The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens 924
theodp writes "The "average" movie theater reportedly has a capacity of 200-300 people. Which, thanks to the wonder of mobile devices, means that it also has hundreds of screens. And — thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and texting — hundreds of potential annoyances. Which prompts NY film critic David Edelstein to ask: How Should We Treat Texters and Talkers at Movie Theaters? 'Has our culture become so private that no one knows how to behave anymore in public?' Edelstein wonders. 'Is selfishness the rule rather than exception? Are people who say, "Shut up and turn off your phone" today's version of "You kids get off my lawn"?' Jason Bailey argues that the only way to solve movie theaters' talking and texting problem is to give in to it, perhaps with anything-goes phone-friendly talk-amongst-yourselves screenings in the seven and eight o'clock hours coupled with no-tolerance shows later in the evening. Any other ideas?" You could always throw it.
if someone threw my phone... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:if someone threw my phone... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:if someone threw my phone... (Score:5, Informative)
What would be better is the *reverse* - a soundproof glass enclosed room at a premium price where people can smoke, talk, and be on their cell phones all they want while the rest of the theater gets to watch a movie in peace.
Or maybe the mainstream theaters could just just get some balls and do what Alamo Drafthouse did...
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/texas-movie-theater-makes-example-psa-texting-audience-170925090.html [yahoo.com]
Faraday cage (Score:5, Insightful)
I've always liked the notion of enclosing the theatres in a faraday cage. In any new construction, it should be relatively cheap to include a mesh around the theatre itself -- and then you don't have to worry about people's manners. At least not as far as cell phones are concerned.
Re: (Score:3)
Such materials are commercially available as wallpaper for years. (See http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2012/05/25/wallpaper-that-blocks-wi-fi/ [wsj.com])
But I'm afraid the FCC will become upset because it can _block_ signals outside the movie theater. The shadow of the cage itself is a noticeable dead zone. And I'm afraid that it will only take one litigious parent whose baby sitter is trying to reach them, or one doctor who can't be paged, to create a dangerous lawsuit for for any theater that tries this.
I have se
Re:Faraday cage (Score:5, Insightful)
Great. With your vision, doctors (or anyone else who needs to be pageable 24/7, like a sysadmin) can never go to a movie.
I'm pretty sure doctors have been going to the cinema every decade from they invented movies up until they they invented pagers, how about you have time on call (where you can't get smashing drunk, go hiking in the mountains or if this is done, go to the cinema) and real time off like in a civilized work relationship. That you in a real emergency might try calling anyway is fine, but nobody should ever really be on 24x7 call, even if you're the CEO you should have some kind of second in command that could step in if you for any reason is indisposed. If things would go that wrong without you the business is a disaster waiting to happen when you really can't be reached.
Re: (Score:3)
Who the heck pays for a movie ticket to play angry birds.
I mean there's plenty of people who pay for a movie ticket for the associated free parking, but they aren't in the cinema, or pay for a movie ticket for a bit of private fun but they sit in the back row.
But who pays for a ticket to get bored out of their mind and play on a cellphone?
Stop going to theatres. (Score:4, Insightful)
Regional/cultural issue? (Score:3)
Leaving aside racial stereotypes, is this more of a regional or cultural problem? In San Diego, I virtually never see people texting /during/ a movie, and I don't think I've heard a cell phone go off (eg, ring) during a showing any time in the last five years. About the worst thing that happens is people (myself included, occasionally) leaving a phone on but silent (no vibrate).... A flicker of a bright screen might show up if they have their phone facing outwards in a thin pocket or something, but that's it. Anyone who actually talked during a show would be told to stfu by the movie-goers, no doubt...
FWIW, I'm normally just going to the local AMC20 or 18; nothing fancy or unusual, so I have to assume my observations are typical for this area.
Is San Diego just a nice town, or are other places like this too?
