Back in my home state of Tennessee, we have a small drive-in theater in a quaint place called Watertown. People go for school events, with church groups or with friends and family to experience movies in a wholly different way, rather than being cramped within a dim atmosphere, which vaguely smells of popcorn and spilled soda. 
You sit in a car, or maybe pop the trunk of a van, and play the movie’s sound through your radio speakers, tuned to the specified station. You chat with your fellow movie-goers about the film, unafraid of reproach from the other patrons. The food is just as overpriced and just as greasy, but eating it in your own car with your seat reclined, made it taste all the better. What I propose is Starkville get a drive-in theater, so everyone can experience the joy of living out the “simpler times” escape which drive-ins provide. 
Currently, the nearest drive-in is in Guin, Alabama, an hour and a half away from Starkville. To my surprise, there is only one drive-in theater in Mississippi, which is in Iuka. Therefore, Starkville has the opportunity to capitalize on a market basically nonexistent. 
According to the New York Film Academy, drive-ins decrease in popularity began  after the 1970s oil crisis which caused auto manufacturers to design more cramped, but more fuel-efficient vehicles. Of course, the advent of home movie viewing certainly did not help, and now there are only about 300 drive-ins left in America, down from approximately 4,000 in the 1950s and 1960s. However, new drive-in theaters are still opening though, so it would not be as if Starkville would not have precedent. Susan Kreimer with AARP Bulletin reports nearly 100 new drive-in theaters have begun to operate since the 1990s. 
One would assume the driving force, pun intended, behind a drive-in is the nostalgia of previous generations, and millennials and Generation Z members have no stake in the game, especially after I just cited AARP as a source. However, Jenifer Drew, associate professor of sociology at Lasell College, told Megan Johnson of The Boston Globe quite the opposite. 
“Millennials harken back to their grandparents’ generation. Their parents’ ’70s and ’80s offer slight refuge, what with disco and the sexual revolution turning sour with the AIDS epidemic. For a generation that seeks relief, only 1950s housewifery looks relaxing. Gen Y turns to vinyl over CDs, slow food over competitive restaurant sampling, and board games over beer pong. Distance and nostalgia offer safety and refuge from the double burden of trying to decide who to be, while being obliged to be completely public about it in real time,” Drew explained to Johnson.
Basically, the hectic and ever-evolving world of modernity is exhausting and often mind-numbing, so our generation seeks refuge in the days of yesteryear when social media did not dominate. Now, I will say I make fun of this phenomenon. Most often, nostalgia’s rose-colored glasses remove the horrible aspects of a time period, which is definitely the case in the ’50s and ’60s. However, I would be remiss not to admit I, too, think about how much I missed out on when I listen to The Beatles today. 
A drive-in provides the escape from modernity which we all secretly want, even if just for a movie’s length. College students can gather for social functions before the movie starts and bask in the novelty of second-hand nostalgia. Families can even bring their kids without worrying they will be too distracting for other viewers, for the most part. Plus, Starkville is already an incredibly unique town, and being one of the few places in America to continue an American tradition would make it all the more special. I will hopefully see you all at the “Dawg Drive-In,” whenever we decide this is a good idea.