Bad behavior at 'Barbenheimer' reflects a worrying trend

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The last time I saw a movie in an actual theater was 29 years ago. It was "My Own Private Idaho," and I saw it in a theater in downtown Portland near a statue that appears, renamed, in the film.

Things like this make it unlikely I'll ever go to a movie theater again.

I just can't imagine who's giving Americans the impression that being rude and boorish is now acceptable.

STYLE

Bad behavior at ‘Barbenheimer’ reflects a worrying trend

Drunken outbursts, public nudity and nonstop cellphone use disrupt packed theaters. Have people forgotten how to go the movies?

By Sofia Andrade and Janay Kingsberry
August 5, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Ryan Gosling was having a big moment on-screen bro’ing up the Barbie Dreamhouse as Ken when Tess Connolly, 22, first spotted something amiss. ... It was a 9:30 p.m. showing of “Barbie” at the Regal Cinema in downtown Denver, and the theater’s manager had begun pleading with a man seated a few rows in front of Connolly and her younger brother. The man, the manager said, needed to leave. But the moviegoer wouldn’t budge. That’s when five security guards showed up and Connolly truly took in the spectacle in front of her — and, unfortunately, it wasn’t Ken shouting “Sublime!”

“One of the security guards was saying to the guy, ‘Dude, you cannot be naked in here,’” she recalled. “The guy was all confused and upset that he couldn’t be naked in the theater … he was getting all worked up.” The security guard proceeded to ask the audience to assist in 86’ing the man. According to Connolly, many responded by yelling things like: “Get this freak out of here!” and “My teenage girls are here!” Meanwhile, “Barbie” kept playing in the background. ... Though the man was eventually removed from the packed theater, Connolly worries she may have missed the funniest part of Greta Gerwig’s long-anticipated film. ... “It was the moment that we all were going to start dying laughing. And the security guard was totally ruining our moment, being like, ‘Everybody start yelling.’ And we were like, ‘No, we’re trying to watch the movie,’” Connolly said.

“Barbenheimer” — the twin release of blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — may have broken box office records and brought people out to the theaters in droves, but it also highlighted a very real problem: Some people seem to have forgotten how to go to the movies, with widespread reports of drunken outbursts, rampant cellphone use and exhibitionism.

At a “Barbie” showing at an AMC theate[link:https://nypost.com/2022/12/28/a-rowdy-shouting-woman-stopped-broadways-death-of-a-salesman/|r in Washington on Sunday, a man wearing a pink tank top and body glitter loudly identified with the Kens on-screen. Throughout the film — and despite multiple shushes — he would cheer, sing or stand up and pump his fist from his front-section seat whenever the Kens rallied against the Barbies. He apologized to the audience at one point, explaining that he was “wasted” but nevertheless continued disrupting the show until the film’s climax, at which point he got into a slap fight with an acquaintance sitting beside him. (A representative for AMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

{snip}

The mayhem isn’t limited to movie theaters. The past year has seen a disturbing trend of audience members throwing objects at musicians onstage. Over on Broadway, an unruly woman halted a performance of “Death of a Salesman” back in December, while a controversial Playbill exposé from the spring detailed aggression toward ushers and other theater workers, who reported being spat on and screamed at regularly. Not even the skies are safe: This week, an American Airlines pilot went viral for lecturing “selfish and rude” passengers on airplane behavior (“Nobody wants to hear your video”).

{snip}

Avi Selk contributed to this report.

Gift Article
https://wapo.st/3qiBjVG

By Sofia Andrade
Sofia Andrade is a features intern at The Washington Post. Her work has been featured in the Nation, Slate, el Nuevo Herald, the Miami New Times and elsewhere. Twitter https://twitter.com/bySofiaAndrade

By Janay Kingsberry
Janay Kingsberry is a staff reporter for Style where she writes features with a gender and identity focus and contributes to the section’s breaking news coverage. She joined The Post in March 2021 as a multiplatform editor for The Lily, skillfully producing content across platforms and writing for the Lily Lines newsletter. Twitter https://twitter.com/janaykingsberry

[stopdiggin]

1. this is the REAL 'entitled' American

(and, no - it's been around a bit longer than Trump .. )

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. "(and, no - it's been around a bit longer than Trump .. )"

True. Back in 1981, when I got back from being out of the country all summer, I went to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The people in front of me talked all the way through the movie.

[stopdiggin]

6. movie theaters, sports events, dining out

national parks, riding the subway ...
The common element is (an alarming number of) people that simply have no concern with how their behavior and actions might impact others. Not 'unaware' - so much as a straight callous indifference.

[LisaM]

7. My beef is with cell phone users.

And it pre-dates smart phones. My first encounter was a young woman who was texting throughout an entire show. She was near me, and the green glow of her phone was distracting. I could barely focus on the show.

Worse, her mother was totally enabling her, asking about the texts. The only sane person in the group was the grandmother, who at least seemed ashamed of the behavior. It was an expensive show, too. I don't pay $100+ for tickets to have to deal with a spoiled brat on her phone. This was a while ago, but I think I mentioned it to them at the intermission or at a break, and she stopped.

Not long after that, I had to deal with a couple filming an entire concert. That show did NOT have an intermission but afterwards I told them they had ruined the entire show for me because it was hard not to watch their video versus the actual show on the stage. They were honestly shocked by my complaint, and wanted to know why I didn't say something sooner (putting me in the wrong, as you can see). But when could I have? I didn't know about their self-entitled bad behavior ahead of time and there wasn't an intermission, so they got away with it.

Just turn your phone off at a movie or show. It's not hard. I do it every time.

