Peer pressure, like standing ovations for live gigs, state of union speeches, etc.
Useless.
I only applaud during X Rated films.
Well . . . . at least I call it applauding.
“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
You’re missing something. Applauses aren’t solely intended foir the benefit of the performers. When a member of the audience is delighted, he wants to express his pleasure, cheering, applauding, screaming, whatever… and if possible with the rest of the crowd. From this point of view, the movies are frustrating. I started myself to applaud a couple times at the end of a movie that I had found reaaly great, and was followed. We just needed to express and share our enthousiasm.
The audience at the Kansas silent movie festival in Topeka likes to applaud every time a character does something heroic. I don’t know why they do it, and I don’t know why it annoys me, but I live with it- it never drowns out the dialog.
We just saw TOWER HEIST last night, and several audience members applauded at a particular moment during the film. I think it’s a spontaneous way of expressing appreciation, like laughing at the funny bits, one applauds at the heroic bits.
About applauding at weddings, which aren’t supposed to be a “staged performance”:
But shhhhhhh! You’re not supposed to admit that!
I saw Ides of March last week at a small movie theater with some 10 other people in the audience, and they clapped at the end.
It wasn’t a particularly fine or stunning movie but they liked it so I guess they clapped.
This irritated my friend for some reason but she spent the whole movie trying to be irritated at things, it seems.
One thing a good applause can do at a live performance that applause can never do at a movie: Result in an encore!
Once, as a child, the folks took me to see Ethel Merman (ETA: And Russell Nype) live in “Call Me Madam”. The duet “You’re Just In Love” (where the two singers, love-stricken male and older wiser “counselor” female sang two entirely separately songs simultaneously), produced such a thunderous ovation that they repeated the number about six times before moving on.
[sup]“So this is the way democracy dies – To thunderous applause!” (Was it Leia who said that?)[/sup]
Yes. It’s mostly a “I REALLY ENJOYED THAT - DIDN’T YOU ENJOY THAT?!?!” “YES YES I TOO ENJOYED THAT - WE ARE SOULMATES!” Sort of thing.
Loudest applause I’ve ever heard in a theater was during Thelma and Louise. I will spoiler this for anyone who has been living in a cave for 20 years.
When they drove off the cliff. My theater employee friends and I were watching a late-night pre-screening and I said to my friend “It would be so awesome if they drove off the cliff.” Then when it happened we jumped up shrieking and high-fiving each other wildly.