The movie theater. A place of magic, wonder, and imagination where anything can come to life. Picture yourself engrossed in a plot, staring at the silver screen as two actors engage with one another, when all of a sudden – out of the corner of your eye – you see the bright lights of a cellphone come to life and BAM! You’re sucked out of the story, annoyed that technology has dared to rear its ugly head right when you were getting to the good part of Twisters (opening in theaters this weekend).
This shouldn’t be an issue in 2024, but alas, the human race is what it is, and despite the warning before every single movie that says, “Hey, put your phone away and just enjoy the magic,” people still take out their mobile devices to snap pictures, text their friends, and play Candy Crush if the plot isn’t enough to hold their short attention span. There’s a renewed debate on this issue that began a couple of days ago thanks to a single post on Elon Musk’s X, which seems to be the social media equivalent to Mos Eisley these days.
User @FinalGuyKris implored people to please, PLEASE, put away their cellphones and stop snapping pictures for “clout.” The post was shared by @thisismermaidia, who had a differing opinion, claiming that it’s unreasonable for people to be upset by others who are just “capturing memories.” Check out the post below.
Capturing memories? This sparked a whole host of responses, including one from the original poster, @FinalGuyKris, who was quick to point out that not only is it a rule to not use your cellphone in a theater, but federal law makes it illegal to film theatrical releases and share them online.
The Debate Rages on Over the Use of Cellphones at the Movies
Look, we get it, some people just can’t help themselves. They see something shiny and have to pick it up. When it comes to a movie theater and the overall moviegoing experience, shouldn’t just hearing the sounds and seeing the explosions be enough? Do you really have to pull out your cellphone and snap a picture to remind yourself that you were there? According to @thisismermaidia, yes. Yes you do.
“crazy people have different memory capacity just like u can’t focus on a movie instead of the people around u lmaoo,” came one of their responses. This sparked a reply from @PETEandrepete_, who expertly pointed out that before the invention of cellphones, people had no problems remembering what they saw on screen. Well, maybe not the elderly, but you get their point.
Alas, the debate raged on, devolving into name-calling (as these sorts of things often do), people setting their accounts to private, and others just having some fun with the absurdity of it all. @thisismermaidia went on to add that it shouldn’t matter if people have their cellphones out as long as they have the brightness turned down – and they don’t spoil anything, of course – and asked if people would also get mad at someone for getting up to use the bathroom, or to go get snacks in the middle of a movie. The short answer from most people? A resounding “yes!”
It’s simple: abide by the rules, keep your cellphones in your pocket, and snap a pic of your ticket stub if you want to remember you were there. Refresh your memory by buying the Blu-ray if it’s that important. As theaters continue to struggle post-COVID, the goal is to drive people back to the movies, and not push them away by pulling out your device and texting your friends that you just saw Nicolas Cage’s mug in Longlegs and boy, was it creepy. That sort of thing just ruins the experience for everyone, and – spoiler alert – contrary to what you might think, you’re not the main character in this scenario.