My sweetheart took me to lunch and a movie today and we went to see 'The King's Speech' with Collin Firth. When we arrived at the theatre, I saw a fairly official younger dude in a fleece vest with the theatre's logo on it and I thought immediately that he must be a manager or something. When we took our seats in the viewing room, halfway through the obnoxious trailers and ads, they turned off the volume and as we looked around to identify why, a voice from the front of the room began speaking to the audience and I saw that it was the official guy I'd noticed earlier.
And then he said something that got me thinking. He said 'Considering the demographics of this movie are so different from who regularily attends movie theatres, this chain of theatres has decided to use the modern technologies of live streaming digital media to bring the Bolshoi Ballet to the screen 'LIVE', as well as orchestras and operas. Not only that, but the chain is going to be having a monthly series of old classics, remastered for today, two showings a month.' To think that folks in upper office are actually paying attention to realities as they shift. Very interesting...
The movie was amazing and thoughtful and all the actors did a remarkable job. It was fast paced and photographically breathtaking, a real class act. The entertaining storyline showed a time of history we have only read about. The blustery role of Churchill interspersed with real clips of Hitler, the Queen, the corgis, the humour and the love were all juxtaposed by the terse manner of the Cardinal and the Duke's father with the shadow of impending war looming overall. It made me think about how close I had come to being born during wartime, arriving only 8 years after the end of WW2. How little 8 years is to me now, how people who were kids during Y2K are thinking of that milestone as being so long ago when I feel like I just blinked and only 11 years had whizzed by...The topic of child abuse is thinly veiled with 'Bertie', the future heir, incapable of speaking publically. His wife sought help in the form of an irreverant and lovable speech therapist, 'Lionel', to help him with his problem and the hilarity ensues forthwith.
I want everyone to know that if you go to Kelsey's for a meal before the movie and you tell your waiter/tress, you will get a coupon so your tickets to the movie will be only $6!!! Such a deal, and Kelsey's is a pretty good eatery as those places go.
At the end of the movie, we stood up after the credits and put on our coats as it had been pouring torrentially when we got there and Ron says to me 'Take a second and look at the audience' and I looked up from our front and centre location to see that the entire theatre was full of grey/silver heads. Not only were we the aging baby boomers I am always warning about the snowball coming at us represented by the demographic shift of age/population etc, but these were the educated. The aware, the conscious elders as reflected by the initial announcement by the theatre's manager, who let us know that the theatre chain was not only recognizing that they had attracted a different group of viewers with this intelligent movie, but that they want those people to be recognized as having more than the average intelligence and that the chain is going to do this by showing products that address the need of the intellectual as well as the mindnumbed sheeple.
All in all, a most excellent afternoon.
We stopped for produce and catfood on the way home and then of course, a stop at the Tude for a 6 pack of cold ones... We're ready to bring the deluge inside.
As I write, Ron naps and I ponder my next step... oh yeah... pork ribs and huge salad...
Go see 'The King's Speech', you'll be glad you di di di did.
Older does not always mean more intelligent
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