2/19/07 – I worked at a movie theater in high school and we had a policy that stated "Silence is Golden". It was a good policy because most movie goers don't want chatting or other unnecessary noise when enjoying a movie. Unfortunately, most theaters warn about such a policy, but apparently do little in the way of enforcing it.
My Sweetie and I were watching a fantastic movie the other night, "Pan's Labyrinth". Before the opening credits had finished, a noisy group of teenagers were already threatening to ruin our cinematic experience. Luckily someone in the theater had the courage to speak out and tell them to kindly shut up. (Confronting a goup of teenagers today could be a very dangerous thing to do, so kudos to him.) Why teenage punks would be even remotely interested in a subtitled film about post civil war Spain is beyond me.
If it isn't noisy teenagers, it's the crying infant or the toddler running up and down the stairs. Why is it that parents will spend a small fortune to GO to a movie, but won't get off a dime to pay for a babysitter?? Then there's the person who thinks they are sitting in their living room and feels comfortable shouting out commentary on the fly. Or the woman who nearly ruined our "Charlotte's Web" viewing with her hysterical laughter and exclamations. She actually frightened our younger children. The only reason we didn't say anything to her was because we questioned her mental faculties.
What ever happened to manners? If you can't go two hours without your cell phone, don't go to a movie. If you can't find a babysitter, wait for the movie to be released on DVD. If you want to be rowdy with your homeys, go to the mall or a rave.
The majority of people at the movie theater are there to escape. Let them. Your inability to accept that the world is not about YOU ruins it for everyone.
The world is NOT all about you. The world does NOT want to hear your screaming kids. The world does NOT want to hear your latest "sick" ringtone. The world not NOT want to hear the next line of the movie from your lips.
So sit down, turn off your cell phone, shaddap, and just watch the movie. Oh! And be sure to eat the popcorn with your mouth CLOSED. I almost forgot that one.
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