# More reasons to avoid the movie theater **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597 "2005-12-21T06:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/21 "2005-12-21T17:27:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ll never understand why American movie theaters don’t have reserved seats. I had no idea it was done any different in places outside of North America. Of course the only countries where I have actually been to a movie theatre are Canada and the Netherlands (A’dam to be specific) so my experience isn’t what you would call vast. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/22 "2005-12-21T17:29:03Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > You mean the whole audience yelling “FOCUS!!!” doesn’t actually help? Nope. You can’t hear a darned thing in the booth from the theater. Maybe you could once apon a time, but these days the windows have to be soundproof because the projection booth serves a dozen theaters. Not only would the projectionist go crazy listening to a dozen films yapping away, but the actual projectors are kind of noisy and you don’t want that noise detracting from quiet parts of the film. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/23 "2005-12-21T17:41:17Z")
Sorry for the double-post+off topic anecdote combo… [anecdote] When we were showing “Born on the Fourth of July” I stopped by the projector while making my rounds and peered through the window to make sure it was in focus and such. I noticed a strange rippling effect in the projected image and immediately began looking at the film path through the machine and listening for funny mechanical sounds etcetera. Then I realized what was happening: [ul][li]The main speakers in a theater are _behind_ the screen. If you were to rip the screen down, you would see a wall of speakers. If you were to sneak under the curtan and look from behind the screen, you would see that it is perforated with pretty decent sized holes.[_]Someone had jacked the sound up pretty high, and the battle scenes were much louder than the rest of the movie.[_]I was observing the material of the screen being buffeted this way and that by the sheer power of the sound waves coming out of the front speakers, like rings forming around stones thrown in a pond![/ul]I went down to the theater to check it out and found it was _really loud_, so I dropped it a bit even though no one had complained all day.[/li] Oh, and even that noise wasn’t audible through the soundproof window. [/anecdote] ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/24 "2005-12-21T18:17:21Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Sorry to mention this… but after reading the OP I coudn’t avoid having the feeling that way too many americans are “anti-social”… Very sad. No wonder there are so many more Brazilians than Americans in social networks like Orkut. We hear a lot about nice americans… but we hear few stories about making friendship with Americans that are not latino. Seems they care little for friends … or less than we do. > > Still how is this compatible with a high church attendance ? I would guess going to church is a “social” thing. I guess it’s just part of the vast, overweening inferiority of Americans which you feel compelled to bring up whenever possible, no matter how unrelated your xenophobia is to the subject matter of a thread. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/25 "2005-12-21T18:20:53Z")
I saw _King Kong_ at a preview screening and there were three people in my immediate vacinity talking on cell phones during the movie. Not taking incoming calls–initiating calls! And jesus, people, if you’re going to talk to the friend during the movie (which in my opinion is perfectly OK and probably unavoidable) whisper! Do you not have the concept of the inside voice? Do you not see that there are others around you who don’t care about what you have to say? And the worst part of it was, _Kong_ was a really good movie. I didn’t understand how these cretins weren’t engrossed in the film. It’s a fucking free preview. If you have someplace better to be, or some important phone calls to make, leave the fucking theater. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/26 "2005-12-21T18:48:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ll never understand why American movie theaters don’t have reserved seats. [This one](http://www.arclightcinemas.com/) does. It’s also got comfortable seats each with their _own_ armrests, a bar in the lobby, and they won’t let you in the theater after they start the movie. For those reasons, it’s pretty much the only movie theater I’ll go to anymore. Even though it’s an hour’s drive away. