There was a time when people on the North Shore saw movies at The Edens. A big, white building on Skokie Boulevard with a swoosh-shaped roof. Architecture of the future.
The Edens closed in 1994, so you might not remember it. No matter. Space-age design or not, such single-screen monoliths morphed into multi-screen cineplexes. Soon The Edens morphed into dust upon which Northbrook’s Village Square mall was built.
Today, theaters are morphing again. You get posh seats that remind you of first class air travel. They’re pre-assigned, and adjust so you can recline at the push of a button. They have food trays and padded armrests with drink holders. The days of popcorn and Milk Duds have been upgraded. You can have cocktails and hot meals.
You muse about how this has become the unanticipated reality of movie-going. Light years away from the experience offered at The Edens. The future is a restless place. You can’t predict where it’s gonna take you.
So you sit in your assigned seat at the cinema of today, feet up and head back. You try not to drip pizza grease onto your chest, or spill your beer.
You hope the guy behind you doesn’t sneeze again, because you can’t move to another seat. This is the space you’ve been assigned.
You can’t go somewhere else.
You think of The Edens with its visionary architecture, and smile. You can’t go there either; you can’t go back to the future. Those words strike an ironic chord because you saw a movie by that name once. And guess where you saw it?