Ill-mannered movie goers
Don't you just hate it when you are in a movie house watching a movie and somebody's cellphone rings?
After spending so many years watching movies all of us at one point or another have encountered such rude behaviour.
Last Thursday, I was with a friend watching the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" and the couple next to us was loudly talking and answering their phone. which they did not put on mute. They would have probably continued till Kingdom come. Luckily, the occassional angry glance at them eventually made them stop.
On other such occassions extreme measures were taken.
Several years ago before the ascent of video discs a friend of mine was watching those retrospective screening of the Exorcist. In front of a him was a gang of high school girls who were quite noisy. And despite the occassional shhh and glare they continued to cackle and talk. My friend could not contain himself anymore and in his best imitation of a possessed Linda Blair voice told them to be quite. After a few expletives silence descended upon the theatre.
Sometimes though the outcome of such encounters differ. In Singapore just before the dawn of the new millenium. A solicitor, which is what you would call a lawyer in the UK and the commonwealth, was beaten up by four soldiers after he told to be quite. Apparently the soldiers , all able-bodied Singaporeans are required to serve in the military for some time, were noisy in the cinema house. During that year a Grandmother suffered a heart attack after a micro-disturbance occured after an altercation happened along the queue for Hello Kitty dolls at a McDonald's outlet. Both events were headlined in the press, Elder Statesman Lee Kwan Yew condemned the event and called it a national shame.
There is of course a time to laugh and be noisy in the cinema. Comedies are supposed to make you laugh and then there are of course unintentional comedy scenes and movies. And it is also possible that because of cultural differences or special circumstances when you cannot help it. Case in point a friend of mine was in Japan and he went to watch the latest English-language comedy movie at the time. The movie was subtitled in Japanese, because of this he found himself laughing at the jokes before the audience did resulting in two sets of laughter his and the rest of the patrons.
Aside from being noisy, its also rude to discuss the movie while the movie is being shown. Especially if ehat you are saying is a spoiler. The one who does that deserves pile driver on the movie floor.
Perhaps the worst offense I knew of happened in theatre house in Leyte a two scores ago. A group of students who were in Leyte for fieldwork decided to kill time one sunday afternoon by watching a movie. The cinema house was an old one, the seats were made of wood and airconditiong there was none. Ventilation was provided by a set of old ceiling fans hanging like bats on the ceiling. The students were settling in to watch the movie, when a man comes in and sits on the row immediately in front of them. He takes off his perspiration drenched shirt. Some of the students were at a loss of words. Unfortunately for them and before they could speak the shirtless man in an effort to cool or dry his shirt began to swing his shirt to and fro bombarding those at the back of him with the odor of sweat and perspiration.
Back to Harvard Street Cubao
After spending so many years watching movies all of us at one point or another have encountered such rude behaviour.
Last Thursday, I was with a friend watching the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" and the couple next to us was loudly talking and answering their phone. which they did not put on mute. They would have probably continued till Kingdom come. Luckily, the occassional angry glance at them eventually made them stop.
On other such occassions extreme measures were taken.
Several years ago before the ascent of video discs a friend of mine was watching those retrospective screening of the Exorcist. In front of a him was a gang of high school girls who were quite noisy. And despite the occassional shhh and glare they continued to cackle and talk. My friend could not contain himself anymore and in his best imitation of a possessed Linda Blair voice told them to be quite. After a few expletives silence descended upon the theatre.
Sometimes though the outcome of such encounters differ. In Singapore just before the dawn of the new millenium. A solicitor, which is what you would call a lawyer in the UK and the commonwealth, was beaten up by four soldiers after he told to be quite. Apparently the soldiers , all able-bodied Singaporeans are required to serve in the military for some time, were noisy in the cinema house. During that year a Grandmother suffered a heart attack after a micro-disturbance occured after an altercation happened along the queue for Hello Kitty dolls at a McDonald's outlet. Both events were headlined in the press, Elder Statesman Lee Kwan Yew condemned the event and called it a national shame.
There is of course a time to laugh and be noisy in the cinema. Comedies are supposed to make you laugh and then there are of course unintentional comedy scenes and movies. And it is also possible that because of cultural differences or special circumstances when you cannot help it. Case in point a friend of mine was in Japan and he went to watch the latest English-language comedy movie at the time. The movie was subtitled in Japanese, because of this he found himself laughing at the jokes before the audience did resulting in two sets of laughter his and the rest of the patrons.
Aside from being noisy, its also rude to discuss the movie while the movie is being shown. Especially if ehat you are saying is a spoiler. The one who does that deserves pile driver on the movie floor.
Perhaps the worst offense I knew of happened in theatre house in Leyte a two scores ago. A group of students who were in Leyte for fieldwork decided to kill time one sunday afternoon by watching a movie. The cinema house was an old one, the seats were made of wood and airconditiong there was none. Ventilation was provided by a set of old ceiling fans hanging like bats on the ceiling. The students were settling in to watch the movie, when a man comes in and sits on the row immediately in front of them. He takes off his perspiration drenched shirt. Some of the students were at a loss of words. Unfortunately for them and before they could speak the shirtless man in an effort to cool or dry his shirt began to swing his shirt to and fro bombarding those at the back of him with the odor of sweat and perspiration.
Back to Harvard Street Cubao
posted by juned at 10:32
2 Comments:
yep, some people can be too insensitive...
The smell was ... devastating :)
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