Updated as of 12/10/2020: This article was originally posted in 2019. As global events have changed our lives, we wanted to update our point-of-view.
We are movie fans who can withstand all the movie release hype: 1) endless YouTube promos 2) countless television commercials or 3) never ending Twitter ads. We are willing to wait for the movie to be available via Netflix or Hulu, purchased on 4K/3D blu-ray, or checked out from our local library for free.
Retail movie theaters lost our business years ago. We NEVER visit retail theaters. We prefer watching in our home theater over our previous negative experiences of moviegoers fighting, using drugs, or having sex while we attempted to watch a movie at our local Regal Cinema.
We like many of you had a horrible experience almost every time we visited our local theater. In one instance a couple was having sex in the same row as us. We contacted management who promptly asked them to leave. The entire situation was ridiculous and extremely inappropriate since children were in the theater. The horny couple had no shame whatsoever and didn’t care who saw or heard them. They carried on like they were the only ones in the theater. Mind you the theater was packed. Parents with children cussed the couple out and threatened to whoop their asses while everyone else in theater watched. Not one person was watching the movie screen – at all. The couples horrible behavior ruined the movie for everyone. We were done with public movie theaters from that point forward. We left and we didn’t ask for a refund. We learned to cut our losses early.
Now that blockbuster movies like Wonder Woman 1984, The Maxtrix 4, and Mulan are “day-and-date” releases, we have no reason to watch a movie with 198 strangers, crying babies, clapping warriors, or screen talkers. More importantly, in our private space we don’t have to worry about strangers around us ruining our movie experience.
We avoid the negative “sanctified community movie experience” by simply staying home.
Mercedes and I were heavy affected by coronavirus in March 2020. We are still suffering the after effects. The news has termed us “long-term haulers.” We had severe cases of coronavirus with double pneumonia. It was the most terrible illness we have ever endured. We didn’t have the light version the White House lies to its supporters about.
We’ve been sick with the regular the flu before. COVID is not the regular flu. We struggled to breathe. When we arrived at the emergency room, both of us thought I was dying. We are grateful to be alive because we didn’t think we would make it. COVID is not a hoax. I have no stake in your life but I beg you to take this virus seriously. If you get COVID, you will regret it. We were not reckless in our behavior, we simply went to work at our second jobs like normal people do.
Information on COVID-19 is changing every day. Scientists are learning more about the long-terms affects of coronavirus. None of my doctors have not been able to state how long we may have immunity. One doctors said at least 3 months, another said at least 6 months, and another doctor said he just didn’t know. News outlets report cases of reinfection. We CANNOT get COVID-19 again. Our lungs wouldn’t survive another round.
We have underlying health issues. The coming vaccines cannot help us. Today the news reported “people with a significant history of allergic reactions” (aka those who carry an EPI pen) should not get the vaccine. We are going to let the scientists test the new vaccines a little longer. Scientists need more information on the long-term, side-effects and allergic reactions associated with the vaccines. COVID caused so much damage to our lungs we cannot risk it.
With that said, why would we sit in a crowded theater with 198 strangers who may or may not have coronavirus. I know my home theater is coronavirus free. We are going to keep our asses at home where we know everything is clean because we cleaned it. We know we are coronavirus free because we have followed all the social distancing rules since March.
There is NOTHING a retail theater can offer us during a worldwide pandemic or in the future. We have options when Warner Media is dropping same day releases.
A “day-and-date release” is when movie studios such as Walt Disney Pictures or Warner Media releases a major blockbuster film to their streaming platform on the same exact day the movie is released to retail theaters. “Day-and-date” movie releases have made movie theaters an option not a necessity.
On December 3, 2020 Warner Media | HBO Max upset many by throwing up the middle finger to theater owners and old school movie critics. Warner Media is making all of their 2021 movies (a total of 17 releases) available on their HBO Max streaming platform and retail theaters at the same time. Warner Media adapted and adjusted its business model to the way families prefer to watch movies today – at home. Warner Media news has been well received by movie nerds. All movie studios need to let go of the “nostalgic cinematic experience ” bullshit and create streaming platforms.