Re:Regional/cultural issue? (Score:5, Insightful)
You mean a good one. It's in everyone's best interests for that person to no longer be in the theater: the other theatergoers will no longer have their entertainment disrupted, the management will maintain a reputation for ensuring a quality experience, and the person who got kicked out will finally get to go take care of whatever it was that they thought was so important, without having to deal with the distraction of a movie or people around them telling them to stow the phone. Everyone wins.
Rude? Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
>"'Has our culture become so private that no one knows how to behave anymore in public?"
Yes it has. A large percent of the population are very rude regarding phones. And the younger the generation, the more rude.
Re:Rude? Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
The current generation is taught through the education system a great deal about their rights, but very little about their responsibilities.
Consequently we get a very inward-focused generation with a false sense of self-entitlement and, rudeness in general.
Re:Rude? Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
You do realise that the older generation has been saying versions of this complaint about the younger generation for all of human history, right?
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" A large percent of the population are very rude regarding phones."
To the point of driving a car while texting, subjecting everyone sharing the road in their immediate vicinity to a much greater risk of injury/death, much like someone that has been drinking. Yet, for some reason, laws regarding texting while driving are effectively neutered compared to DUI laws. Why is that?
I suspect the "guvment" doesn't want to clamp down on cellphone use in any way as cellphones/smartphones are apparently the most used
Not at all a novel problem (Score:5, Insightful)
This is hardly a novel problem. All manners of talking, noisemaking, and other disturbances have been problems in theaters for centuries; phones are simply another type of potential disturbance.
Yes, it is to some extent a cultural problem. I also think it tends to be a problem of lack of any enforcement of reasonable etiquette in theaters, perhaps from a concern for repercussions and retribution, but also, at least in many movie theaters, from a lack of staff.
But I think it is only through enforcement by venues, and cultural unacceptability, that disturbances like these can be minimized, especially in this case. I don't think anyone particularly wants to be in a theater full of other people on phones; the people who use them in theaters would likely be upset about others using them were they not using them at that particular time. There are already venues for watching movies on large screens while being able to talk and generally be more casual, and perhaps we could use more of those, but that's not the problem here: the problem are people who are selfish. If someone wants to be able to disturb others, but not be disturbed by others, then letting everyone cause disturbances isn't going to help: everyone will go to the no-tolerance shows, and become upset if they're thrown out.
My lawn (Score:5, Funny)
Why has “get off my lawn” become code for cranky senior citizen? What the fuck do those kids think they’re doing tearing up my meticulously-mown property, and why is it unreasonable to object to trespassers?
I mean, if you’re just picking up a wayward frisbee or something, fine, but other than that, unless I invited you, seriously, stay off my lawn.
Advertise 2 different types of audience (Score:4, Interesting)
The theater is dead. (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if cell phones were eliminated (which in my experience have been more or less a non-issue in theaters) you've still got the fact that its $8 for a ticket and then $5 for a popcorn, $5 for a soda, $5 for a box of Junior Mints... Its simply too expensive for the 2 hours of (possible) enjoyment, especially when a couple of months later you can watch the movie on Netflix or pay $1 for it at Redbox. It used to be you could offset this by the fact that you were getting a higher quality picture and sound, but anymore a HDTV and surround sound are pretty common. 3D is simply a gimmick, its fun for a movie or two but doesn't really add much to the experience. I mean, other than for a midnight premiere, does anyone actually go to the movies anymore?
Re:The theater is dead. (Score:5, Informative)
Gotta agree with you there (Score:3, Insightful)
I cannot drag myself to the movie theater anymore, unless it's something I desperately need to see, or the wife really wants to go. Together, both situations add up to maybe two or three times in a year. I'm just so spoiled when it comes to entertainment. Why should I drive to a movie theater to see a movie that starts at a specific time, paying for both myself and and my wife, when I can watch Netflix, or movies on HBO or Showtime on demand, or rent via the cable box or iTunes? The movie starts when I
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Where I live (big bad city), it's $14.00 for a single adult ticket, plus a $1.00 fee to buy online.
