Journalist
In pre-pandemic era Ireland, the mention of a drive-in movie would have conjured up images of 1950's suburban America for the majority of people, and while several drive-in movie theatres already existed across the country, the pandemic really gave them their time to shine.
This considerable rise in popularity can be contributed to the fact that while public health guidelines closed down cinemas, museums, galleries and other cultural institutions, drive-in movies provide the public with a collective form of entertainment in a way that enforces social distancing, keeping people safe within the protective steel bubble of their car.
The drive-in movie experience also provides an opportunity to rewatch older films that haven’t been circulated on the big screen in quite some time, primarily due to the fact that they aren’t showing the latest blockbusters, but instead screening many timeless classics.