By Bernie Yeo
WHILE movie junkies wait with bated breath for cinemas to reopen their doors nationwide, one thing for sure is that the prolonged cinema closures have made Malaysians crave lesser for a movie experience via cinemas.
It is similar to how people are beginning to accept the fact that they might not regain the full dining-in experience at restaurants, after the pandemic ends.
Piping-hot food, which is delivered straight to your table from the stove and the sight, smell and feel of being physically present at the restaurant seem like a thing from the past now, as people have become so used to the “tapau” culture.
Various studies have shown that these days, customers are prone to use online services that offer convenience and ease of use, such as Grabfood and Foodpanda, where they have your food delivered within half an hour late.
However, it does not have the same appeal as dining-in at the restaurant. Sometimes, the food delivered by such services might get lukewarm by the time it reaches the customer, and reheating it will simply destroy the taste.
Eventually, people adapted. If anything, they became used to the convenience of having food delivered straight at their doorsteps after a long day at work, so much so that when restaurants are allowed to accept dine-ins again, they found that the crowd has reduced considerably.
In a way, the same can be said for watching movies at the cinema. There is nothing quite like being in a huge hall with your fellow cinema-goers, armed with a soft drink in one hand and a bucket of popcorn in the other. Of course, the cinema’s superb sound system also makes a whole lot of difference too.
However, the COVID-19 crisis has forced many film studios to forgo traditional theatrical releases in lieu of popular streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. While these streaming services allow subscribers to stream movies directly from the comfort of their own homes, the whole cinema-going experience is simply absent. – Feb 24, 2021
