Pavilion Rant

vidro3 wrote: Sweet Jeebus.
One person was being rude and disrespectful, (the mother, I'm not about to blame the kid.) Another person asked the mother to instruct her child to behave. The mother went off the deep end.

exactly.

Drano wrote: [quote=eggcream]Haven't been to the movies in years and haven't regretted it one minute.

I pretty much agree - it ain't worth it anymore.
So I'm the only nerd here that had to scratch that Iron Man itch, eh?

daver wrote: What about Speed Racer???

I can wait for it on Netflix.

But Iron Man, the latest Batman and the new Hulk... oh yeah, all in theaters.

Oh, and Hancock.

WhyFi wrote: So I'm the only nerd here that had to scratch that Iron Man itch, eh?

I've been excited about it for months!
I've watched the preview on YouTube.
More than once...
I can hardly wait!

But wait I must.
Because I don't go to big movies on opening weekend.
And the reason is people like the woman WTgirl describes.
Shouldn't the mom have quietly shushed her child or apologized?
Or told the child to apologize for having disturbed WTgirl?
Yes, she should have.
I think that movie audiences have gotten more and more rude...
Just 10 years ago I could successfuly shush most people, who were apologetic.
Now I'm risking a fight when I say, quietly, "could you please be quiet - your talking is really distracting."
I've had parents swear at me violently when I've (gently and quietly) shushed their children.

So I wait until popular movies have been out a few weeks or months and the crowds have moved on to something else.
Then I go to the early show in theaters that are less crowded.
Not to theaters in Brooklyn, generally.
Then I can enjoy myself .

There's no place decent in Brooklyn to see a movie without kids (and adults, but mostly kids) talking to each or on cell phones or just being generally disruptive. I live a stone's throw from the Pavilion and have given up on seeing a movie there. I even had kids ruin "The Manchurian Candidate" when I saw it there and I was thinking "why would they even want to watch this flick?" I guess they just snuck in and it was free.

I'm still waiting for a genius to charge $25 to see a movie on the big screen but guarantee peace and quiet. I'd pay it gladly. I love going to the movies and seeing the huge image in a dark theater, but don't like putting up with disruptive patrons who think the theater is their living room (like the guys who lit up cigarettes at the Union Square theater...there was no way I was going to ask them to put them out; they were big and scary!)

If race comes up THAT fast in "enlightened" Park Slope...yes it does worry me that our country is too racist to elect Obama. I hope I am wrong obviously.

You've got to honestly ask yourself, who in Park Slope are the people who are trying hardest to reach out? Who else cares about being enlightened but enlightened white folks?! Preaching to the choir...and the choir is loud.

Carnivore wrote: BAM Rose Cinema is awesome.

Indubitably! And kid-less to boot

But this thread - I'm lost & I don't get it - it seems a bit f'd-up to me :?:

Carnivore wrote: BAM Rose Cinema is awesome.

I never have noise problems at BAM. I have had noise problems involving younger people at the Pavillion though. I used to be loud at cinemas, so I figure it's god paying me back.

Aren't the seats at BAM hard and small? Otherwise, they have a great selection of movies

Flexichick wrote: Aren't the seats at BAM hard and small? Otherwise, they have a great selection of movies

yes. it's not a very comfortable theater, at least, not for me. I've only seen two movies there, though, and both times had a great time. one was Borat and you could tell the audience was trying not to laugh. an impossible task, obvi. some of the commentary was pretty hilarious, in fact, because the 'normal' BAM audience is used to not commenting at all during a movie.

I mean, shit, if Al Gore's movie hadn't been fascinating, I would have fallen asleep it was so quiet in that theater. the only time outside of Al's movie at BAM that I saw a movie in a theater that was dead silent was when I saw Schindler's List in Miami Beach - packed theater, no one said a word.

No one said you can't laugh at the theatre it's just you can't talk during a movie. It's not your friggin living room. I'm not paying inflated prices so I can hear your take on the movie, or worse, to hear your child asking questions or hear your cell phone conversation.

I work in film and spend a LOT of time in movie theaters... I have mixed feelings on this one, race aside (because this is not a race issue IMO). I hate it when people talk in movies, be they teens using the opportunity to show off to their friends, older people who ask each other a parade of endless questions LOUDLY because they can't hear anymore, or rude adults who consider the theater an extension of their living room. I have been in multiplexes all over America and Canada, and I can tell you that this has nothing to do with people of color; It has to do with the decline of formality in public space in general.

