You could have counted us on two hands, I noticed, as we
waited for the film to begin. It wasn’t until after we left the theater, in the
wee hours of a spring morning four years ago, that I realized we were the last
audience for the Petaluma Pacific Cinemas, the last people to see a film on a
hometown big screen for what could be a long while. In the following years we
would see many things – political football over the location of a new theater,
the blossoming of community cinema, and a new shopping center where the theater
once stood – but we would not see the latest blockbuster, documentary or art
film in thirty-five millimeters without leaving town.
It was especially poignant that the final film to light the
local screen was Chocolat. Chocolat
tells the story of a 1950s French village transformed by a woman, Vianne (Juliet Binoche), who uses
her confections as a catalyst for personal transformation. While the film took friendly
poke at the pathological aspects of conservative Catholicism (a topic that,
thanks to the election Pope Benedict XIV, I may cover in a future column), I
found its greatest strength in the story of community.
What does it take to bring a community together, to make it
come alive, to make it a healthy and happy place? In Chocolat,
it is one woman’s passion for life, and her desire to share that passion and face
down adversity with smiling determination. In the end, it’s the willingness of *everyone*
in the village to think different, to shake loose of their old skins.
Ultimately, even Vianne must say no to her self-imposed
destiny, to the restless wind, and put down roots in this, her latest adopted
town (a task softened considerably by the cooperation of Johnny Depp’s character, a gypsy riverboat musician who also
decides to make this place his home.)
What makes a community worth settling down in? You could argue
that it’s good jobs or affordable housing, but those aren’t about *worth*;
they’re about capability. Jobs and housing are critical, but they are more
about *survival* than living (if you want jobs and cheaper housing, move to a
Dallas suburb.) Is it shopping opportunities or smooth streets? Desirable
goals, but not things to recall when you are on your death bed.
Is it multiplex cinemas with stadium seating? Well, I am
delighted about the creation of Boulevard Cinemas and the downtown theater
district. I’ll be there on opening night (next Thursday, Bike to Work Day) to
park my bike in valet parking and get my complimentary popcorn (see cinemawest.com/pta.html
for details.) But what I find even more delightful is the community’s response
to the closing of the old theater.
The Friday Night Film Series at the Petaluma Coffee Café became
a grass-roots alternative venue, and continues to this day (see sustainablepetaluma.net/filmseries.html.)
The Superb Seven showed us how pre-voters can have a major and positive influence
on the political process. Local developer Basin Street put up the money to make
the Seven’s desired downtown theater a reality . Meanwhile, a pair of Petaluma
“moms” started “Movies in the Park” (petalumamovies.com), bringing the joy of
outdoor film-going without the pavement of a drive-in.
What makes community? It’s the *people*. It’s about Petalumans, and the quality of our interactions. Building
community is about creating the places and reasons for people to gather and
interact, to share common interests. It’s a theater lobby, or the nearby
street corner, coffee shop or deli. It’s a community garden or a creekside trail. It’s a ballfield
or a mountaintop park.
Above all, building community is about nurturing an
attitude that allows and encourages people to take care of each other, to
put the needs of others ahead of their own, give so that they may receive. To
be the good egg.
Here, have a chocolate. And some popcorn.
[Pullquote: building community
is about nurturing an attitude that allows and encourages people to take care
of each other.]