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/27 "2005-12-21T18:50:17Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Sorry to mention this… but after reading the OP I coudn’t avoid having the feeling that way too many americans are “anti-social”. You go to the movies to meet friends or get the family out of the house a bit. If you only want to watch a movie with no hassles… stay at home with your DvD and couch potato food ? Not criticizing… but that wa the impression I had from reading the OP. > > As for the old couple coming in late to the movie… I agree its a bitch. Yet hardly something that happens with any frequency I hope. I agree it spoiled the experience somewhat… but hardly something to blame on Cinemas in general. But the theaters are out to thwart the social aspect of going to the movies, as well with their increasingly intrusive advertising. Now in addition to the fucking Coke commercials, car commercials, computer commercials, and other ads that run at show time, plus of course the previews (which I like, but which _are_ advertising) they now run this bullshit info-advo-tainment crap about lame movies and even lamer TV shows for 20 minutes before every show, with the volume **CRANKED UP INCREDIBLY LOUD** making it impossible to have any sort of a conversation beyond shouting in the ear of your direct neighbor. For less popular movies, we usually don’t even walk into the theater until five minutes after the showtime, but for popular movies you have to go in early to get seats together for your group. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/28 "2005-12-21T19:18:40Z")
You know, **Alessan** , it occurs to me that I’ve been to the movies in Israel and don’t recall there being assigned seating. Maybe y’all over in Tel Aviv just do it wacky. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/29 "2005-12-21T19:25:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ll never understand why American movie theaters don’t have reserved seats. There are no reserved seats in France either, and I never run in the kind of problems described all the time on this board. It must be a difference in mentality. Assuming that posters don’t exagerate, I suspect that a number of unnaceptable behaviors somehow came to be perceived as normal in US movie theaters. Yes, what the OP describes might happen here. But judging by the posts in the Pit, it seems that going to a theater in the US you must expect a nightmare, with your neighbors walking in and out, people commenting loudly the movie, or shouting when they don’t like it, 4 yo with unconcerned parents brought in to watch the last horror flick and/or throwing fits preferably while banging on your seat, etc… Now, maybe pit posts are giving us a picture darker than the reality. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/30 "2005-12-21T19:32:01Z")
> [@robby](#): > > My family and I went to see the new Narnia movie this weekend. With less than 10 minutes to go before the ending, this older couple walks into the crowded theater and decides to find a seat. First they stand directly in front of us debating the merits of the two seats on the end. Then they decide they don’t like those seats (too close) so they move back to the row behind us. > > The group behind us has their coats on the empty seats so the man loudly asks “Are these seats taken?” The woman behind us looks at him like he’s crazy, but tells him no, and so she has to gather up her entire family’s coats. Meanwhile the movie is approaching the ending resolution, which we’re all missing. > > Finally the idiot couple sits down, and proceeds to start talking to each other! Several people around them “shh” them and they finally shut up. Then the credits roll. Then the guy says to his wife, “What, it’s over?!” As everyone files out, the couple relocates their seats _again_ and settles down for the next showing, which they evidently were there to see. It’s now 9:00 pm. The next showing is at 9:30 pm. WTF?! How can anyone walk into a theater that early with a movie on the screen and not realize that they’ve walked into the previous showing? And where the hell are the theater staff who let these people in in the first place? > > Oh, and BTW, the whole film was just slightly out of focus. :rolleyes: Not to mention that with just one box of candy and one drink for the three of us, this movie still cost me $35, and we missed most of the ending. > > And Hollywood wonders why movie attendance continues to shrink. How are any of the things you mentioned are the fault of “Hollywood”? The theatre may have had more than one screen of Narnia and the couple went into the wrong house or they just got out of one show and wandered into yours. Either way, it a bad job by the usher. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/31 "2005-12-21T20:16:03Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Sorry to mention this… but after reading the OP I coudn’t avoid having the feeling that way too many americans are “anti-social”. You go to the movies to meet friends or get the family out of the house a bit. If you only want to watch a movie with no hassles… stay at home with your DvD and couch potato food ? Not criticizing… but that wa the impression I had from reading the OP. What a great way to “socialize.” We all go to another location and spend a few hours in the dark paying attention to what’s on the screen rather then one another. I don’t know how they do things in Brazil but I don’t consider that to be socializing any more then sitting around at home watching television. Well, at least at home I can talk to the guy next to me during commercials without disturbing everyone. I go to the movies because they have a much larger screen then I have at home as well as a much better sound system. I rarely go to the motion picture shows these days because I don’t like the crowds, my home is much more comfortable, and it cost a lot less if I happen to want a snack. