5 ms·

Question for frequent movie-goers: is this a trend in general, or just an artifact of Barbenheimer being a social media phenomenon? (All of the anecdotes in the

by paulgb 3y ago

Question for frequent movie-goers: is this a trend in general, or just an artifact of Barbenheimer being a social media phenomenon? (All of the anecdotes in the article come from the two movies) The evidence given that it is a trend, pre-show prods to turn off your phone, feels like it has been happening as long as personal cell phones were a thing.

wfriesen 3y ago
Those prods have existed since phones, but it was previously about not having a ringtone blare out. Now the backlash is against people scrolling tiktok/whatever during a movie. I haven't been to a movie theatre in a while so I can't say if it's a phenomenon but that would be infuriating
- trubeliever 3y ago
  [dead]
elthran 3y ago
It's also not just movies - there's been lots of reporting and commentary about bad behavior in London's West End theatres this year too. https://theface.com/culture/why-are-theatre-audiences-getting-rowdier-than-ever-magic-mike-dirty-dancing-west-end-alcohol-classism-money https://theface.com/culture/why-are-theatre-audiences-gettin...
nottorp 3y ago
> Barbenheimer being a social media phenomenon On a tangent, those two are titles that i'll never see even if they stream on something i subscribe to, because the enormous hype has completely put me off.
moonshinefe 3y ago
It's been a problem since smartphones became widespread and people got addicted to them. And quite frankly the theater workers don't get paid enough to enforce the rules. Just one of many reasons going to movies isn't really worth it anymore, unless you're really in the mindset you want to go and having lights shining / jostling around in your peripheral vision won't annoy you.
- sumtechguy 3y ago
  Yeah for any movies where that happened usually the people around them doing it corrected the behavior. One movie ages ago when cell was sort of new a dude just flipped the bad boy open and bragged about how he was at a movie and talking on the phone openly. The rain of popcorn and m&m's shut him down fairly quickly. 'dude turn it off' 'whatever' candy rain. Sort of sucked for me as I was a couple of rows in front of the guy and everyone's aim was not exact. That was almost 20 years ago.
wirthjason 3y ago
I’m trying to get my young daughter into the movies and have seen quite a few this year. We see movies a couple weeks after their release and go mid-week (a 7pm-ish show after I’m done with work). Often the theater is empty. When there have been people nobody used a cell phone or did behavior that was distracting. (BTW bringing a 4yr old to the movies usually means we are the annoying group, like when my daughter singing the songs in the Little Mermaid.) So my guess is that this behavior is likely limited to opening weekends at popular movies where telling someone you were there by posting a photo on social media is part of the experience for them.
Tangurena2 3y ago
It is just an artifact of the WSJ complaining about "kids these days". In the past, the WSJ has whined about the internet, television, rock & roll, radio and telephones.
- joenot443 3y ago
  I read the WSJ "whining" as more of an observation about evolving social trends than anything else. The world changes, people notice, and journalists write about it - do you feel clever noting that the WSJ has, in the past, written about other evolving trends? Circling it all into just "kids these days" type discourse is pretty reductive and reddit-brained, I think.
kevinmchugh 3y ago
I went to the new mission Impossible on the Sunday that barbenheimer came out. Well behaved, mostly full audience. I saw a phone come out once, briefly
BirAdam 3y ago
I go to movies somewhat often and the issue is far more common than it used to be. Oddly, it isn’t constant. Sometimes, you see a film and everyone is well behaved. Other times, people are terrible. I’ve found little reason for it.

by paulgb 3y ago

wfriesen 3y ago

Those prods have existed since phones, but it was previously about not having a ringtone blare out. Now the backlash is against people scrolling tiktok/whatever during a movie. I haven't been to a movie theatre in a while so I can't say if it's a phenomenon but that would be infuriating

trubeliever 3y ago
[dead]

elthran 3y ago

It's also not just movies - there's been lots of reporting and commentary about bad behavior in London's West End theatres this year too. https://theface.com/culture/why-are-theatre-audiences-getting-rowdier-than-ever-magic-mike-dirty-dancing-west-end-alcohol-classism-money https://theface.com/culture/why-are-theatre-audiences-gettin...

nottorp 3y ago

> Barbenheimer being a social media phenomenon On a tangent, those two are titles that i'll never see even if they stream on something i subscribe to, because the enormous hype has completely put me off.

moonshinefe 3y ago

It's been a problem since smartphones became widespread and people got addicted to them. And quite frankly the theater workers don't get paid enough to enforce the rules. Just one of many reasons going to movies isn't really worth it anymore, unless you're really in the mindset you want to go and having lights shining / jostling around in your peripheral vision won't annoy you.

sumtechguy 3y ago
Yeah for any movies where that happened usually the people around them doing it corrected the behavior. One movie ages ago when cell was sort of new a dude just flipped the bad boy open and bragged about how he was at a movie and talking on the phone openly. The rain of popcorn and m&m's shut him down fairly quickly. 'dude turn it off' 'whatever' candy rain. Sort of sucked for me as I was a couple of rows in front of the guy and everyone's aim was not exact. That was almost 20 years ago.

wirthjason 3y ago

I’m trying to get my young daughter into the movies and have seen quite a few this year. We see movies a couple weeks after their release and go mid-week (a 7pm-ish show after I’m done with work). Often the theater is empty. When there have been people nobody used a cell phone or did behavior that was distracting. (BTW bringing a 4yr old to the movies usually means we are the annoying group, like when my daughter singing the songs in the Little Mermaid.) So my guess is that this behavior is likely limited to opening weekends at popular movies where telling someone you were there by posting a photo on social media is part of the experience for them.

Tangurena2 3y ago

It is just an artifact of the WSJ complaining about "kids these days". In the past, the WSJ has whined about the internet, television, rock & roll, radio and telephones.

joenot443 3y ago
I read the WSJ "whining" as more of an observation about evolving social trends than anything else. The world changes, people notice, and journalists write about it - do you feel clever noting that the WSJ has, in the past, written about other evolving trends? Circling it all into just "kids these days" type discourse is pretty reductive and reddit-brained, I think.

kevinmchugh 3y ago

I went to the new mission Impossible on the Sunday that barbenheimer came out. Well behaved, mostly full audience. I saw a phone come out once, briefly

BirAdam 3y ago

I go to movies somewhat often and the issue is far more common than it used to be. Oddly, it isn’t constant. Sometimes, you see a film and everyone is well behaved. Other times, people are terrible. I’ve found little reason for it.