It's been a couple months but here I am, waiting. Waiting for the lights to dim and waiting for the crescendo of THX to blast its way through the thrum of my palpable excitement. Each time it is always the same. I never know what to expect while simultaneously knowing exactly what to expect. What a feeling it is to lose my movie virginity.
There is something remarkably enigmatic about watching a movie for the first time, and I absolutely love it. Of course the number of times I've watched the trailers can occasionally illuminate the nature of the plot or predictable happy endings, but I am never completely able to prepare myself for comedic one-liners or big character reveals (shout out to the many Marvel and DC movies that Hollywood has been so generously endorsing). So overall, the height of my movie experience is simply from the fact that I do not know exactly what I will be watching.
Until recently, I had been on a movie theatre hiatus for about four months until I was able to see "Captain America: Civil War" in the lush comfort of a Galaxy theatre (worth it my friends). Of course, it was no surprise that there were a number of dramatic, somehow survivable, cataclysmic events, yet the play by play battles still maintained a sense of mysticism during the scenes. Somehow I was still enthralled watching a good guy/bad guy movie because of the sheer newness of the content. Even though I had watched the Avengers in action before, I was savoring the last bites of unknown that the movie was capitalizing on. My love for seeing movies the first time, I realize, is no more different than the mysteries of love itself.
I've seen it played out in movies, in books and on television so many times that I already know the dance. But when I begin to move to the unique rhythm of my own love song, it is suddenly so new and foreign. And just like a good movie, the best kind of love is the one that keeps you on your toes and guessing until the very end.
There is, of course, nothing like the first moment when you figure out the plot twist on your own and feel heavily self-congratulatory. When you figure out maybe this is love. I appreciate the sentimentality of that first moment, but my passion for watching a movie for the first time isn't just about contributing to summer Blockbuster profit. I am ultimately seeking the movie that will enthrall me long past the first time I laughed at its jokes. I am looking for the movies I can assort into my favorites category and watch over and over again with my mom and still find something new every time.
That's why I love the first movie viewing so much. It's new and exciting, but you realize you have to watch the movie a couple times before you catch every turn of the story, every subtle twitch. There's an amalgam of similarity between my insatiate interest in love and seeing movies for the first time. Discovering and uncovering are the best parts of something new. Each person has a unique experience and connection to an on screen story or person. But the best part is when you discover that it's even better after the first time, and you continue to watch the story you're so familiar with and still remain enchanted.
