It’s very sad that I have to write an article like this in our day and age. One would think that society has grown and matured over the years to the point where we wouldn’t have to be told how to act around other people. Well it would seem that courtesy has been thrown out the window and a new day is dawning where people couldn’t care less about others around them. Back in 2003, Screen Rant founder Vic Holtreman wrote a great rant about people talking during films. I’ve decided to expand on those thoughts.
We could talk for hours about how rude society has become and how we ultimately got to this point, but that is a discussion for a different time and place. I want to discuss some of the issues facing the modern day moviegoer and what they can do to make everyone’s movie watching experience more enjoyable. So, I will be discussing the 3 biggest problems in movie theaters today: cell phones, babies and talking during films.
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Although technology has improved our lives, it sometimes degrades our theater going experience. Take cell phones for example: these are wonderful modern day gadgets that allow us to be in constant contact with everyone and everything around us. Car broke down? Use your cell phone to call a tow truck. Want to order a pizza and pick it up on your way home from work? You can do that too. Miss your mom, girlfriend or boyfriend and want to catch up with them? You can now do it from anywhere in the world. However, “anywhere” does NOT include the movie theater!
Cell phone interruptions has become such a problem in theaters that the original “Please refrain from talking during the movie” slides that used to be shown before a film have now been replaced with “Please silence your cell phone.” Unfortunately, people didn’t respond very well to that because it was still happening on a consistent basis; theater groups and studios then upped the ante by producing very elaborate fake movie “trailers” that grabbed the viewers attention. Some of them are so well done that I’ve often wanted to see an actual film based on those fake trailers.
The problem with cell phones (as I see it) is that people think they are the most important person in the world and therefore the “common” rules don’t apply to them. They think that their phone call is SO important that it just absolutely can’t be put off for two hours. Unless you are a doctor, detective or district attorney (it would seem those people are constantly getting phone calls that they just can’t ignore – at least in movies) then you don’t need your phone on. At the very least put it on vibrate; no one is impressed that you have the latest P. Diddy, Dixie Chicks or Adam Lambert song as your ring tone.
I can understand if it slips your mind and you forget to put it on mute or vibrate – accidents happen, but the sake of everything fuzzy, grab it and hit mute when it starts ringing! Don’t sit there and act as if you can’t hear it ringing. The people outside the theater can hear it ringing! And do not answer the phone and say “Hey bro/mom/honey. What’s up?” or “Hey, I can’t talk now.” Just mute the ringer, and let it go to voicemail – that’s what voicemail is for.
So be courteous please and remember to mute your ringer before going into the theater. It shows how much you care about other people’s theater experience. After all, we paid to watch the film on the screen, not listen to your ringer jam out to MC Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit”.
Click to learn why babies and movie theaters don’t mix…
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64 Comments
Nowhere Man, I like your style!
For the few of you who mention how you sat in a theatre for an entire movie while some brat kicked your seat, or whoever that joker was whose friend took calls during the movie–you are more crazydriving to me than the idiots at the movies. I mean, you TOLERATE that crap. By doing so, you enable them.
No one has mentioned overpowering cologne or perfume. That’s something I really don’t want to deal with.
I went to see Frequency on my own. It came out in 2000, so cell phones were popular but not universal like they are now. Someeone received a call and actually *took it* rather than (what I would do) embarrassingly slink out to the side and talk outside the doors. But it was a dumb montage that had no audio, and I was not incredibly annoyed.
As the movie concludes, timelines and plotlines converge. It’s a rather complex culmination. But sometime near the beginning of the end sequence, this chick gets ANOTHER call. She takes it and stays in her seat, talking loudly-right?-to be heard over the movie. I was alone, so no moral support, but I turned and shouted, Hang up! I gave her about 10 seconds and I said it very loudly and insistently–it was no request, it was a command–HANG IT UP! She did, and I thought I got some non-verbal signs from others that they were grateful (sighs, murmurs). I felt incredible pride in myself for speaking up, but the adrenaline, my heartbeat, and the psychic energy it took to do that, consumed my mind for over a minute. By the time I settled down and really “heard” what was on the screen, the elements had come together and I could only know on superficial level, what had happened.
Other than that, I’ve not had too many bad experiences. I’ll have to remember the flashlight(s) trick!
@ Azza
Dude, get a job at Manchester’s AMC, you’ll have your work cut out. Bunch of ignorant teenagers go there who talk all the way through. Went to see fourth kind t’other week, people were talking and laughing, phones going off etc. Boiled my blood. If you want to talk go to a mates house, or your local street corner, or a playing field. Not in a Movie theatre. Went to see Ice Age 3D at the same theatre. People sat behind us talking at the beginning, you think they’ll shut up once the film starts rolling. Do they heck, they carry on, then they start pegging sweets and popcorn at people, (and me) sat in front of them. Talking on the phone, basically – not watching the film. Seems they like to pay a premium to deliberately sit in the theatre and annoy everyone. Why waste your money? Anyway, I go to the Odeon mostly, the extra 70 pence you pay usually scare most of the little scroats away and you generally have a hassle free screening. AND it has an IMAX – roll in Dec 16th, and Avatar. Bought my ticket yesterday, so stoked!
@Sylar, I hope you’ve watched that movie again later when you can really concentrate on it, it’s a great movie.
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