Ragtag Cinemacafe

The Ragtag Cinema should not exist. In 2001, the money flows toward the sprawl. Toward four-lane roads, malls with miles of aisles and oceans of parking. Yet in Columbia, somehow, our downtown thrives. There is culture here. And community. And a sense of support that one could never get through applying to the home office in Dallas.

Taking as inspiration Bertolt Brecht's quote — “A theater without beer is just a museum” — we've attempted an unusual fusion of a high-minded arthouse cinema with a playful, lively beer hall. From a business standpoint, this is a bit cockeyed. The sensible people would say that to open a one-screen theater in a Midwest college town, you should show "beer movies," something like Gladiator after it had laid down its sword at the megaplexes.

But our name, heritage and ethos dictate that we show movies that others dare not to. We show movies that are fun and we show movies that are thought-provoking, and, hopefully, we show movies that are both. We highlight homegrown and far-flung filmmakers, musicians and performers and make space on our walls for emerging artists. And everyone gets in for the same price.