A Heartfelt Tribute to the Role of Phone Booths in Films

Luís Azevedo and Jake Cunningham of Little White Lies offer a heartfelt tribute to the public phone booth, noting how they played a big role within many a film.

The phone booth was used as a center of momentary respite, a focused location, a vehicle for transportation, a place to change, or an inescapable trap to further the plot. Yet, as technology marches forward, the public phone booth no longer makes sense. And while it is an archaic relic of the past, this symbol of bygone years still deserves a proper send-off nonetheless.

…a public payphone can be called on for a small gag or a major plot point. But as movies and technology evolve, the phone booth is being left behind. …The phone booth is a location for metamorphosis. Without one, Superman is just Clark Kent. In a world without them, Edward Norton never becomes Brad Pitt, and the Rocket Man never comes out of the closet.