Oh, you want to see "A Scientologist Actor Saves the World 3D?"
That'll be $19.00 for the "3D ZOMG1!1!!!" experience, plus a $1.00 fee to buy online.
I do the math and realize I have a pretty big HD tv and a penchant for Usenet and all of the sudden that cellphone-manners-fight-waiting-to-happen doesn't seem so appealing.
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I just started resuming going back to the movies, and I like it. It costs me well over $100 each time, including babysitting, IMAX 3D tickets, and popcorn. I couldn't afford it during the GFC. I'm enjoying the high-production cost, 3-D experience, and I don't mind the high ticket prices at all -- they pale in comparison to the babysitter. In combination, I always go to the first non-midnight show on the first day, when other true fans go -- again at the IMAX 3
Re:The theater is dead. (Score:5, Interesting)
$5 for a popcorn, $5 for a soda, $5 for a box of Junior Mints...
Might I suggest eating before you go to the movies?
Really, can you really not go two and a half hours without a meal or intaking 2000 calories and 500mg of salt?
The reason why it's so expensive for you to go to the movies is that you're not going to the movies and getting a snack, you're going to dinner and watching a movie. a $12 ticket plus $15 worth of food.
It used to be you could offset this by the fact that you were getting a higher quality picture and sound, but anymore a HDTV and surround sound are pretty common
You're 50-60-70in TV with 5.1 surround isn't the same quality is what the theaters have. Sure maybe so really cheapo theaters but the standard AMC theaters have over a dozen channels along the sides alone. And yes watching a movie on a 50ft wide screen is considerably different than on a TV.
Again, you're spending almost $30 to go to the movies... Try eating beforehand and then compare the experience to a $12 ticket or...
Go to the matinee show. Tickets are usually half price...
is it really that big of problem? (Score:3)
How to treat movie goers talking on their phones (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't support the Movie Industry (Score:4, Informative)
I find that supporting the Movie or Music industry is like giving money to my local mafia. Something I will NOT do.
So going to theaters is out of the question.
I'm too nice (Score:4, Interesting)
I was watching G.I. Joe: Retribution in a theater with a "zero tolerance" cell phone policy, and the jerk in front of me took his phone out and texted several times during the movie. I considered asking him to stop, but I just don't like getting into confrontations. I further considered going and telling a staffer, but I didn't want to miss part of the movie to do it. Also the guy was there with a kid, and I didn't want to be responsible for ruining the kid's movie experience.
I'm just too nice. :P
rudeness is not just for kids (Score:5, Insightful)
I was having dinner with an old friend of mine (I'm early 50's and he's early 60's). you might think its only kids (relatively speaking) who are rude and will break out their phones and start thumbing thru stuff while in the middle of a dinner conversation, but NO - here he was, dinking around with his stupid iGadget while I was trying to carry on a conversation with him. yes, it really annoyed me.
I don't do that to others. when I'm with someone, I won't whip out my phone and start messing around with it. not sure why people think this is the 'new normal'; its new but its still NOT polite and should not be considered acceptable social behavior.
its bad enough that you cannot find people walking on the street looking where they are going, anymore; they all look down and are thumbing thru their phones and wearing earbuds while walking. car drivers, too! I see so many people wearing earbuds while driving. so unsafe! but do they care? of course not.
I don't like the direction all this is going in. and I realize I'm in a tiny minority, on this subject matter ;(
It's an easy problem to fix (Score:3)
Wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray to come out and watch it at home without all the annoyances.
I don't understand why anyone still goes to a theatre today with all the rude behaviour from the audience. You can't enjoy a movie at the theatre any more.
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" You can't enjoy a movie at the theatre any more."
Yes, you can, if you go to a weekday matinee.
Some movies are better on a big screen. I'm thinking the latest Star Trek, which I caught in 3D about a week after it opened with about 20 other people in a gigantic theater. It was great.
Hell is other people (Score:5, Insightful)
"Hell is other people" - Sartre
That is all.
Alamo Drafthouse (Score:3)
Besides being able to drink a nice beer, you can be sure that you won't see phones out at the Alamo Drafthouse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs [youtube.com]
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Two words...Faraday Cage
Exactly! Or just line the inside of the theater with dental blankets. No signal, no phone... at least communication. Your still going to have asshats playing apps that don't require signal.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
I would support this. Just have the mesh around the theater rooms, rather than the whole building, and let people go out into the hallway if they need to make a call. If they to be available to receive a call, in case of an emergency or for work, then maybe they should go rent a movie instead.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Funny)
I would support this. Just have the mesh around the theater rooms, rather than the whole building, and let people go out into the hallway if they need to make a call.
Ditto for airplanes: just line the cabin, and let people step outside if they need to make a call.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
Being jammed into a seat for 6 hours listening to multiple phone conversations would be hell on earth... or in the skies.
Re:Too Bright (Score:4, Informative)
I read an article on this once. Unfortunately, I'm unable to find the link, but I'm sure enough searching would turn it up if you're interested. The article referenced a study that found that people experienced an increased level of distraction when they could only hear one side of a conversation taking place around them. The writer of the study believed this was due to the fact that your brain feels the need to "fill in" the part of the conversation that it can't hear. Doing so requires a greater degree of mental resource and, thus, leads to greater distractioin.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
No no no. People still need the ability to call 911.
Pretty sure we there was a time, not long ago where we were able to go out without constant ability to dial 911. If there is an emergency then you can easily go to the counter and have the staff call.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
Why? Did the world change so that now you need 200 phones able to call 911 immediately as opposed to walking out of the theater like everyone did before cell phones? Or were we in a pre-civilized barbaric society before cell phones removed all need for social manners? Yes, person next to you has a heart attack; stop the movie, turn on the lights, turn off the phone jammer; and simultaneously with using the phone ask if there's a doctor in the audience. Don't use a remote 911 possibility as an excuse to be an asshat, you're just answering the phone because you're addicted to it.
I have actually been at a movie premier, full theater, movie is actually running and past the opening credits, when the guy in front of me gets a phone call. After lots of shushing he says loudly enough for everyone to hear "I have to go, I'm in the middle of Star Trek". There is no possible way that the phone call can be that important. If someone is actually worried about some incredibly vital call, they should stay home and sit staring at the phone.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Interesting)
I have actually been at a movie premier, full theater, movie is actually running and past the opening credits, when the guy in front of me gets a phone call. After lots of shushing he says loudly enough for everyone to hear "I have to go, I'm in the middle of Star Trek".
Yeah, the obliviousness of some people to others knows no bounds. I was once at an opera, where everyone had paid at least 4-5 times what one pays per person to go to the movies (and many quite a bit more), and the guy in the row in front of me -- in the middle of the opera -- answers his phone after it rings and begins talking loudly: "Hello!? Yeah. I'm at the opera! [speaking louder] I said I can't hear you, because I'm at the opera!!"
Everyone for rows around was glaring at this guy. At this point, a seeming stranger next to the guy (who had been shushing him) yanked the phone from his hand and turned off, then handed it back.
And sometimes the effect simply destroys the entire event. I was at a symphony concert a few years back where a 90-minute piece ended with a slow gradual dissolution of the music, gradually getting softer and softer, fading away over a period of some 10 minutes. (Some people may find such a thing boring, others sublime, but obviously most people at such a concert probably are closer to the latter.)
Most people here had probably paid at least 10 times what a movie ticket costs... a couple thousand people in the hall. For the last few minutes of the concert, you could have heard a pin drop (almost literally).
About 3 minutes before the end of the piece, a cell phone starts going off loudly. It keeps going off -- for about a minute as a guy in the fifth row from the front or so gets up and actually works his way out of the hall (these rows were not spaced to allow people to pass while everyone was seated, so it took some time)... all the while with phone blaring.
The concert was completely ruined for the orchestra and the entire audience -- the profound effect of the music was lost.
This event was so notorious that it actually got written up in major newpapers. If I remember correctly, the guy actually came forward (anonymously) and apologized -- explaining that he had just received an iPhone as a gift in the past couple days, had someone else put it into "sleep" mode, had it on vibrate, but somehow had mistakenly set an alarm... which he didn't realize could sound aloud even when the phone was on vibrate or "asleep." When it sounded, he was too unfamiliar with the device to figure out how to make it stop.
Since that event, I ALWAYS turn my phone and any other devices COMPLETELY OFF at important events. An accidental alarm or other noise just isn't worth ruining an experience for thousands of other people who may have paid hundreds of dollars each.
A movie theater may not quite be like this, but a similar etiquette principle applies on a smaller scale.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
No no no. People still need the ability to call 911.
Leave the theater and call. The ability to call 911 from anywhere is not guaranteed, nor is it a right. But if it makes you feel better, they can put emergency hard line phones on the end of every row.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
No no no. People still need the ability to call 911.
They can do that out in the hall.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Funny)
In an emergency, seconds count. They fucking count.
Which is why theatergoers died by the thousands before the invention of the cell phone. It's how movie theaters got the nickname "the popcorn mausoleums" back in the day. Back then, you put your life on the line whenever you wanted to see a movie, and since most of them were Roger Corman films and general Universal releases, most people felt it wasn't worth the risk and killed themselves afterward. Thankfully, with the invention of the cell phone, people could finally go see a movie without nearly as much risk of death, something that was literally impossible beforehand.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
then why are you at the theater????
Really. You are paying $10 or more ... to play sudoku on your phone? When people are in a theater, why can't they just watch the movie? Or leave if they are bored? Are attention spans really that short?
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
Most slashdotters *think* they are multitaskers. Turns out they are wrong.
Re:Too Bright (Score:4)
You annoy me at the theater because you can't get up out of your seat and move yourself the hallway then you threaten me. Be prepared to wake up in the hospital. So while I am no PC Cop. I payed to enjoy the movie. You are stopping me from enjoying said movie. You are free to use your phone until it becomes a hardship on others, then it's time for you to show consideration to your fellow man.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
>"I haven't had that issue when people have taken out their phones to text or check the time."
It greatly depends on a variety of factors:
* How long it was used
* How bright the screen is
* How far away other people are
* How dark the theater is
* How dark the movie screen is at the time it was used
* How sensitive the people are around you
* How the phone is being held (this is a big one)
Generally, it is rude to use a phone at all in a theater because it has the great *potential* to annoy others around the user, just like talking does. I speculate 95% of the texting seen in theaters is totally unnecessary-it is not urgent or something that can't wait until after the movie. But to check the time or for an urgent text, the impact can be greatly reduced by:
* Doing it as quickly as possible
* Turning down the brightness
* Holding the device close to you and never facing in a way someone can see the screen
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Insightful)
The ushers should escort the phone users from the theater. Stop the movie first and turn up lights so that everyone can see who it is and provide sufficient negative reinforcement. If you don't let the puppy pee on the carpet, then why not use the rolled up newspaper on the mentally incontinent as well?
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... but it would only happen once
... in every movie. Maybe the populace would learn after a while, but it would take months, and then ten years later there will always be some teen with their first phone who never experienced the "movie shutdown and public shaming", so it would start up again later.
Re: (Score:3)
We get it. It isn't a problem for you, and thus anything that is done to address it for those who it is a problem for is (doomed to fail | more trouble than it is worth | etc). Furthermore, anyone who it is a problem for should be (paying attention to the big screen | ignoring it | not going to movies | etc ) because they are (inattentive | reflecting an outdated view of society | whining).
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But theaters that do this also get increased business.
Re:Too Bright (Score:4, Insightful)
Alamo Drafthouse seemed to get a good bit of business from it, but then it's not typical. People I presume will not want to return to a theater that has lots of interrupts, and return to those that doesn't.
Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Interesting)
>"Like I said, it hasn't bothered me when people do it"
I don't doubt it doesn't bother you (nor perhaps many other people), but not everyone is the same. Things that bother one person might not bother someone else at all (and in reverse). As a society, we have to understand that people are different and make a reasonable effort to prevent annoying others, even when it is not something that annoys ourselves.
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Re:Too Bright (Score:5, Informative)
It's good press though. Austin Drafthouse even use the outraged drunken phone call from an ejected patron as part of an advertisement.
Re:Too Bright (Score:4, Insightful)
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I have. Tap, tap, tap, bleep, tap, tap, bleep, tap, tap, tap.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
I've never seen it either, in 50+ years of life in three states. The theater I normally go to has a warning at the beginning that they will throw you out. Given that I have never seen anyone with a phone screen on there, I can only presume they mean it.
This is a trivial problem to deal with - for the theater management. They will quickly get a reputation of not tolerating that kind of idiocy, and as they do, for every texting asshole they lose as a customer, they'll pick up two or three who will drive the extra distance to get to a theater that enforces their rules. If it's a problem in the first place.
So is some dickhead is bothering your movie experience, complain to the manager. Immediately. Demand they either enforce their rules (and they have them) or give you your money back. And if they don't, make it clear they've lost a customer, and anybody else who you can tell about it.
If it's a problem in the first place. I've never seen it.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I've never seen it either, in 50+ years of life in three states. The theater I normally go to has a warning at the beginning that they will throw you out. Given that I have never seen anyone with a phone screen on there, I can only presume they mean it.
2:15 pm June 25 showing of Star Trek Into Darkness at the Peoria, AZ Harkin's Theater. Twice during the show a woman three rows down pulls out her phone for about 30 seconds each time. Full brightness.
While stadium seating gives much better view of the movie it means that you can see every phone in front of you.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Funny)
On the other hand, if she had done it during the first one, you wouldn't even have noticed it.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Funny)
I think they need an announcement on the screen at the start. Should read:
"Attention. Parolees from the state correctional facility are in this theater as part of a program to help reduce their unpredictable rage. For your own safety, please do not use your phone."
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Funny)
Or a sign that says "This theater is equipped with phone jamming. If your phone rings during the movie, a member of staff will come and jam it somewhere."
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Informative)
I've only seen it once, and I only had to give the girl one warning. She called me a fucking asshole and told me to get the fuck out of her face, but she put the phone away and did not use it again. I almost complained to the management just for her language (this was a family movie), but decided just to let it go unless she pulled the phone out again.
However, I have also noticed that while the theater's pre-movie warnings used to be friendly, gentle reminders, they've changed to pretty stern warnings making clear that phone usage will not be tolerated and that offenders will be kicked out, not receive a refund, and potentially be asked never to return. So there has obviously been enough trouble to warrant the sterner warnings.
Come to think of it, I think that single incident was during the "friendly reminder" era.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
>"I have never, ever noticed this, not in a single movie."
Well good for you. I have in several movies and it was EXTREMELY annoying and distracting to have someone in front of me light up their damn phone every 5 to 10 minutes. And the people I was with were also annoyed.
And now there are no less than THREE separate sequences before each movie telling people to turn off and/or not use phones during the movie. Added to the previews and such, it takes 20+ minutes for the movie to start.
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Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
>"What movie theater do you frequent? I'll make sure to shine a flashlight in your eyes and tell you your attention span sucks"
You are either an uncooked teenager or just don't give a damn about anyone around you. Perhaps karma will catch up with you one day.... one can only hope.
Re: (Score:3)
Read the post the parent was replying to.
They're not advocating annoying flashlights in theaters, they're pointing out that most people would find that annoying. Drawing a parallel to cellphone backlights.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
I just don't care, and I don't have a problem with it.
