movies as social events
I'm watching Bye Bye Birdie (the original movie with Dick van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Ann Margret, Bobby Rydell, Paul Lynde, and Maureen Stapleton) and I'm flashing back to an earlier viewing when I was 8 or 9. I was sitting in the main social hall of my synagogue with the actual film on reels projected onto nearly an entire wall. It was just me and 90 or so others and it looked and sounded so much better than it had on television (of course, at that time we either still had or had just jettisoned our black and white televisions - those things just would not break no matter how hard I willed them to disintegrate and I was too much of a goody goody to resort to sabotage. Of course, the original living room replacement is still in my parents' living room now and is almost as old as the b&w it replaced. But I digress...)
While that was a one time thing, the PTA at my elementary school regularly rented films as either events or fund raisers - I'd guess we saw 5-6 a year, mostly Disney live action flicks from the 50s and 60s. My junior high school showed about one a quarter to the entire school in assembly as part of the actual school activities (and while many were classics, some were just quirky fun - The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes comes immediately to mind).
Even with the increased picture and sound quality of modern electronics, those movies just looked and sounded better. I don't know if it was because they weren't readily available otherwise - most of this was either before or just after the advent of VHS tapes and cable was new too - or if it was that they were an event. We went out and met a large group of people and, except for the school assemblies, often had a meal or food and time to discuss and relax before and after the actual show. While not exactly rare, these showings felt special and maybe that colored the viewing experience.
While that was a one time thing, the PTA at my elementary school regularly rented films as either events or fund raisers - I'd guess we saw 5-6 a year, mostly Disney live action flicks from the 50s and 60s. My junior high school showed about one a quarter to the entire school in assembly as part of the actual school activities (and while many were classics, some were just quirky fun - The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes comes immediately to mind).
Even with the increased picture and sound quality of modern electronics, those movies just looked and sounded better. I don't know if it was because they weren't readily available otherwise - most of this was either before or just after the advent of VHS tapes and cable was new too - or if it was that they were an event. We went out and met a large group of people and, except for the school assemblies, often had a meal or food and time to discuss and relax before and after the actual show. While not exactly rare, these showings felt special and maybe that colored the viewing experience.