“Cinema is an invention without a future.” Another ‘expert’ predicting the industry’s death? No, a quote from August Lumière who, in 1895 with bro Louis, gave birth to the big screen with their revolutionary projector, the Cinématographe. It seems even its inventor had it in for cinema. Yet, 125 years later, it endures. And will. Whatever is streaming. One is convenience. The other, experience. Microwave vs restaurant. And humans need social connection. Brands that have nurtured community have soared (yes to you, Peloton). Nothing captures a magical, shared experience like cinema. Strangers lost in the same story. And we need that back. Critic Roger Ebert called the movies ‘a machine that generates empathy’. We identify, learn, embrace what we knew less of before through their stories. Maybe it’s more elemental. Humans conquered fire 400,000 yrs ago. Studies of the Ju/’hoan people of Namibia revealed that, by extending the day, fire allowed people to unleash their imaginations and tell stories, escape from the mundane. “Stories told by firelight put listeners on the same emotional wavelength.” As we sit back once more in the glow of that light shining in the dark, maybe that’s what we’ve missed. Welcome back, cinema. It’s been dark without you. #cinemas #serviceindustry
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