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/32 "2005-12-21T21:11:49Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > You know, **Alessan** , it occurs to me that I’ve been to the movies in Israel and don’t recall there being assigned seating. > > Maybe y’all over in Tel Aviv just do it wacky. Well, Haifa has them too, so it isn’t just the Big TA. Maybe Jerusalem doesn’t - wouldn’t put it past them. Nowadays you can even reserve specific seats online. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/33 "2005-12-21T21:26:50Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Now, maybe pit posts are giving us a picture darker than the reality. If all I knew about American movie theaters was what I read in this thread, I’d never go to movies, either! As it stands, I go to movies pretty frequently and it’s been years since I’ve seen cell phone conversations or anything quite as rude as what’s described here. I even saw the new Harry Potter on opening day in a sold out show (7:30 pm, no less), packed with kids, and it was dead quiet and still during the vast majority of the movie. The rest of it was made up of reactions to the screen (i.e. laughs, cheers, etc). It was the same when I saw “King Kong” on Saturday afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/34 "2005-12-22T11:42:48Z")
One thing is for certain… American movie theaters have too good a sound system ! Except for the loudest battle scenes I’ve never seen anyone complain about the loud sound over here. US theatres are saving by having too few employees to check out the volume levels ? ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/35 "2005-12-22T11:50:52Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > What a great way to “socialize.” We all go to another location and spend a few hours in the dark paying attention to what’s on the screen rather then one another. I don’t know how they do things in Brazil but I don’t consider that to be socializing any more then sitting around at home watching television. Well, at least at home I can talk to the guy next to me during commercials without disturbing everyone. > > I go to the movies because they have a much larger screen then I have at home as well as a much better sound system. I rarely go to the motion picture shows these days because I don’t like the crowds, my home is much more comfortable, and it cost a lot less if I happen to want a snack. > > Marc ``` Naturally not everyone has the same idea of fun... and its your right to slouch in your comfy sofa at home watching DVDs. How often do you call your friends over to watch stuff with you ? If the answer is rarely I guess my comment wasn't off. Its certainly much more common over here to go to the movies with friends and talk to them after the movie naturally. Its a good excuse to see friends and hang around people. ``` I have a brother that thinks just like you. He’d rather stay home… so its not exclusively an american phenomena. My brother still does it because he admits he is lazy… he likes going to the movies though when his wife allows it. Personally I like the big screen for action and adventure movies. Some movies weren’t made to be seen in TV screens. The socializing part is great too. But the OP certainly struck me as being anti-social somewhat and I made a honest comment. (I’m not xenophobic thanks) My american friends and family seem to have this great enjoyment of having a nice house and a dog. They always talk about and send fotos of their dogs ! So it kind of made sense that they are disconnected somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/36 "2005-12-22T12:37:53Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > But the OP certainly struck me as being anti-social somewhat and I made a honest comment. In the OP, he talks about how an older couple came into the showing of a new movie 10 minutes before the end, stood in the way, talked loudly, and pretty much screwed up the climax of the film for the people around them. If not liking that is anti-social, then I’ll gladly bear that label. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/37 "2005-12-22T12:40:48Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Very sad. No wonder there are so many more Brazilians than Americans in social networks like Orkut. We hear a lot about nice americans… but we hear few stories about making friendship with Americans that are not latino. Seems they care little for friends … or less than we do. > > Still how is this compatible with a high church attendance ? I would guess going to church is a “social” thing. When I first took my daughter to a park, and saw her walking up to other kids, I had to stop myself from telling her not to bother them. I had to remind myself that children are in the park to play with each other and not just use the park facilities. I had a strong impulse to tell her not to bother others in the park, as I would tell her not to bother them in a store or a restaurant. There is a very strong social pressure not to needlessly socialize in public with strangers. