By
Zack Armstrong
Arizona Daily Wildcat
I made the mistake of going to a movie this weekend. The mistake wasn't the movie that I selected, mind you, but the fact that had to pay $7.50 to the money-grubbing, capitalist swine that own the Cineplex Odeon to see it. And worse, at 1:20 in the afternoon, I was expecting the matinee price, but the matinee is only the very first show on the weekend. I was an hour late.
Okay, so no matinee, but I still had hope. I pulled out my student identification card. Surely they have discounts for students seeing as how the only reason this town even exists is because it has the university. Alas, my naivetŽ reigned supreme.
"We only give discounts to senior citizens," crackled the overly exited teen behind the glass.
"Why do you give discounts to the seniors but not to students?" I asked graciously.
"It's just our policy, sir," he said as his voice cracked and he popped a pimple.
Alright, so he didn't have pimples and his voice didn't crack, but he wore glasses and he kind of looked like Jonathan Taylor Thomas. And I really was very graceful - I swear to God. But, back to the point at hand.
Movies in this town are too expensive. I'm convinced that their entire pricing structure has been designed so that students have no choice but to pay full price all the time.
The matinee price on the weekdays runs up until 6:00 p.m. but most of us have classes until then. On the weekends, the only matinee is the first show, which is far too early for the students that I know. The only discounted tickets are for senior citizens, which is logical because most of them only have half of their senses anyway so they're really only paying for half of the movie-going experience.
"What did she say Margaret?"
"She said 'you stole our cheers.'"
"I didn't steal your chair, this is my chair!"
We do have a few options though. There's always The Loft. They don't show the Hollywood blockbusters but they show good movies and they have a student discount.
The destruction of the Gallagher Theater has limited the cheap movies on campus, but the UAB film committee is still showing movies in Social Sciences 100. Unfortunately, they have to do it in a classroom which takes a little away from the movie experience, but it's better than nothing.
Chain theaters in this town are just using us. Their cheapest movies play when we have class. They're practically inviting us to ditch. They're trying to steal our education but we don't have to stand for it.
We have been accused as being the generation that doesn't believe in anything for long. Believe in this - I believe in this - the future is now, the revolution has begun! Fight! Fight!
Or at least write your congressman or something.
