The Guilt-Free Pleasure of Airplane Movies
This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here.
For most of us, to travel by air is to endure a million tiny indignities: strictly enforced cabin hierarchies, ludicrously small pretzel snack packs, coffin-size lavatories, vicious elbow battles over shared armrests—never mind all the cancellations and delays.
When I’m trapped in a metal tube, trying my best to keep my limbs from inconveniencing anyone else around me, I find myself clinging to might as well be actual luxury. Airplanes are a place of needle-thin margins, where an ounce of comfort for yourself can come at a steep cost to someone else. Only one true retreat remains: watching free movies.
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days