Challenge within a challenge: Surviving a year without cinema

At the start of the year I had a few new year resolutions. I think I said that I wanted to learn to juggle and learn how to fence, but with most if not all resolutions, they don’t last or happen. However, one new year resolution did. Apart from the one exception of going to a movie marathon for my flatmate Rachel’s birthday, which I mentioned before starting the challenge, I haven’t been to the cinema once!

So how was it? To be honest I didn’t miss going to the cinema as much as I thought I would. There were only a few times where I really wanted to see a film but had to miss out. I got asked to go and see Bridget Jones’ Baby a couple of times with different sets of people and because I loved the book so much I wanted to see Me Before You. Apart from those two there were quite a few films I wanted to see, but I wasn’t too fussed ultimately about missing them on the big screen.

In a strange twist of luck in February I got an email from Virgin Media saying that the TV package I was on they were fading out and that they were putting me on the Sky Movie package at no extra cost! So without even trying I got way more of a selection of films then I would get at the cinema at any one time.

With the resolution I thought that some friendships might wane as a result. Ones where the main activity we’d do would be to go to the cinema. Some friendships we did alternative activities and others I just saw less as a result of not going to the cinema. Or it could be that people were busier in 2016.

I’ve come to realise that going to the cinema isn’t a great way of catching up with friends. You meet up just before, and you leave just after the film and that barely gives time to chat. 2 hours in a dark room isn’t that social. So I think going into 2017 I’m going to go to the cinema, but only films that I really want to go to and worthy of seeing on the big screen.

During the year I missed out on just over 25 films, so financially I saved. With every film I missed I read an autobiography, and I’ve fallen a little behind on this. I’ve got about 3-4 books to go. They are my favourite genre of books, but towards the end of the year I got a bit sick of them. I’ve read a great variety; ranging from entrepreneurs to dancers to everyday people overcoming adversity.

Throughout this year I was also more creative than I’ve been in previous years. But I don’t know whether that has anything to do with going to screenwriting and creative groups or cinema being absent.

The challenge was an interesting one; one that I thought I would break but ultimately didn’t. Looking through my IMDB watchlist there’s half a dozen films on there which will be released in 2017. But truthfully only half of them I really want to see.

So here’s to 2017; a year of spending less time sitting in silence and more time in the light.