[NJCher]

3. I won't do anything with "fellow Americans"

If a I have to shop I go during off hours.

I wear headphones to protect myself from screaming children and listening to other people’s’ cellphone calls.

[FakeNoose]

4. I'm so old I can remember back when they had "ushers"

I know it's a term you young'uns aren't familiar with.

An usher was someone - usually male - who wore a uniform and worked for the theater. His job was to help people find seats, and it sometimes it involved asking customers to do something. Like "stay quiet" and "feet down on the floor." I don't remember ever hearing "keep your clothes on," and of course, cellphones didn't exist in those good ol' days.

[Scrivener7]

5. There was a row of young boys in front of me when I saw Barbie.

I'd say 14 to 16. At first I was impressed that was what they'd choose for their bro outing. But as the movie progressed you could actually see them getting more and more uncomfortable with the message and more unruly. They actually cheered at the incidents of misogyny in the real world scenes.

It was disappointing.

[LisaM]

8. Glad I didn't have to deal with that!

I saw 'Barbie' yesterday and the only outburst was when America Ferrera made her speech and a woman yelled out "preach!" and everyone clapped.

[3Hotdogs]

9. I'm gonna guess it was around 1980. I was in the Millburn (NJ) Theater.Trailers and such were on.

Then comes an anti-littering ad on the screen. A refuse can with the flapping lid comes on screen.

"Hi, I'm Herbie, the litter can. Throw your boxes and cups in here (lid flips on screen) instead of on the floor."

People stood up and began to throw shit at the screen, soda, boxes, candy. The screen became stained with soda.


I never saw Herbie again.

[Fullduplexxx]

10. stay away from showing of the rocky horror picture show... if there are any left

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. The audience members might throw their walkers at the screen. NT

[Effete Snob]

16. Great Scott!

[Jirel]

12. This is so horribly overblown.

I have been choosy since COVID started, about whether I’ll venture I to a theater, and when. But before that, I was regularly in theaters, packed theaters, all over the country, any time of the day or night. I’m calling BS that this kind of disruption is some kind of commonplace occurrence then, or now.

Do people use cellphones in theaters? Generally only while waiting for the movie, and silently. That assumes that the theater doesn’t block cellphone transmission, which an increasing number do. Someone answering a text or slipping out of their seat to take a call - the most common occurrences - are not problematic. Drunk people can happen everywhere, but it’s also rare that they’re a problem. If you don’t want to take that risk that you’ll have a rare disruptive drunk at your movie, maybe don’t see a movie late-night on a Saturday in the theater right in the middle of a downtown entertainment district, where the whole street is packed with people partying. It’s kind of foreseeable. Don’t want to watch a movie with obnoxious “super fans” having their fun? Don’t be at the premiere showing where you KNOW people will be showing up in costume. Sometimes those raucous premieres are the best, though, so you just pick your crowd.

People being dicks in the movies, in the normal sense, has always been a thing. Parents not removing screaming kids. Parents not stopping their brats from throwing snacks all over or kicking seats.

If people are complaining that it’s more of a problem now, I suspect it’s because THEY haven’t been to the movies in a long time, and THEY are more sensitive to normal, minor annoyances of being around a crowd of other people all doing their thing.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. "That assumes that the theater doesn't block cellphone transmission, which an increasing number do."

That assumes that the theater doesn’t block cellphone transmission, which an increasing number do.

Where?

Cite, please. Thanks.

Jammer Enforcement

Jamming Prohibited

Signal jamming devices can prevent you and others from making 9-1-1 and other emergency calls and pose serious risks to public safety communications, as well as interfere with other forms of day-to-day communications.

The use of a phone jammer, GPS blocker, or other signal jamming device designed to intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio communications is a violation of federal law. There are no exemptions for use within a business, classroom, residence, or vehicle. Local law enforcement agencies do not have independent authority to use jamming equipment; in certain limited exceptions use by Federal law enforcement agencies is authorized in accordance with applicable statutes.

It is also unlawful to advertise, sell, distribute, import, or otherwise market jamming devices to consumers in the United States.

[Effete Snob]

17. Active jamming is different from passive measures

A lot of movie theaters naturally block cell phone signals by their simple cinder block and rebar construction.

While typically stated as a problem to overcome:

https://www.wilsonpro.com/blog/3-ways-to-improve-cell-signal-in-metal-and-concrete-buildings

How to Improve Cellular Signal in Metal and Concrete Buildings

...there is nothing illegal about the building essentially acting as a Faraday Cage (why you typically can't use your cellphone in elevators, for example)

[Effete Snob]

13. Where did it say you can't get naked?

Was there a sign or something?

It's PG-13, right?

[Xavier Breath]

15. I mean, you go into a PG-13 movie you're just begging

to see someone's naughty bits

I have always attended a lot of movies. The theater for me is practically home away from home. I love the movie-going experience and will continue to buy tickets until either I die or the practice itself dies. Having said that, I have witnessed a few bad apples over the years. One rowdy incident during Oceans 13 springs to mind. But, there are ways to mitigate your chances of suffering fools such as that. Avoiding weekend matinee showings (noisy kids) and evening showings (noisy drunks) is a good start. Also, I tend to go see more serious, art house movies and avoid the blockbusters at the Googleplex, saving them for cable/streaming. If I do decide to see a big-budget mainstream film, I go to the earliest showing possible and during the week.

There's still the occasional asshat with their phone, but most of the other problems are not present.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

18. it's rare for those type of behaviors to happen in a movie. and see a move during the week,

theater is sparsely populated and quiet