This weekend I went to see X-Men: The Last Stand. I thought it was great, but that's not the subject of this post. What I wish to discuss is movie etiquette and etiquette in general.
As the film started, someone in one of the front rows opened a cell phone that blinked blue lights that could probably be seen from Asteroid M and definitely distracted me and those I was sitting with. The last time I went to the movies, a group of pre-teens in front of me sent each other text messages throughout the entire movie. So I had to make a choice: do I try to ignore it and end up annoyed throughout the whole movie? or do I do something about it?
I chose the latter. "Turn of your phone!" I yelled. He did. And immediately, I could feel the tension in the theater. My wife whispered, "I can't believe you just did that."
Why is it that those who confront rudeness are made to feel uncomfortable while the feelings of rude people are protected? A computer-animated car had just told us to turn off our phones (and if the word of an anthropomorphic automobile isn't authoritative, I don't know what is). Did this guy think that it meant everyone but him?
Let's make this a two-fold discussion:
1. What is acceptable movie etiquette? Feel free to include theater, home theater, and discussions with people who may or may not have seen the movie.
2. What should our response be when someone trespasses the boundaries?
And just for fun, what sort of movie rituals do you have? If I like a movie a lot, I'll stay in the theater until the blue ratings screen comes up.
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7 comments:
I think you know what I'm going to say here, since I implement my standards at the MOM meetings... (this is for home theatre) but I'm an advocate of no distractions. That means that everybody watching the film is paying full attention and not carrying on anything else (discussion, homework, sewing) while the movie is playing. And that there is nobody in the room that is not there to watch the film.
If possible, go to the bathroom before the start of the movie. Get your drink, make your popcorn, be prepared for a 2 hour sitting. No falling asleep during movies. No talking to the screen! There are some people who do this and are funny, but as a general rule it is something I completely forbid. Save your comments until after the film. If Mandy has a question, I will pause the movie to answer. If she has a comment, we will wait until afterwards to address it. Basically... no distractions period.
as for in the public theatre... good luck. you're not at home, you don't get to make rules. which is why we rarely go. We've had way too many experiences like the one you described to consider it worth the price of admission (which is more than the cost of the movie on DVD).
As for talking about it w/ others who haven't seen it.... tell them you liked it and that you recommend it. Stop there. anything else out of your lips consider to be poisonous to their experience. i mean that.
Party movies when people are all over and you throw on a movie for people to watch or not watch... crap idea. if you choose to do it please throw in a worthless piece of poo b/c you're treating whatever you throw into that situation as if that's what it already is. If you throw in something good you will just ruin the experience that could've been great for those who do try to watch it.
Watching movies with adults in the room... can be embarassing, would not recommend it.
Keep it pure. Keep it simple. Keep it sacred.
Well mister yell at little kids in a theatre. LOL Ryan, I would have to agree with most of your movie etiquette, except the comments during the movie, I will pause the movie like you, but i don't mind the interuption that much. I don't visit the theatre that often either becuase of these situations that arise while trying to watch a movie I just payed 9.50 for plus popcorn and drinks. It costs 30 dollars to go to the movies now and for it to be ruined by some snot nosed little kid or adult who has no moral or respect for people around him makes it very difficult to pay attention or just enjoy the movie.Watching movies at home i have one rule don't talk during the movie if you need to speak pause it then talk. bathroom break pause it. but I do like to watch the whole thing in one sitting if possible. I never watch movies at parties or crowded places and I agree play music not movies at parties at least you can enjoy music without having to watch it on a screen with people spilling beer or juice if it's a boring party LOL just kidding, On you it's just fustrating so I don't do it at all. I watched X-men The Last Stand as well this weekend.
I enjoyed it alot. And I do recommend people to watch it, but make sure you have seen the first 2.
As for what should be done about these tyrants that interupt our movies. I normally just ask them politely to be quiet or turn off their phone if I have to say it again I am stern about it. But honestly nothing can be done about it. That's why alot of people don't go anymore because they know what will happen. It all depends on the age group the movie is going to attract as well. If it attracts an older audience then it may be safe to go to the theatre, but if it attracts a younger audience then you should know better that a situation may rise from your visit.
