How Watching Movies Has Changed For Gen X

Cell phones and commercials and covid...oh my!

My husband and I recently went to see the Ryan Coogler movie Sinners. We had the whole place to ourselves, unsurprising for a morning showtime in the age of home streaming. As we climbed the steps leading to our ideal seats in the middle and watched the ads playing before the film started, it dawned on me how much the movie-going experience has changed for us GenXers.

Before VCRs were standard in every home, your ass waited in line to get a good seat

For starters, remember how flat the seating used to be? Stadium seating is the norm nowadays, but as a shorty in the ‘80s I was often stuck sitting behind someone taller, forcing me to watch the entire film with a head or two partially blocking my view of the big screen. And it was the ‘80s, which meant it was even worse because everyone had big-ass hair, too.

It’s obvious MST 3000 came out in the ‘80s because their heads are in the way

In 1987, my friend Tracy and I went to see the Michael J. Fox film The Secret of My Success. We were 11 and 12 years old, respectively. We had to sit in 2 seats closest to the aisle in the section on the right side of the screen since it was a packed theater. At some point, 2 men in the middle section of seats started bickering. As they got louder, they both stood up and were now arguing in the aisle next to us. I have no memory of what it was about, but it could’ve been any of the common annoyances like kicking the back of someone’s seat or talking too much. Suddenly, the younger one punched the older man in the face and he fell backward onto me and Tracy. Shocked, we yelped and tried to get up while the man scrambled to get upright again. I don’t recall exactly what happened after that, but I have a hunch they were both kicked out by management.

The point of that story is the older man probably would’ve fallen down the steps instead of onto us if this happened now because of the stadium seating. Which means he probably would’ve died on those stairs and Tracy and I would’ve been on the news being interviewed by a reporter about the guy who decked him being charged with manslaughter.

When GenXers were kids, most movie theater seats didn’t have drink holders on the arm rests. We had to carefully balance holding our snacks and frosty beverages or place them near our feet on the floor where they’d inevitably be knocked over. Movie theater floors used to be so sticky: chewed gum, spilled popcorn, and Junior Mints stuck to the somewhat dried cherry slushy from the last showtime.

I remember when theaters first started playing commercial ads before the previews because I was like, what the fuck is this? It used to be dark and totally silent until the lights dimmed and the previews began, then ads were gradually being shoved into our faces everywhere: gas station pumps, grocery store lines, and in movie theaters. I reckon theaters turned to ad revenue when people stopped paying for their expensive snacks.

They were all “let’s go out to he lobby and buy ourselves a treat” but snacks don’t have to pay rent

After cell phones became ubiquitous they also became ubiquitously annoying at the movies. As a civilized society, we expect individuals to behave with respect to their fellow citizens while in public spaces, but with new technology comes a period of adaptation that tests our patience. We suddenly had to create some new rules and we collectively decided that a cell phone ringing and highlighting the user’s face, let alone actually talking on it, was incredibly disruptive to everyone else in the audience. I remember when theaters first started playing the reminder to “Please silence your phone” before the movie played. This guy almost went to jail over telling someone to put away their cell phone during a play.

Drive-in theaters were most popular with young couples who’d make out in the car like they’re parked in a lover’s lane, but back then even parents brought their kids to the drive-in on their date nights to watch scary movies or raunchy comedies assuming the tykes would fall asleep in the back seats laden with blankets or sleeping bags. Newsflash: we did not. We were too titillated by the possibility of watching something our parents didn’t want us to see, so we’d peek our heads just above the seats to catch whatever scenes we could. In the ‘70s and ‘80s drive-in theaters had these bulky speakers you clipped onto the inside of your window after rolling it down, so we could hear the movie from the backseat, too. My husband remembers this exact scenario when his parents went to see the 1980 horror movie Maniac at the drive-in, expecting him and his little sister to fall asleep during the late-night showtime. Instead, he saw warped brutal violence onscreen that deeply traumatized and confused him, turning him into a raving mad serial killer. Just kidding, that only happens in the movies.

My mom and dad brought me and my siblings to the drive-in a few times, too, but not to horror films. I remember seeing Private Benjamin, Stripes, and 9 to 5 at the drive-in. Instead of being exposed to nightmarish visuals, I was exposed to sex comedies with jokes that went over my head.

Name the 1983 movie this scene is from and I’ll give you a $1M…psych! I have no idea what movie this is but if you do, I’m impressed

It makes sense that drive-in theaters boomed in popularity during the ‘50s and lasted through the ‘80s. It was less expensive for the whole family (especially if you snuck your kids in by hiding them in the trunk), a romantic date option, and watching the films isolated within your own vehicle meant you were less likely to be distracted by other people talking and whining toddlers. But drive-ins were dependent on nice weather, the audio speakers didn’t provide theater-quality sound (even when they eventually phased those out in favor of using the car’s radio), and showtimes had to be pushed even later into the night during the summer months. People began to prefer actual movie theaters, where you get excellent picture and sound all hours of the day regardless of the weather. Drive-ins started to dwindle in numbers during the ‘90s, but there are around 300 still in operation today.

My favorite movie theater experiences have 2 things in common: the theaters were packed with young people and we were frightened out of our wits. Horror movies are the most fun to watch with a crowd of people shrieking and nervously laughing together, a communal and cathartic activity. The Ring, The Others, and The Grudge are a few off the top of my head I remember where audience members jumped out of their seats and spilled their popcorn during certain scenes, which served as comedy relief. I was too much of a scaredy cat in the ‘80s to watch horror films, but I imagine it was the same for those of you who saw movies like A Nightmare On Elm Street and Child’s Play on the big screen.

That communal movie experience was lost to the convenience of home steaming as well as from the Covid pandemic, when theaters shut down and reserved, spaced seating was instituted when they reopened. With the weird exception of the recent “Chicken Jockey” Minecraft movie trend, most young people today don’t regularly watch movies with a room full of strangers. There are pros and cons to most things in life, and the pros of home streaming services tend to outweigh the pros theaters provide. For one, at home you can pause when you need to go the bathroom and rewind when you missed important dialogue. The same was true for VHS tapes, but it’s a streamlined, smoother process with streaming services.

As Gen X cinephiles, my husband and I still prioritize seeing specific films on the big screen as often as possible, especially the ones in 3D or with beautiful cinematography and fantastic visual effects. Nothing at home can provide that all-engrossing cinematic experience that made us fall in love with movies in the first place.