At one point, going to the cinema was the world’s most popular pastimes. Like many art forms, however, cinema is now being overshadowed by forms of consumption that are simpler, trendier, and often more addictive. Short-form content is taking up hours of this generation’s lives, also eliminating any entertainment cravings that used to be met with cinema-going. One of my top New Years Resolutions was to cut my screen time in half, because, I am addicted. Above that on my list, however, was to attend more movies in theaters, and I’ll explain why.
Streaming Platforms
When Netflix transitioned from a DVD service to a streaming service in 2007, they unknowingly created an entirely new form of cinema. They erased the need to leave your house to watch the latest movies, or any movies at all for that matter. About five years later, Netflix began making their own original content, branded as “Netflix Originals”… think Squid Game and Stranger Things.
This is great in theory, right? A huge corporation with a practically unlimited budget is sure to produce never-seen-before impressive media. This may have been the case at some point; recently, however, much of the film industry has begun writing movies with the assumption that the audience will be on their phone for part of it. By dumbing down the writing, we can be scrolling on TikTok and still be able to follow the plot.
We all saw the Stranger Things finale, and whether or not you enjoyed it, it’s hard to deny that it’s unrecognizable when compared to season one. The term “Netflix lighting,” which cinephiles have recently coined, refers to the overexposed and flood-light driven lighting that’s invaded recent shows and movies. Once you notice that the movie you’re watching looks like a two hour Target commercial, it’s hard to ignore.
Take a film like The Dark Knight or Prisoner of Azkaban, with dramatic shadows and an aesthetic darkness that blends effortlessly with the narrative. In a dark theater on an IMAX screen, this lighting is stunning. On a 50-inch TV screen in your living room with light coming through the windows, the same films get visually lost in the glare into a muddiness. So, “Netflix lighting” is the unfortunate solution, as the overexposure and soft light makes anything visible, even on a phone screen in broad daylight.
The Pandemic
The pandemic completely shut down the movie theater industry, and damaged the film industry for years. The percentage of film enjoyers who often went to the theater to see a movie decreased by over half from the time COVID-19 began to 2025. People got out of the habit of going to the theater and got into the habit of enjoying new films from the comfort of their couches.
As with any public space, there’s this concept of “movie theater etiquette” that seems to have gotten lost somewhere in the folds of the pandemic. I’d say that at the forefront of these etiquette rules is phone usage. It’s easy to silence your phone, but to a lot of Gen-Z, staying off of your phone for two hours straight sounds like a hassle.
Choosing to go to the theater is admittedly time-consuming and expensive. It becomes a full outing. At my theater of choice, Cinépolis, tickets are $30 per person. Combine this with the necessary Diet Coke and overpriced popcorn purchase, and suddenly the $2.99 to rent on Amazon Prime is looking pretty tempting. I’m here to tell you to not give in to the temptation!
The Cinema As A Third Place
We are facing a serious drought of third places. The Internet, especially social media, has been irreversibly detrimental to society’s engagement with, and dedication to, third places. Some cafes have started to look down upon people setting up camp and studying for a couple of hours with their coffee. Didn’t that used to be half of the appeal of going to a cafe?
The movie theater is an easy third place to keep alive and available. You know you’re surrounded by people with similar interests and taste in movies, but you don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) talk to them. Introvert or extrovert, participating in something with your community and not having to make any social effort has literally no downsides.
Home TV vs. The Big Screen
It might not seem like the viewing experience would make that big of a difference to the film itself, but it does! My biggest regret of all time is not watching Sinners when it was playing in theaters. Watching a movie alongside other humans makes it more meaningful, no matter the genre; hearing gasps during a plot twist, others’ giggles during a joke, and the occasional middle-aged parents crying way too hard.
Movies are made to be played on the big screen. The feeling of the whole theater shaking during Dune 2 has stuck with me since I watched it years ago. It’s like choosing to go to a concert by your favorite artist, or getting all dressed up with the girls and attending a ballet or opera, rather than just watching the livestream. Why settle for the latter? I’ll bet that Christopher Nolan isn’t shooting The Odyssey (2026) right now with his 70mm IMAX cameras hoping the audience will watch it on their laptop in bed.
Despite the absolutely unfortunate phrasing and inconsiderate tone, I have to admit that Timothée Chalamet voicing his opinion on “nobody caring” about ballet and opera successfully struck up a truly important conversation on social media. Attending a movie theater screening is, of course, different from attending a live performance. Yet, the lesson is the same: these shared experiences of entertainment only survive when people choose to show up for them.