Photos: Cape Cinema in Dennis, MA

Using Kanopy.com to stream classic films and documentaries is convenient, but nothing beats seeing films worth watching on the big screen in a local art cinema. An “art film,” as defined in Wikipedia, is typically a serious, independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience.^[1] It is “intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal,”^[2] “made primarily for aesthetic reasons rather than commercial profit”,^[3] and contains “unconventional or highly symbolic content”.^[4]

The art cinema nearest me on Cape Cod offers many of the same pleasures as the one I frequented in Philadelphia in the 1970s. The Cape Cinema in Dennis, Massachusetts features an old-fashioned big screen, roomy super-comfortable seating, a small selection of wines, craft beers, sandwiches, cookies, popcorn and candy, and very reasonable ticket prices – as low as $6.00 per person for senior citizens. I try to see every film they show.

I love my computer, but turning it off and going out into the natural world is important too, even if it is only for a trip to the movies where I sit and watch another, larger screen.