We may change, but the experience of going into a darkened room with strangers and sharing an ephemeral dream has not. When their presentations are protected, theaters remain a rare space where we can be on the same page at the same time, be it via escapist fantasy or through soulful catharsis. And in an increasingly commodified and isolated world of content curated by invisible algorithms, that democratic ability to participate equally in what Roger Ebert once called “the empathy machine” of a flickering light—one that can put you in someone else’s shoes, uninterrupted, for a couple of hours—is more valuable than ever.
Source: https://sunriseread.com/cinema-is-more-than-just-a-big-screen/137187/