August 3, 2026 • 7 mins
On this episode of IDKMYDE, our Host, B Daht, shares why he enjoys the movie theater, reviews The Odyssey and Haunted Heist, and explores how Americans first watched moving pictures. From Thomas Edison's peephole machines to the first Nickelodeon, discover how the first movie theater was born.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back Know.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It alls to another episode of the most anticipated podcast
on the Black Effect podcast network. It's entitled I didn't know.
Maybe you didn't either, And of course I'm your host
b dot and I've been in the movie, y'all.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Huh listen.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
That's my happy place, being somebody that's been like in
front of the audience and hosting parties and events and
games and things of that nature for twenty plus years.
The most rewarding thing for me is being able to
sit in a silent movie theater matin a times usually
very very empty, big bag of popcorn, big beverage, sticky
(00:37):
floor surround sound.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Ah man.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And for the opening weekend, I saw The Odyssey and
Haunted Heist.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Quick reviews.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
The Odyssey is a ten out of ten highly recommend. Yes,
it's three hours and it's worth every minute. Make sure
you see it on Imax. You don't even really have
to know the story of Odyss's or the Odyssey, but
it helps.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
But it's got a great great actors.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I will tell you my only issue after watching the movie,
I saw a bunch of conversations about no Greek actors
being in the movie, and I was like, damn, that's
a very good point. I mean, you got Spider Man
playing one of the main characters. Matt Damon plays Odysseus
Zendaiya in the film, and quick answer, I have clearly
been under a rock. I didn't know that Zendia and
(01:24):
Tom Holland Spider Man were married, and I didn't know
Tom Holland had one of them. Egris Elba accents be British.
I know, I know, I said I've been under a rock.
But Travis Scott was in the movie. Hell Lupeter play
Helen of Troy, and I ain't gonna care. When I
saw her pop up on the screen, I immediately said, Helen
of Troy was black. And there in law's the problem
(01:46):
ignorant people like myself who start podcasts that magnified the
shot that he don't know. I remember watching movies growing
up about Egypt, right, and watching movies about the pharaohs
and the people in Egypt, and they were always white,
and so very ignorantly, I just went along with the
movies that I was watching. The pharaohs and the emperors
(02:07):
in Egypt were white, and because of that, I never
really put Egypt in Africa. If you go a couple
episodes back, I was talking about Egypt being in Africa
and how the first black nail text for Africa, and
in the episode I just confessed, like, I never really
ever put Egypt in Africa together, but the pharaohs from them,
(02:28):
Egyptian Empires, on them movies, they couldn't have been white.
They had to be black. They were in Egypt, and
Egypt is in Africa. And a little black boy growing
up not seeing black people as pharaohs and kings in
those spaces, seeing white men, I'm pretty sure it conditioned
me to think that was what it was, which fast
forwards me to The Odyssey, because it's a bunch of
(02:50):
Greek kids growing right now and seeing Matt Damon playing
one of their legendary folklore heroes.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I know that was a bit of a tangent, but
I do think there's something very detrimental in having films
based in areas and not casting the race of those areas.
ASPA Haunted Heist. Congratulations to the whole cast. Big shout
to Lirel, big shout to Tiffany Hattish, big shout to
King Batch and pretty much the focal point of the movie.
(03:18):
Big shout to my bro Carlos Miller, and I just
want to say that I know for a fact that
the scene with Lirel's grandmama whoever wrote that, was how's
a December light build? So, of course by now you
know the theme of the party. We're talking about movie
theaters in this episode. But before I educate you on
the very first movie theaters, it is imperative that we
start every episode by giving you three of the most
(03:40):
useless facts you'll never need ever, not a day in life.
We call three useless facts up. First, originally movies didn't
even need movie theaters. Yeah, early films were like attractions, affairs,
amusement venues, and other like existing spaces before dedicated movie
venue became common. Your second useless fact, nickelodeons were cheap
(04:05):
entertainment for working class Americans. Yeah, the first movie theaters
were called nickelodeons. Shall at the TV network? You was
today years old? And why were they called nickelodeons Because
it only cost the nickel to get in ANI made
movies way more accessible than many of the live theatrical performances.
And your third and final useless fact, after nickelodeons were
(04:27):
movie palaces, yeah. About the nineteen tens and the nineteen twenties,
theaters became enormous, elaborate buildings designed to make watching the
movie itself feel like an event, almost like IMAX. Those
have been your three useless facts about movie theaters.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But do you know what year and what city the very.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
First movie theater appeared? Because I didn't I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
No, I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know.
