Movie Essays and Reviews

2007-Nov-13 - Theater Etiquette

    Is the movie theater dead? The thought of that question bothers me, because I feel like I already know the answer. I have little back up, but what I have and what I know is enough to keep me away from the theater forever, especially if it gets worse (which it most likely will, because everything always does). I don't really care about box office sales - I check IMDB everyday and it's asinine how many news reports they have about box office sales either going down or being less than what they thought. People have to understand that they shouldn't shoot so high or expect a certain sequel to make a million more dollars than it's predecessor. What I think should be addressed here are not numbers, but reasons why the numbers are going down. Sure, there's sequels and book and TV adaptations, we know those reasons well. What I think really is keeping people from the theater is the lack of theater etiquette among viewers these days.

   It's really hard to go to a theater and receive a quiet audience. If it's a big hollywood picture, you have teenagers and the like just going to the movie to hang out. If it's a smaller indie picture, you have the old people who don't understand what's going on and need to be updated by their spouse every 2 minutes. It's hard to fault the latter, but it's still frustrating. There's really no way to be at peace in a movie theater. Unfortunately, unless you want to go to a matinee every time you want to see something, getting quiet and respectful movie-watchers is nothing but luck.

   I'm not sure what makes people think talking in movies is all right. It's distracting to hear someone comment about the current scene; it takes the watcher out of the movie world and throws them back in the real word so they can perceive and understand the usually moronic statement by the person sitting next to them. I'm not sure what makes people think they're above the film and the people around them. Of course, the worst is the comedy commentary from fellow viewers, as if you were sitting in the crowd with Mike Nelson and Tom Servo. It's rarely funny, and if it ever is, it just encourages the person and makes them comfortable, which, in turn, leads to more sub-par one liners.

   It's hard not to be irritated by the lack of respect in a movie theater. There's also little you can do once someone speaks up and says something during a movie. Telling a person to "Shhh" has a small chance of working, and by doing it, the person is already out of the movie universe and must work thereafter to get back into it while trying to forget that they just had to tell someone to be quiet like an elementary school librarian. It can all be taken a step further by actually getting an usher or taking a step in a different direction by moving seats. Once again, this really takes you out of the world, gives added stress, and puts more on the mind which leaves little room to get back into the film.

   Back a few years ago, I sat in front of three girls during a showing of Walk the Line. They talked throughout the trailers and into the opening sequence. I turned around and told them to be quiet. They then proceeded to laugh at me, and one of them even told me that it was "gonna be okay." So, by this logic, not only is it completely fine to talk, but to not want to hear someone else talking during a movie is something else. Not only does it make you weird, but also, judging from the tone and condescension in the girl's voice, it was also makes you lame.

   So what made talking in theaters so commonplace and seemingly okay for people to do? What did this sweeping epidemic stem from? Maybe it is the more passive audience member who doesn't want to waste any more time and patience telling a person to be quiet. But what about movies like Snakes on a Plane and Freddy Vs. Jason? During both of those movies, there was much chatter and hollering from the audience. And it was a blast.

   So is it hypocritical to talk during Freddy vs. Jason but get annoyed when someone talks during a movie like Crash? Probably. No matter how you look at it and no matter what you think of either movie, you're still destroying the quiet other-worldly experience of seeing a film. Though, there is a difference between a movie that understands it's audience and focuses on campiness and gore and a movie that creates characters and drama that an audience can connect with.

   But whose to say what's intentional and what's not? Clearly, everything that was a part of Snakes on a Plane was intentional. But by the above logic, anyone can laugh and talk and have a good time during a showing of a movie they think is bad. By saying that it's okay to talk during Snakes on a Plane because it's purposely a bad and fun movie, the line between movies that are meant to be fun and movies that are really trying to be taken seriously becomes harder and harder for some audience members to see.

   Thinking into and discussing the topic opens a huge can of worms. Is someone who chats during Freddy vs. Jason a hypocrite for telling someone to be quiet during The Lake House? And how can we truly tell when something in a movie is intentional unless it's extremely blatant like in Snakes on a Plane? Either way you look at it, there has been an extreme lack of theater etiquette and the number of people talking during ANY movie, be it a movie where venomous reptiles board and terrorize an airplane or not, is ridiculous, and disturbing people while they're trying to enjoy a form of art shouldn't be as acceptable as it currently seems to be.

About Me

Includes film essays and reviews written by Chris Bell.

Links

• Home
• View my profile
• Archives
• Friends
• Email Me