that made these conversations memorable.
I also miss the movies themselves. For a few hours they, unselfishly, presented themselves for my judgement and entertainment. I’d sit there, often with my snack, watching and listening as the plot unfolded.
I have my weekly ritual, usually starting around Tuesday, of planing what feature(s) I want to see along with the when and where to see the movie(s). Wednesday I often started letting folks know my plans and posting open invites on social media for those interested in joining me. Come Friday I started the execution of my plan. It was a something I loved doing and truly miss doing. If I’m being completely honest it’s something that helped massively in fighting off my depression.
Yes I enjoy watching movies at home and have been doing so during this hell of a quarantine. I’ve revisited films from my childhood as well as favorites from the last few years. Is it the same? Far from. Does this help? Yes and no. The yes is I get to rewatch a movie and mostly I’ve enjoyed it. The no maybe the trickier part of the answer. It reminds me I’m stuck at home and can’t visit these places. Truth be told I’m not afraid of getting this virus, I’m more afraid of getting others sick.
Things I’m trying to do include move around a little more, and drop a bit of weight, so that when the time comes I can have my independence back along with the freedom of watching the lights glow on the screen. Of course that’s easier said than done, and is a daily up hill battle. I hate being dependent of others, to get to and from, when fulfilling this indulgence. Hopefully I will hit this mark so when the time comes I can put my depression, that is bothering me more then I want to let on, back on the shelf and treat myself to my favorite movie snack while watching a movie from my favorite seat.
I could talk about the movies I’ve missed seeing but that would be redundant to me. I’ll end with a quote I’m paraphrasing from Martin Scorsese’s Oscar winning flick Hugo from 2011.
“It’s like seeing his dreams in the middle of the day. The movies were our special place.”
