Anyway, I love seeing movies in a theater (especially bringing in my own, cheap food [!]). I definitely prefer to it a television or a computer monitor. For the most part, movies are made with that enormous 16:9 screen in mind, not a 4:3 television. Now I hear you clamoring, "BUT JAMES, WHAT ABOUT HDTVS?!" Calm down, sure the aspect ratio is the same, but what about the size and clarity? Definitely not. Now, will I watch certain movies ONLY on a theater sized screen? No. Why not? Because I'm not that much of a jack-ass. But when the opportunity arises, I definitely try to catch a flick at a theater.
I recently saw the new horror movie "Orphan". I did not have an enjoyable time. But before I get into that, let's look at the first two mistakes I made:
1. I saw it the weekend it came out, specifically Friday.
2. I saw it in the evening.
I almost never do this. I usually see movies on a weekday in the afternoon. Less people, which to me means less possible hassle and/or stress.
I was walking to the theater (I was in NYC) and realized these mistakes and kicked myself, but continued on. I walked into the theater and saw a large crowd, I continued to the auditorium. I found a seat towards the back in the center (the best seats in my opinion) and waited. There was a large crowd for this movie, horror always seems to do at least moderately well. I spotted at least a dozen pre-teens and even some babies. Hm!
So, as the movie played, I quickly realized that this was not a type of crowd I was used to. People were having loud conversations all over the place. Yelling at the screen was continuous. Loud applause, raucous laughter at inappropriate times, stomping of feet were all staples of this showing. Also I heard one guy say, "Damn, white people stupid!" And later a lady accused that same gentleman, "Yo, that's some pedophile shit." regarding a comment he made during the movie. Which made me smirk. OH HOW I SMIRKED.
So what does this mean to me. Am I going to stop seeing movies in theaters? (no) Am I going to continue seeing movies in theaters, but at less crowded times? (yes) I had a pretty not great time (the movie also sucked A LOT), but does this mean the crowd was in the wrong? I'm not sure I think so.
When I see screening of older movies at the Independent Film Channel theater and someone talks, they get shushed to HELL. But that's because people go to that theater with the specific purpose of seeing a very specific movie, and sometimes that movie is only being shown that day/night or weekend. People take it seriously.
But at a multiplex on the weekend, the customers are mostly people who are looking for something, preferably something fun, to do. That's it. It's much more casual, people take there shoes off, they joke with their friends, they treat it like their house. Now is this the optimal behavior for a public place with lots of strangers? Eh, in my eyes, not really. However, these rules are arbitrary and really depend on the circumstances.
As the movie was heading towards its (thankfully) inevitable end, my annoyance with my fellows movie-goers waned, and I regarded the whole situation as just "not my thing". It's like going to a Yankees/Red Sox game and getting mad at the crowd for being fervent. If you didn't want to deal with them, don't go.
I think that most trite problems like this aren't caused by the other people committing the acts, but ourselves not being able to deal with them. Hell is other people only if we allow ourselves to be in hell. Or something else that sounds profound.
-James
Now playing: Pendulum - Another Planet
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