We are waiting for Walt Disney Studios to follow Warner Media’s example. We strongly believe Disney should release Black Widow to Disney Plus. We are already accustomed to watching movies at home in our theater. We hope HBO Max and Disney Plus continues the “day-and-date” release platform FOREVER.
This video is a perfect example of the “sanctified public community experience” we DO NOT miss!
Many of the Hollywood big name movie producers believe there is a “sanctified” experience of watching movies in a big chain, retail theater. “The Community Experience” is highly overrated to us. After 40 hours of corporate community experience, 26 hours of university community experience, and constantly interacting with people just to live, we don’t want to be bothered with the community while enjoying movies.
In another perfect example of the “sanctified community experience,” a woman is allowed to make racist comments and even has the nerve to throw a water bottle at another patron. Couldn’t have been us. We would have whoop that trick like we were from Memphis. Notice in the video the movie is going on. The patrons all have to deal with her behavior before the police arrived, during the police confrontation, and after the police escorts her disruptive ass our the “community experience theater.” In our home theater, we don’t have to deal with racist tricks like her. We enjoyed the exact same “A Quiet Place” movie at home in private with zero interruptions.
Enjoying a sanctified big chain, movie theater experience is totally dependent upon your fellow movie watchers to act like grown adults and mature teens by not using their mobile phones, allowing their children to cry/scream before/during the film, not kicking the seats, and adhering to a dozen other well-known social norms. At home movie watching enhances our experience because we are comfortable, relaxed, and in familiar surroundings.
For us, watching a movie at home is a way to escape from our daily community experience craziness. The US community is a complete mess as shown each night on every news channel across America. After a rough work week and dealing with the craziness the community and work brings every day, we just want to sit in our home cinema (in peace) and enjoy a movie, sports event, or television series of our choosing.
African-American’s are often harrased in movie theaters without cause. Even when paying for tickets and sitting quietly, African-Americans are harrassed. We personally witness an incident that was based solely on race. A white family didn’t want to sit next to a group of African-American men. Management kicked the men out to accommodate the white family. The men hadn’t said two words to the white family at all. The men literally were sitting quietly waiting for the movie to start. I know a lawsuit was settled in that instance as the attorney for the men indicated he no longer needed us a witnesses.
As African-American women, we refuse to give our money to retail theaters when we don’t have to. We have OPTIONS and we CHOOSE to enjoy movies at home, in peace without watching innocent African-American moviegoers be subject to unnecessary harassment and racism. We strongly encourage other African-American movie fans to stop supporting retail theaters where racists ass management discriminates against you for just being born.
Streaming services, 4K/Bluray, cable television, and free from the library provides you with an many options and choices. The most important and immediate direct impact to improve your life is simply to speak with your dollars. Refuse to spend your hard earned money in a business you know is going to discriminate against you. Simply staying home is a powerful way of creating change. Speaking with our dollars works. Movie nights don’t have to be in a home theater. Home theaters are also a nicety but not a necessity. A television in a living room is a wonderful start to a fun movie night – at home – without discrimination.
In the black community everyone knows, AMC stands for African-American Means Call the police. Most black people know the deal with this movie chain. Most black people no longer patronize AMC or any other movie chain. You shouldn’t either. Apparently, their are many of black people who are unaware of the institutionalize racism occurring at AMC theaters despite multiple news stories. If you are reading this and are African-American I am sure you can recall at least one racists incident while attending a retail theater. Of course you can and that’s my point!
Even after an African-American man was able to prove he paid for his ticket, the manager still had him removed from the movie theater without a refund and an apology. The man was COMPLETELY innocent yet the police continued to assist in the harassment of the innocent black man.
Countless of other African-Americans have had similar experiences. Too many stories exist. We have highlighted a few examples below. We strongly encourage other African-Americans to stop spending their hard earned income to be harassed. Don’t allow racists movie theater management to say you didn’t pay. Refuse to be harassed when another family doesn’t want to sit next to your family in a theater.
Arizona man accuses AMC Theatres of Racial Discrimination
Black Women Accused an AMC Movie Theater of Racial Profiling
Men filed a discrimination suit against AMC Theaters Fort Steuben Mall.