I say Buy a projector screen like we do on MOM and watch them in your own house with no interuptions. it's cheaper and worth it. Although good luck getting a date to watch a movie at your house. LOL anyhoo! Good Luck and Good Night!
Well Evan, I don't know if that means that I appreciate art more than my friends (not that I appreciate it more than my friends do, I mean more than my actual friends)... but in any case it's interesting. I agree that a friend is more important than a film. But a person who doesn't respect my experience of a film might not be my friend after all. :)
This comes out of left field to people who view movies as just entertainment. B/c if you're being entertained by the movie or your friend, what's the difference? But I'm not trying to just be entertained, I'm trying to learn things. And if I can't learn b/c you're distracting me, then it's a waste of my time completely. It would be like the person next to you at your favorite class in College throwing spit wads at the person on the other side of you so that you can't focus on what the Professor is saying. This example obviously doesn't apply to me personally b/c I was the one getting hit w/ the spit wads (or throwing them, let's be honest) instead of actually trying to listen... but you get the idea.
Ryan,
Ignoring the fact that I don't make the rules even in my home, does going out in public require that I abandon my expectation of common courtesy? In this particular case, it's not even my rule that I was enforcing; it was the theatre's. I'm sure that had I lit up during the movie, I would have been thrown out, and justifiably so. Why this inconsistent enforcement of social graces?
Effin,
Surely you've gathered by now that the "topic" is just a starting point that people use to creatively turn the discussion the way they want it to go. I'm interested in your take on X3.
This is my favorite comment so far:
"Watching movies with adults in the room... can be embarassing, would not recommend it." Well then, I just finished fingerpainting, so now I'm going to eat my carrot sticks and take a nap on my carpet square.
Incedentally, is anyone else having a bitch of a time with Blogger?
why is it called a carpet square when it's a rectangle?
evan, i'm also curious about your take on X3, but more b/c I'm looking forward to agreeing with it unlike Buddy, who is waiting to pounce on your puny little opinion.
buddy, I enforce general etiquitte as much as possible in a public theatre. but the brats usually ignore me and i can either get mad or get even, since I can't kick them out like I could if they were in my house. so i usually get on a Spree throwing spree (I REALLY hesitated using that joke, but it was way too friggin' good and in the end it won me over) with the culprit. i'm kidding, i usually try my best but when that doesn't work i make vows to myself in my seat about how i'll never go to the movies again as long as I (or the culprit) lives.
incidentally, if anybody's curious... you can get your money back for a movie if you complain that the theatre was too disruptive for you to enjoy the film. if it ever comes to that, you could take that option.
oh, and no i'm not having a hard time with blogger. it probably doesn't like bloggers like you, you're a scary blogger.
Effin,
Unlike Ryan, I don't consider your opinion "puny," and I'm not a big enough fan of the X-Men comics to defend the movie to aggressively.
Now, if you said you didn't like Batman Begins...
hee!
my boy & i just encountered this recently and squabled over it! scene: AMC movie theater
woman next to me talking to her friend, commenting on things in the film
bobby on my other side, growing increasingly frustrated.
finally when he could take it no more, he leans over me and asks them to please stop talking.
thankfully he did not hear their response, only i did.
i jab him in the arm.
they continue to comment the entire film only he somehow didn't hear it.
my take?
PUBLIC THEATRE. we all pay to get in. you want silence, stay home. things happen in public places... people comment, candy rustles, people come and go, drinks slurp, people laugh loudly, comment, make out, put their feet on the back of yr chair etc.
like you said, you make the rules up in yr own house.
i understand the frustration, it totally annoys me too. on a general rule i think they should enforce silent cell phones and not allow extreme disrupting behavior, but people are people and we gotta be respectful and tolerant. they have just as much a right to enjoy the film with their friends in the way they most enjoy it as you do.
sorry to buzz kill yr parade. i do relate to yr emotional annoyingness of it, just not the reaction to it.
on another note: (hi ry! glad to finally join yr discussion!! miss you guys!!!) i don't know if that is breakin the blogging rules..sorry if so!
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