Think of the city you live in. Think of all the people you know whose jobs have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Think of all the uncertainty and pain and anguish they are going through. It’s awful and truly painful to comprehend. It’s something we have never had to experience in this generation and, sadly, it’s only beginning.
Think really hard of those you know, come up with an approximate number of people. Multiply it. Not by a dozen. Not by hundreds. Not even by thousands. Take the misery and fear you see your friends and family going through and multiple it by millions. Now you’re getting close to the amount of people in various industries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Millions upon millions of people unemployed and desperate for stability and answers. They’re laid off, without work not for any fault of their own. And the future ahead looks terrifying. We have never seen so many Americans universally devastated by hardship all at once. So, so many service and hospitality industries decimated by this virus: restaurants, hotels, bars and, of course, movie theaters.
The movie theater business has been hit tremendously hard by the pandemic. Nearly every theater chain has closed locations all across the globe. That has put millions of people out of work and has left the future of the movie-going experience quite literally in the dark. Streaming services are there to pick up the slack while the theaters are shuttered but we don’t know what will happen when the lights come up again. Will people want to go to the movies anymore? Will companies be able to afford as many employees? Will going out for dinner and a movie even be a thing people do in the years ahead? I don’t want to be hyperbolic but we really don’t know what lies ahead.
Christopher Nolan knows this and wrote a heart-felt and elegantly-put editorial in The Washington Post about the importance of movie theaters and the commitment that must be made to save them. It’s Nolan so of course it’s well written but it’s also a bit more touching than most of his work. This is obviously a subject he cares very deeply about. Here’s a certain passage that really spoke to me:
In uncertain times, there is no more comforting thought than that we’re all in this together, something the moviegoing experience has been reinforcing for generations. In addition to the help theater employees need from the government, the theatrical exhibition community needs strategic and forward-thinking partnership from the studios. The past few weeks have been a reminder, if we needed one, that there are parts of life that are far more important than going to the movies. But, when you consider what theaters provide, maybe not so many as you might think.
The whole thing is worth a read and really hammers home several points: one, the government has to help multiple lines of business when the pandemic is over. They cannot solely focus on airline corporations and those who carry the most weight and have the most friends on Wall Street. There are going to be scores and scores of hard-working, low-to-middle-class people who need help. They’re the people who serve you food and drinks, who stock your store shelves, who pour your popcorn and usher your theaters. These people will needs lots and lots of assistance and, without them, this country just cannot push forward.
The second point illustrated by Nolan’s editorial is that movie theaters are important. Yes, they’re over-priced and, yes, they have multiple issues (sticky floors, talkative audience members, long lines, the list goes on and on) but they are a vital part of the artistic expression. There’s just nothing — nothing — like seeing a film on the big screen. No matter how the cinematic landscape changes over the years, going to the theater will always be a valued and unique experience. It has to be saved. There’s no other option, no alternative. Congress must pitch in, studios must pitch in, we must pitch in. Everyone needs to contribute because everyone needs movie theaters.
Read Nolan’s whole piece here. He sums it up far better than I do.