In early June, Volume One’s managing editor Trevor Kupfer wrote a blog post on VolumeOne.org detailing local movie theater owners Mike and Connie Olson’s desire to serve beer and wine at their downtown Eau Claire second-run movie theater, Downtown Cinema. They think it might be something the community would enjoy, and might possibly offer indie or art films along with the hooch. The issue arose because a provision in the state’s budget bill (which has since passed) would allow movie theaters to apply for Class B liquor or beer licenses.

Reader response was mixed. Website and Facebook comments ranged from “Bad idea. Dumb idea.” to “I think it is a great idea.” to Kupfer’s main point of “Why is this even an issue? Plenty of other successful theaters (some in Wisconsin) already serve alcohol with nary a problem.” 

Predictably, many people assumed a movie theater offering alcohol would be immediately transformed into a den of debauchery where drunks would be free to get wasted right next to wholesome families of four. And what about the kids? Do we really need to provide minors with marginally easier access to booze and give them a place to drink it? In the dark? Nay. We mustn’t introduce impressionable minds to the concept of sneaking beers in a movie theater, which they totally don’t do right now.

The online discussion lasted for a few days until everyone had said their piece. Except me. So here’s mine.

One thing that really stuck out to me was a particular line of thinking that emerged in many of the comments. People were worried about how their theater-going experience would change. They were worried about rowdy/drunk patrons, excessive ID checking, excessive drunkenness-checking, annoying kids, and other things that would make a movie less enjoyable or downright unwatchable. Now remember, we’re talking about a small, two-screen budget theater in a city with two other major movieplexes (not to mention theaters in nearby cities). And yet, people were against the idea of the Downtown Cinema serving beer or wine based on how it might affect them personally. The solution to these “problems” is, of course, to patronize a different theater and enjoy your movies alcohol-free – the way the majority of our community would probably continue to do. It’s not like the passing of this legislation is going to instantly convert all theaters into bars. Liquor licenses ain’t cheap, people. 

But lets dig deeper. In my mind, people concerned about their movie-watching experience are approaching Micon’s idea all wrong. You can’t look at this as a “movie + beer” kind of situation. You need to look at this as an “Eau Claire + potential new experience” kind of situation. Seriously, people, it’s not about you. It’s about something new for the community. Something new where people show up on opening day expecting something different. See, people attending a movie where you can buy beer or wine do so expecting a more social atmosphere, one where a server might be stopping by mid-movie to take an order. Boom. You now have one more option for Friday night fun. Why doesn’t this occur to people?

Unfortunately, this way of thinking is one of the Chippewa Valley’s most abundant natural resources: Nothingnewtonium. A resistance to trying anything new is annoying enough when people – en masse – are unwilling to overcome their fear and uncertainty. But when those people decide to stand against changes that others might enjoy, even small ones like having a beer at a budget theater, well ... that just strikes me as selfish and unintelligent. 

So listen up, haters. I feel you. I myself have boxes and boxes of fear and uncertainty clogging up my basement. I have piles of it out back. But much like that creepy house spider crawling across the celling right now, sometimes you just need to chill out and pretend it’s not there. 

I hate to join the army of people who point to downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park as a success story flying in the face of change-haters, but, ah, look at the success of Phoenix Park. It totally flies in the face of change-haters. It’s like a great, big, gorgeous face-push to the many people who said, “Well, things like that are nice, but it doesn’t seem worth all the money blah, blah, blah.”

It was absolutely worth the money. And the effort. And I applaud the people who pushed it though. In just a few years, that park’s become the anchor for downtown Eau Claire, and it’s solely responsible for entirely new music, food, and recreation scenes. So, think about that the next time you pooh-pooh the notion of a movie theater that serves beer. Or something. You know what I mean.

All that said, I’d like to specifically address Micon Cinemas. Please find a way to serve beer at the Downtown Cinema. If for no other reason, do it for the time-honored, critically acclaimed combination of popcorn and beer. The union of these two heavenly confections must persevere. And you can be their champion.