Malls 101 (or how not to design a movie theater)

January 4, 2010 - 8:05 PM by

AvatarEver since we bought our big screen TV a few years back, I have avoided going to the movie theater. The combination of raucous crowds and cell phones that refuse to be silenced don’t make for a particularly conducive cinematic experience. I prefer cranking up the surround sound at home and microwaving a bag of popcorn.

3D changes all that. It’s the one thing you can’t get from even the biggest plasma screen. So, this week I gave in and headed to the Rav Chen theater in Jerusalem to see Avatar, the stunning new sci fi flick from Titanic and Terminator director James Cameron.

The movie was everything I hoped for: incredible graphics, a gripping storyline, and 10 foot tall blue aliens with tails, dreadlocks and minimal clothing. The crowd nearly restored my faith in Israeli movie audiences: quietly reverent as they sat riveted wearing their dorky 3D glasses as the multi-dimensional action unfolded on screen.

I say nearly because, before we could see the film, we had to get into the theater itself. There was one small door open with single ticket taker, a security guard, and about 150 excited mostly young adult males pushing and shoving their way to the front. An orderly queue, maybe a rope with ticket goers winding leisurely around the building perimeter? That’s so Los Angeles.

And then there’s that second uniquely Israeli movie invention: the snarky exit straight to the parking lot. As we left the theater, I expected to re-enter the mall but no…we were directed into a dank and poorly lit stairwell that led us outside.

Didn’t Israel study Malls 101 at the University of Consumer Culture? The idea is to coddle shoppers into spending more of their disposable income, not to unceremoniously funnel them out into the cold and back to their cars.

Here’s hoping that 3D will be relegated to recycled gimmick drawer. I don’t relish having to return to our pre-big screen movie going days, sexy blue aliens or not.

Tags: • Category: design, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Movies 

Comments

3 Comments on Malls 101 (or how not to design a movie theater)

  1. Warren on Mon, Jan 4th 2010 11:07 PM

    2. there’s nothing open in the mall where the Rav Chen is so there’s no reason for them to funnel you back inside. I wonder if the Malcha mall will suffer from the loss of traffic after they replaced their cinema with yet another clothing store. I used to go there more often for the movies than anything else, and maybe I spent some more money while I was there.

  2. Avatar – the Israeli angle | ISRAELITY on Wed, Jan 6th 2010 3:22 PM

    3. [...] Wherever you look these days, it’s ‘Avatar’ this and ‘Avatar’ that. I’m sure it’s a spectacular film, and one of these days, I’ll get around to seeing it. For a posting on the film, see Brian’s earlier entry. [...]

  3. Brian Blum on Wed, Jan 6th 2010 6:28 PM

    4. You’re right that there’s not much in the Rav Chen mall, but there is the billiards club that might enjoy the extra business. And when Globus was at Malcha, they did the same thing…when the mall was fully open!

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap