Phoenixville's Colonial Theatre To Partake In National Screening Of 1984

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville is among 90 art house movie theaters across the country that are taking part in an April 4 screening of “1984,” the story of life in a totalitarian society. The screenings are in protest of what the theater owners worry will be efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to dismantle the National Endowment of the Arts.

The theaters screening the iconic film based on George Orwell’s novel are in 79 cities, 34 states and in Canada. The Colonial joins five other theaters around Pennsylvania, including establishments in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and York.

The date of April 4 was chosen because that’s the day Orwell’s protagonist, Winston Smith, begins his rebellion against an oppressive government by keeping a forbidden diary. “It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen,” Orwell’s novel begins.

The theaters showing the movieare those who “strongly believe in supporting the National Endowment for the Arts and see any attempt to scuttle that program as an attack on free speech and creative expression through entertainment,” the organizers said. “This event provides a chance for communities around the country to show their unity and have their voices heard.”

The White House hasn’t directly said National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities, which together got about $296 million in federal aid in fiscal year 2016, will be defunded. But art institutions and organizations are nervous. Funding for the arts programs was minuscule when compared with an overall $3.9 fiscal year 2016 federal budget.

For tickets to the Phoenixville showing, see here.

Watch the trailer for 1984 below:

Patch reporter Beth Dalbey contributed to this story

Screenshot via YouTube