Like many, I recently went to see the new Spider-Man film. It was an enjoyable, impressive summer blockbuster. (please see Mark’s blog post and vlog linked below which is well worth checking out.)
At the age of 56, it goes without saying that I was brought up in a different era. As a child of the 70s and 80s, I grew up in a time when the general rule for kids was to be seen and not heard. If you went to the cinema, you behaved: you enjoyed yourself without impacting anyone else’s experience.
Nowadays, perhaps simply reflecting the times, many will attend blockbusters acting like they’re on a theme park attraction. My wife is far more tolerant than I am, and we both knew instantly that we’d have very different reactions to the audience’s behavior during this screening.
Because the film has such broad appeal and carries a 12A rating, the cinema was packed. While it’s great to see cinemas busy, a full house brings its own challenges. My mindset has always been simple: be quiet, don’t talk, keep your phone in your pocket, and enjoy the film respectfully. Bah humbug…
We sat on a short row of four seats, usually a safe bet for a bit of personal space. Unluckily for this self-confessed old git, we ended up next to two pre-teens. They were polite enough, but easily distracted and fidgety throughout the entire runtime. It felt a bit like “dump and run” parenting; while the parent was visible a few rows away, if you know your kids are likely to be restless, should you really separate yourself from them? Though I appreciate kids may want independence.
Our row was also right by the main aisle, which turned into a parade of constant distraction. I appreciate that a 2.5-hour film necessitates toilet breaks, but very few people left quietly or quickly. Between running kids and heavy-footed adults, it was busier than an airport runway. Parenting styles have certainly evolved, but where my parents would have been mortified by any bad or noisy behaviour in public, some modern parents seem comfortable giving kids free rein, often at the expense of respect for others.
And while I’m on a roll: the talking. It wasn’t just during the trailers; people were chatting right through the feature itself. A real constant noise in the theatre.
It begs the question: has cinema etiquette permanently shifted, at least for major blockbusters? Am I just spoiled because I usually go to quieter showings, making a noisy audience feel less like a cinema and more like a theme park ride?
What are your thoughts? Am I being unreasonable, or do you share these frustrations? Is it an age thing? Let me know in the comments. Maybe I need to chill out or perhaps just avoid certain film timings.
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