“They” are us

In 2017, in Miller, South Dakota (pop. 1366), a group of young people decided they wanted to start an indoor movie theater. The city’s last film house, the Princess Theater, had closed in 1991, and the Midway Drive In was open only in the summer.

A grown-up told them: “That idea is too big, and it’s never going to work. Don’t even try.”

So, of course, the kids did try. They rallied their friends to the cause. They applied for a low-cost exhibition license from the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation and got permission to use the high school gym. They sold popcorn and candy. And on a January afternoon, 30 Miller residents enjoyed a free showing of “Megamind.”