Cinematic resolutions
Here's to restoring an old habit in 2023
One of the overwhelming sensations I felt in the final few weeks of 2022 was normality. This was the first festive season since 2019 that didn’t feel dominated by the circumstances of a global pandemic. Acknowledging that not everyone will share my specific approach to whatever phase of the pandemic this is, that feels significant as 2023 begins.
One of the few - maybe even the only - “normal” activities I haven’t resumed is going to the movie theater, which I guess might be a heck of an admission were I not in the habit of admitting my own ignorance lately.
Since early 2020, I’ve seen precisely two films in the theater - In the Heights and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Perhaps it is redundant to say so, but there wasn’t really a plan in either case to get to the theater and see those movies. They just … kind of happened, which is probably how a lot of people end up at the movies, but is quite out of character for me.
What led to this? Well, the circumstances are straightforward. COVID rolled in and the risk of going to see a movie in a theater just wasn’t worth it for a long time. The shift of so many theater-worthy films to streaming further entrenched the idea of the juice just not being worth the squeeze. Why rush to the theater when six weeks from now I can beam it in to my home?
What I’m really talking about here, other than the central value proposition of streaming, is the breaking of an entrenched habit. Pre-pandemic, I would take the kids to a family film one weekend, go on a dinner-and-movie date night the next, and sneak out mid-week to see something that only interested me. From travel to dining out to attending live sporting events, I’ve mostly gone back to my old habits. But I haven’t really made a point of getting back to the theater, and I couldn’t tell you why other than it just not being a habit any longer. The risk tolerance calculus has long since shifted back toward a trip to the theater being well worth it, at least for me.
So, I’ve got a bunch of classic New Year’s resolutions in the cinematic realm. I want to dive deep on Japanese film, and there is a Fellini box set that deserves more of my attention. But the biggest resolution of all this year is to pick up an old habit again. I hope to see you at the theater in the coming year. They could probably use your patronage.