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Movie theater etiquette is something I feel we as a society have, unfortunately, lost. I noticed a sharp decline in the way people behave in theaters, or really most public spaces, in the years following that weird pandemic we had a while back.
In the theater, it used to be commonplace to turn off your phone, discontinue any conversation and stay seated. They were sort of unspoken rules.
Now it feels rare to see a movie in a theater where everyone in the audience adheres to these rules.
If you are unlucky enough, you could end up next to an inconsiderate moviegoer to the highest degree. Of course, I am talking about the “Chicken Jockey” phenomenon present last year during the height of “The Minecraft Movie” popularity.
This is rare but still a valid fear.
There are a multitude of factors one can look to when it comes to figuring out why things in the theater are like this now. I boil it down to: attention span, a need for attention, and the current state of movie theaters in general.
The Great Attention Span Shortening
We live in the age of short form content that we can scroll through in the blink of an eye. Don’t like this 20 second video? Just move your finger and watch the next! Video after video after video for hours.
It seems that shortform content really is the future and that means attention spans are getting shorter. Is this a good or bad thing? Who’s to say? But it is certainly bad for movies.
I recently read a (short) article with an alarming headline.
I knew that most people nowadays have a similar issue. I have watched friends and family check phones during a movie and miss what’s happening. During the premiere for my film that I spent years making, I even caught a few audience members checking their phones (I made a mental note of who did this and have not felt the same about those people since).
But film students cannot sit through a whole film? What the heck is going on? I jump at the opportunity to turn my phone off and watch a movie.
You’re in school to study film and have a career in film and you can’t even watch a movie? I’d understand if you want to use your phone during math class but movies are fun.
Social media is definitely to blame with its endless stream of content that is waiting at the push of a button. The social media boogeyman is also to blame when it comes to my next point.
“Look at me!”
I believe social media has strengthened the human desire for attention to an unnatural degree. This does no favors for movie theaters.
Regular people now post every single thing they do online and social media influencers are always in search of that next viral moment. Much like the chicken jockey thing, many now attend movies in hopes of being the funniest guy in the room.
When I saw “Weapons” last year, I loved the film, but there was one thing that almost ruined the whole experience for me.
There was someone in the front row who I presume was around 17 years of age. In the beginning of the movie, when something scary happened, he yelled out “oh hell no!” Obviously, it got a laugh out of the audience.
For whatever reason, he interpreted this laugh as an invitation to say this the entire movie.
People in the packed theater stopped laughing after the second time. He would even say this during parts that were not scary at all, so it was not genuine fear. He wanted people to think he was funny so badly that he would say his famous catchphrase about every four minutes.
I could not even focus on the movie because I was so mad and my brother stopped me from going down to the front row to lambast the nuisance.
I’d like to say that this is an uncommon experience, but it is not. In the good ole days, if you acted like this, an usher would usually come into the theater and tell you to either stop or leave.
Nowadays, if I am going to see a movie, there is almost never someone checking my ticket and telling me where to go. I’ve been going to the same theaters almost my entire life and I now watch droves of people just freely walk into screenings almost as if they are shopping at a mall.
Floors are disgusting, seats are sticky, automated ticket kiosks don’t even work.
There have been times when I went to the movies and the only person working was in the concession stand.
Conclusion
How can we make the theater more pleasant? I think the key is, ultimately, to just be a mindful and courteous person.
Sit quietly and do not go on your phone. If someone near you is talking, tell them to stop.
Going to the movies is a special occasion and usually costs more than it should. So be mindful of that and if you’re going to sneak into a movie for free, at least be quiet!