Neither do I, though, I haven't been to a movie in the theaters in many years. Before cell phones, they were already very loud, full of obnoxious teenagers, some guy with big hair and a loud laugh, and so many other annoyances that going to a movie theater is the last place I'd like to go to enjoy a film.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
Two part solution:
1) make it clear that cell phones and pagers must be kept OFF if taken into the theater. "You agree to hold harmless anyone taking your functioning phone or pager away from you, including any accidental or intentional damage to said device."
before we get to #2, 911 IN the theater room is not necessary. you probably can't call 911 when you're swimming in the public pool for example. It's not a civil right. If you think that it is, then I challenge you to force your local pool to find a way to accommodate this right. Cellular/landline access to 911 is only relevant when there are no other convenient ways to summon help. Being 40 feet from the theater lobby is NOT too inconvenient. I can probably sprint to the lobby faster than you can fumble for your phone in the dark and dial 911. Maybe you should insist on them leaving the lights on in the theater so you can dial 911 faster? Seconds count! now put that silly argument away.
2) theaters could offer a silent pager, similar to what you find at many restaurants. Check your cell phone or pager at the lobby and get a pager. If your phone goes off, they will vibrate your pager. Theaters should not be required to offer this, and would almost certainly charge for it to prevent half the theater from checking their phones. If you need to be on call 24/7, don't go to a theater that doesn't offer this service. (and don't go for a swim) There are some things you simply can't do if you're on call. You're probably being compensated for this inconvenience. Deal with it, it's not my problem.
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Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
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It's annoying when it's someone sitting next to or in front of you; otherwise, it's not noticeable.
I usually wait until a movie has been out for 2+ weeks, to have a good choice of seats. I find the handheld screens *very* distracting in the darkened theater before the movie starts. However, I've never noticed one during the movie itself. I don't know whether that's because people are polite enough not to use them, because I'm absorbed in the movie, or simply because I don't get out enough.
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Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
>"If someone is bothered by a phone screen's brightness during a movie, it sounds like they aren't paying attention to the right screen."
And that is just a typical "everyone is like me" attitude. Just because it doesn't bother YOU doesn't mean it doesn't bother anyone else. This is one of the biggest issues with society- many people are simply unable to imagine that other people are more or less sensitive/annoyed by things. Even worse are the people who simply don't care that what they do annoys others because the world revolves around their own selfishness.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Informative)
I'll bet dollars to donuts that he's done this in the past
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
No. They just shouldn't do it while they're on call.
If they can't be incommunicado for a couple hours, they should stay home and watch Netflix, or take a jog in the local park.
Sneaking into a midnight showing with your phone turned on "just in case" is discourteous (in the extreme) to fellow theater patrons.
Yeah it's "only" a $10-20 ticket. So what?
If you buy a burger at McDonalds and someone comes by, grabs it, and smashes it into a pulp before dropping it back on your tray, is that okay? The burger is still edible.
Going to the theater, you're paying for atmosphere and presentation. Some jackass yakking on his phone or texting incessantly at full brightness ruins that.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
You're the one who's checking his phone in the middle of a movie, but the other guy is the asshole?
Wow...
An overwhelming compulsion to check your phone just because somebody called you is not normal. It's, sadly, not particularly abnormal. But on the whole most people have the capacity to resist the urge. Unless your mother is in the hospital, or you're on the cusp of closing a million dollar account, I can pretty much guarantee you that it's not so important it can't wait 2 hours.
If you're checking your phone like that, I can also guarantee you that you're not the kind of person who would be worried about million dollar accounts. Not unless you had a diagnosed psychological disorder like ADHD. Success in life is strongly correlated with the ability to moderate your behavior. In fact, the capacity to delay gratification is more than correlated; on the whole its causative of increased wealth.
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Not all of us are blessed with tunnel vision.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
While in general there are two electable people on the national stage, if you live in a non-swing state, there is really only one electable person that you personally can vote for. Everyone else, even "the other guy", all unelectable. And in such states, it is actually voting for "the other guy" that is equivalent to throwing your vote away. A vote for a third party, while it may not add up to overthrow "the guy who is guaranteed to win the state", there is at least a non-zero chance that it will be noticed.
