As of this writing, movie theaters across the country are slowly beginning the process of re-opening, with most major chains hoping to be back up by late-July. However, the big question is whether America is ready for theaters to re-open.
On June 15th, AMC announced that they would be reopening with safety measures, but would not require people to wear masks. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that the reason was entirely to avoid the “politics” surrounding the mask debate. Upon receiving widespread backlash, AMC quickly reversed their decision and announced that masks would be required.
Complicating matters further, the upcoming Disney live-action film Mulan, which was originally intended to release back in March, has been pushed back to August 27th. Suspicions lead commentators to believe that Disney is hoping to avoid Mulan being the first “big” movie released during this uncertain time. Warner Bros. take that responsibility with Christopher Nolan’s upcoming tactical-thriller Tenet currently planned to release on August 12th.
Not only that, but cases of novel coronovirus also continue to rise in the United States, as well as around the world.
Melvin and I have since chatted about whether we’re comfortable visiting movie theaters upon their official reopening. You can hear it in detail in an upcoming episode of The CinDoc Pre-Show, an exclusive podcast series available to Patron-supporters of Cinematic Doctrine.
However, to sum up our thoughts: it depends.
Yet, in this episode of Monthly Movie News, our biggest talking point is the strange politicization of mask-wearing. We’re no strangers wearing masks (I worked at a hospital, after all), and while a part of us uses this time to let off a little steam, we approach it with a fair amount of patience.
To hear further thoughts on movie theaters reopening, hosted above is our latest episode of Monthly Movie News! Listen to Melvin and me banter about theaters re-opening (as well as our hot-takes on mask wearing) and several other newsworthy topics!
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Daniel Braindead is a Producer and Cohost of Cinematic Doctrine. Combining his BA of Biblical Studies, brief study in Journalism, and an overdose of film trivia and film history, Daniel brings clarity and comedy to every episode of the Cinematic Doctrine podcast! His prowess for cultural understanding and biblical application always brings something new to the table.
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