If there’s one thing I learned about film this past decade, it’s that where and how you see a film is just as important as the content of the film itself. Even without bringing up the totemic shift in how streaming services have fundamentally changed our relationship to media, the theatrical experience itself has changed so much since 2010. Monopolization of chain theaters like AMC led to a service that simultaneously overprices and underserves the consumer.  Disney is vaulting not only its original titles but Fox’s rightfully well-worn catalogue of titles. The earned apprehension from studios to release more of their micro- and mid-budget movies outside of metropolitan areas has created a lack of variety for those of us living in smaller cities that wasn’t necessarily the case 10 years ago.

It’s why the IU Cinema has been such an elemental force in my life since I started going in the spring of 2011. As cinephiles go, I was a late bloomer getting into movies. I came to IU in 2008 as someone who liked seeing whatever was out in theaters with their friends and had some favorites but I wasn’t seeking out things to challenge or move me in anyway. It’s mostly serendipity that I ended up meeting other weirdos in music school who were more into movies than me at the time, but also not dyed-in-the-wool cinephiles. It was through many trips to dorm video libraries and Vulture Video (formerly Plan 9) to take the stress off between all the hours spent in music practice rooms and libraries that we all started to turn into bona fide cinema junkies. However, it wasn’t until the IU Cinema opened its doors that we had a proper cinematic experience. (more…)