We no longer have to watch other African-Americans be harrassed because our humble home theater setup meets all of our movie watching needs. More importantly, a home theater setup is not necessary. A television in a living room can be the start of a wonderful movie night without racism, discrimination, or harassment.
We enjoy the extras features a disc provides that are not offered at the movie theaters such as special features, behind‑the‑scenes, deleted scenes, blooper reels, music videos, director’s commentaries, and animation details. The physical media also offers a digital copy of the movie.
The thought of trekking out in January or February -65 degree snowpocalypse or polar vortex weather to visit a retail theater is depressing. We enjoy our family movie night tradition in peace thanks to advanced home theater technology. Watching movies in our home cinema setup eliminates the need to drive to the theater, park our car, pay $35.00 for popcorn, candy, and a soda.
We would rather not see the movie at all if we have to watch it surrounded by 198 strangers.
A Reel Cinema @ Home
Our home theater setup eliminates the need to watch a movie at a specific start time. As film nerds, we appreciate on-demand start times that match our busy work and college schedules. Our home cinema allows us to start, pause, or rewind the movie as required for our viewing needs.
Our humble theater features benefits beyond what a retail chain theater offers without high ticket prices, 2nd mortgage concession stand prices, rude behavior, fights, and gun shots the big chain theater experience offers. We avoid the gunshots and hassle of it all. Our enjoyment of the movie is enhanced by simply staying home.
When the spirit moves us to enjoy a film in a social environment, we invite friends and family over for a movie night or a watch party. We know the people we are watching the movie with. Our friends and family will not show up late and walk right in front of us during the good opening action scene.
Movies are meant to move us and make us relate to the character’s situation in a special way. We know we are fully immersed in a film when the emotions start to flow. A seven foot, tattooed, known as a tough-guy mans-man can ball his eyes out during the movie “My Sisters Keeper.” (You cannot watch “My Sisters Keeper” without crying). If the movie is funny or sad, we can laugh and cry as loud as we want without the judgement of strangers.
We reacted physically and verbally to “The Game of Thrones” most emotional scenes – The Red Wedding, Sansa’s rape, Shireen’s sacrifice, Jon Snow’s first death, and Missandei’s beheading. We still tear up when we hear “Ho dor…Hor door….Hold the door!” Our physical and verbal reactions were definitely not appropriate to public spaces. Our own private home cinema allowed the emotions to flow freely among family and friends. We don’t want to deal with any shushes and/or judgments when those emotional scenes are happening.
A Reel Cinema At Home watch party guests reacted in the exact same way in our home theater as the crowd in the highly viewed “Sean Tank Top Bar Scene Reactions.” We enjoyed watching every season of Game of Thrones. We were grateful we had our very own private home theater to yell and scream at this moment without any complaints!
Our series finale watching parties (such as Scandal, Empire, or Game of Thrones), a Super Bowl viewing party, or a pay-per-view fight night party allows for immediate discussion and/or smack talk as the events unfold. Spending time discussing the story lines, plot twist, or the game progression is just as exciting as watching any movie. Our private home watching experience allows the conversation to be as open, candid, inappropriate, and adult as we want it to be without the worries of political correctness a public theater or public bar watching experience would demand.
There is no need to sneak our favorite candy or meal into our home cinema. Classic movie concessions treats are only steps away and purchased from national retailers. Our massive home theater concessions areas is always stocked with the exact same candy in the exact same packaging offered at big chain theaters but costs 1/10 of the price. Our homemade recipes highlight full-course meals, snacks, and beverages that elevate our movie watching taste buds to a gourmet level. Our meals and snacks do not require us to spend our whole paycheck for a few hours of family entertainment.
We would rather not see the movie at all if we have to watch it surrounded by 198 strangers. We love watching movies at home in comfort, peace, and among friends and family. We couldn’t image going back to being surrounded by 198 strangers. Our humble home theater fulfills all our movie watching needs. We enjoy the film IN PEACE the way the film director intended by simply staying home.
If you made it though this long ass article, thank you! We truly appreciate you. As a film fan, you might appreciate this article too.
