The Town That Dreaded Sundown

The city in which I live has always been an odd one. From its assortment of oddball restaurants to its complete lack of ethnic diversity (the US Census claims Janesville is 95% white, making it the whitest city in Wisconsin) to its right-leaning brand of liberalism, Janesville has always been slightly off the norm. And now I've found something else wrong with this town.

I have a regular Sunday night routine for years: The Girl goes to bed, and I go see the late movie. I've been doing this on a near-weekly basis for as long as I've lived here. Until now.

This Sunday, I went to the theatre to see The Brave One. (I've seen the last two Jodie Foster movies theatrically, so why not this one?) So, I show up at the theatre about 10 minutes before show time, and the place is locked up tight. After attempting to open all six doors, I noticed a sign on the door that read, "Box office hours, Sunday-Thursday: 11:45am-8:00pm." It was 9:20pm, meaning that the theatre was closed. I drove across town to the other theatre and it was closed, too. When I got home, I looked up the showtimes, which I assumed would be the same as when I looked them up the day before. But, as it turns out, both theatres in town have canceled their post-9:00pm shows, Sun-Thurs, until further notice. This has never happened before.

Now, I can understand the rationale. Most theatres will cut back on the number of shows during the fall and winter months, as school has started and fewer people go to the movies. But what those theatres do is cut the early shows, when people are actually in school or at work. Not Janesville. They keep their 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, and 7:00 shows and cut out that last one. Even the theatre in Johnson Creek, where no one actually lives (but they have an outlet mall, so they might as well have a theatre), has that last show.

Basically, what the theatres here have done is cut out a showing that people might actually go to, and keep two showings that no one will go to. Absolutely brilliant. But then, this is Janesville, where white is black and up is down and the most fucked up things are completely normal.

I think I need to find a new place to live.