Cell phone users in theaters, etc...

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:29 pm

I have to start this by saying that I have no problems with cell phones, just certain cell phone USERS.

I went to a local theater to see "No Country for Old Men" about two weeks ago. As far as I can tell, it was a good film. Definitely a downer, but a well-written, well shot film. It is an unusual film--in that I am pretty sure it had no soundtrack. Maybe it did, but I cannot remember it--I do remember a lot of VERY quiet moments with absolutely no music. So, the film was overall very soft, and very dialogue-driven.

I was pretty ticked off when the man closest to my wife and I (about 3 seats away--the theater wasn't very crowded) took phone calls on four different occasions during the film. One was especially distracting during a key conversation between the lead character and his father (at least I THINK it was his father, I couldn't HEAR the conversation to be sure of it). I am certain that this part of the film contained the "essence" of the entire concept of the movie. I caught some of it, but not enough...

We asked him (politely) to end his conversation--I think that was the second call he got. Maybe it did work, because that call did end shortly after. But, he took two more calls later on, and they were not short--I'd say about 6-10 minutes each.

Why do people even bother taking calls like this? If I was distracted by his conversation, there is no way he could be following the film while talking a cumulative 20 minutes on his phone. Why would he spend $10 on a ticket to see a movie and talk on the phone the whole time???

I started to wonder what I could do about this... Sure, I could go find a manager. But I would miss an entire chunk of the film for who-knows-how-long to find a manager that may or may not do anything. Then everyone in the theater will be distracted by the manager entering, speaking to the man--which may or may not cause a scene... etc etc etc...

Basically we are (because I know this has happened to most of you...) already screwed. We have already missed parts of the film, and any legal retaliation will cause us to miss more...

I wondered why theaters don't do something about this themselves. There is a very simple solution--a device called a Faraday cage has been around since 1836. Its basically a wire-mesh structure that blocks radio frequencies. Anything inside the cage cannot receive a signal. The same device is in our microwave ovens to keep the radiation INSIDE the microwave (though the wire mesh lets light in/out so we can see the food). There is no reason a theater couldn't line the walls with such a material at a reasonable cost--PROBLEM SOLVED (and this is LEGAL). Faraday cage info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

And here is a question for you guys. In my search, I have found a more ACTIVE approach to solving this problem. Any of you know the products I am talking about? Any of you have "a friend" that has owned or tried such a device?? If so, send me a PM please.

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:07 am

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:59 am

This afternoon I was in a candy store with my grandsons and heard the noise of something being spilled on the floor. A woman talking on her cell phone was spilling candy on the floor, and it was rolling all over. She didn't have a clue she was making a mess, and even walked on the spilled candy, grinding it into the floor.

I try to laugh it off, but when driving, I do watch out for inattentive drivers in what I call the cell phone lane--the far left lane. They weave back and forth, slow up and down, and are to be avoided. My car was totaled one night last winter at an intersection by a guy who failed to stop. I got out and walked to his window, and he was still punching keys on his blackberry or cell phone in the dark.

I think there are laws prohibiting interfering with broadcasts, including cell phone transmissions, such as in a theater.

Why not tell the theater manager, then demand a refund for your tickets? I asked for a refund once, and got it with no problem.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:07 am

Anybody who would take four long calls in a crowded movie theater deserves to be taken outside and shot.
Talk about opening a king sized can of whoop ***!

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:25 pm

I wondered why theaters don't do something about this themselves. There is a very simple solution--a device called a Faraday cage has been around since 1836.

I say do it !! I carry a work cell phone everywhere I go and am on call 24/7...... every day. My cell phone is part of my job. But I never hesitate to put it on "viberate" whenever I am in a public place like the movies or even at community band practice. If I do get a call I will go out some where private even if that means walking all the way to my car.
I am a important man !!!

People depend on me to be available. But I don't take care of my business at the expense of others around me. That's just rude! Your neighbor in the movie theater is a ******* .
I wonder what would of happened if after all your polite attempts to make him stop you went and sat down next to him and made a nuisance of yourself while he was taking of his oh-so-important phone calls. He ruined the movie for you why not return the favor?

Rick F · Post by **Rick F** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:28 pm

I would have probably said, "Either you end that call now, or I'll end it for you. We're missing important dialog hereâ€”and I'm not referring to your conversation!"

then press the magic button

Well, I don't have one... and they're not legal, but see this link for more info:
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C6233/

Tubaing · Post by **Tubaing** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:18 pm

Rick F wrote:then press the magic button

Self Destruct?

Kevin Hendrick · Post by **Kevin Hendrick** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:16 pm

Tubaing wrote:
Rick F wrote:then press the magic button
Self Destruct?

Oh, if only it were! "Buh-bye!" <poof>

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:15 pm

I do enjoy good films. This was one... It's so odd to see a film today that is driven by on-screen presence and dialogue. If this were a typical action film, the offender wouldn't have bothered me nearly so much.

Now that you mention it, I do enjoy movies much more here at home, but there is something that keeps me going back to the theaters every few months. I can't say exactly why--maybe its a throwback to enjoying movies as a child, when home setups could never rival the theater... All I want now is a more comfy couch and three new speakers.

The Faraday cage, as far as I can tell, is legal, because it is passive. The jammers and such are illegal, but obtainable...

The doctor comment is valid. I imagine anyone who works for emergency services would need to have active cell service as much as possible. Perhaps they could make some theaters anti-cell phone and others as they are now.

Tubaing · Post by **Tubaing** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:20 pm

Dean wrote:...but there is something that keeps me going back to the theaters every few months. I can't say exactly why...

What keeps me going back to a movie theater about every year and a half is the self serve butter with the popped corn.
Popped corn just isn't the same when it isn't floating in a pool of butter (or imitation butter).

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:00 pm

Tubaing wrote:
Dean wrote:...but there is something that keeps me going back to the theaters every few months. I can't say exactly why...
What keeps me going back to a movie theater about every year and a half is the self serve butter with the popped corn.
Popped corn just isn't the same when it isn't floating in a pool of butter (or imitation butter).

Someone told me once that they stopped using real butter years ago, and the stuff we get at the theater is some sort of flavored coconut oil. Tasty, but deadly!!

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:47 pm

Mr. Smithee in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about 5 years ago wrote: Dear Mr. Smithee,

One of my pet peeves is loud toddlers and infants at theaters. Why do theaters sell tickets to R-rated movies to couples with a baby or toddler? And once they are there and screaming/crying/being a general nuisance, how should others deal with them?

Chad Gunnells, Lawrenceville

Dear Mr. Smithee,

What should be the protocol if someone brings a baby to the movies and refuses to leave when the baby begins to cry? As a mother, I believe it is improper to bring children to non-children movies. I stay home if I don't have a babysitter. Unfortunately, I don't find that to be the norm!

Sharon D. Guest, Atlanta

Dear Mr. and Ms. Bah-Humbug,

Why are you singling out wee ones? You think they had a choice in being dragged into a dark room for a story they are not even interested in? Do you honestly believe they yearn for the privilege of being repeatedly ordered to "shut up" by misguided nincompoops who don't deserve to be called parents?

Really, it's not just babies, little kids and thoughtless parents who are the problem.

Mr. Smithee still has embedded in his brain the memory of calmly watching "Spider" at Lefont Garden Hills Cinema when some woman, who can be described only as wacko, burst through the screening-room doors and shouted, "It's started, hasn't it?" at the top of her lungs.

Yes, my dear wacko. About 15 minutes ago.

Or the time Mr. Smithee was trying to focus two of his five sensibilities on "The Sixth Sense" at a Sandy Springs theater, except two rows back there was this gigantic fat man (you could say obese, as in "Orca") passed out and snoring like he was the wood chipper in "Fargo."

Actually, I don't care who's watching a movie with me or near me as long as he, she, it, Orca or whatever it is maintains quiet and is respectful of others. (Exception: I once saw "Halloween" with a rather boisterous young crowd, whose members found it necessary to shout out "Don't be goin' in there!" and "Uh-huh. Didn't I tell ya, fool, ya'd get stuck?!" Somehow, it made it all the more fun.)

But to give rejoinders:

1. An R rating means anyone under 17 can come in as long as they are accompanied by an adult. And that applies to a baby or toddler. And, as dumb as it sounds to take a small child to an R-rated movie, this is America. There's no law against it, and if a theater wants to sell such tickets, it may. Some don't, but many seem to.

2. How do you deal with screaming, crying and general nuisance (like the kid who keeps kicking the back of your chair)?

Calmly tell the parents in a civilized manner that they need to quiet their children (this does not in any way include striking said child and/or yelling, "Shut up!").

If the problem persists or a parent just won't exit the theater with a crying baby, then calmly get up, leave the screening room and seek the manager or highest-ranking staffer present. Explain your situation and ask for a refund on the spot for your entire party. If they won't give you refunds or ticket vouchers, just say you will never spend money at their theater again --- and then don't.

Oh, and one last thing. If the offender was loud enough to disrupt lots of moviegoers, feel free to march right back into the screening room and loudly announce, "Hey, everybody, I just got my money back" and suggest to everyone else it might behoove them to do likewise.

Alan

I would apply this even more so to people talking on cell phones, people talking to others, or people talking to themselves.

Todd S. Malicoate · Post by **Todd S. Malicoate** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:47 pm

Dean wrote:Someone told me once that they stopped using real butter years ago, and the stuff we get at the theater is some sort of flavored coconut oil. Tasty, but deadly!!

Dean, it was "buttery-flavored oil" when I was working in a twin theater in high school back in 1982!

Todd "showing his age" S. Malicoate

Carroll · Post by **Carroll** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:57 pm

Dean wrote: The doctor comment is valid. I imagine anyone who works for emergency services would need to have active cell service as much as possible. Perhaps they could make some theaters anti-cell phone and others as they are now.

My wife is a physician. When she will be attending one of my band events in the VERY rural county I teach, she informs one of her call group and they cover for her until she gets back to civilization. Not a big deal. The babysitter issue is different, though.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:36 pm

We ate an early supper before going to an early evening movie with my grandson and several other kids from around here. It was such a pleasure to see the whole gang stay in thier seats (except for rest room runs) an not patronize the snack bar with their $10 popcorn and $5 cokes.

chipster55 · Post by **chipster55** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:22 am

The last time I was in a theater was when "Grumpier Old Men" was out. Yeah, it's been that long, but it's not worth the money & hassle to put up with all the rude assholes that populate movie theaters.

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:40 am

oldbandnerd wrote:I am a important man !!! People depend on me to be available.

Yes. We know. This goes without saying. You're on TubeNet, aren't you?

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:13 am

tubashaman wrote:When im at a theatre, and need to use the bathroom, i go to a bathroom

Beats the alternative!

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:39 pm

MartyNeilan wrote:
tubashaman wrote:When im at a theatre, and need to use the bathroom, i go to a bathroom
Beats the alternative!

...for everyone involved!

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:02 pm

Weelllll......I have long noted that in the good ole USA that one of our closely held Freedoms seems to be The Freedom To Make As Much Noise As We Want And To Hell With You If You Don't Like It.

I've experienced this all the way from inconsiderate roommates to inconsiderate neighbors to inconsiderate movie-goers and even cubicle mates. Particularly I LOVE the response that I see when someone says "I want to give a wild party until 2 a.m. but my neighbors complain" that urges the party-giver to "just invite the neighbors."

Not realizing (or caring, probably) that maybe the neighbors have a health condition, a small baby that needs sleep, or whatever else, and they deserve the consideration of being allowed to go to bed at a decent hour. I always long for the karmic payback to the partiers when they are older and have a migraine, that their own inconsiderate neighbors think that if the noise is a problem they should just come join the party.

There are times that I really regret not owning a 12 gauge.

MA

TubeNet

Cell phone users in theaters, etc...

Cell phone users in theaters, etc...

Recidivism eliminator ;-)

cell phone users

cell phone users