Going back to the movies should be fun. Instead, it feels like a boring sequel.
In 1975, the French philosopher Roland Barthes wrote that his favorite part of going to the movies was leaving. But then Barthes was never locked out of cinema by a global pandemic. I’m a film professor, which means I spend a lot of time watching movies at home, even under ordinary circumstances. In my most recent book, “The Stuff of Spectatorship,” I investigate the ways we watch movies now, especially at home, but I also love cinema: The darkness, seclusion and surround sound create an immersive experience I can never replicate in my living room.
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