Cable TV Causes Bad Movie Manners

“They'll ask us to rewind. You cannot rewind a film. It's not a giant videotape machine.” “People at home now have cable or satellite that they watch with friends, and they’re used to talking. It's not like back in the ‘50s or the ‘60s, when going to the movies was more of an event."

Movie Crowd has Become Awfully Chatty!

Scene from a dream: Before one of his movies – say, ‘A Perfect World’ Clint Eastwood appears on screen with an announcement.

“Howdy,” Big Clint says. “For me, and for scores of other people, this film represents several months of hard work, a lot of it under a hot Texas sun. So do me a favor, huh? Don't talk during the film. Not even during the quiet parts, because they're important, too.

“Oh, I might allow you to whisper one or two things to your neighbor, but if I find out that you're carrying on a conversation during my movie” and here Clint grits his teeth and squints “I'm gonna come off screen and belt you one in your big mouth. Now. Enjoy the show.” A perfect world, indeed.

Daydreams like this shouldn't even occur, because movie etiquette is simple. It's even explained in preview packages before movies. Yet it seems that most people just don't get it. Here, we offer a primer.

1. Be quiet. During phone calls to various theaters, the problem that cropped up the most was talkative theater goers. “I think it's just the media explosion” that’s to blame, says Greg Slayton, General Manager of AMC Hulen 10 in Fort Worth. “People at home now have cable or satellite that they watch with friends, and they’re used to talking. It's not like back in the '50s or the '60s, when going to the movies was more of an event.”

Dawn Doll, Manager of Loews City View in Fort Worth, also listed audible audiences as the No. 1 problem. “People see something in a movie, and they’re usually not alone, so they want to communicate their opinions with the person they’re with,” she says. “Probably at a normal talking level, or a whisper, it won't cause a problem, but sometimes people get too boisterous.”

Curiously, the more boisterous a movie, the lower the talking level seems to be. Not counting people who seem to be intentionally obnoxious, comedies and action films tend to attract less talkative audiences than “art” films. Slayton has a theory about that: “An art movie is going to have people from school discussing it as it goes along,” he says. “With movies like ‘Cliffhanger’ or ‘Jurassic Park,’ most people are caught up in the action and don’t have time to talk to somebody.”

Other talker problems:

• The “Play-By-Play” Syndrome. Example: During ‘Cujo,’ a woman repeatedly offered comments such as “The dog's got rabies.” “The dog’s gonna jump through the window.” and “The dog's gonna attack the kid.”
• The “You Figured That Out All By Yourself” Syndrome. Example: During the second such scene in ‘List,’ the camera pans up at a smokestack at what appears to be a snowy Auschwitz. A man nearby offered, “That's not snow. It's ash.”
• The “Inattentive Viewer” Syndrome. Applies to any movie where an audience member has to ask a companion, “What did (fill in character’s name here) say?”

2. Pick up your trash. Debra Doll offers some suggestions. “Try to find a seat quickly, preferably an aisle seat,” she says. “A lot of people, when they come in, their eyes haven’t adjusted and they make comments like ‘I can't see where I'm going. Quietly step in. Give your eyes a chance.”

But Dunn has encountered latecomers whose problems aren't solved so easily. “They'll ask us to rewind,” she says. “You cannot rewind a film. It’s not a giant videotape machine.” Despite occasional problems, most theater staffers take a tolerant view toward breaches of movie etiquette. – By Robert Philpot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1994

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Etiquette on the Big Screen

“When suddenly confronted with the problem of how to conduct one’s self with propriety, the best book is not at hand. But a trip to the nearest picture house displaying ‘movies’ chats may save the day,” comments the New York Tribune. 

