It’s hardly so simple.
In thisnew EW series, staffers discuss how they’re coping with experiences of anxiety and isolation through books.
I used to be afraid of movie theaters.
Credit: Pantheon
I felt overwhelmed by the cavernous dark room, the booming sound system.
Twenty-five or so years later and that fear is long gone.
But a new one has crept up these past few weeks.
Suddenly, I’m afraidformovie theaters.
That night I dedicated myself to finishing it.
Within a day, our reality started to bear an uncomfortable resemblance to that ofThe Memory Police.
In the matter of a day, perfume becomes some kind of sugar water.
A bird becomes a little brown creature.
The vanishing never slows down.
Things that were once cherished keep vanishing.
In the world ofThe Memory Police, theres no one on the streets unless absolutely necessary.
Everyone fearfully stays at home.
And what of the movie theater?
In our world, cinemas have beenshut down,indefinitely.
But what if that memory palace never comes back?
The movie theater, ironically, became my favorite place to visit as I grew up.
Wed talk about what we saw for weeks afterward.
We created a secret pop culture language between us.
Imagine a vintage camera.
It doesnt matter what picture you take with it unless you help the photo develop.
Movies are like the darkroom where we can contextualize life experiences.
I had just come from watchingThe Invisible Manat an AMC in Los Angeles.
I got a little emotional.
Will film buffs reject the newAlfonso CuaronorChristopher Nolanmovie in favor of whatever is up next in our queue?
But maybe that jot down of communal experience will vanish, and we wont be able to help it.
