While the bigger theaters aren’t opening just yet there are smaller theaters, those that wouldn’t survive another couple months of quarantine no doubt, that will be opening their doors according to Kevin Burwick of MovieWeb. The only thing about this is that there are going to be a few changes when it comes to actually letting people into the theater. To start, the entrance will be more akin to an airport checkpoint since people will have their temperature checked and will be asked if anyone in their home has had any flu-like symptoms lately. They’ll also have to enter into a cordoned-off area before entering the theater. If their temperature is even a hair over 100 degrees F then they won’t be allowed to come in. Just imagine how many arguments this is going to start, not to mention the whole process and what people might think. Then imagine this part, there are no new movies opening up at this time, so people will have to make due with movies that they could easily stream from home. Thankfully the prices will be lowered as one theater is talking about charging $5 for adults and $3 for kids. When was the last time anyone saw those kind of prices for a movie ticket? At this time it’s all about gaining the loyalty of the guests for a lot of those that are thinking of re-opening, which means taking a financial loss in order to win them back. It’s hard to think that anyone is going to want to sit in a theater once again however without wanting a little distance between themselves and others given that the pandemic has made a lot of people a little jumpy.
While bigger theaters aren’t trying this just yet it might be because some of them apparently have a plan that they’re sticking to when it comes to surviving the pandemic and then how they’ll open when they get the all clear. At this time a lot of smaller businesses have been feeling the pinch since if they’re considered non-essential they’ve been asked to close down to keep as many people safe and the virus from spreading as much as possible. While the idea of keeping people safe is ideal, the act of closing down a business is not, as recovering after weeks spent without any income is going to be hard on some and devastating to others that continue to make their living from the generosity and patronage of their customers. Theaters across the country have been shut down now for longer than many of them had originally thought would be necessary, and while the drive-in business has been getting steadily better the truth is that a lot of people want to return to the traditional theater experience, but are likely to be a little skittish to be in an enclosed space with a big group of people. Plus, there’s the whole idea of having to go through what amounts to airport security, even if it is somewhat less punitive given that being asked to go home if your temperature is too high isn’t equal to being arrested if you happen to get caught with something illegal or even suspect in your possession. Of course one can easily surmise that there will be several people that will feel the need to make a huge stink about the matter and that it will somehow, some way, be recorded within one article or many in the next month or so. Audrey McNamara of CBS News has more to say on this matter. It’s human nature, we don’t like being told what to do, even when it’s for our benefit, so expect to hear about someone making a ruckus about the added precaution. There might even be memes concerning the use of a hazmat suit when going to the movies.
Things are going to change, there’s no doubt of that and no denying it since the pandemic has already changed them and is going to leave in its wake a lot of fearful individuals that will be expecting some sort of fallout from this mess. What people tend to forget is that humanity has been through some seriously messed-up diseases and times throughout the centuries and we’re STILL HERE. Be it a disease, a war, or something that appears as though it will change the landscape for humanity for the foreseeable future, we meet it, we step up to it, and we change as needs be or we keep pushing on and hopefully learn from it. Robin Wright of The New Yorker has more to say on this topic. But one thing we don’t do is let it break us, and we certainly don’t allow whatever it is to keep us from enjoying the lives we have. It’s understandable, they’re just words spoken from someone you don’t know, but they’re words from a fellow human that’s come close to death more than once. We change, we adapt, and we learn, because to do anything less isn’t an option.
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