Is it really that bad at the movies?

“I always feel a bit silly complaining about movie theater etiquette when war is raging, gas prices are climbing and we can’t even eat a lousy tomato.”

Hey, just be thankful the tomatoes aren’t raging.
But even if they were, can’t we still take on the smaller problems as well? The Oxford don C. S. Lewis writes somewhere about how people sometimes say, “How can you continue to teach literature when there’s a war raging?” Without reminding them that he had, in fact, done more than his part in both World Wars, Lewis simply argues that there is always a war going on somewhere, always some sort of tragedy or cataclysm, and if we use that as an excuse to abandon learning, art, entertainment — or whatever supposedly trivial activity is being targetted by the questioner — then we would never have any higher culture whatsoever.
Okay, so maybe etiquette isn’t Culture with a capital C, but why give it up because of dire events, when there are dire events at all times whether or not we observe common courtesy? As for the noisy tots in the theater, I say: shut those kids up or, better, leave them at home. If babysitters go unemployed much longer they may well begin to riot, and then were will we be?

My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, and I would no sooner drag the tot to the movies than I would bring him/her to a heavy metal concert. Amazing, isn’t it?

Bravo. My parents wouldn’t take me to a movie until I could sit still and be quiet. The folks who bring their noisy kids to shows are vandalizing the movie for the rest of the audience to save themselves the price of a babysitter.

That being said, I’ve seen some parents perform remarkable duty keeping the youngsters in line and not bothering anyone. The general modus operandi for these folks is to wait until the movie has played for a while so that the theater is nearly empty, and then sitting somewhat removed from the other customers. So in principle, it can be done. And for some movies, the twinkle of childish laughter (at the appropriate moments, of course) can enhance the movie going experience.

I’m afraid that “The Dark Knight” will be packed with kids. Not only does the movie sound fairly inappropriate for children, I’ll have to listen to their commentary the whole screening. Fingers crossed.

Movie tickets have gotten too expensive to have the experience ruined by:
1. Screaming/crying/kicking spoiled brats
2. Ringing/buzzing/texting cell phones
3. People who eat their popcorn so loudly that I can’t hear the movie
4. Teenagers who chat/flirt/text
5. Elderly people who keep having to ask their spouse “what did he just say?” using their every day voice
6. Did I already mention cell phones??

Grrr. I’m headed off to watch Dark Knight - I may have #7 & #8 by the time I get back.

~Heidi

I had to update my comment because it was as if I jinxed myself!!
We had a screaming child in our packed theater (for “The Dark Knight”).
This is classic - the mother, instead of simply removing the child - would go and stand in the hallway so she could continue watching the movie, but no one would be giving her those “stares.” But we could all continue listening to her child scream. I wish I’d had enough guts to yell out “Go Home!!!” But I didn’t - no one else did either. We should have reported her - the bahavior went on for the entire movie.

Even after all this time and many, many movies, I still am amazed by this type of incredibly rude behavior. I’d pay $1 for an usher (as long as he didn’t kick me out for sneaking in candy!!!).