"Oh look, the guy guaranteed to win the state won, and the other guy came in 2nd. Big shocker." isn't gonna do anything.
"Huh. The guy guaranteed to win the state won, and the other guy came in 2nd, but not by as much as he usually does." may make people notice.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
Just the fact that this is a problem, AND the fact of the astronomical prices of movies (and the crap they sell in the snack bar), I wait till the movie comes out at Redbox, and then rent it and watch it on my tv.. The last movie I actually went to a theater to see was the last Starwars installment, and THEN I was so pissed off at the admission price, snack price AND noisy damn kids, I swore I'd never set foot in a theater again... Its been however many years since the last Starwars installment.. Forgot just when that was.. Even though I love the Bond and Startrek franchises, I wait for Redbox on them... Just aint gonna waste my hard earned money on theaters...
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Funny)
Come on, the last Star Wars film was decent.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, then, you're probably an old fart, as am I. There seem to be a number of generational things less seen out and about these days - wrist and pocket watches, good manners, modestly good grammar, attention span, ability to focus or pay attention, fewer interruptions, knowledge of and respect and appreciation for quiet - and the capability for being quiet, for a few.
Re: I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:5, Funny)
You're an asshole, but you're a moderately funny asshole. That kind of makes up for being an asshole. But you're still an asshole.
Re:I go to a fair amount of movies (Score:4, Insightful)
If you sit toward the back on can see the glow of a half dozen smartphone screens at any given time (or more).
I was fortunate enough to see Roger Waters at the LA Coliseum last year. Fucking amazing show. The most brilliant bit was during "Run Like Hell". Across the sea of audience, you could see thousands of phone screens, everyone taking video, snapping pics, etc. Meanwhile, Waters is mocking all of these people with images of people wearing the white ear buds on the giant projection screen (as well as a few comments before the song).
And then.... AND THEN!!! Everyone starts singing along and doing the overhead clap thing... "RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!!"
The irony was completely lost on them. I sat and watched and just couldn't believe my eyes. Hitler would have loved these people.
Re:Get off my lawn (Score:4, Insightful)
An acquired taste that we no longer have much reason to acquire.
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And you can go to the bathroom without missing that crucial plot twist...
Re:Why do people go to movie theaters? (Score:4, Funny)
And you can pause the movie while you pack the bong.
Re:Why do people go to movie theaters? (Score:5, Funny)
I put double sided sticky tape on my carpet for that authentic cinema feel.
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Re:I never found it a REAL problem (Score:4, Interesting)
*IF* I were to go a movie theater, I'd do the same thing I do with the smartphone at Church.. put it on vibrate. Yeah.. I know, why take your phone to Church? I volunteer with the local Redcross chapter's Disaster Action Team (DAT Team) and am often oncall over the weekend and have to respond quicky.. We're the guys/gals who provide food/clothing/lodging from the Redcross for people whose house/apartment burns down. Normally we have two volunteers oncall from Friday night to Monday morning for the weekend shift, but Las Vegas had a very large apartment fire (70 people displaced) several weekends ago, and we had to call out additional volunteers to get everybody taken care of, and since I was the primary oncall person, and I was in Church at the time, I had to leave kinda suddenly...
Re:First.. world... problems.... (Score:4, Funny)
This is the kind of nonsense that makes you cringe at what bothers people.
Anyone who mentions "first world problem" is setting themselves up for a humiliating game of reductio ad absurdum. A game they won't win.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't know where you live, but in big city's downtowns, these things are big problems. One or two people yapping on the phone, 3-4 newborns crying themselves out, countless teens yelling at each other continually, a bunch of people hitting the back of your head with their feet while "getting comfortable" and leaning them on your seat, the bunch taking pictures or camcording the movie to post it on the net, and the countless people playing with their phone at max brightness (super distracting)....
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