not had any issues at the Theater, but we only go a few times a year, if that,

last time was for Dune pt 2, and it may be a few months or years before we go again (last was Dune pt 1 and 007)

concert wise, we, wife and I, are considered short, I am 5 ft 7 she is 5 foot 4, and no matter where we stand, some jackoff 6 foot or taller will be infront of us spilling beer


never fails

People do not know how to act in public, no decorum.

We were in church awhile back and a cell phone rang, you could hear someone whisper "hello?".

Another grouchy SOB here. I can remember when if you were doing something distracting or annoying and usher would come down the isle and tell you once to cut out that stuff. The second time he had to come down the isle your were escorted to the ext doors and told to leave. If you resisted and the cops had to be called you would get a free trip to jail for Trespassing and banned for life from that theater.

IMO that is what is missing from today's society. People don't want to censure the assholes and as a result all the rest of us has to put up with their shit.

We have a small venue theater in town; they are a cash only operation with tickets well below what the big name corporations are charging so it draws fewer people right off the bat that live in a credit card world. A large bucket of kernels is only a paltry (by comparison) $6. I always wait until a movie I want to see has been out for a few weeks before going. We saw Dune 2 a few evenings ago and there was one other person in the joint. Glorious.

Have the glow of cell phones replaced the flicker of lighters?

I stopped going about 2 decades ago. Tired of the high prices along with people who act like pigs with trash and spilled food or drink.

The only place I see movies besides my home are drive-ins and an old 1930's movie house.

Even some restaurants are getting bad with inconsiderate narcissistic behaviors.

quote:

Go to a concert and you’re looking at a multitude of screens because people have to record the entire event.

This is true all the way down to the early education programs. Parents and grandparents watch entire programs through their phone or ipad screen, missing the live experience entirely for the the sake of a shitty recorded version they'll watch once or twice.

quote:

“There has been a big shift in how we act when we’re in a movie theater and what the rules are these days,”

Fixed it, people are discourteous and don't care that their actions negatively impact others, self absorbed, arrogant and defiant in retort when confronted, knowing most will back down.

I'm done with crowds. I avoid congregations like the plague. Last we to a movie in 2018. 10 degrees outside, and ticket moron made us all wait outside. Once inside, the theater was so cold I went back to the truck to get a couple Army blankets, and said shithead wanted to hassle me about those. And yeah, 30 bucks for that.

My local Regal Cinema, that includes an IMAX, has been fairly civil the last few times I attended over a span of the last 10 years. Of course I hit a movie in the middle of the week at the 10:45AM matinee, so that helps due to rif-raf kids and adults being either in school or at work. It's usually just me and 5-7 other people, mostly older such as myself, or retired.

I don't frequent movies these days unless it's a really big screen movie film like Star Trek.

I think the last time I went was for Terminator and it was one of those reclining chair theaters.

But way before Covid, I was in a movie theater. The guy next to me kept taking out his phone and I forget what he was doing, just that his screen was bright in the dark theater. I don't remember how many times he did it but it was enough to annoy me that it made me want to see what time it was. So I took out my flashlight and turned it on my wristwatch at an angle towards him. I think he got the hint because he stopped.

Other times when people directly behind me insist on having a conversation with each other about the movie, I simply stand up in front of them for several seconds. They quickly got the hint also.

Went to a theater recently that had just reopened after long covid shut down. Took my wife to see a real "chick flick", just my wife and I and 6 (3 pairs) of lesbians. No problems other than a bit of talking during the movie, par for the course anymore.
Rod

Shit like this has been going on for awhile. Growing up in the city, depending on which theater, there was a good chance that somebody(s) in the audience would end up having conversations during the running of the film. Typical ghetto behavior.
When smartphones became more common, the distraction quotient climbed up a steeply.
The last five-years, as anti-social behavior has grown and theater staff are unwilling to confront and remove the unruly, this behavior has exploded. Theater operators have only themselves to blame, they refused to intervene and halt the behavior forcing other patrons to tolerate the distractions or, loose money from people walking out demanding refunds.