By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: April 3, 2013
Everyone has different ideas about what’s considered appropriate behaviour in movie theatres, mainly because everyone has different reasons for attending a film in the first place.
On the surface, we are drawn to movies because we enjoy them, and we take pleasure because they don’t necessarily follow the rules and values society has established. We enter a world without responsibilities, a place where we can leave our worries in the corner and freely watch tales about ageless secret agents, charming psychopaths and misfit teenagers with hearts of gold. We all want to feel satisfied, surprised, but most of all, we want to register with the movie on some level.
There are some people who embrace this movie-going approach as a form of escape. They become completely subsumed once the lights go down and wish to have a cinematic experience for the full length of the film.
There are also people who attend movies for the communal experience. The movie selection isn’t as important as the selection of friends they are going to the theatre with. They’re experience is fulfilled by hearing the opinions of their friends, the gut reaction of the audience, whether it’s a laugh, a gasp or a jeer, and an overwhelming feeling of belonging.
Now these two groups are generally the extremes in a movie theatre crowd—the focused and the casual—with most of us falling somewhere in between. Speaking frankly, I lean more towards the former than the latter.
Movies are a passion of mine, and I have a lot of respect for the filmmaking process. I know that they cost an unseemly amount of time and effort to create, and I want to respect that. I demonstrate this respect by sticking to the golden rule of being a good cinema citizen: being quiet.
This is where I often clash with the other faction of moviegoers, who often view consistent chatter with friends and yelling at the screen acceptable behavior for a movie theatre. Outside screenings of cult classics like The Room or Rocky Picture Horror Show, the last thing you want to hear is the opinion of the jerk behind you who thinks he’s just as good as what’s going on in the film.
My reaction to this behavior varies from movie to movie. It really does depend on the film’s quality, mood and show time. I can’t expect the audiences of a midnight screening of The Last Stand to keep their traps shut, and in fact the outbursts of laughter and gasps of horror can add to the overall thrill of the film. Similarly, I can’t expect the newest Pixar film to be free of crying children and immature reactions from young adults yearning for the simplicities of the past. However, when the communal aspect of the film consists of people distracting the entire theatre with their behaviour, then there’s a problem.
While I have been tempted to go all Constanza on these people by threatening the offenders to “Take it outside and show you what it’s like!” I usually take the route of polite moviegoer, whispering something along the lines of, “Can you please stop talking, I’m trying to enjoy the movie.” And this simple gesture often works, and if you’re lucky, is followed by an assurance that it won’t happen again. But then there are those who see this gesture as an act of verbal war, and they are willing to escalate the situation.
I implore my fellow patrons of the theatre to simply be aware of your personal space, keep within that personal space and be discreet with any checking of cell phones or trips to the bathroom.
Tread softly moviegoers, because you tread on my dreams.
