One way this nourishment gets provided, this energy to make it through the week, is also related to the earlier point on environment. In both cases, the setting is one that is designed to feel separate from the rest of the world. Churches are meant to feel like they’re a slice of heaven on earth in a way, with the divine iconography scattered throughout and beautiful images made from stained glass. They’re a manifestation of the Christian concept of being in the world but not of it. So it’s deliberately other-worldly. Movie theaters are similarly conceptualized: dark, windowless, covered in posters for upcoming features and with all the focus geared towards the most illuminated object, the screen.
There’s also the aspect that movies and church can make people feel alive with an identity they don’t get to enjoy in the outside world. Movies will allow viewers to exist vicariously through its heroes and heroines, experiencing these extraordinary events as if they’re the ones saving the day. Churches can make this virtuality even more real; a bus driver during the week can be the president of a congregation on Sunday. This opportunity, however limited, to escape one’s ordinary identity is a compelling thing.
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