Published: November 13, 2020
Serving in the military often requires long bouts of time away for deployments, training missions, and temporary duty assignments. During their military service, service members and their families often endure months without spending a fun evening together doing something as simple as watching a movie.
In honor of this sacrifice, Blue Star Families and Movies Anywhere partnered to host a series of virtual movie nights for military families. These events brought loved ones together despite being miles apart by using the Movies Anywhere Screen Pass, a newly launched program that allows users to share their digital movie collections. Movies Anywhere helped create a sense of normalcy for these families despite the vast distance between them.
During these special events, one movie that participating families shared using the Movies Anywhere Screen Passes feature was “The Karate Kid.” Then they used Movies Anywhere’s new co-viewing function, Watch Together, even though they were thousands of miles apart.
“We did our Movies Anywhere experience with our best friends who live in Ohio. My husband is currently deployed, so for us, that would typically mean planning lots of trips for me and my two boys to give us things to look forward to along the way,” said Leah Love, a Blue Star Families member. “Given the current pandemic, we have not been able to break up the time by visiting friends and family so to be able to have an interactive experience of watching a movie with our friends (who are hundreds of miles away) was really fun!”
Ralph Macchio, star of the beloved film, even recorded a special message for the families, thanking them for everything they’ve done in service to America.
“Hello Blue Star Families! I’d just like to take a moment to thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made for our country. The impact that you have had on your community has not gone unnoticed. I hope you enjoy watching The Karate Kid,” said Ralph Macchio. “It’s a movie that I am especially proud of as it continues to inspire hope and courage in overcoming challenges in both competition and in life.”
To cap off the event, Movies Anywhere supplied limited-edition movie kits, complete with snacks, blankets, and other goodies, to create a cozy movie night.
“I think Movies Anywhere provides a great platform to feel more connected to friends and family through shared experiences. This is something military families crave not only during a pandemic but really throughout the many transitions that come with our lifestyle,” Love added.
The platform is as quick and easy as “Wax on, wax off.” (We just couldn’t help ourselves!)
Thank you, Movies Anywhere, for supporting military families on Veterans Day and beyond!
Visit moviesanywhere.com/welcome to start watching today.
Posted In: Deployment