By Natalie Gomez
When one thinks of Friday nights in the Isla Vista neighborhood bordering UC Santa Barbara, the first thing that comes to a student’s mind probably isn’t a wholesome night out at the movie theater.
But, that’s how I happened to spend the Friday night before exam week in March, when the acclaimed indie film “Parasite” was screened by the student-run Magic Lantern Films. I sat in Isla Vista Theater surrounded by my UCSB peers and could tangibly feel the enchantment of our campus community — not knowing it would be for the last time in a long while.
Just four days later, the lives of UCSB students would be turned upside down with Chancellor Henry T. Yang’s announcement that the campus would immediately transition to remote learning until the end of April as a preventative measure to stall the spread of COVID-19. Shortly after, we received a second notice that extended online learning for the entire spring quarter.
Now, I find myself, as many former-Isla Vista residents do, self-isolating in my childhood bedroom hundreds of miles away from UCSB trying to adapt to the non-stop changes every week of this pandemic brings.
Yet, of all the things that could be occupying space in my mind during this chaotic time, I can’t help but reminisce about the magic I felt when I was surrounded by a packed theater filled with 500 of my fellow UCSB students and I feel grateful that on my last normal Friday night in Isla Vista I took a chance.
That night, I had returned to my apartment weary after a week filled with classes, and daunted by the studying I was embarking on for finals. All I wanted to do was turn in early for some much-needed sleep.
Magic Lantern Films flyers, such as the one for “Parasite,” are created by UCSB students and posted on the program’s social media accounts.
Instead, I accepted my housemate’s invitation to attend the Magic Lantern Films screening of “Parasite,” a Korean film written and directed by Bong Joon-ho that unexpectedly won Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. Magic Lantern Films is a student-run program, sponsored by UCSB’s Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, that runs a film series each quarter for the campus community. Films are screened biweekly, each Friday and Monday night at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., for only $4.
I had known about the program since my freshman year and was attracted by the diverse selection of movies they offered — from recent blockbusters such as “Spider-Man: Far From Home” to marathons of cult classics such as “The Lord of the Rings” franchise. But I always made excuses and filled my Friday and Monday nights with other activities.
Luckily, that last Friday night of what now seems like a previous life, I finally attended my first Magic Lantern Films screening. Sitting in Isla Vista Theater alongside a group of my closest friends at UCSB, I momentarily let go of the many anxieties that come with being a college student and lost myself in the film in front of me.
Usually, when watching a film in a public theater, movie-goers remain silent and sit a couple seats away from each other, making it easy to forget about those not in your party. This was not the case during that screening.
Writer Natalie Gomez in center left, along with her Isla Vista housemates Kyra Nadir, Samantha Aguirre and Sionna Fisher in pre COVID-19 days. Photo by Sophia Craig.
Throughout “Parasite,” I and my student peers all laughed together, gasped in unison and sat in mass silence in response to the dark comedy thriller’s multifaceted storyline. When the film ended, people who had been complete strangers three hours prior left the theater avidly sharing theories about what we had all just witnessed. I had never felt so connected to the Isla Vista student community.
Walking home in the dark, through the deserted streets of the neighborhood, my housemates and I wondered why we hadn’t gone to a Magic Lantern screening sooner. Already looking up the film schedule for the next couple weeks, we collectively vowed to take advantage of this campus program.
Those plans were soon foiled as all Magic Lantern screenings scheduled after that fateful Friday night were cancelled in order to follow California’s stay-at-home order.
But, the vibrant memory of that experience stays with me as I sit alone at home in Chino Hills, California. The promise of another night out at the movies with the UCSB community gives me hope that we will be able to find joy after this is all over — perhaps returning stronger and more connected than ever.
Natalie Gomez is a second-year English major at UC Santa Barbara. She wrote this article for her course Journalism for the Web and Social Media.