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
See, there was a time in America when you could
watch a movie, but there was no such thing as
a movie theater. See. Back in the eighteen nineties, moving
pictures was brand new, and before folks were sitting together
with popcorn and a pepsi watching a giant screen. Thomas
Edison's Connectoscope had people watching movies one person at a
time through a little peephole in a machine. Imagine paying
(05:25):
money to watch TikTok through a mailbox. Lit.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
But in eighteen ninety six things started to change. Baby
in Nowland's Louisiana Vitoscope Haul opened and became one of
America's earliest venues dedicated specifically to showing projected motion pictures
to an audience. Now Please understand, these weren't three hour
odyssey movies. My early films could be seconds or minutes long.
(05:53):
You might see somebody dancing, or a train moving, people boxing,
regular stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
But in eighteen ninety six see a train moving on screen.
That was Avatar. That was Wakanda.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
In twenty twenty eight, and here's when the movie theater business.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Really started looking familiar.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
June nineteenth, nineteen o five, Harry Davis and John P.
Harris they opened the Nickelodeon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They took
a storefront, put in seats, and showed moving pictures throughout
the day, and charged people a nickel to get up
in that joint five cents where Nickelodeon comes from nickel
for the price of admission combined with odion. That's a
(06:33):
word associated with a theater or a performance hall. Yeah
he was today years old. That little five cent idea
blew up. Nickelodeon started popping up all over the damn country.
Help return movies from a novelty that you might catch
at a fair or one of them little Vaudville shows
into something that Americans would go see whenever the hell
(06:54):
they wanted to. Then eventually the movies got longer, the
buildings got bigger, the nickel turned into a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I'm more than a damn nickel.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I'll tell you that I just took the family to
go see the Minions, spent over one hundred dollars on
faux tickets and snacks, And yes, I did sneak in
some snacks, but you still got to get popcorn. The
wife and the kids want the frozen icys. You can't
sneak them in sure charge of your fourteen dollars for
a bag of popcorn that cost thirty eight cents to
make it.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Some nasty work. But I digress.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
The point is when you walk into that theater today
to go see that new Spider Man, because I know
I am. You got their reclining seat, surround sound Imax screens.
They making out in the seat to the left of you.
Remember about one hundred and thirty years ago, America was
still figuring out where the hell to watch movies, and
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Maybe you didn't either. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
If you learn something on today's episode, please do me
a favor and share it with one person and make
sure you're following us on Instagram. I dk Myde with
an underscore before it and behind it.
Welcome back Know.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It alls to another episode of the most anticipated podcast
on the Black Effect podcast network. It's entitled I didn't know.
Maybe you didn't either, And of course I'm your host
b dot and I've been in the movie, y'all.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Huh listen.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
That's my happy place, being somebody that's been like in
front of the audience and hosting parties and events and
games and things of that nature for twenty plus years.
The most rewarding thing for me is being able to
sit in a silent movie theater matin a times usually
very very empty, big bag of popcorn, big beverage, sticky
(00:37):
floor surround sound.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Ah man.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And for the opening weekend, I saw The Odyssey and
Haunted Heist.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Quick reviews.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
The Odyssey is a ten out of ten highly recommend. Yes,
it's three hours and it's worth every minute. Make sure
you see it on Imax. You don't even really have
to know the story of Odyss's or the Odyssey, but
it helps.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
But it's got a great great actors.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I will tell you my only issue after watching the movie,
I saw a bunch of conversations about no Greek actors
being in the movie, and I was like, damn, that's
a very good point. I mean, you got Spider Man
playing one of the main characters. Matt Damon plays Odysseus
Zendaiya in the film, and quick answer, I have clearly
been under a rock. I didn't know that Zendia and
(01:24):
Tom Holland Spider Man were married, and I didn't know
Tom Holland had one of them. Egris Elba accents be British.
I know, I know, I said I've been under a rock.
But Travis Scott was in the movie. Hell Lupeter play
Helen of Troy, and I ain't gonna care. When I
saw her pop up on the screen, I immediately said, Helen
of Troy was black. And there in law's the problem
(01:46):
ignorant people like myself who start podcasts that magnified the
shot that he don't know. I remember watching movies growing
up about Egypt, right, and watching movies about the pharaohs
and the people in Egypt, and they were always white,
and so very ignorantly, I just went along with the
movies that I was watching. The pharaohs and the emperors
(02:07):
in Egypt were white, and because of that, I never
really put Egypt in Africa. If you go a couple
episodes back, I was talking about Egypt being in Africa
and how the first black nail text for Africa, and
in the episode I just confessed, like, I never really
ever put Egypt in Africa together, but the pharaohs from them,
(02:28):
Egyptian Empires, on them movies, they couldn't have been white.
