“Are you crying?” My friend was sniffling and wiping his glasses. The penguin in the biographical film, “The Penguin Lessons,” had just died. As the lights at the Crystal Theatre came up, I saw some of the crustiest old characters in Carbondale also wiping their eyes. This is a good thing, I thought. This is what movies are supposed to do. They are supposed to give us a reason to emote, to discuss, to think, to laugh, to develop an understanding.
Film is, and has always been, an art form. Whether it’s a drama or comedy, sci-fi adventure or biography, documentary or animation, film exists as part of our cultural heritage and, more importantly, as part of our current social fabric. And when we experience it in a theatre, we become a community with a shared artistic experience. For a few hours, our commonalities outweigh our differences.
Much like being at a concert or in a museum, in a movie theatre we are within both a physical and emotional public space. Granted, we don’t all like the same music, painters or films. We don’t all laugh at the same jokes or cry at the same death scenes. Yet, our experiences give us the opportunity to connect with others, the value of which, especially in our rupturing society, is becoming more important each day.
Who doesn’t love popcorn; squeezing another’s knee in a tense moment; holding hands in the dark? Who doesn’t love the myriad of movie quotes that have invaded our lexicon? From Bogie saying “Here’s looking at you, kid” to Gable saying, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” we all recognize those famous words that help us to relive stories. ET wants to “phone home,” Sally wants Harry to “do the math” and, recently, Ryan Gosling’s character in Project Hail Mary wants his alien buddy, Rocky, to say “fist bump” not “fist my bump.”
The Sundance Kid can’t swim. Forrest Gump believes life is like a box of chocolates. The Blues Brothers are amped to go 106 miles to Chicago with a full tank of gas and half a pack of cigarettes while wearing sunglasses in the dark. Atticus Finch explains to Scout that “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” These are some of films’ finest and quirkiest moments, and it’s those types of moments that incorporate art into our daily lives.
Sometimes it’s the visual effects that enthrall us. (To this day, I call driving through a blizzard the “Star Wars experience”.) Sometimes it’s the smart script, the musical score or the beautiful scenery. Sometimes, let’s face it, it’s ‘cause our favorite actor is carrying the lead. The numerous talents that are required to create a film have to coalesce precisely for that particular art form to take hold of us and become part of our lives.
A movie theatre allows us to connect across cultures and continents. It gets us out of our heads and into a global community. It provides us with characters and stories to identify with. Our thoughts willingly leave our personal worlds. It’s a respite of immense wealth.
Carbondale is incredibly fortunate to have a movie theatre that proactively shows films ranging from popular, to child-oriented, to award winning, to documentary. Without them, we lose part of our social fabric. We lose a connection to each other. The nonprofit Crystal Theatre Alliance relies on community financial support. As part of our creative, rural enclave, the theatre is the core of our Main Street. Instead of further isolating by streaming at home, please join other Carbondalians in supporting The Crystal and exploring the art of film.