I know Oculus VR has been around awhile now but I really haven’t given it much thought. Even though something worth $2 billion probably deserves my passing attention. Even though virtual reality was all the rage at Sundance this year. Even though my pal Noah J Nelson has been talking about it as the future of enterntainment forever.

Despite all this it took an article, “Going to the movies in Virtual Reality” by Patrick Burns, on a two year old Oculus Rift app beta to jolt me into gear. I know…

Anyway, here’s how Patrick describes the main use-case for the app:

You’re at home on a Friday night, and you and your friend who lives in a different state (or country) agree on a time to “meet at the theater” to watch the latest box office thriller. When the time comes, you each put on your Virtual Reality headset and navigate to the cinema app. You meet your friend (or, more accurately, your friend’s avatar) in the theater, sit down, and watch the film — simultaneously, next to each other in the virtual theater…yet in reality miles away from each other, and from the comfort of your own couch.

I remember back in elementary school and junior high when instant messaging became “a thing.” Even as a kid I had the following confounded thought:

So, how are my friends going to know I’m online? What, am I going to call them up and tell them to log on just so we can talk? Why not just talk on the phone?

And of course now the exact opposite is true. Not thirty minutes ago I texted someone to ask if they could talk on the phone. Sometimes the things that seem stupid in their infancy become commonplace as they mature. (I also remember thinking, “A camera? On your phone?!”) So I realize I shouldn’t write off the idea of going to a virtual reality movie theater.

But…

You know…

Johnny Mnemonic

Come on, right?

Patrick is bullish on the idea, though. Here’s part of his reasoning:

…The virtual theater looks and feels like you’re in the theater, just without all the inconveniences of the modern theater-going experience. Of which there are many: buying tickets in advance, fighting traffic to get there on time, finding a good seat, etc. And that’s if you happen to find a time that fits with your schedule, and if the movie is still playing. In a time when more and more of our entertainment is on-demand, the movie theater seems hopelessly outdated.

I hear some of that. I don’t think the theatrical experience is “hopelessly” outdated, but I do understand the inconveniences that come with going to see a movie. Some of them, though, are the same inconveniences as, you know, going places and doing stuff.

Here in Austin, most of the time I see movies at an Alamo Drafthouse, which has assigned seating. Because of this (and the small auditoriums) it’s almost impossible to go to a Drafthouse without some forethought on a Friday or Saturday. It’s annoying, true, but I make it work.

Also, in terms of modern theatrical conveniences, I love being able to buy tickets in advance. It’s been many years since I’ve arrived at a theater only to be sold out.

And there’s even a nifty solution to finding a film you want to see at a time you can make: an app called Wigglehop. Pick theaters you like, movies you want to see, a rough time you want to go and Bob’s your uncle: Wigglehop tells you what you can make.

But anyway, back to the VR movie theater.

VR can also eliminate the anxiety caused by a packed venue. My view on this is heavily influenced by recent incidents I experienced at movie theaters. When I recently saw Intersteller in a packed IMAX 70mm theater at Lincoln Square, it was gorgeous and transformational…until a couple walked in 30 minutes late and stepped on my foot. But that wasn’t the worst part: at the climax scene, a gawker in the back of the theater started yelling, distracting everyone and ruining the scene for all. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have a film experience ruined by fellow spectators.

Seinfeld, “The Opposite”

Social anxiety can be crippling. I think anything that helps people have experiences they may not otherwise be able to have is a great advance. That said, I’ve always been partial to the oddities that come with going to see a film in public. People sure can be strange, but it’s not all bad. I love laughing, crying, gasping in the same physical space as a bunch of strangers.

I’ve seen some weird stuff in movie theaters over the years (a woman next to me once started filing her nails in a film’s third reel claiming she bit them off in the first, from the tension!), but it’s still my favorite place to see a new work. The distractions of home are gone and for an hour and a half or more I can go on a journey with people I don’t even know. Besides, even with the tardy toe-stepper and the climactic town-crier, Patrick refers to his Interstellar experience as “transformational.” The work still got through.