Been on my mind...

As you may know going to movies is one of my favorite things in the entire world. I like just watching movies at home as well, but actually getting dressed and putting on make up and going to the theatre and paying a million dollars to see a brand new movie just makes me a happy camper. This is what I expect when I go to the cinema. I expect to arrive at the theatre and walk into a nice place where everyone is in their respective lines getting their tickets and popcorn. I expect to pay too much for my tickets, too much for my concessions, and then have to sit in a seat that is too small for my round bottom. While I am sitting in that uncomfortable seat I expect to be surrounded by other excited movie-goers that are ready to enjoy the next two hours of entertainment with me. When the lights dim I expect to be left in a silence so quiet that I can hear my fellow companions breathe in the anticipation for the previews to start. When the previews do get rolling I expect everyone to watch them as if they've never seen them before. Even though I see most previews about 10 times before the movie comes out, there could be someone in that theatre that is just now getting the oppurtunity to see the trailer for the first time. After I hear about the coming attractions I expect the silence to continue through out the entirity of the feature film. Not to say that I don't expect laughs when they are meant to be had, sniffles when they are prompted, and screams when they are extracted, that's supposed to happen if a movie is good enough to deserve them. After the movie is finished I expect everyone to pause for a little bit, take in the film, and then discuss it on their way out to their rides, taking their trash with them.
What I get is another thing entirely.
When I arrive I am greeted by a million children screaming profanities at each other, wearing things that I wouldn't catch a hooker in, with no parent in sight. After a few minutes of trying to figure out if the short, annoying people are actually in line or just gossiping about what Jill and John did last night, I get to buy my tickets. (The ticket prices are one of the things that are expected that actually occur.) My party and I weave in and out of all the kids throwing popcorn around the lobby and get into our assigned theatre. After we sit, waiting for the show to begin, we are surrounded by people that look like they really don't want to be there, like they had better things to do with their Friday nights. After the theatre is filled and the movie is about to start the crowd is pretty unruly, you couldn't hear a lion roar if you had hearing aides. When the previews begin the sound rarely ever quiets down. This annoys me, and I know a lot of people who agree with me, because the previews do happen to be one of the best parts of the movie going experience. But, you know, it's just the previews, I didn't pay for that. So I wait for the feature to start. Once it does, you do still hear a few whispers and giggles for a while. If everything else that had happened wasn't bad enough, you get a group of about 5-8 pre-teens "movie-hopping" into your movie 45 minutes after it started. And they don't come in quietly. Lord no. They come in sounding like a heard of cattle, mooing all the way. After 20 or so minutes, half of them decide they want to see something else and they leave with their tails behind them. Also, no matter how many signs say to "silence your cell phone" there is always a rap song that starts playing in the back of the theatre that you know doesn't belong in the middle of the drama that you are watching. Depending on the age group that is watching the movie, I always hear laughs at the wrong part. I don't know if some people just don't know what funny is, but before they go to a dramatic movie about a mother losing her son they need to figure it out. After the movie is over I continue to take in my surroundings as others jump over the seats, yelling to their friends, and leaving their trash behind on the floor for someone else to pick up.
Recently I went with a couple of my friends to see the Angelina Jolie movie Changeling. She is nominated for Best Actress for this movie so I figured it would be a great movie, and I was correct. The movie was amazing. The only problem was that I watched it at a college movie theatre. You wouldn't think that college students could be that rude. I wouldn't think it. If you walked into that movie theatre while that movie was going on you would have thought that there were elementary students scattered in the crowd. Everytime Ms. Jolie got emotional and yelled, I stiffled tears, but the immature kids around me laughed. When a character did something triumphant there was cheering, whistling, and clapping in the crowd. I'm sorry, but they can't hear you. I can. And it's ruining my experience.
So please, if you are one of the people that like to ruin movie-goer's times, take my word to heart and please stop. The theatre is not a football game, it is a place of art that is meant to be enjoyed by everyone.
Plus, if we are paying that much to get in, we should get to at least hear the show.