Food at the Cinema

A “food event” I’d like to draw attention to is actually something that does not necessarily involve food in the foreground. It is attending the cinema. I used to work as a concessionist at a movie theatre, so I knew that the concessions stand is the locus of profit for movie theatres, not the ticketing booth. Obviously, this makes the interactions between vender and consumer at the concessions stand heavily profit-driven, and it’s very evocative of our capitalistic culture. For example, my managers would always tell me along with my co-workers that we always had to up-sell, which made it very annoying for me and the customer. I always had to hit them with a “would you like to make that popcorn a large for 50 cents more?” or if they already had a large, it was a “would you like to add some candy with that?” I always found this to be very problematic because of how we were essentially pushing people to waste; it reminds me of how our society pushes us to participate in this act of wasting just so that companies can obtain profit. It’s like: “Who cares if you’ll finish it? You’ll at least be free to choose with the option of eating more popcorn or then stopping without the worry of running out of it!”

This brings me to the kind of culture we live in—very American—in which we have on our menus “bottomless” or “free refill” options, feeding into (pun half-intended) our culture of gluttony and waste. This is strikingly different from countries in Europe, for example, in which there are practically no restaurants you can go to that offer free refills. And the disparity in portion sizes is alarming as well. Customers would constantly say, “that’s a small?!” because of how large the “smalls” actually were, which is also very suggestive of a society that has produced obesity. And whereas Americans are accustomed to taking home leftovers whenever they realized they ordered too much, other countries compel people to make wiser and more moderate eating choices with not only the smaller portions they have but also with the lack of accommodation for any leftovers—there are no “to go boxes.”  In addition to this, there is the points system we had at my movie theatre, which also drove customers to purchase more because it made them want to accumulate more points to get something for free. This is very much capitalistic—this kind of points system culture or BOGO culture that endeavors to give incentives for purchasing more than what is actually necessary for the customer. But that’s America and capitalism for you… you only feel as though you have enough if you have more than enough.

            But the site of all gluttony and waste became barefaced when I’d go clean the theatres… all the popcorn and candy leftover and not even taken home…all the spilled and dropped snacks with no care for the waste or mess. Sometimes, what people left looked practically untouched. It was shocking, and my co-workers and I would always remark how wasteful and gluttonous people were at times.

            This all reminds me of Goodwin’s notions on the creation of need. The upsizing I was told to do at the theatre, for example, in which I’d be told to offer customers a larger size for just a few cents more made it seem as though they’d be crazy for not taking up such an offer; it, in a way, produces this need in the customer to purchase the larger size so that they wouldn’t be “unwise consumers.” Continuing the idea of need, in this case, there was also the need for surplus in which our society makes us feel as though we’re only “prepared” food-wise if we have more than is necessary. Moreover, the interesting thing about this food event is that it highlights how people don’t go to the theatre just to watch a movie—it is an event, so the way our society has set it up is that you feel empty-handed if you go to the movies without any food for accompaniment. I partake in this act though; I do need to have and enjoy having my popcorn, snuck-in candy, water, and any miscellaneous treats for when I see a movie.