Scruggs’s Blog: If You Can’t Shut Up During a Movie, Don’t Go

I remember when going to the movies was an experience: the delicious, buttery popcorn, the thrill of seeing something you've waited for months to see in a dark, quiet, theater...

...but honestly, all that has changed.

These days, no one can sit still for two hours without checking their phones to make sure they haven't gotten a message. Thanks to sneak peeks and spoilers, everyone's already seen half of the movie before even getting to the theater. Most of all, though?

No one seems able to stop talking. 

Last night, I went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at the Lyric Cinema's outdoor theater. The ambiance was amazing: the sunset was gorgeous, the crickets were chirping, and movie-goers were setting out their chairs and blankets. Halfway through the movie, however, a couple of members of the audience decided to indulge in a catch-up session.

In my head, the whole time, I told myself to go up to them and ask them to be quiet...but I kept stopping myself. No one wants to be that person. No one wants to start a scene, and no one wants to make anyone feel badly or ruin their evening. However, for me, the movie was essentially ruined.

Here's my plea: even if it's a movie that's over 15 years old, I've still paid $7 to sit and enjoy it. I love when the audience gets interactive— when they cheer after Dobby is freed, when they laugh, when they cry— but it's quite another thing to be disruptive, and with a film like this, if you don't think your stories can wait until the end, just don't go. Don't ruin it for the rest of the movie-goers who would rather enjoy the movie than have to deal with a potential confrontation.

Pretty soon, all of our movies will be delivered Netflix-style anyway, so let's make the movie theater an experience every time we decide to go out and pay to enjoy it...and all, collectively, shut up.

What do you think: