I love movies! Lines and lyrics and spectacular cinematic moments live on in my soul, their pop culture perfection giving me inspiration internally and providing creativity in conversation.

 

“Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?” Twenty years later I can still hear Ian’s message of self-acceptance in What a Girl Wants in my head when I start to spiral. 

 

Movies matter!

 

I wasted no time rekindling my relationship with the Grand Theater in Alexandria when I moved back to my hometown last year. I often sit in this theater alone, the decade-ago parking lot shooting here most often touted as the reason for its sparsity. It’s unwarranted. 

 

The shooting was a domestic disturbance with Central Louisiana’s only theater its sole casualty. Citizens shouldn’t accept the death as permanent. Recently acquired by San Antonio-based Santikos Entertainment, plans are reportedly underway for a total renovation. I hope that’s accurate. From minor issues like a confusing theater numbering system and an oft-out-of-order Skittles machine to bigger issues like a frequent malfunctioning GPX projector, its bones are good but it is is need of some major TLC.

 

Cinematic company culture needs an overhaul as well. These employees are doing their part: they have the vibe of chill cousins you see at annual family gatherings. They help, they encourage, they initiate. Diversity and inclusivity in staffing has always been represented here and the entire staff deserves recognition.

 

Instead they’ve been stripped of discretionary benefits like free movies during off-hours, one of the proud perks older generations tell when sharing stories of their own cinema jobs of youth.  Such incentives go a long way in motivation and employee retention, not to mention fostering community. It’s a perk theatre owners across the country should not lose sight of, the idealistic business of making movies being for the people not the pocketbook. 

 

Even the pragmatists understand that morale builds motivation. Motivation provides growth and retention. Positive workplace culture benefits those in charge as well as those being served.

 

I call myself a pragmatic idealist; I get it. I’m also a romantic realist. I am an oxymoron.

 

But movies give me fuel and community gives me fire. My mission is to use my voice for change, not criticism. I promote movies as a way to reach all citizens. Broken down into my favorite teaching lesson on writing, movies (like essays) do one of three things: inform, entertain, or persuade. 

 

When the lights go down and the screen comes up, our minds go on a journey. The experience is convenient at home but it often loses the connection that sticks in long-term memory.

 

Fewer and fewer people join me in attendance. That’s not just here. I see this in theaters across the country. Like a growing child’s disenchantment with Santa Claus, people have grown disillusioned with brick and mortar theaters.

 

Santikos Founder John Santikos had a visionary mission in 1911 with his first theater.  Using profits from purchases, he poured back into the communities who supported the industry he adored. 

 

From the website:

 

 

With their recent 7-state expansion, they have the opportunity to take Santikos’ mission for San Antonio to communities across the country, using cinema for positive culture climates and civic unity. It can start right here in Central Louisiana.