First Look at The Moviegoer

"Our neighborhood theater in Gentilly has permanent lettering on the front of the marquee reading: Where Happiness Costs So Little. The fact is I am quite happy in a movie, even a bad movie. Other people, so I have read, treasure memorable moments in their lives" (7). This introduction to protagonist Binx Bolling provides a glimpse into who this protagonist is. We see that he finds happiness in going to the movies, whereas others might find happiness in interactions with others, in special life occasions, and memories made. This passion for the movies is observed throughout the beginning of The Moviegoer as he relates his life experiences to the movies he has seen and thinks about and even interacts with actors. We might see this as a form of escape from his life, as a way to cope with an unhappy life. Yet I do not believe this to be true. Bolling seems quite content with his very average life, saying that "there is much to be said for giving up such grand ambitions and living the most ordinary life imaginable... it is not a bad life at all" (9). Normally upon reading about such a character in literature or seeing such a character in a movie, I would presume a habitual activity such as moviegoing to be at the root of unhappiness with life. However, this does not seem to be so with this protagonist. This leads me to question what it is that makes moviegoing a pleasant experience for this protagonist, as well as to look deeply into this as I continue to read to try to find an answer. It also leads me to question what he might be searching for or might not be searching for but will find, as though this is not a short story, an epiphany of sorts is still likely in store for our protagonist.

The answer to the motivation behind his moviegoing begins to come through even in this introductory reading of The Moviegoer. Upon going to the movies with Kate, Bolling reflects,"She refers to a phenomenon of moviegoing which I have called certification. Nowadays when a person lives somewhere, in a neighborhood, the place is not certified for him. More than likely he will live there sadly and the emptiness which is inside him will expand until it evacuates the entire neighborhood. But if he sees a movie which shows his very neighborhood, it becomes possible for him to live, for a time at least, as a person who is Somewhere and not Anywhere" (63). Bolling does not believe Kate to fully understand his moviegoing, as we also do not necessarily understand at this time, however she does seem to get one thing he appreciates about movies - certification. This certification comes about as a result of seeing in a movie a place that is known to oneself - a place that allows the movie to transcend from the abstract to the concrete. This idea of certification shows us one of Bolling's fascinations with movies, a fascination that allows him to take abstract possibilities of scenarios created in movies and place them to a real place to create a concrete reality.

The search for something more or the discovery of something new that will change our protagonist via an epiphany is also hinted at in the beginning of the story. "For, as everyone knows, the polls report that 98% of Americans believe in God and the remaining 2% are atheists and agnostics-which leaves not a single percentage point for a seeker... Truthfully, it is the fear of exposing my own ignorance which constrains me from mentioning the object of my search. For, to begin with, I cannot even answer this, the simplest and most basic of all questions: Am I, in my search, a hundred miles ahead of my fellow Americans or a hundred miles behind them?" (14). This brings up the idea of religion as well as the search of the protagonist for a religion or an alternative understanding. Though he lives an average life and doesn't seem the critical thinking and observatory type, Bolling seriously questions his search for the truth, especially in context of the polls done on Americans and their religious beliefs, and this seems an important idea to continue to look at through the remainder of the novel.