On my drive to school every morning, I pass Lake Oswego’s Lake Theater & Cafe. For me, the theater has been a central feature of my childhood, a location I know for its memories. Years of elementary school birthday parties, showings of new films, and trivia nights with my best friends.
The first thing you may notice upon arriving at the location or even passing by it is the theater’s loud marquee, imposing and always carrying a witty message or take about a current film.
The theater recently made national headlines while showing the Amazon film, “Melania,” a movie about the private life of first lady, Melania Trump. During the theater’s showing of the film, their marquee featured a message that said “to defeat your enemy, you must know them.” The outrage over their political message extended further from Lake Oswego, but to Amazon itself, causing them to pull the movie from the theater.
Many residents praised the theater for their bold marketing while others felt alienated by the sign. Currently, the theater has a new message for passersby.
A few weeks ago, I went to see the new film, “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” While in line to order food, I heard numerous customers behind me remark about the new marquee that read, “Wouldn’t it be great if Michael Jackson hadn’t groomed boys? Come see The Devil Wears Prada 2 instead!” This message comes off the heels of the premiere of the new Michael Jackson biopic, “Michael,” a film that wasn’t playing at the Lake Theater.
During a bathroom break, I heard theater staff commenting to each other about the number of complaints received about their current marquee. Community members were angry about allegations being portrayed as factual.
I understand the outrage that people feel over the messages that the theater endorses, but when did we decide that we had to entirely agree with the opinions of others? Somewhere along the line, we forgot that the Lake Theater & Cafe’s marquee is not an official news source, but likely the opinions of its manager, Jordan Perry.
I have disagreed with the viewpoints of the theater before, but I think that it is important for them to be able to share their thoughts regardless. Beyond that, the perspectives they take are not harming anyone directly or changing your daily life in any way at all.
We should learn to embrace disagreement, making it a thoughtful conversation instead of raging at the person behind the counter making popcorn.