That said, the one population to whom I always give a free pass is little kids. Little kids have lots of questions about EVERYTHING; If you're seeing a movie appropriate for little kids to be in the theater, I am of the opinion that you should expect that they will be noisy and impatient, full of questions and wonder; They're little kids. My last trip to the Pavillion was on a date with my wife and we saw RATATOUILLE; The theater was packed with kids and we took pleasure in watching them learn how to enjoy a film. Kids are going to talk, period; You would think a father would know that.

Now, of course, IMO again, the father should have been more understanding and let it be. That said, the mother, by making this an issue of race, made things worse. Let's be honest; There is no denying that talking in the theater is a stereotype of African-American patrons, so she is not really wrong; To encourage her child to talk louder as if this defiance was somehow a statement against the father's racism is over the top, but what do you expect? Any mother who feels her child has been insulted will react with venom; Just go to Tea Lounge and ask a mom to control her child.

Anyway, I don't think anyone is going to change the culture of movie theater patrons, be they black, white, older or teen; It is unfortunate, but people of all stripes talk at the movies and the trend seems to be getting worse. So, one should know the space they are entering when they go; If you go see popular, Hollywood titles, you're entering a public space where the rules of decorum are not enforced. Buyer beware.

PS--I love BAM and their seats.

Drano wrote:

I agree with a lot of what you said, but you're really trying to hard to excuse this woman's idiocy. First, I'm no expert in sterotypes but I reckon I'm familiar with the common ones. I've never heard of this "movie theater" stereotype you mention - anyone want to back that up? Google was no help. Even if it is a "legit" stereotype, the proper reaction is to do one's best to live up to it? Don't know about that. You also seem to take the guy's racist intentions for granted. Uh, what? Maybe he was sexist and wanted to assert the dominant paradigm on a woman by asking her to hush her child; maybe he was ageist and wanted to oppress the child. Or maybe he was irritated by discourtesy. Who knows?

I don't take his racist intentions for granted; I have no idea what his intentions were. Her reaction was to respond as if he was being racist. My bringing up the stereotype is that she was probably responding to her own assumption that he was being racist by asking her child to be quiet. Race was at play here. As for not knowing about the stereotype of African American audiences being vocal at screenings, I suggest you watch any African American stand up comedian of the last 25 years and find their "All the black people in the audience reacting to white behavior in horror movies" routine. You didn't ask, but I certainly believe that this is a cultural phenomenon that relates to churchgoing, to storytelling and oral tradition, that involves active participation in listening in African American communities. I am not judging that difference, just saying, I think it's real.

Drano wrote: Anyhow, I'm glad you ask what I expect, because I'm going to tell you: I expect people to do their best to control their children in public. In the event that such control proves elusive, be prepared to accept suggestions to get a handle on the situation and to deal with them in a mature fashion. Example: I was on a plane recently and the kid behind me kept opening and closing the tray on the back of my seat with great enthusiasm. Very irritating. So I turned around and explained the situation to the kid's father, and he immediately cursed me out for "insulting" his child! Wait, no, that didn't happen. He saw how it would have been irritating, apologized for being distracted with the other kid, and told tray table kid to knock it off. That scenario has probably played out 10 or 15 times in my life with pretty much the same result.

Well, I don't disagree. I would prefer that every film is treated by reverent attention, that every classroom was full of polite and hard-working children, that every plane was silent and restful, but that is not reality and therefore, I don't expect it. If a child is seeing IRON MAN and asking questions to his/her parent, not physically kicking the seat but verbalizing his/her curiosity in a way that I, as a parent, find to be within reason and within my own range of theater going behavior and then someone tells me to pipe my kid down, I would, out of courtesy, ask my child to be more quiet and would not have reacted the way she did. To be honest, I find her reaction ridiculous. That said, I understand it. I don't think it's justified, but I think I know where she is coming from. I know where the man is coming from too; That's me 100% of the time, wishing things were quiet and attentive. But when reality doesn't conform to our expectations, we have to meet in the middle. I wasn't there, I don't know what was said or how, but I don't find either reaction surprising.