They had to be black. They were in Egypt, and
Egypt is in Africa. And a little black boy growing
up not seeing black people as pharaohs and kings in
those spaces, seeing white men, I'm pretty sure it conditioned
me to think that was what it was, which fast
forwards me to The Odyssey, because it's a bunch of
(02:50):
Greek kids growing right now and seeing Matt Damon playing
one of their legendary folklore heroes.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I know that was a bit of a tangent, but
I do think there's something very detrimental in having films
based in areas and not casting the race of those areas.
ASPA Haunted Heist. Congratulations to the whole cast. Big shout
to Lirel, big shout to Tiffany Hattish, big shout to
King Batch and pretty much the focal point of the movie.
(03:18):
Big shout to my bro Carlos Miller, and I just
want to say that I know for a fact that
the scene with Lirel's grandmama whoever wrote that, was how's
a December light build? So, of course by now you
know the theme of the party. We're talking about movie
theaters in this episode. But before I educate you on
the very first movie theaters, it is imperative that we
start every episode by giving you three of the most
(03:40):
useless facts you'll never need ever, not a day in life.
We call three useless facts up. First, originally movies didn't
even need movie theaters. Yeah, early films were like attractions, affairs,
amusement venues, and other like existing spaces before dedicated movie
venue became common. Your second useless fact, nickelodeons were cheap
(04:05):
entertainment for working class Americans. Yeah, the first movie theaters
were called nickelodeons. Shall at the TV network? You was
today years old? And why were they called nickelodeons Because
it only cost the nickel to get in ANI made
movies way more accessible than many of the live theatrical performances.
And your third and final useless fact, after nickelodeons were
(04:27):
movie palaces, yeah. About the nineteen tens and the nineteen twenties,
theaters became enormous, elaborate buildings designed to make watching the
movie itself feel like an event, almost like IMAX. Those
have been your three useless facts about movie theaters.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But do you know what year and what city the very.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
First movie theater appeared? Because I didn't I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
No, I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know.
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
See, there was a time in America when you could
watch a movie, but there was no such thing as
a movie theater. See. Back in the eighteen nineties, moving
pictures was brand new, and before folks were sitting together
with popcorn and a pepsi watching a giant screen. Thomas
Edison's Connectoscope had people watching movies one person at a
time through a little peephole in a machine. Imagine paying
(05:25):
money to watch TikTok through a mailbox. Lit.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
But in eighteen ninety six things started to change. Baby
in Nowland's Louisiana Vitoscope Haul opened and became one of
America's earliest venues dedicated specifically to showing projected motion pictures
to an audience. Now Please understand, these weren't three hour
odyssey movies. My early films could be seconds or minutes long.
(05:53):
You might see somebody dancing, or a train moving, people boxing,
regular stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
But in eighteen ninety six see a train moving on screen.
That was Avatar. That was Wakanda.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
In twenty twenty eight, and here's when the movie theater business.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Really started looking familiar.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
June nineteenth, nineteen o five, Harry Davis and John P.
Harris they opened the Nickelodeon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They took
a storefront, put in seats, and showed moving pictures throughout
the day, and charged people a nickel to get up
in that joint five cents where Nickelodeon comes from nickel
for the price of admission combined with odion. That's a
(06:33):
word associated with a theater or a performance hall. Yeah
he was today years old. That little five cent idea
blew up. Nickelodeon started popping up all over the damn country.
Help return movies from a novelty that you might catch
at a fair or one of them little Vaudville shows
into something that Americans would go see whenever the hell
(06:54):
they wanted to. Then eventually the movies got longer, the
buildings got bigger, the nickel turned into a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I'm more than a damn nickel.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I'll tell you that I just took the family to
go see the Minions, spent over one hundred dollars on
faux tickets and snacks, And yes, I did sneak in
some snacks, but you still got to get popcorn. The
wife and the kids want the frozen icys. You can't
sneak them in sure charge of your fourteen dollars for
a bag of popcorn that cost thirty eight cents to
make it.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Some nasty work. But I digress.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
The point is when you walk into that theater today
to go see that new Spider Man, because I know
I am. You got their reclining seat, surround sound Imax screens.
They making out in the seat to the left of you.
Remember about one hundred and thirty years ago, America was
still figuring out where the hell to watch movies, and
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Maybe you didn't either. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
If you learn something on today's episode, please do me
a favor and share it with one person and make
sure you're following us on Instagram. I dk Myde with
an underscore before it and behind it.
Host
Brian "B Daht" McLaughlin
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