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n. hoop·la fac·tor (h  p lä f kt r)
degree of entertainment attained irrespective of critical worth |
On the cinema experience... So why do we love to go to the cinema? What is it about sitting in a darkened hall, with a bunch of thoughtless, noisy people, watching other people's stories on the screen, that so inspires us? Moves us? Why is the box office ever larger, in spite of the onslaught of DVD, cable tv and console gaming? My first experience of going to the movies was as a six year old - I went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the local cinema in my small Victorian town with some family friends. It being an evening session, with a finish time after 8pm, I feel asleep partway through. Upon waking, I was confronted by the opening of the Ark, with those who look upon it melting away into nothing. It was a fairly horrifying and startling scene for a naïve young lad, and yet I've loved film ever since. But not just film, the experience as well.Going to the cinema is unlike any other form of art. Sure, much of what comes out of Hollywood's absurd system is hardly 'art', but sometimes you come across a film that truly meets that title. Depending on your mood, you can choose to be angered, heartened, amused, bemused and pretty much any emotion you can think of. Often within the same film. You can identify with characters, and yet abhor them. Fall in love, and go home alone. There is a whole range of experience available in most any film you care to name. Even that doesn't quite explain the appeal, though, and I don't know what the indefinable magic is. But when the lights go down, and the curtains draw back, I still never fail to feel the frisson of excitement down my spine, the tingling sensation that something wonderful may be just about to happen. Sometimes I'm disappointed, but mostly I love going to the cinema so much I'm prepared to forgive a lot to really enjoy it. I am far more lenient on a film seen in a cinema than I am when viewed on DVD - something I try to be aware of when writing my reviews!  Beyond the magic of not knowing how you will be moved, and whose life you will enter and inhabit for two hours, perhaps it is the definition of the time that allows watching a movie in a cinema to be so good. The determination that for the next little while you will let yourself forget all your day to day issues, and enjoy someone else's experience. Watching a DVD on the couch doesn't quite allow the same freedom - the positive action of paying for a movie, entering a cinema, turning off your phone and sitting back to allow it all wash over you means you're in a more receptive frame of mind. You've allowed yourself this time. Couchtime for a DVD is different - it's almost like settling for second best.The other thing about making a night of it in your favourite cinema is the atmosphere of the venue itself. Taking yourself away from the lounge room, into a different environment is one thing, but if the environment is well decorated and comfortable, it adds an extra layer of luxuriance. I love going to Melbourne's Sun Theatre, not only for it's style, but the comfy seats, the friendly staff and the attached bookstore and coffee shop, that make going out to the movies a whole night experience. The Astor is another I love - the 1930's art deco style along with creaky old seats and an enormous screen make it like going back in time for the night, particularly if you are watching a classic film. In this case, the atmosphere of the cinema impacts greatly on the enjoyment of the film, and your own mindset. I guess no-one can determine what makes watching a movie in a cinema a better experience for some than for others. For myself, though, I choose the annoyance of other people and the occasional uncomfortable chair over the 'comfort' of my own couch any time. |
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