Movies and Video Media

The final topic we covered in our interviews was movies and videos. Linda mostly remembers going to the Macon Movie Theater downtown and going to the Macon Drive-In Theater. She also remembered going to the movie theater in Bevier when she was very young, around four or five years old. The most prevalent thing she remembered was how small the movie theaters were. The Macon theater only had one screen and seated around 100 to 150 people, while the Bevier theater was even smaller and only seated around 50 people.

Royal Theater in Macon, which was turned into a movie theater in the 1950's
Source: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/12668

Linda would go to the movies about once a month with either her mom or friends in the evening. They never attended matinee showings. It was always a big treat for her mother when they went to the movies together.

"Mother and I went to movies because Dad never went to the movies. Never. I don't think he's ever been inside a movie theater. I doubt he ever did. So, it was real exciting for Mom to go."

I found it shocking that her father never went to the movie theater, and I tried to recall a time we went to the theater with my family. However, I could not think of a time.

"Little Big Man" was a favorite of
Linda's and her mother.
Source: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Big- Man-Dustin-Hoffman/dp/B00003CXB5

She recalls taking her mother to see "Escape from Alcatraz" and "Little Big Man" with Dustin Hoffman. Linda remembers her mother really enjoying "Little Big Man" because she thought the story was "neat". When Linda was older she also remembers seeing the Godfather movies with her friends in Columbia, instead of in Macon. Additionally, she would go to the drive-in with her friends. They would often go to the concession stand to get popcorn and soda and park in the middle of the lot. Linda told me the story of her sneaking into the drive-in with her friends.

"We snuck in them too. There was a fence that some times Jim Lolli would sneak us through. He would let us girls out at the fence and then he went in with the guys and they would pull the fence up, so we could go under it. But, we never hid in the car."

Macon Drive-In Theater in 2003
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/neatocoolville/94833865

Linda said that there were never movies that she was not allowed to see. She believes this is because there was not a ratings systems for movies, as there is today. Linda also remembers that Macon did not get a lot of R-rated movies, and when there were R-rated movies she was old enough to see them. However, due to the fact that the movies were not rated she remembered going to see movies when she was younger that would frighten her.

Linda recalls renting movies with her daughter when they lived in North Kansas City. They had a membership at a place that was similar to Blockbuster; however, it was privately owned, so Linda knew the owners. When it was her daughter's turn to pick the movie she would pick horror movies, while Linda elected to watch comedies or dramas.

Today, Linda watches movies that are on TV by recording them, which allows her to watch them at any time. She does not use streaming services to watch movies, despite having both Netflix and Hulu. She still enjoys going to the theaters every once in a while and said that the actors in the movies are what draws her to the theater. Denzel Washington's movies are most likely to compel her to go to the theater. However, the last time she went to a movie theater was about a year ago to see "A Madea's Family Funeral" because Tyler Perry is another favorite of hers. She enjoys the atmosphere of movie theaters today and likes how comfortable the seating has become.