Make Chicken Jockey, not War - R30 Issue #22

Ever since the Chicken Jockey hype, I’ve been thinking how events like this can save cinema, and society as a whole. Also bring back porn theatres.

People no longer have any communal events, people don’t go to church and what else is there in modern life for a communal gathering? I guess you could sit in Cafés… and what? Stare at your neighbor eating a cake? How many people strike up conversations with strangers while eating out? Plus, who still goes to Cafés? Who has the money? Economic hardship means less public life, since all of that stuff is tied to spending and consuming. But then there’s Chicken Jockey. Yeah you need to buy a ticket to enter the theatre - but you also gain access to a unique community building exercise. Trash the theatre, throw food, fight with other theatre-goers - this is like an ancient ritual to welcome the harvest season. Or the arrival of spring. Something special. Yeah, the place gets destroyed. But maybe that’s also the magic.

Instead of prohibiting orgiastic celebrations, cinema-owners should just jack up the prices for popcorn, and replace the seats with plastic lawnchairs. Maybe cover them with sheets in case juices get thrown around. Which brings me to porn theatres. Once upon a time men gathered in dark rooms to collectively stare at a screen and masturbate. But no longer. No longer shooting rope at 70s bush. What if we bring it back? Male loneliness and suicide rates are increasing, but maybe the key lies in reframing the activities of the lonely (masturbation) as something that can be done in a group. Where is the post-masturbation depression when you can turn to your left, and look into a smiling face of a guy who also just came? Two men, their hand wrapped around their dick, sharing a special moment. Food for thought.

But seriously, society has to realise the benefits of being part of a crowd. Don’t hype up the house in the suburbs, hype up living in the city surrounded by people. It’s like our goal in society is to be rich enough so as not to be part of it. Rich enough to make our own rules, employ our own security, create our own educational institutions (as Elon Musk and a couple of his buddies did). But how can we re-discover methods of experiencing community, when they’re not tied to consumption? Like, who is going to push this. When there’s no financial incentive tied to communal strategies, will they ever have a chance to succeed? I don’t know.

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