Navied Mahdavian

But watching it that night, in that town, in that theater, the screen framed by the silhouettes of cowboy hats, watching John Wayne physically drag and shove Maureen O'Hara the five miles back from the train station, it felt different. And I'm a fan of John Ford, and I actually love John Wayne, and it is just a movie.

But it has this idealized past that masks misogyny, deeply conservative values, and it felt just like the town itself. And they came, and they laughed, and they saw themselves reflected back. But I didn't. Even after showing John Wayne in Star Wars and other fan favorites, things didn't really improve for the theater.

But it has this idealized past that masks misogyny, deeply conservative values, and it felt just like the town itself. And they came, and they laughed, and they saw themselves reflected back. But I didn't. Even after showing John Wayne in Star Wars and other fan favorites, things didn't really improve for the theater.

But it has this idealized past that masks misogyny, deeply conservative values, and it felt just like the town itself. And they came, and they laughed, and they saw themselves reflected back. But I didn't. Even after showing John Wayne in Star Wars and other fan favorites, things didn't really improve for the theater.

And a lot of my conversations with Emily at the time turned to the question of, should we even be doing something that nobody wants? And it didn't help that the theater was impossible in the winter to keep warm. And I joke that we can maybe buy our one customer one big coat.

And a lot of my conversations with Emily at the time turned to the question of, should we even be doing something that nobody wants? And it didn't help that the theater was impossible in the winter to keep warm. And I joke that we can maybe buy our one customer one big coat.

And a lot of my conversations with Emily at the time turned to the question of, should we even be doing something that nobody wants? And it didn't help that the theater was impossible in the winter to keep warm. And I joke that we can maybe buy our one customer one big coat.

And so most nights I spent by myself in the theater drawing cartoons bundled up in my big coat, the sound from the movie playing to an empty auditorium. And on one of these lonely nights, this older cowboy walks in, someone we had affectionately nicknamed Racist Dave.

And so most nights I spent by myself in the theater drawing cartoons bundled up in my big coat, the sound from the movie playing to an empty auditorium. And on one of these lonely nights, this older cowboy walks in, someone we had affectionately nicknamed Racist Dave.

And so most nights I spent by myself in the theater drawing cartoons bundled up in my big coat, the sound from the movie playing to an empty auditorium. And on one of these lonely nights, this older cowboy walks in, someone we had affectionately nicknamed Racist Dave.

Racist Dave walks in and he asks for his nightly popcorn, and as I'm buttering his popcorn, he sits down and he told me a little bit about the history of the place that I didn't know. For example, underneath the movie theater had once been a gambling hall, and across the street above the bar had been a brothel until like the 1960s. Again, cowboy country.

Racist Dave walks in and he asks for his nightly popcorn, and as I'm buttering his popcorn, he sits down and he told me a little bit about the history of the place that I didn't know. For example, underneath the movie theater had once been a gambling hall, and across the street above the bar had been a brothel until like the 1960s. Again, cowboy country.

Racist Dave walks in and he asks for his nightly popcorn, and as I'm buttering his popcorn, he sits down and he told me a little bit about the history of the place that I didn't know. For example, underneath the movie theater had once been a gambling hall, and across the street above the bar had been a brothel until like the 1960s. Again, cowboy country.

And as I hand Racist Dave back his popcorn, he says almost to himself, "'Lots of history in this place.'" And that word stayed with me, history. It was easy to feel nostalgic in the theater, right? The art deco marquee outside, it evoked simpler times. And I wondered, maybe that's what brought Emily and me there in the first place, this sense of nostalgia, this desire for something simpler.

And as I hand Racist Dave back his popcorn, he says almost to himself, "'Lots of history in this place.'" And that word stayed with me, history. It was easy to feel nostalgic in the theater, right? The art deco marquee outside, it evoked simpler times. And I wondered, maybe that's what brought Emily and me there in the first place, this sense of nostalgia, this desire for something simpler.

And as I hand Racist Dave back his popcorn, he says almost to himself, "'Lots of history in this place.'" And that word stayed with me, history. It was easy to feel nostalgic in the theater, right? The art deco marquee outside, it evoked simpler times. And I wondered, maybe that's what brought Emily and me there in the first place, this sense of nostalgia, this desire for something simpler.

And it also occurred to me that maybe racist Dave and I had more in common than I had previously thought, apart from the casual racism. But I now know that nothing is ever that simple. In 2019, our daughter Eliko was born, and Emily and I made the tough decision to leave our small town and move back to the big city.

And it also occurred to me that maybe racist Dave and I had more in common than I had previously thought, apart from the casual racism. But I now know that nothing is ever that simple. In 2019, our daughter Eliko was born, and Emily and I made the tough decision to leave our small town and move back to the big city.

And it also occurred to me that maybe racist Dave and I had more in common than I had previously thought, apart from the casual racism. But I now know that nothing is ever that simple. In 2019, our daughter Eliko was born, and Emily and I made the tough decision to leave our small town and move back to the big city.

As much as we had tried to become members of the community, sometimes something just isn't a fit, like a vegetarian joining a local hunting club, which I also have a funny story about. On our last trips into town, Emily continued to linger outside of the theater, but the theater felt different. It felt smaller now.