Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
UNTIL very recently - last week to be exact - I had never been to a drive-in. In my 'cinema view', a drive-in theatre is something to be found in 'Grease' with Firebirds, hoop skirts and rumours of pregnancy.
In my own defence, let me explain. First, I did not grow up with a family that had a car. Second, since becoming an independent movie-goer, it had actually never occurred to me to make what seemed to me like a pilgrimage out to the Harbour View Drive-in (since going, I've realised it really isn't that far, especially when you use the new highway and provided you do not get lost on your way back).
Furthermore, to be honest, when I think movie, I think Carib.
However, when I boldly stated that I had never had the drive-in experience and I was looked at like the horns I had tried to mask had poked through, I decided to try it.
I cajoled a friend, whom I shall call S.M., to take me as I still don't drive and I am not about to take a bus to the drive-in. To tell the truth I was somewhat disappointed. First, although two signs boldly displayed instructions that we should tune the radio to 88.1, we were able to pick up nothing (well, I concede that we may have missed further instructions, or maybe S.M.'s radio is crazy). That not working, the car windows were wound down so that the external sound could come in. All we heard, however, was audio that sounded as if we were trying to place an order at the drive-through.
Fortunately, I was cold and so, with Einsteinian brilliance, decided to roll up the window on my side. Eureka! (I know I am mixing my scientists). The problem was solved. Some distant relation to movie quality sound was finally achieved. However, this didn't help with the picture quality.
Privacy
On the upside, the drive-in does provide some amount of privacy (no I am not referring to those purposes). For example, it is a great way to get away from those annoying people who sit directly behind you and make inane chatter during the entire movie. At the drive-in, that is only a bother if you have carried said chatter-box with you. Furthermore, you can make as many comments as you want about the movie without fear of disturbing your very uptight neighbour, who is only there because it seems like a highbrow film not that they get the point, anyway. This also means that even those children far too hopped-up on sugar can be taken to the theatre without the fear that they will be strangled. The loving tyke will only send you crazy, leaving your neighbour to sleep in peace.
The final benefit, and for some the best, is that you do not have to dress up.
Despite these positives, drive-in cinemas are becoming a thing of the past. Like huge single screen theatres, like the pre-fire Carib that made going to the movies a social event, drive-ins are closing down.
Downward trends globally
They are giving way to multiplexes. At present, only the Harbour View Drive-in (there had been a drive-in off the Washington Boulevard and a double screen cinema in New Kingston) is left in Jamaica and it is among a swiftly dwindling number worldwide.
The drive-in theatre was created by Richard M. Hollinshead in the early 1930s. It is reported that he started by using a 1928 Kodak projector and a sheet in his driveway. Drive-in.com, a website dedicated to those who love drive-ins, reports that the number of drive-ins in North America has been dras-tically reduced since the height of their popularity in the 1950s. The site reports that Connecticut now hosts only three of the cinemas, while Florida has dropped from 150 cinemas to only 11. Likewise, Canada has only 12 drive-in theatres left.
Melanie Graham, marketing manager at Palace Amusement, notes that there are still people who like to go to the Harbour View Drive-in although the number is decreasing. She states that among the enthusiasts are people who have small children and no baby-sitter; those who are coming from a hard day's work and simply want to relax, and those who simply like the seaside ambience that the Harbour View Drive-in offers.
Christopher Johnson, the Harbour View Drive-in's relief manager, points out that the cinema boasts the largest screen in the island. He also notes that it undergoes regular maintenance to counteract the corrosiveness of the salt air. He notes that the open-air theatre provides a "nice little hang-out by the sea" for some patrons.
There are also those residents of Harbour View who like to just walk over to the theatre, which caters to this as outside seating and speakers are available.
Unfortunately, the business at the theatre is less than desirable. Ms. Johnson states: "It has suffered over the years as a result of the other cinemas being upgraded. You can't possibly have the same sounds and picture quality." This reason seems to be among the leading explanations as to why some movie enthusiasts do not venture to that theatre.
Kashka Hemans says "There's only one reason to go to the drive-in, really. The quality of sound and picture is not truly conducive to watching a movie. It's really old-fashioned. Most people only go out of reminiscence".
Dave DaCosta agrees, pointing out that he does not go to the drive-in, due to the poor sound and picture quality. He explains: "If you're actually interested in watching the movie, it's not good. But otherwise..."
On the other hand, Marcia Johns (not her real name) is quite a fan of the Harbour View Drive-in. She points out that her parents used to take her there as a child, though her reasons for liking it now are quite different. "Let's just say," she says laughingly, "I went to watch The Mummy Returns and I still don't know what that movie is about. I'll have to wait for it to come on cable."
