5 ms·

> Going to the theater is a social experience. It's a social experience of frustration for me.. lol. - "Why the hell does that person think that's acceptable

> Going to the theater is a social experience. It's a social experience of frustration for me.. lol. - "Why the hell does that person think that's acceptable?" - "Do they have to talk?" - "Could they eat loud plastic packages anymore?" - "Why are little kids allowed in this movie?" - "I guess this person isn't familiar with basic hygiene" and so on. I'd love to watch movies on the big screen if it wasn't for the social experience i'm used to. Watching movies like A Quiet Place were especially awful.

Krasnol 6y ago
Don't forget: "It's just popped corn, why is it so expensive?" or "why does my seat smell so weird?" or "couldn't the tall guy sit one seat over?" Me and my friends used to go regularly into a cinema. Every week once. Than it became expensive so we went more rarely at some point the choice became narrower and narrower so we stopped because it just wasn't worth the money. I have been 5 times there in the last ~10 years.
echelon 6y ago
It's amazing how different humans can be. Your grievances aren't a big deal to me, whereas lack of a huge screen and sound system are painful. I used to see everything in theaters and almost never used Netflix except for their original content. A Quiet Place was fantastic in theatres. The audience responded to it. Audience noises added to the tension, and we all felt it. People tried to be quiet. I can't wait for theaters to be back. I just worry that they'll be bought up by the tech giants and studios for a bargain and turned into some stupid membership scheme that only plays a given studio's films. (This is my nightmare scenario, because I can't even conceive of a world without theaters. That's like a world without sports or restaurants.) I've started going to the local drive in theater and it's actually an amazing experience. It's not the same sound system or crystal clear image, but the bigness is there and movies feel epic again. Tenet was really fun.
- quicklyfrozen 6y ago
  Yeah, I agree that the sound system in the theater is painful (do they think we are all deaf?).
Zelphyr 6y ago
I stopped going to theaters after visiting Alamo Drafthouse and literally every person around me was carrying on entire conversations during the movie. My wife asked after the movie was over, "Why didn't you fill out the card and turn those people in?" I replied, "You think they're going to believe me that every person around me was talking? When it's one person, they're the asshole. When it's everybody but me, I'm the asshole." If a theater chain that prides themselves on throwing people out who talk[1] can't keep people from shutting up then I have no hope it'll ever change. What was once considered extremely rude is now considered commonplace, apparently. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs
- jlmorton 6y ago
  Alamo Drafthouse doesn't pride itself on throwing people out who talk. Their entire model of shared food, wine, beer, large distances between seats, and waiters moving around the theater naturally increases it. They have this card system because they specifically have a massive problem with people talking in the movies. I can tell you my experiences at Alamo Drafthouse do not match yours, but perhaps you just don't like Alamo Drafthouse?
  - Zelphyr 6y ago
    My complaint isn't with Alamo Drafthouse, it's the modern moviegoer. In fact, I was surprised at how well the Alamo Drafthouse staff handled a ticketing problem prior to that.
    - jonny_eh 6y ago
      > Back in my day people didn't talk in theatres! Give me a break.
      - Zelphyr 6y ago
        Let's try to keep the conversation civil please.
tshaddox 6y ago
I'm right there with you. Granted, most of my experiences in the cinema have been fine, but there are a handful of awful experiences caused by vast differences in mine and others' cinema-going norms. For me, the cinema is simply a tolerable risk/nuisance in order to get the best possible audiovisual experience. I really don't need to hear crowds laugh or gasp—that can be interesting to experience, but I find it entirely separate from my primary enjoyment of film.

Krasnol 6y ago

Don't forget: "It's just popped corn, why is it so expensive?" or "why does my seat smell so weird?" or "couldn't the tall guy sit one seat over?" Me and my friends used to go regularly into a cinema. Every week once. Than it became expensive so we went more rarely at some point the choice became narrower and narrower so we stopped because it just wasn't worth the money. I have been 5 times there in the last ~10 years.

echelon 6y ago

It's amazing how different humans can be. Your grievances aren't a big deal to me, whereas lack of a huge screen and sound system are painful. I used to see everything in theaters and almost never used Netflix except for their original content. A Quiet Place was fantastic in theatres. The audience responded to it. Audience noises added to the tension, and we all felt it. People tried to be quiet. I can't wait for theaters to be back. I just worry that they'll be bought up by the tech giants and studios for a bargain and turned into some stupid membership scheme that only plays a given studio's films. (This is my nightmare scenario, because I can't even conceive of a world without theaters. That's like a world without sports or restaurants.) I've started going to the local drive in theater and it's actually an amazing experience. It's not the same sound system or crystal clear image, but the bigness is there and movies feel epic again. Tenet was really fun.

quicklyfrozen 6y ago
Yeah, I agree that the sound system in the theater is painful (do they think we are all deaf?).

Zelphyr 6y ago

I stopped going to theaters after visiting Alamo Drafthouse and literally every person around me was carrying on entire conversations during the movie. My wife asked after the movie was over, "Why didn't you fill out the card and turn those people in?" I replied, "You think they're going to believe me that every person around me was talking? When it's one person, they're the asshole. When it's everybody but me, I'm the asshole." If a theater chain that prides themselves on throwing people out who talk[1] can't keep people from shutting up then I have no hope it'll ever change. What was once considered extremely rude is now considered commonplace, apparently. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs

jlmorton 6y ago
Alamo Drafthouse doesn't pride itself on throwing people out who talk. Their entire model of shared food, wine, beer, large distances between seats, and waiters moving around the theater naturally increases it. They have this card system because they specifically have a massive problem with people talking in the movies. I can tell you my experiences at Alamo Drafthouse do not match yours, but perhaps you just don't like Alamo Drafthouse?
- Zelphyr 6y ago
  My complaint isn't with Alamo Drafthouse, it's the modern moviegoer. In fact, I was surprised at how well the Alamo Drafthouse staff handled a ticketing problem prior to that.
  - jonny_eh 6y ago
    > Back in my day people didn't talk in theatres! Give me a break.
    - Zelphyr 6y ago
      Let's try to keep the conversation civil please.

tshaddox 6y ago

I'm right there with you. Granted, most of my experiences in the cinema have been fine, but there are a handful of awful experiences caused by vast differences in mine and others' cinema-going norms. For me, the cinema is simply a tolerable risk/nuisance in order to get the best possible audiovisual experience. I really don't need to hear crowds laugh or gasp—that can be interesting to experience, but I find it entirely separate from my primary enjoyment of film.