The closure of MBO Cinemas caught people flat-footed on Saturday. Despite announcing an end-of-June deadline, the nation's third-largest cinema chain didn't elaborate on this sudden cessation, other than citing "unforeseen technical issues".
There was a finality to MBO's announcement, that there was no chance of another re-opening after they consolidated operations. "This journey has been incredible and we owe it all to you, our amazing loyal customers," MBO said, perhaps signalling the beginning of an end to Malaysian cinema's glorious run, launched by the Coliseum Theatre in 1928.
Massive investments in cinema modernisation installed visual and aural enrichments, luxurious seats, and sumptuous buffets to show Hollywood and global blockbusters and art films. This closure recalled Queen's 1984 hit "Radio Ga Ga" for meaning.
The song lamented the nostalgic subversion of radio during that epoch's disruptive technological sensation: MTV. It haunts then as it haunts now: "I'd sit alone and watch your light, my only friend through teenage nights, and everything I had to know, I (saw) it on my (cinema). You had your time, you had the power, you've yet to have your finest hour. (Cinema), what's new? (Cinema) someone still loves you."
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury polished drummer Roger Taylor's composition into a wistful prescience, not just about music, but also cinema's future mediums. We recall that an excursion to the town's cinema was the week's highlight when the 65 sen to RM3 tickets tantalised us with trailers and commercials.
MBO's closure demonstrated a paradox in the way cinema chains battled for survival. First came the VCR onslaught, followed by piracy. But cinema slogged on. Then came DVD and Blu-ray. Ironically, DVD and Blu-Ray were killed by their streaming cousins, made worse by pirated movies distributed in plastic discs.
However, cinema stood its ground, subsisting on popular films and a firm belief that movie-goers were dedicated to the cinematic experience. Alas, movie houses are finally capitulating: streaming may have finally broken the camel's back.
In between crises, cinema was oppressed by decades of trigger-happy censorship and bans that strangled the industry in slow motion. The twist? More than ever, viewers are devouring uncensored movies and TV shows, and film censors can't do anything about it.