Even though many people currently view COVID-19 less seriously and have started getting back to their normal lives, some people believe the pandemic is not over and it is hard for them to keep up with others by leaving their fears behind. Cinemapolis, an independent theater in Ithaca, took those people’s viewpoints into consideration and established the “Masked Tuesdays” initiative. During “Masked Tuesdays,” everyone is required to wear masks and only take-out concessions are available. Cinemapolis also established “Open Captioned Wednesdays” to support people who prefer watching movies with captions.
With these initiatives, Cinemapolis has a good chance of recovering from the loss of audience, which harms it financially and can result in leaving its present audience without any local movie theater. “Masked Tuesdays” and “Open Captioned Wednesdays” are very creative ways to draw the community’s attention, especially with the recent news of Regal Cinema shutting down. Not only will the initiatives increase the audience numbers, they will also support people who are cautious of COVID-19, but still want to enjoy the little things in life, like going to a movie theater.
“Masked Tuesdays” will keep the movie theater audience safe from COVID-19. Even though cases are lower than a year ago, people are still dying from COVID-19 and 101 deaths have been recorded in Tompkins County as of Feb. 13. So, it is still important to be cautious while slowly getting back to normal life. Social interactions are important for people’s mental health. “Masked Tuesdays” help to keep the balance between mental and physical health by encouraging safe social interactions for people who are still wary of COVID-19.
According to some studies, people today simply prefer watching movies at home. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people seemed more excited to be in public spaces, go to movie theaters and interact with one another. The pandemic influenced the more introverted society that exists today. People prefer ordering food in, online shopping, texting instead of meeting up and staying in to watch movies. In its future initiatives, Cinemapolis should take these facts into consideration and create something that will encourage people to leave their houses and connect with one another once again.