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/38 "2005-12-22T12:42:14Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ll never understand why American movie theaters don’t have reserved seats. What’s the advantage to reserved seating at a movie theater? The concept is alien to me. We saw a movie in London once and had to sit way in the back because someone else bought our tickets and they were reserved. We hated it but being polite, didn’t say anything (and didn’t let our annoyance show). We like sitting right near the front, center, 3-4 rows back depending on how close the screen is, though some theaters are front row theaters. Except in a sellout, no one ever sits where we sit normally, but if the seats were reserved, someone might be forced to sit where we sit by choice, and we’d have to sit elsewhere. I don’t see how reserved seats for a normal film would be a good thing. IMAX reserves seating, but we only go there for something special, and we get tickets in advance. Regular moviegoing is very often a spur of the moment decision. No, I don’t think I’d like that at all. I feel sorry for people who have bad experiences at movie theaters. It really is a shame. We have a fantastic home theater system with a 4’x7’ screen and hanging video projector, with a great sound system, yet we still go out to the movies all the time (we’ve seen close to 20 films so far this month in the theater, with more to come in the next few days). We just prefer seeing movies in the theater, and we don’t like to wait for the DVD for movies we want to see. We do try to go at odd times though, and avoid movies/showtimes that bring out the idiots, and we try not to go to theaters that give us problems, though sometimes we forget. Last night we went to see **The Squid and the Whale** and **The White Countess** at a theater (in Chicago proper) we hadn’t been to for a long time. I remembered why we hadn’t been there for a long time. In the smaller theater, the seats were uncomfortable, and in the larger theater, an exit sign (red lettering on white) right by the screen shone like a beacon and ruined the ambience. Luckily the movie, **The White Countess** , was good enough to overcome the distraction. We won’t be going there again unless we have to though. Our favorite theater (in Evanston) has red lettering on black exit signs, and they’re perfect. Very visible but not at all distracting. It’s crazy I know. We’re seriously starting to take into account Exit signs when deciding on a theater. We realize how lucky we are that we have a wide choice of theaters. So many people in the country don’t, that’s why I feel bad for people who have trouble. Since this is the pit I’ll get this off my chest: FUCK YOU theaters that have glaring white exit signs shining on the audience, washing out blacks and distracting me from the movie. Even if it’s a city ordinance (I don’t know that it is) does the white bulb really have to be THAT bright? It’s terribly distracting. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/39 "2005-12-22T12:49:55Z")
Churches are social places. I was taught in Sunday school that one should look for their spouse to be at church. Think about God during the service, but afterward stick around and chat and attend church socials. Where else are you going to fins someone who shares your beliefs? Many of us value our friends very much, we just have difficulty making new ones. I have my friends I met in school, but I don’t have that many new ones since college. I have no idea how to go about meeting new people to be friends with as an adult. Not everyone is that way, but many are. When we moved to Germany, we were warned that in restaurants sometimes strangers shared tables. That does not happen here as a rule. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597/40 "2005-12-22T13:04:17Z")
> [@lee](#): > > When we moved to Germany, we were warned that in restaurants sometimes strangers shared tables. That does not happen here as a rule. _shudder_ That would creep me out. They do that in the Amtrak dining cars too. I understand why they do it. For those who like it it is a nice way to meet people I suppose, but personally I hate it. I don’t like to socialize while I’m getting ready to eat, eating or having just eaten. I just like to bury my head in a book and eat and digest in peace (my husband and I both like to read while we’re eating so it’s not usually a problem). It’s one thing when someone sits with you when there are no other options, but Amtrak does this even when the whole dining car is empty. It makes me not want to eat in the dining car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-reasons-to-avoid-the-movie-theater/336597.md?page=3)