There is nothing like a good movie theater. My favorite is the Landmark Oriental in Milwaukee. The shaggy red curtains and elephant statues. The little old man who plays the organ and sinks into the stage. The women's lounge up on the mezzanine. It feels haunted, and even though the Oriental has no ghosts, I hope it gets some. I hope that like the old Modjeska Theater on West Mitchell Street in Milwaukee, the Oriental inherits a balcony ghost of its own. Why? Because I don't think there's anything that quite completes a theater like the presence of an observant spirit: one so lost in the illusion that it neglected to escape. The human reach beyond reality far precedes the Circle Theater and William Shakespeare. It is a monument that will always stand through the passing of time, epitomized by the theater.
Theaters are places of fragile temperament, where everything is alive and moving as if time happens only for the captured moments you are about to encounter. Movies are made to bring magic to the mundane, making the theater experience something that I hope you never forget. Whether it be the time you saw ""The Lion King"" with your grandma, or that time you snuck into ""American Pie"" in 8th grade. We live in sad times, though there is much hope for the future, so take a moment. Think about the double doors and the marquee. Imagine your favorite theater...
The air is cool, and it always gets cooler right before the previews start. Coughs and crumpling plastic are simply parts of the ambience, and there are fat people, loud people skinny people and sometimes hungry babies. For titles like ""Harry Potter"" or ""Star Wars,"" there might be some waiting in line, leg-dodging in the aisles, hoards of little kids that smell like maple syrup and pee, and that dreadful group of teenagers that sits in the front row and gets kicked out halfway through. The lights dim and you feel yourself tighten in anticipation.
Perhaps this is a title you've been waiting to see for more than a year. Perhaps you are here to write a review for The Daily Cardinal, or maybe your obnoxious best friend is dragging you to yet another mediocre sci-fi thriller sequel. In any of these cases and more, you are worked into a quiet, contained excitement. It's a process, and then there is a fanfare, a familiar melody to which many productions commence, and finally, the movie begins. I hope these things are a pinprick in your reality, letting another world seep right through.
DVDs are convenient, versatile, and economical. They can also turn up scratched, missing or rented out. Sometimes, you just need the living room and a tall glass of Yellowtail chardonnay; however, embrace the theater every chance that you get. Become a part of the illusion, and it will slowly open your eyes, even if only for a moment. Thinking back to the Oriental, I wonder if perhaps, 100 years from now, the ghost wandering its balcony will be you or me. Maybe we'll take one look at whatever comes next and shrug our shoulders, and that, my friends, will be the end.
