Ain't nobody here but us chickens.
Like much of the world, I saw the new Harry Potter flick this weekend. Due to my work schedule, I went to a midnight showing on Friday night, which was a good time. With a couple of exceptions:
As the movie started (after like 40 minutes of commercials and previews—what the fuck?), a baby began to cry in the audience. A baby! Again I ask, what the fuck? Get a babysitter, people! Couldn’t that be considered child abuse? Having a baby out at midnight, when it should be at home sleeping? Just because you, in your infinite selfishness, want to see a midnight showing of the fucking Harry Potter movie? Jesus. Christ. You’re parents now. You have responsibilities to a life outside of your own. Not to mention the fact that, oh I don’t know, you’re ruining the experience of a couple hundred other people, for whom you have no sense of consideration whatsoever. Clearly, only you exist in this world, and only your desires matter. Kudos to you.
And speaking of people who believe they exist in some sort of bubble, the guy behind me talked to his companion throughout the entire movie. All two-and-a-half hours of it. We were treated to a non-stop running commentary on the movie, and how it compares to the book on which it is based. Much to the dismay of everyone seated around us. Fascinating.
We’ve all experienced this, right? In fact, it seems rare to me these days that I go see a movie and don’t experience someone talking throughout the entire thing. And believe it or not, I’ve also experienced the baby thing before, though with less frequency. I remember seeing The Village in the move theater, where a baby cried non-stop until there was an all-out revolt and members of the audience began screaming for the inconsiderate teenage parents to take the fucking screaming infant out of the theater. Is this lack of consideration for the people around us a New York thing, or does it pretty much exist everywhere?
I swear, I love this whole “me me me” mentality we seem to have embraced so heartily. Can you tell?
posted by P/O at 11/21/2005 01:34:00 PM
7 Comments:
Honey, it's a not a New York thing. In fact, I think I've noticed it more since I left New York. Going to the movies has become such a wretched experience that I rarely do it any more. I'm actually quite nervous about seeing Rent tonight for that reason, because if mother fuckers start to sing along, I'm gonna totally start with the bitch slapping.
Ultimately, theater owners need to charge and do something. I firmly believe disruptions should be met with stopping a film until the offender has been removed and if the offender can't be found, then the movie should be cancelled for all, with no refunds. Phones, children, constant fucking commentary.... It's horrible and it still astounds me that people behave like that.
In fact, I believe that if someone disrupts an entire movie due their child, phone, talking, whatever and you complain, you are entitled to a refund. The theater isn't holding up its end of the bargain if it takes your money freely and doesn't provide the service for which you paid.
I've taken to mouthing off to anyone who causes a disruption. I figure the movie has already been ruined for me (confrontation always leaves me shaky for at least an hour or so, always ruining the rest of a movie), but people who waltz around thinking they can get away with this shit need to understand that when Blood Ray pays ten bucks to see a movie, he ain't gonna put up with no one's bullshit.
Last movie I went and saw, the projectionist actually had to stop the movie and make an announcement to all the giggly teenagers to shut the hell up or get thrown out. I've nevr been to a movie where they stopped it like that before. It was really annoying, if we hadn't already gotten in for free, I would have bitched. lol
I've taken to mouthing off to anyone who causes a disruption.
Which is why I've taken to going to movies with Blood Ray. I'm too much of a pansy to confront those assholes. But yes, crap movie behavior is everywhere. On the plus side, we get to read amusing articles in Entertainment Weekly wherein studios wring their hands, trying to figure out why movie attendance is down.
I've taken to mouthing off to anyone who causes a disruption.
Which is why I've taken to going to movies with Blood Ray. I'm too much of a pansy to confront those assholes. But yes, crap movie behavior is everywhere. On the plus side, we get to read amusing articles in Entertainment Weekly wherein studios wring their hands, trying to figure out why movie attendance is down.
oh, we all so have to go see a movie together.
blood ray, i like your ideas. how can we push to get them enacted?
I don't quite now. It's cleary not a concern of theatre owners, or something would have been done a long time ago. There was talk once (and I believe this was more related to live theatre) of fitting theatres with some sort of block thing that would jam all cell phone signals in the side the theatre proper, but I read people were up in arms about that.
I guess the only way to make stuff like this work is to boycott movie theaters, but since I go to the movies about three times a year, I don't think a drop off in my business is going to change anything.
Kind of on this subject:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article328724.ece
Post a Comment
<< Home