Why do we eat popcorn at movies?
Let’s discover the origins of the relationship between popcorn and movies, which helped Cinema to survive its most challenging time.
Make yourself comfortable, get something to drink and, before to start to read this post, make some popcorn to enjoy your reading. Did you never hear that people eat popcorn while reading? Well, you are right. Usually, we do in front of a movie. But for which reason popcorn and films have been best friends since so long? I’m going to reveal to you why, and it’s a “tasty” story.
WHY WE LIKE TO EAT WHILE WATCHING SOMETHING
You had a long day, busy, working, tired at the point that when you arrived at home, you seat on your sofa and start to eat something watching tv. It’s the time when the brain begins to relax, and it focuses entirely on everything which is presented on the screen. And you can eat more than usual because your mind is now distracted by other stories, images, sounds that let you get free from your stress. It sounds therapeutic, isn’t it? Well, it is if we can avoid “junky” food, control the quantity we eat and avoid sugary drinks.
1927, MOVIES STARTED TO TALK
But the point is that images on a screen make us relax, enjoy another story, and while we take our favourite food doing this, we make it even better for ourselves. Food and entertainment are the best combinations since a long time, but it’s on 1927, the year when Cinema started to become more popular because of its first “talkie” movie: “The Jazz Singer”, made by Warner Bros using their new Vitaphone technology. After almost 30 years of experiments to bring the voice into the scene, the Vitaphone technology was able to sync the video and the sounds. For the first time, the public can hear not only the ambient noises and music but also the voice of the protagonists. And Hollywood brought the songs into the Cinema and the first sentence, which was: “Hello mum”. The dialogues changed the Cinema’s business, making it more attractive not only for the well-educated and wealthy people, who were watching the mute movies but to everyone else. Why? The first silent movies relied on the text on the screen to communicate and explain scenes to the viewers, and it was something that only schooled people can understand. “Talkie” movies changed forever this industry, making it one of the most popular in the world.
YES, BUT WHY CORN AND CINEMA
Popcorns are older than Cinema. Archaeologists found evidence of popcorn dated around 3600 BC. A long journey that brought this popular snack till 1890, the year when Charles Cretors invented the popcorn maker. A street cart machine, which can quickly produce enough quantity of fresh popcorn to be sold to anyone on his way. During the difficult years of the Great Depression, popcorns remain one of the most popular snacks, sold for a low price of 5–10 cents a bag. It remained one of the businesses which didn’t fail during the Great Depression. Looking carefully at the time, it coincides with the introduction of the dialogues in the cinema industry, the ages when the Cinema became so popular. Popcorn was the snack of choice at sporting events, fairs and while strolling along the street, not only an exclusive of Cinema, but I’ll tell you in a bit why they are so connected with movies.
A funny fact is that Cinema’s owner didn’t want popcorn inside their movie theatre in the first instance because, remember, it was a place for well-educated people, used to the mute movies more than the chewing sounds of people eating popcorn. And also, because they had to clean the Cinema from all the remaining left by the public.
CINEMA’S OWNERS CHANGED THE BUSINESS
But business is business, and when they noticed that people queuing outside of the theatre were buying a huge quantity of popcorn, on a first instance, they rent a part of the Cinema to the popcorn’s sellers. But, as you can imagine, it didn’t take too long for the owners to understand that with a small investment on producing popcorn, they could make a huge profit selling the popular snack directly to their customers. And this is how business changes in the name of profit, from something, considered previously not good, to a must have in their movie’s theatre. It was a way to keep the cinemas opened and resist the colossal impact that the Great Depression had on the economy. To survive, sometimes, you need to give people what they want and, fortunately for all of us, the film industry survived and very well.
To make this connection more reliable, another critical event had an incredible impact: World War II. Sugar was sent overseas for the military, to make delicious snacks for them, to try to help the spirit of the soldiers. The side effect was that there were fewer resources to produce candies and soda in the U.S., while salt and kernel were always available. And for this reason, people consumed even more popcorn then before.
Is it something new to eat snacks while watching events?
Not really. Romans, for instance, had their goodies: dates, dried figs and whine. During the 17th century, Shakespeare time, the Globe theatre, for example, could take up to 3000 people for their most famous plays. The cost of the tickets was cheap and accessible, just 6 pence, while 1 cent was necessary to buy a loaf of bread. God thanks, the theatre was trendy and very organised as a business place. A lot of spectators were very close to the stage. People could buy food and drink during the show, such as nuts (pre-popcorn snack), gingerbread, oranges and ale. It sounds terrific, well if we don’t mention that there were no toilets and people were complaining about the smell. It was a popular dimension, the wealthy people got their seat undercover, a bit far from the large number of the “normal” people. As we are walking through the theatre, let me mention another exciting curiosity. Do you know why we buy tickets at the box office? Because people need to put their money in a box to pay their passes. And this is why today we have our Box Office. Interesting, isn’t it?
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDE
We know that love is also a chemical combination, and in this long relationship between popcorn and Cinema, dopamine plays an exciting role. If you are not familiar with this hormone synthesised in our brain, it works as a neurotransmitter to send signals to other nerve cells. But why this is important? Because it plays an essential part in the way how we feel pleasure, and in our ability to think and plan. And the pleasant smell of food can make it release dopamine in our body, increasing the level of relaxation and happiness. Two essential keys which let us enjoy the movie and focus on it. Simply because you will feel better while smelling something which brings you lovely memories.
CONCLUSION
From now on, when a new desire will “pop up” (sorry I couldn’t’ resist) in your mind to watch a movie, you will know what to do to make the best of this experience. Ok yes, you can eat your popcorn as you like, but I’m referring to the most important thing, to relax and be focused on your story, because it will make you happier but, and this is the magic of a movie, it will help you to become a better person. To evolve as we are part of the human being and we need to keep always doing it. Then let’s add your secret ingredient to make it even better and tasty. It’s your life, create your own masterpiece.
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