THE SEASONED OBSERVER
Memories of theaters gone by
By J. G. Fabiano
Jim Fabiano
Whew, that was one long memory. Now add looking up at rusted old bars covering a window on the side of the building wondering how they became curved. One afternoon, while waiting patiently in line, an older gentleman told me the bars were bent by Superman. I was awed, and wished I was there to watch the caped crusader bend the bars so he wouldn't have to wait in line. I guess you could call this a second in time that won't be forgotten. Now if I could only remember where I put my glasses…
During the Christmas holidays my wife and I decided to go to the movies for the first time in many years. With the popularity and affordability of DVD machines, the concept of going out to see a movie has been greatly reduced. The first thing I noticed was there was no line. Another thing I observed was there were no alleys for the lines to form around a building that was attached to a large shopping center.
Other things I remember about my days of movies past include the large marquis that hung over the entrance to the movie theater advertising the one movie that was playing inside. Of course there were times when the theater actually offered a double feature, but this only happened at night and I was condemned by age to only be allowed to go to a matinee. The marquis was surrounded by blinking lights, even though you could hardly see them during the day. But, when I passed the theaters at night, they lit the streets, convincing people they had to enter in order to enjoy what they had to offer. I especially loved passing these theaters that were usually side by side in the middle of some large city during the rain because the lights reflected off the sidewalks and streets creating a sort of electronic fantasy world.
Today the marquis is gone and replaced by small boxes with glass fronts advertising one of many movies that are being shown in one of the many rooms that inhabit the modern theater. Walking through one of the many glass doors that led into the lobby just isn't the same as it was during my past. The lobby is still large and filled with many giant cardboard displays advertising movies that were scheduled to appear in the near future. But, it is a bit too bright; the mellow lights inside the lobbies of my past made going to a movie a bit more adventurous. In fact, walking into the theaters of my past, the room was dark. The only light came from the bottom of the chairs on the end of the rows making sure you could find your way. Today, the theaters are fully lit. I wonder if this is because we are no longer trusted to walk into a dark room.
Toward the back of the lobby was one of many ticket counters where we could buy our tickets. There was no booth surrounding the ticket sellers. There was only a stainless steel machine that spewed out the tickets as soon as the purchase was complete. This machine made little noise. In fact, on this particular day I purchased my $15 worth of tickets with a credit card. The only sound I heard were the beeps of the machine that allowed me to do this.
Walking into the room that displayed a small sign over the door, I noticed there was no one there to take my tickets. In my past there was always a young man, or sometimes even a young woman, dressed in a suit that could be worn to any wedding to take my ticket, rip it in half and give me my half - because if you were ever asked for your half of the ticket after the show began and you did not have it you were asked to leave. I never saw this happen, but I am told it did. I was also told Superman bent the bars that protected the window of the old theater.
Walking into the theater I was sorry to see it was very small. In fact, the screen at the end of the room looked a little bit larger than my large-screen television set at the end of my living room. Sitting down on what felt like plastic patio chairs with cushions, I counted very few seats in this theater. In my past I couldn't count as high as the number of seats in those theaters. Today any five-year-old could do so. One nice part about these modern seats is they had a cup holder on the arms of the chair. I guess this is one of the modern conveniences we received by losing the enormity of the old time theaters.
My wife asked me to get her some popcorn and a drink before the movie started. This, of course, brought back memories of remarkable smells and an even more remarkable display of every candy bar known to mankind. Walking up to the counter I was met by a rather large man wearing a white shirt and a black tie. Unlike the ushers of my past, his clothes were disheveled and it was obvious he did not want to be there. I was excited that the smell of the popcorn was still there, but the choice of my favorite candies did not appear. The boxes seemed smaller and the price was much higher. I purchased a small bag of buttered popcorn, a small drink and a box of chocolates for $12. At that point, I wondered how our children would ever be able to afford their own memories.
Before I entered the theater, I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth. It tasted like it was popped when I was young. It was so bad I dropped the bag into the garbage receptacle that was placed at the entrance to the room. Looking inside, I noticed there were many bags full of popcorn. When my wife asked why I didn't bring her popcorn I told her she would have been disappointed. I know she knew what I meant.
The movie started 45 minutes later. The reason for this was the screen admonished us to shut off our cell phones at least a dozen times. They also showed every coming attraction to every movie that will be shown in every movie room in the theater for the next year and a half.
The sound even disappointed me. Because of today's technology, I assumed the sound would be much better than what I had experienced in my youth. Once again, I was wrong. I guess this is true because the theater was so small the high-tech sound features of our present never had a chance to show themselves. I remember feeling the sound of the theaters of my past. The sound emanated from the screen where the characters were projected. Today, the sound comes from all over the theater, making the actors on the screen seem out of time.
We left the theater a bit disappointed. The movie simply was not that good because it made little sense. There was no excitement and neither of us could associate with any of the characters. The one thing I will remember about going to the movies when I was young was I still recall the experience. After going to the movie theater of today no memory will be produced.
Jim Fabiano, a teacher and writer who lives in York, is a past recipient of the Maine Press Association's award for Best Weekly Column. E-mail
Jim at yorkmarine@yahoo.com.
