I have friends who never go out to see a movie anymore. everything is within their home, they love to mention on a uber-screen and with pause and fast forward control. They also mention how they can view a movie and multi-task all they want, talking on the phone and playing on the web (usually with a tablet on their lap).
However, it is that insistence of their movie viewing nirvana is the norm and the group engagement of a movie in a theater setting, or any other gathering for that matter, is obsolete. I put it to them, their technology misses the point. The theater experience to capture the sense of performance of the artists onscreen whilst having an escape from the frenzy of life beyond the darkened doors. You enjoy the theater experience while shutting out the outside world, and there is this comfort zone of doing this physical self-exile with others, friends and strangers alike. It is this sense of community with others that I find compelling, and like the theater experience because of it.
The biggest drawback of watching a movie in your home are the distractions, and that prevents you from discerning a good story from a mediocre one. Distracted viewing in your safe environment you may miss the nuance of the subtext and the larger questions that make the story resonant for you. Instead, the viewer maybe more attracted to the aspects of action and shock elements, which can be absorbed instantly and easily forgotten in the next scene with more action and building frenzy. In turn, the viewer's attention span is shortened to the point where distractions are seen as a plus to the process.
But beyond that group experience, why is theater attendance so important? What advantage is there in sitting in a theater with a bunch strangers, connected loosely by geographic area? For storytelling in any form, it is the essence of community. It is something you do not get watching at home, although the TV rating services try to convince you otherwise. It is the sense of awe and wonder in experience with others.
The spread of the social media outlets have given rise to a new expression: faux community, and as people log on, a faux gathering. People are there, yet the internet allows a participant to disallow any safe face to face cultural practices, such as portraying who you are in your everyday life. Many will keep identity a secret. That's where the faux comes in. If you never see these personages face to face, that is problematic. There is no real civility in this online society, since it can be hidden. Only those you personally know are to be trusted.
The point of a civil society is the public gathering of friends family and people we meet face to face. All other options are second rate. So, the physical experience of being out in public in the social and group settings will always be our sense of community.
We can use the social media to gather ideas, spread of message of goodwill to one another, or propagate hate and suspicion; meeting face to face will confirm or challenge those assumptions that the media only provides a short glimpse.
Theater is not dead, it has and will always evolve. People need one another. We are not islands with only an internet connection.