Silent Movie Chats

“THE screen theaters have joined the movement for the spread of social etiquette. When suddenly confronted with the problem of how to conduct one’s self with propriety, the best book is not at hand. But a trip to the nearest picture house displaying “movies” chats may save the day, comments the New York Tribune. Besides, it is much more enlightening to see the thing done with proper captions. Such maxims as “Never place your knife in your mouth,” accompanied by a picture of the consequences of the disregard of such inadvertences, should sink deeply into the mind. Lessons in etiquette are always in order. Why not teach them in public? The screen purveyors of etiquette will he public benefactors, particularly if they show the most polite manner of giving the elbow courteous in a subway crush.” – Sacramento Union, 1922

🎬 For more on Silent Movie Manners click here 🎥

🎬Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Theater Etiquette for Silent Movies

“It is the gentleman's duty to secure good seats for the entertainment, or else he or his companion may be obliged to take up with seats where they can neither see nor hear.” John Young

Just in Time for Oscar Week and the Academy Awards

“When you go out on the street, wear an English silk hat, not one of the taper crowned variety popular in the ‘movies.’ And wear it on your head, not on the back of your neck. Have your overcoat of plain black or dark blue material, for you must wear an overcoat with full dress even in summer. Use a plain white or black and white muffler. Colored ones are impossible. Wear white buckskin gloves if you can afford them; otherwise gray or khaki doeskin, and leave them in your overcoat pocket. Your stick should be of plain Malacca or other wood, with either a crooked or straight handle. The only ornamentation allowable is a plain silver or gold
band, or top; but perfectly plain is best form.” – Emily Post 

“The fact that slang is apt and forceful makes its use irresistibly tempting. Coarse or profane slang is beside the mark, but ‘flivver,’  "taxi," the "movies," "deadly" (meaning dull), ‘feeling fit,’ ‘feeling blue,’ ‘grafter,’ a ‘fake,’ ‘grouch,’ ‘hunch’ and ‘right o!’ are typical of words that it would make our spoken language stilted to exclude.”  – Emily Post

“There should be no loud talking, boisterous laughter, violent gestures, lover-like demonstrations or anything in manners or speech to attract the attention of others.”  –John Young

“One who is in mourning does not appear in society for the first six months; after that it is permissible to attend a concert or musical, but not the theater or a reception while severe mourning is worn.” –Edith Ordway

“But the girl who goes to the theater with a man about whom she knows nothing except that he has the price of the tickets is running a serious risk. She is violating one of the most rigid principles of etiquette and she is skating perilously out beyond the line marked off by common sense. Nearly every man can, and does, if he is the right sort, present credentials before asking a girl if he may call or if he may escort her to a place of amusement.” –  Nella Henney

“Very young people love to go to the theater in droves called theater parties and absolutely ruin the evening for others who happen to sit in front of them.” – Emily Post

=VERY INCONSIDERATE TO GIGGLE AND TALK=

Nothing shows less consideration for others than to whisper and rattle programmes and giggle and even make audible remarks throughout a performance. Very young people love to go to the theater in droves called theater parties and absolutely ruin the evening for others who happen to sit in front of them. If Mary and Johnny and Susy and Tommy want to talk and giggle, why not arrange chairs in rows for them in a drawing-room, turn on a phonograph as an accompaniment and let them sit there and chatter!
 
If those behind you insist on talking it is never good policy to turn around and glare. If you are young they pay no attention, and if you are older - most young people think an angry older person the funniest sight on earth! The small boy throws a snowball at an elderly gentleman for no other reason! The only thing you can do is to say amiably: “I'm sorry, but I can't hear anything while you talk.” If they still persist, you can ask an usher to call the manager. The sentimental may as well realize that every word said above a whisper is easily heard by those sitting directly in front, and those who tell family or other private affairs might do well to remember this also.
 
As a matter of fact, comparatively few people are ever anything but well behaved. Those who arrive late and stand long, leisurely removing their wraps, and who insist on laughing and talking are rarely encountered; most people take their seats as quietly and quickly as they possibly can, and are quite as much interested in the play and therefore as attentive and quiet as you are.  A very annoying person at the “movies”  is one who reads every "caption" out loud. –Emily Post's Theater Etiquette

🎬Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of the RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia