When I was visiting New York City my freshman year in high school, "Crazy Rich Asians" had just come out in the theater. My mom and I decided spontaneously to take in an afternoon movie because the heat was unbearable in Central Park. We found a close theater, AMC Lincoln Square 13, and squeezed into a packed theater just as the lights dimmed. The man to the right of us was getting mad at us for whispering during the movie. Nevertheless, I have to say that the combination of the beautiful theater, the amazing sound system pulsating through your body at all the right times, the crispy chill of the darkened room compared to the humidity outside with a cold slushee in my right hand and a red vine in my left, and the shared collective experience of watching this feel good movie with a bunch of human beings around me was simply transcendent. When the movie finished and the audience cheered (yes all those jaded New Yorkers were ebullient), we were as a group of people, literally and figuratively lifted up. I even turned to the gentleman to my right, yes the one that was complaining about my whispering, and asked him if he enjoyed the movie. We ended up having a really great conversation about the movie and about New York.

The thing is, I really believe that every movie MUST be seen on a big screen at a movie theater because movies are meant to be an immersive shared experience. Watching movies is more than just being entertained. Movies help us to learn about the world and about ourselves. When we watch a movie at a movie theater we are connecting with our community. The simple act of sharing physical space with other human beings makes us less of an island. I think since COVID, people have become sadly self-isolated and watching movies in a theater instead of direct streaming at home, is one of the best ways to dip our selves back into the pool of humanity. Watching movies at a movie theater is our way to enjoy the myths of our time through visual and oral storytelling. The movie theater creates the space for this now sacred ritual. When we watch a movie with others, we share emotional reactions to shared events in real time. Every movie must be seen on the big screen because when we watch a movie together it builds our community and creates a shared history. The myths become a part of us.