When I think of
movie theaters, I think of popcorn, oversized soft drinks, and red velvet
chairs. However, I knew my latest
movie-going experience would be slightly different. The Movie Tavern franchise prides itself on
being an elite, luxurious movie-going experience that just about anyone can afford. Regardless, the fact that they depict several
patrons in suits in some their advertisements was enough to make me wear a polo
shirt and khaki pants when I went to this theater to see Jurassic Park 3D, just to be on the safe side. This move turned out to be somewhat, though
not blatantly, unnecessary. Located on the corner of Currie and Crockett
streets just south of West 7th Street, the Movie Tavern Fort Worth utilizes
various appeals to pathos, logos, and ethos to draw in patrons of all
backgrounds. Most of these efforts prove
successful, and I can only imagine what the place is like on a Saturday night
during prime film season. But on the
other hand, there were a handful of things about my experience that make me
wonder if the Movie Tavern franchise is a bit too ritzy for my liking.
Approaching the
theater, one cannot help but notice the big, bold message adorning the façade
with the company slogan, “Movies Never Tasted So Good!” That is a clear indication that this chain of
theaters puts special emphasis on the food they serve and that it must get
relatively good reviews. The food is an
example of both pathos and logos being used to draw in audience members. They say that the path to a man’s heart is
through his stomach, and sure enough, as I made my way up the escalators to the
main level of the theater, I found myself surrounded by large images of what
appeared to be very high-end cuisine. This
is an example of an appeal to pathos, and an extremely effective one at that,
because a theater patron arriving in primetime would probably immediately feel
pangs of hunger and a desire to try one of the depicted dishes in particular. Now, I was not interested in spending extra
money halfway between lunch and dinner, but I did look over the menu and I
noticed several things. Highly
emphasized were mixed drinks and desserts, and prices seemed to correspond with
who would be interested in buying the item.
The average mixed drink cost about $7.00-$8.00, indicating that these
menu items were intended to be purchased by those with money to spare. Dessert
prices were much more reasonable, costing about $4.50-$5.25 each. It appears that these items are more for the
middle class couple on a date night or the average family trying to keep two
children happy. This is an appeal to
logos because those who come in probably will come to realize that this is not a
theater appealing to a niche market, but one whose aim is to incorporate the
best of both worlds. As far as appeals
to emotion and logic are concerned, the marketing strategies utilized to sell
food appear to be a success at Movie Tavern Fort Worth.
The atmosphere that
the franchise’s ownership group is looking to portray has a lot to do with the
appeals to ethos and logos. Again, the
idea is to make the place appear quite ritzy without going over the top and
making the average citizen like me feel out of place. In some ways the effort is successful, but in
other ways it is not. I could not enter
my respective theater until thirty minutes before the movie began. That gave me time to sit just outside the bar
and analyze the implications of the lobby’s various traits. I remember thinking to myself that the
company slogan leaves something to be desired; as though the assumption is that
the food is really all that matters.
This is an example of a negative ethos being reflected on the
company. Another aspect of the layout of
this particular theater might also have resulted in a minor flaw in the good
ethos of the franchise. The atmosphere
of this place was very modern, indicative of the fact that this was a rather
new building in a recently redeveloped part of downtown Fort Worth. That is a good thing, but places we go to
spend an enjoyable evening at require something else. In my eyes, the place lacked some aspect of
the “character” that we seek in public places.
The experience is about more than just sitting, eating, and watching,
and I think that it is diminished in an atmosphere of dull colors and large
windows making everything very bright (movies are meant to be shown where it at
least feels like it’s dark outside). I understand how opinionated this is, but there probably is no one proper interpretation of the character of a movie theater, just like there is not always a proper interpretation of a movie as Louis D. Giannetti claims in Chapter 10 of Understanding Movies (Giannetti, 403). On
the other hand, I think that I found something very positive while examining
the lobby as well. I think that the
movies being shown have a lot to do with the impression that the theater leaves
on its patrons, so it would be important for this establishment to show both
the latest movies and a wide variety of movies.
