The Movie Cathedral | 10-06-25

Lionel describes a “subversive” experience: attending a packed, shoulder-to-shoulder 50th-anniversary screening of the documentary Grey Gardens at the legendary Paris Theater in New York City. He contrasts this powerful, communal event with the isolation of “binge streaming” and “digital dopamine drips”. Lionel argues that the movie theater was once the “cathedral of American culture”, an experience lost when “scrolling Tik Tok” or watching Netflix. Callers join the conversation to discuss the pivotal films—such as The Godfather, Network, and Jaws—that were “integral to your development” and “changed the way you thought”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices