At the Movies

At what point, exactly, did people become incapable of distinguishing public movie theaters from their own living rooms?

The trash. The cell phones and pagers. The non-stop talking. And just try to get the theater staff to do something about it. I feel compelled to point out that as a paying theater customer, I should not have to police the goddamned place.

This sorry state of affairs has two causes:

1) Theater owners simply don't care if you have a lousy time, as long as no one makes any noise about it. Once they've got your $9 they could care less about your movie-watching experience. Multiplex theaters are little better than human cattle yards; get 'em lined up, sell 'em snacks, stuff 'em in the seats for 90 mins and then move 'em out to make space for the next herd.

2) People are getting worse. There is almost no such thing as a well-mannered group anymore. I'm not saying we all have to love each other, but apparently the idea that we should not harass or interfere with each other has also gone by the boards.

Whenever I confront people in theaters and ask them to keep it quiet or control their children - I'm always civil - they respond with undisguised shock; the very IDEA of a stranger asking them to control their actions or exercise any level of awareness and consideration of others in the theater leaves them sputtering with self-righteous anger.

Personally, I blame the 1960s. Why? Well, the 60s established several toxic ideas, still with us today:

There is something unhealthy and oppressive about self-restraint and public manners.

Young people are wiser, more ethical and just plain BETTER than older people.

Being "old fashioned" or a "square" is worse than being the most antisocial libertine.

Now, some of these ideas are centuries old - Rousseau's "les hommes naturel," etc. - but it was in the 60s that they took control of the American culture and public mind, and we are seeing the results... at the movies.