This is an opinion article

Picture it, you and your friend decide that you want to go watch a movie at the theaters. You purchase the tickets, buy your drink and popcorn, you get settled in your seats and wait for the movie to start, light conversation can be heard during the opening trailers. When the movie finally begins, you notice that people are still talking, now at a higher volume and others are turning on their phone with high brightness for more than 10 minutes at a time. Why don’t people realize there are other people in this theater?

If you’ve thought this before, you are not alone. In the past 5 years, reports of poor theater etiquette have been on the rise significantly. Multiple articles and people I’ve talked to have stated that “I try to choose the closest seats to the screen to avoid the cell phones, but then I have to break my neck just to see the screen.” This is a drastic difference from movies before 2020, the message before the start of the film to mute your phones and not to talk were treated like law and anyone who did not follow that rule were silently shunned or told to shush.

Sometimes, I wonder why I even care, which is what encouraged me to write this article. One of my co-workers, Henry Tindall, asked me this very question and I did not have a full answer. However, I believe I found one.

The theater industry has been struggling majorly ever since COVID, albeit this has been a problem even before COVID. However, most cite COVID as a catalyst speeding up this process as it allowed the rise of streaming services and this inconsiderate behavior as they are acting the same way they act at home while at the theater. It has made many who have returned to the movies, with the intentions of upholding the manners that have always been used, unhappy

Another event that people point out as a factor is The Minecraft Movie where people have brought in real chickens, would throw their popcorns across the theater and overall be rowdy and loud during the whole movie, it felt more like a baseball game than a movie experience. I’ve been lucky where my screenings were tame with a few yells at certain scenes, but I dismissed those as I was watching a kids movie. Some of the louder complaints I have read are those watching what are considered or are kids movie with kids or teenagers being loud. While I understand that and would want a respectful theater no matter the movie, that has always been a problem as some kids just forget that they are in a public place or that they are meant to be quiet while there, but most parents still do something about that or teach their kids not to be loud during a movie. As well, you cannot get mad at people for laughing at a funny movie because it distracts you or you don’t like the way they laugh. My main concerns are when people are yelling things out, watching things on their phone, or taking phone calls in a movie that only has adults in the theater. I recently watched the film Obsession, which was a fantastically acted and directed movie, but people were having conversations, someone was playing a video on his phone at mid volume, and some people were yelling things at the movie.

As much as I know this makes me sound like an old man, one of the important things about watching a movie is the immersion and when half of the theater is taking a phone call or talking loudly to the person next to them, it ruins that immersion.

The problem that is the worst for me though is that when they use the excuse that they spent the money to be there so they can use the time as they see fit. While I understand that mentality for the idea of buying a certain product over the other or buying something spontaneous. Those are all things that do not affect another stranger. The movie theater, however, is somewhere for many people where they can be in a quiet place and be immersed and think about the film they are watching. While I understand that it is also a public space, it is a controlled public space where anti-phone and anti-talking ads are shown before the film. When you pay to enter a movie, you are also paying to follow the rules of the theater and have common sense regarding others who also paid to be there.

The movie theater is meant to be a special place where you can enjoy the taste of buttery popcorn and enjoy a soda that is too big and have a special memory with just you or whoever you choose to go to the movie with. But seeing the brightness of a phone screen, hearing non-director commentary from the people behind you and the selfish comeback of “it’s my money, I can do what I want” among other poor justifications ruin those memories. The constant noise and distractions easily frustrates me because it’s just as easy to sit and enjoy a film silently. The movies are supposed to be a place to have a unique and fun experience without those around us acting like children, being respectful is key. For many, it is the respectful etiquette and undistracted immersion that make going to a theater a worthwhile experience.