The decline of cinema etiquetticy is astounding, instead of a place of ritual, appreciation and escapism, I can't escape this Hell which has become the modern day cinema experience. Has cinema decorum ever existed? What has happened? These are my top 10 types of people who ruin the movie theatre.
1. The Snorer
Ah yes, what a delight to hear. Listen, we've all been sleepy in a film and dozed off, but to snore like a pig... inexcusable.
2. The Yawner
Alike the snorer but with unbearable comical yawns. If you need to express to the audience how bored you are or how late it is, you need to go to sleep and never wake up.
3. The Leg Shaker
Once you notice someone is shaking their leg on the seat behind you, there is no relief, you are Sisyphus in a futile kafkaesque situation. Forget the movie, how do you tell them to stop or is that too rude? Should you move seats? Wobble wobble.
4. The Commentators
Let's not get this mixed up with audience reactions such as excitement to a cameo in a Marvel movie or an unexpected movie twist. These are crafted moments, you are supposed to react. However, 'The Commentators' are the loud mouth people in the back who are saying everything that comes to their head aloud during the entirety of the film. They are overreacting to scenes with their "oooo"s and "ahhh"s and making memes out of punchlines. Bonus points if they spoil the movie.
5. The Laughing Hyenas
These people are usually in groups. They are always laughing especially at parts that are not funny at all and at a film that is not a comedy. It comes off as insensitive and ruins the deep emotional moments of a film. Additionally they like to move around a lot- taking bathroom breaks every 5 minutes, changing seats and grabbing more refreshments.
6. The Cheesy Stinkers
People have forgotten that the movie theatre is a place of propriety and not a living room. Do not take your socks off. Do not EVER put your smelly feet on the seat beside someone's head.
7. The Photographers
The Photographers are people who grab out their phone (full brightness btw) and snap pictures of the film, of the title or of iconic scenes (with the flash on too). I have to admit, I have been guilty of this in my youth but now as a frequent cinema-goer, I cringe at the thought of my past actions. Trust me when I say, no one cares about that picture, not even the person taking the picture.
8. The Chewies
Yes it's obvious, loud chewers are annoying ok but didn't anyone teach them to close their mouths while chewing. They order the large popcorn MUNCH MUNCH, the large drink SLURP SLURP, the chocolate packets with the loudest wrappers CRINKLE CRINKLE. If you smell a strange smell it's probably them feasting on the KFC buckets they've smuggled in. Oh and you know they leave that place a mess.
9. Senile Seniors
Old People...
10. The Tweakers
These are the people (if you can even call them people) who take it an astronomical step beyond anything on this list. They are lying on the ground sleeping (yes on the actual floor below the seats), they are in the seat beside you with their pants off (yep, this is true) and they are using a iPad with 100% brightness while the movie is playing. Watching TikTok, starting fights, having sex, the horror stories could go on. WHAT IS GOING ON!?
It is clear that cinema etiquette has stooped to a new low and something needs to be done about it. While researching online I found a blog by Ben Thompson, 'Has Streaming killed Cinema Etiquette' published June of last year arguing that since COVID-19, "people have gotten way too accustomed to watching films in the comfort of their home. Talking through important scenes, scrolling through Twitter..." (Thompson, 24).
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| Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash |
Their outrage and stance is similar to mine. Beyond streaming services, the rise of doom scrolling and desire for mindless content has crippled the attention span of our society. Could this play a part in the decline of cinema etiquette? Have we as a generation grown past the movie theatre?
Whether its post-covid related, low attention spans or an increase in stupidity, cinema etiquette needs to be re-advised and re-implemented. Maybe there needs to be more confrontation to this sort of behaviour from audience members and/or from the staff of cinemas. If once in a blue moon I experience a film without one of the 10 types above, it's a delight. It's quite a shame really because I use to love going to the cinema but recently I find myself avoiding it to prevent hair loss or an increased blood pressure.
