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Preacher offends, not helps

Posted on Nov 17, 2009 in Opinion

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They’ve started playing Christmas music on Magic 96.5, which can only mean one thing: the holiday season is here. With the season comes big winter blockbuster movies: staple Christmas movies like “A Christmas Carol,” guaranteed box office hits like “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and fun kids’ movies like “Planet 51.” The coming months will give us all plenty of chances to visit movie theaters.

Here is something important to remember about movie theaters: you are not the only person there. You should be courteous to the others who are there to enjoy the movie. In order to prepare for our holiday movie viewing expeditions, let’s review a few good movie theater manners.

Manner #1: Please, don’t bring babies into movie theaters. Some new parents might think it fun to take their 6-month-old to his or her first movie, but the truth is that it won’t be fun for other people in the theater. Movies can get loud, and those loud sounds will make a baby cry, ruining the movie for everyone. Besides, what will a child under the age of two years get out of a movie anyway? Just leave your bundle of joy at home with a sitter.

Manner #2: Please silence your phone. We are all reminded to do this several times before the movie begins, even by signs in the lobby. However, phones still ring during movies. I silence my phone before I even get out of my car in the parking lot, so I don’t even have to worry about it when the familiar reminder appears on the big screen.

Manner #3: Please, no texting. You might think it is a silent form of communication, but you can actually be heard tapping away at those buttons. Worse than that, cell phones are very bright, especially in dark movie theaters. Shiny things in dark rooms can distract people, which can lead to ruined movies.

Manner #4: Please, chew with your mouth closed. This is really a life manner we learned when we began teething, and in the theater, it’s all about the sound.

It’s distracting to hear someone crunching popcorn during a quiet or suspenseful scene of a movie. It takes viewers out of the film, equalling — you guessed it — a ruined movie.

Manner #5: Please don’t narrate the movie. More than likely most people in a theater can understand the plot. No one needs a group of teenage girls one row back to dictate every little thing that happens in the movie.

For example, while watching a scary movie someone might say, “Don’t open that door! He’s opening the door. He’s going to walk through the door. Someone is on the other side of that door.” Well, everyone in the theater knows he’s opening the door because it’s right there on the screen. And if someone does happen to be there on the other side, the surprise is ruined for everyone.

I am not trying to patronize or offend anyone with these tips; I simply want to help make the bit of your holidays spent in the theater a little more enjoyable. The holidays should be a time for fun and happiness, and why should that be any different inside the movie theater?

Email: hwebber@uab.edu

 




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