One of my favorite Hopkins experiences spawned outside campus confines. Inside The Charles Theatre, I was seated for a revival screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick’s unsettling sci-fi film moves unexpectedly through its depiction of space and humanity, but I had seen it before. I knew what to expect. I had been to this theatre before to watch old and new films in this exact auditorium, and I would keep to myself until the end of its runtime. But at this instance, Natalie Wang, an English and Film major from the Class of 2026, sat in the same row as me. She recognized me from the one class we shared, and we initially made fine but mundane conversation.
As a foundation for our conversation, I had a background knowledge of film, including the one we were about to see. But what moved our discussion beyond basic pleasantries was the theatre we were in. I half-jokingly stated that if I was not at Hopkins I was here, and she replied similarly. We bonded over the movies we saw in this theatre, and she explained that some of her film classes hosted screenings here too. She would invite me to some of those screenings, and we would go to several more movies together in between the coursework we got through.
The movie theatre gives more than spontaneous friendships. Like new relationships, movies convey an experience outside yourself. There’s a bit of escapism in seeing someone else live a life, and a bit of voyeurism seeing someone else’s suffering. It’s honestly a crude experience when you dissect it. But when you watch a movie at home, you’re prone to distractions, and then you’re no longer looking at the picture at all. Or the picture is wrong; the image is distorted on your phone, laptop or dorm-compliant-too-small television. The stripped viewing experience brings none of the satisfaction that a theatrical screening does.
The Charles, Baltimore’s oldest theatre from 1939, has massively enriched my life with its screenings. Whenever I’m feeling too stressed from Hopkins, I take the JHMI shuttle to the Penn Station stop and take a five-minute walk to The Charles. Located in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, The Charles can’t be missed; it’s a beautiful Beaux-Arts building designed as a streetcar.
The theater’s offerings are vast and affordable. Prices are tax-free and, with a student ID, tickets are $12. The Charles shows a variety of independent and foreign films along with major studio prestige pictures. Its revival series, where the theatre presents repository films, is how I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Through its revival series, I’ve seen works by David Cronenberg, Alfred Hitchcock, and David Lynch on the big screen. At home, you can rewatch an old movie endlessly, but seeing it in the cinema is incomparable. I’ve enjoyed seeing new, small releases in the theatre too. I’ve cherished the accompanying experiences in doing so, such as talking to an older Hungarian woman about Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron and how “it certainly wasn’t an American movie.” Talking with others about a movie has always provided humor or insight or both. The solitary viewing experience at home feels lackluster in comparison.
The theatrical experience, simultaneously individual and social and grounding and dream-like, is the best at independent theaters where the goal is showing great films. While you’re a student, visit The Charles, and maybe you’ll see something new, talk to a stranger or get some reprieve from your life for a bit.
River Phan is a junior majoring in English from Silver Spring, Md. and is an Arts & Entertainment Editor for The News-Letter.