Both of these traits are established through the use of a series of
standees and movie posters. The fact that there is something for everyone at
this theater is evident in a prominently displayed appeal to logos through an
advertising standee for this summer’s children’s film Monsters University. I
deduced from this that the aim of displaying this in a very visible spot is to
show that this theater is for children as well despite the wine glasses and other
fixtures reserved for adults. In the chapter on logos in Everything's an Argument, Andrea Lunsford mentions two types of hard evidence used in logical arguments. This standee would fall under the category of artistic proofs (as opposed to unartistic proofs) because it is put up by the theater and appeals to reason and common sense by forming an enthymeme in the mind of the viewer (Lunsford 56). That is: it's a standee for a children's movie + it is placed in a movie theater = this is not just a theater for adults. Another
thing that caught my eye was a trio of movie posters that reminded me of a
Movie Tavern promotional that I had heard recently in which the franchise
advertised “the latest movies” alongside “great food”. The three posters advertising what might be
this year’s most anticipated film: Catching
Fire. This provided a slight boost
for the ethos of the place, as advertising a hit film half a year before its
release is a pretty solid indicator that this is a first-run theater that will
be very much alive at midnight on a certain date. So while this overall structure might lack
the “character” that I so often look for, a series of appeals at least
partially makes up for any lapses in ethos that I observed while in the
lobby. No respect from me was lost at
this point in my movie-going experience.
The arrangement of
the seats inside a movie theater can be linked to different appeals in
different instances. In this case, the seats
in the theater are designed to enhance the experience by not being your typical
“stadium seat,” and I must admit, the chairs were quite unlike any others I’ve
sat in at various movie theaters.
Whether or not they were exceptionally comfortable is subject to
interpretation, but I don’t think it makes a huge difference as to the general
impact of such a seating arrangement.
What does matter, for one thing, is that this is not a come early, get
the good seats kind of theater. Rather,
one receives a designated seat number on his or her ticket. Since it was the mid-afternoon, attendance
was not good for that showing of Jurassic
Park 3D, so I was placed in the best row available: about halfway up the
theater from the screen and in the middle of the row with a walkway just in
front of it. It was an ideal location for
both the patron and the waiter who came by shortly before the film previews got
under way. The red button on your tray
table used to call for service gives you a sense of power and control, making
this an appeal to pathos and a relatively successful one. For example, you don’t need to get up to go
for popcorn; the popcorn will come to you.
That is the glory of the Movie Tavern experience. At least, that’s what the franchise owners
want you to believe. For me, however,
the idea of being waited on in my seat was an experience that did not live up
to expectations. Maybe things would have
been different if it had been dinner time and I had ordered one of the
specialty dishes, but alas I noticed three minor yet evident shortfalls. All of these things have to do with appeals
to ethos and all are linked to the serving of food inside the theater. First of all, I don’t think the theater ever
got as dark as an ordinary theater would, probably due to the need for waiters
to move around and audience members to see their food. Regardless of whether or not my eyes were
mistaken in this, there were several points during the film in which a waiter
passed in front of us, which I naturally thought was poor for a theater of this
prestige. Lastly, I am not sure whether
the start of the movie was delayed or not to accommodate the wait staff (I was
not wearing a watch), but if it was, then one must consider rethinking the
process of the operation. All these
shortfalls, though minor, have a major impact on the ethos of that particular
theater and the franchise in the minds of specific patrons. In my book, all this, combined with the lack
of character to the structure of this theater, will drop this place’s rating
from three tickets to two.
The concept of the
Movie Tavern franchise is one that has a lot of promise, but one that definitely
takes some getting used to. I would not
be opposed to going back to the corner of Currie and Crockett streets to try
some of the food while watching one of the latest movies. The experience probably would leave me with a
different initial feel for the place, but I also can safely assume that it
would not leave me too much happier than the traditional theaters that I am
used to attending back home in the upper Midwest. You can call me a harsh critic if you want,
but, all things considered as far as ethos, pathos, and logos are concerned,
Movie Tavern Fort Worth receives two tickets from me.
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