Even though I have a movie room at home with a projector, high-definition rumbling surround sound, popcorn machine, comfy seats, the whole experience, but nothing will ever replace the feeling of going to the cinema. For as long as I can remember, movie theaters have been one of my favorite pastimes.
Not just for the films themselves, but for the ritual: the smell of popcorn, the dimming lights, the trailers, the “please silence your phones” announcement, the quiet hum of anticipation right before the opening shot.
It was a shared emotional space, a place where you could lose yourself in a story with complete strangers and somehow still feel connected.
But post-COVID era, the theaters feel emptier, not a whole of production was being released and even felt weaker, and production studios are scared to take risks so they’re mostly focused on reboots, sequels, or a cheaply produced Netflix type streams that disappears from the cultural memory in 48 hours.
The excitement, the innovation, the event of cinema, the movie magic feels like it’s really fading and that saddens me a bit.
Things were so different compared to 10 years ago and for people like me who grew up escaping into dark theaters and letting stories fully immerse us, it’s honestly depressing.
Sure, home theaters are convenient, but they’ll never replace the communal spark and emotional gravity of being in a real cinema. Watching this slow death unfold feels like losing a piece of culture, a piece of childhood, and a piece of what made movies feel larger than life.
Honestly, Vanessa 