I decided to try the local trend of watching independent films at
small, local theaters. What a blast! I visited two theaters: one in Seattle and
one in Tacoma. Both had so many films that I have never heard of but full of
life. I decided to talk about my experience at The Grand Theater in Tacoma, WA.
As I entered the Grand Theater on Fawcett St in Tacoma I couldn’t help
but wonder how they were still in business. It was such a small theater that as
soon as I walked in there’s a small booth for a cashier on the right by the
entrance. The cashier was a nice elderly lady with a volunteer badge and she
rang me up on an old school cash register; I didn’t even think those registers
were still used! I handed her cash and she handed me a ticket; it wasn’t a
regular ticket that showed a movie title and show time--it was one of those raffle
tickets. Interesting. By asking some of the employees there I discovered that this theater is ran by volunteers. They are there to keep the art of indie films alive. Different.
Anyway as I walked into the cinema room I realized this wasn’t going to
be my regular visit to large, popular theaters like Regal or Muvico—this was like an eight row theater where I actually had to sit next people I didn’t know because personal
space didn’t really matter here. That’s ok, I managed and it really wasn’t too
uncomfortable sitting next to a stranger.
I began to watch the film Stoker.
Brilliant.
I have to say that by the end of the film I was in love with this
theater. I really underestimated it and surely did not recognize it’s value. I
say this because as I was leaving the cinema room the people sitting by me
began to have a discussion on the film and invited me to take part in the
conversation. Incredible. These new friends wanted to know my opinion on this
film.
I found it quite interesting and ended up leaving for a bite to eat
afterwards with them. The discussion continued as we ate and I began to think
about how friendly people are here. I come from a city where you can’t easily
meet people and strike up an intelligent conversation with them. Amazing.
Surprisingly living in Tacoma gets better everyday when I actually go
out and give this place a shot. I ended the night with some new movie buddies.
I was so intrigued by this blog! Extremely pleasing to the eye. When we make an experience personal for a class - it makes you realize what the course is trying to convey. This shows the "old fashion" way has to be thrown to the side because of social media. After the experience would you think that because it is "old fashion" that the building appearance, lack of social networking or the information design of the exterior hurts their business?
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly!
DeleteI had fun with this blog because it really was a new experience for me and I had a blast. I would say that the business is not hurt by not having all these modern forms of promotion. This theater really runs by word of mouth and it really works for this business here. The Grand theater hosts many film festivals and the neighborhood tends to join in on the festivities. The fact that volunteers help keep the business going shows how much this theater is appreciated here. I might be volunteer in the future to get to watch some free indie films. Good times.
I too enjoyed reading your blog post, I like the layout and the way you scroll down the screen to read and you utilized a static background, very imaginative and visually appealing, good job!
ReplyDeleteVery cool blog post. I'll be honest though I think there is just a little bit too much going on visually in this blog. I'm not saying this to be mean. The background with the photo's on the wall is nice but when you put a blog post on top of that which contains it own visual elements it just gets a little to "busy" for me. I'd be worried that while the content of the blog posts is great the business would push people away.
ReplyDeleteYeah man there is something more intimate about going to an independently owned theater. The little things that are different (like the cash register you mentioned for example) make the experience as a whole more personal. The big national chain theaters are wonderful in their own way (who doesn't like bright neon like they have in their enormous lobbies) but they're definitely not as personal as a locally owned independent. To summarize I like the huge selection and times available at the large companies but they can't beat for some reason the butter at the smaller theaters just seems to taste better.
If you're into smaller theaters you may also be interested in independent and foreign films. I saw a couple foreign films in a film class last year and I loved them. You may have to read subtitles but you get used to it very quickly.
-Andrew LeBarron
I agree this post is quite wonderful! I have to disagree with Andrew however about the busyness of it. What at first glance appears to be busy actually in no way impedes on the readability or understanding of the post. The old world charm of the graphics goes well with the subject of the post and lends a certain "flavor" to the entire post. As for the theater, count yourself lucky as you seem to have found a hidden treasure, a view into the past that many are unlikely to ever have the opportunity to experience.
ReplyDelete~Sandra Solomon