Understood here as well. Bond was the only thing that I had been going to the cinema to see anyway the past decade or so, outside of the very odd film here and there every other year or so. Going back to 2012, the films I’ve seen in the cinema are Skyfall, Terminator Genisys, Spectre, Halloween, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Even with all of the division in the world today, I always felt like going to the cinema, even with the fact that nobody has the common courtesy anymore to allow you to enjoy the movie because they’re talking or on their cell phones or providing their own running DVD commentary from the seat directly behind you, I at least figured that, at the bare minimum, we were all looking out for each other at least in terms of keeping each other safe and healthy. I’ve never felt threatened going into a theater, but now knowing that it seems like next to nobody out there even gives the slightest bit of care as to the health of their fellow citizen, that their concerns end at the tip of their own nose, you won’t find me setting foot in any crowded, indoor entertainment venue ever again. I’ve gotten both of my shots, and still don’t feel entirely safe with two masks on for a quick trip into the grocery store, especially now that the CDC completely screwed this thing up and ditched the masks a month or so ago. Every time a maskless person walks by me, I will admit to a fleeting moment of panic just hitting me before I quickly put distance between them and myself.
And this disappoints me greatly. I really wanted to see Daniel Craig’s swansong where it deserves to be seen, on the big screen. I was one of the few who wanted him as Bond from the moment his name was first mentioned, and it feels like I’m not going to get to fully complete that journey with him. Even more of a gutpunch, after thirty years of waiting, Ghostbusters 3 will be viewed on my couch, rather than in a dark cinema with a bucket of popcorn and a tall drink. Ghostbusters 2 was the first movie I remember seeing in the cinema, and I was looking forward to getting that thrill again with the new entry, but apparently, that’s not meant to be as well.
It would really be nice if we all, as a society, could use this whole thing as a wakeup call and move back to a point where we can actually talk to each other again. I remember the comaraderie everywhere that you went after 9/11. Everyone was in it all together, helping each other through that horrible time, donating blood to help the victims, performing other selfless acts for the aid of their fellow citizens. Now, twenty years later, faced with the biggest crisis since that time, we can’t even agree that the crisis is actually happening, and shame people for taking lifesaving measures to try to help ourselves as well as each other. And what has this gotten us? The arrival of a variant that was totally avoidable, and one that’s going to put us all in harm’s way because it can spill over into those of us who did our civic duty and got vaccinated to put an end to this nightmare. None of it makes a lick of sense, and it’s just disheartening. Probably the most disheartening time I’ve been through, ever. And you can’t help but feel anything other than shame and pity.
Sorry for the rant.
