April 27, 2019 -
I was on a plane traveling back from Tehran Iran in the summer of 1977. I was 16 years old. My father had a job there in the days before the Shah was deposed and Ayatollah Khoneini took power. There was nothing to do on the long flight and the attendants would offer magazines to passengers to help pass the hours. She gave me a Time magazine. At that time, it was a real thick magazine with lots of stories.
I remember flipping through the pages and coming across a story about how the summer was going in the U.S.. There was a sentence that commented on two hit movies; The Deep, a sequel of sorts to the hit Jaws and something called Star Wars. I had never heard of either before. I had spent my junior year of high school in Tehran and had little information on pop culture in the States. (I didn't miss miss much. The #1 song in the country at that time was "Looks Like We Made It" by Barry Manilow)
We landed in Washington DC. We were there to see my Uncle Dale who was working there at the time. He had a young son named Dustin. I was bored at the apartment trying to get used to this new phase in my life and contemplating returning to the small town of Moriarty, New Mexico for my senior year of high school. A lot of change was happening. Like most sixteen year olds I was confused and horribly self absorbed. (On that point, not much has changed)
Near his apartment was a movie theater with a marquee that said Star Wars. Desperate for something to do and thinking it was a kids movie I asked to be allowed to take Dustin to the movie. I just wanted to get out of the apartment.
My young cousin readily agreed and we were off. I remember after getting our tickets we went into the theater and then I noticed something strange.
The theatre was full. It was packed. The only seats available were in the front row. The crowd seemed restless and a little rowdy. I had never been to a theater with so many people before.
“This is a kids movie”, I thought, “What’s going on?”
Dustin was delighted about the front row and happily ran to his seat. Groaning a bit at the thought of sitting watching a film looking straight up I followed him. But, I had some movie popcorn which I had not had for a long time so I resolved to make the best of it.
The theater darkened and these scrolling words came across the screen. The audience started cheering. The soundtrack was thunderous. I was confused.
Then, this enormous space ship sliced into view blasting lasers. I was dumbstruck. I had never seen anything like that before. I remember Dustin trying to ask me something. I do not remember what it was but I do remember what I said to him. Over the din of explosions and cheering crowd I shouted, “Shut up Dustin, I am watching the movie!”
I was in wonder. It was a seminal cultural event for me. I do not remember a lot of other things that happened 46 years ago, but I remember that moment. It was a collective event with a community. We shared an experience in a darkened room that would stay with us a lifetime. And it cemented my lifelong love of all things geek.
My late Father-in-Law Terry, another fan, once told me, “Glenn, you don’t understand. Before Star Wars all we had was Billy Jack”.
In those days you didn’t have multiplex theaters. The new thing was “twin” screens”. There was no internet, no YouTube, no Facebook, and no Netflix. The only movie trailer you ever saw was at the movies. Maybe a small snippet on network TV, one of the three channels you received, but that was it. ‘Word of mouth’ was king. You heard a movie was good from a friend and you went to find out if it was true. The hype for a movie was built organically.
After 1977 all of that changed. My generation was exposed to it’s version of a serialized Charles Dickens novel. And the story was in space! We waited anxiously for the next installment. It would be years between sequels.
There have been few times since I have relived such an experience. I remember sitting in a crowded theater in 1980 when Darth Vader said “I am your Father”. We gasped. The whole audience reacted and we talked about it for three years before we learned it was true.
Special effects were changing rapidly. They were becoming so realistic now. We had come a long way since Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Dinosaurs had come back to life and I remember being thrilled to find this movie tag line was true. The first Superman with Christopher Reeeve promised, “You'll believe a man can fly”. When he soared straight at the screen and curved to the left effortlessly the first time, it was amazing.
I did believe.
It is different now. We can do so much with special effects that a live action Lion King raises little interest.
The internet bombards with you with movie trailers and analysis to such a degree that you no longer get excited for a movie. By the time it arrives, you feel like you already know much of what is going to happen. The hype is so manufactured that you become immune to it. It is numbing and makes you jaded.
We have lost the wonder.
I think that is why I enjoyed Avengers Endgame so much this weekend. I did not know what was going to happen, but I had already invested in seeing all the movies leading up to this film that I was ready for the final tale It was like approaching the last chapter of a good novel. There were characters that you loved and hated. There were noble deeds to accomplish. Sacrifices would be made. Would Marvel finish well?
And there was that rare thing that happened. A full audience that clapped, laughed, and cried together. It was communal and harkened back to that summer in 1977. It was a moment and I am pleased to report that Marvel stuck the landing.
Watching it with my son made me curious if he will look back on the film and remember this time. I wonder if he will tell his children that he was there when the movie was released and shared in the fun with a crowd. I do not know. He is more mature than I am and not quite the geek.
Still, there in the dark, I was sixteen all over again and loving the spectacle before me. Such events are rare and should be enjoyed.
The movie is very good, You should see it.
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