Netflix killed the cinema star; or, my love/hate relationship with going to the movies
"C'mon son, let's go get shit seats for Batman"I overheard this choice quote when I was in the lobby waiting to see The Dark Knight Rises. I had booked the day off work especially to see this on it's release, because I knew that it was going to sell out and I didn't want to wait for the masses to descend onto the cinema in the evening. As it happens, by the time I'd got down to the cinema, the first showing had already sold out, so I was stuck with going to the second showing instead*. Cue football-dad and his 11 year old son. It was already 15 minutes past the start of the first showing, so the adverts and trailers would be in full swing. However, they'd clearly booked their tickets ahead, as they went straight up to the ticket machine and got their tickets. Dad looked at the screen number and screening time on them, looked up at the film times board and turned to his son; that's when he muttered those immortal words.
I had to stifle a laugh and the incident quickly became one of those private jokes where you can text it to your friend at 2 am and they'll know instantly what you're referring to. But that one sentence summed up the problem I have with going to the cinema today. You pay your extortionate ticket prices, for what? To sit in a crowded cinema, in an uncomfortable seat, surrounded by ungrateful people. And that's the problem there.
People. People have ruined the magic of going to the cinema. Yeah, thanks a lot, guys! But perhaps I should clarify. Not everybody has ruined it for me, it's mainly those people who don't know how to behave when watching a film in the cinema. We've become so used to watching HD films on our flatscreen TVs in the comfort of our own home, that we forget that when in the cinema we need to be courteous to others. So don't be taking your shoes off and putting your feet up, because you're not at home. Don't be arriving late during the movie then ducking out early, because you're not at home. Don't be obnoxiously texting your friends/checking Facebook/doozying about on your phone, because you're not at home. Don't be discussing 'where do I know that actor from?' with the person next to you, because you're not at home.
Unfortunately, the big chain cinemas do little to discourage these actions. In fact, they often pander to them! There was talks at one point about having 'interactivity' during movies; film companies were going to encourage people to use their phones during movies! I kid you not. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, then why not just join them, huh? And, yes, I realise that the article states that 'it wouldn't be encouraged during the movie', you've kinda lost that one 'cos chances are people will be using their phones anyway.
On a recent movie outing, as soon as the credits began to roll the lights went up and people instantly began to pile out. The screen hadn't even gone black yet! There was no time to let the film that you've just spent 2 hours watching sink in, no time to actually read the credits (yes, some of us do!), no time to just enjoy the film. I made the joke that a photo of Clarence Boddicker should flash up on screen with the immortal phrase "Bitches, leave!" blasted over the speakers.
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| I am sooooo getting this t-shirt |
The sad thing is, as much as I love films and even the cinema (especially old cinemas, the ones that still have character and architecture, but I'll leave that for another
I also think that the following video should be shown before every film.
* As it happened, this was actually a blessing in disguise, as the second showing was pretty empty! Everybody had clearly gone to the first showing, thinking they'd beat the crowds.
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