Childhood memories: Getting dropped off at the cinema on Saturday afternoons

It would be years before I would ask my mother about this but I kind of got amused when I would find out that my suspicions were true about this once or twice monthly event would happen for me and my siblings. On Saturdays my mother or father would drop all the kids off at the local mall for us to go to a matinee screening of a film that was largely left up to us although we were restricted by the rating sytem.

I was extremely young when this was going on so I don't exactly remember a great deal of any of it, but what I do remember is that I really looked forward to it.

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We saw a lot of movies but the 3 that stand out in my mind were The Goonies, The 3 Amigos, and Ghostbusters. I recall that Ghostbusters gave me nightmares though and I found out an interesting bit of trivia about that movie and the "PG" rating that it received. Although a bit spooky and I would say too spooky for little kids my age and especially my younger brother at the time, Ghostbusters got a PG rating because it wasn't until later in the year that this film was released that the PG-13 rating system was introduced.

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I would end up being afraid of the library "shhhh" ghost for quite some time after that and I am sure this lead to some nightmares for me.

We were a frugal family and my parents were well aware of the fact that while entrance to the actual films in the early to mid 80's was around $1, the snacks were extortionately priced at the concessions stand. We wanted candy like the rest of the kids so whether it was summer or winter, my mom would always put a coat on one of us and take us to the Osco drug store which was located in the same parking lot as the theater. Whoever was wearing the coat became the mule for our sodas and candy. My mom strategically forced us to not develop a penchant for theater popcorn and I guess we were young enough that the ticket takers were not going to harass us for smuggling in some M&Ms and Sweet Tarts.

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Jujyfruits were a family favorite as well and I wonder if kids still love this as much as me and my siblings did.

I suppose it was a different time because my family didn't view letting us go unattended to a theater to be even remotely dangerous and we would wait out on the street for my mom or dad to pick us up after the film was over. I guess the world was just a safer place back then because this was well before the mass adoption of mobile phones. In fact, the very idea that anyone would have a phone in their pockets was the things of sci-fi movies at that point in time.

I would later ask my mother about these outings and she would reveal that it was more so for her and my dad than it was for us kids. They would get us the hell out of the house for a couple of hours of peace on a Saturday, and for them this was well worth the $7 or so that it cost for all of us to go and enjoy a film.

It makes me feel old to think that what was once the total price for 4 people including candy is now far less than the price of a single ticket for entry. It wasn't that long ago, just the 80's.

These days I rarely go to the cinema at all. It just isn't really necessary. But I will always have very fond memories of the days that I did go and my siblings do as well.

Was this something that you and your family ever did?