Applauding during movies...

[dak]

I went to go see LoTR: Two Towers the other day and was subjected to the annoying fad of clapping during previews and good scenes in movies for the first time. My question is simply why? Why do they clap? Why are these people allowed to remain in the theaters? Why arnt they shot on sight?

After the preview of Terminator:3 and Dumb and Dumber 2 volleys of applauding and hooting sprang up randomly around the theater. It was as if they were saying "YES! We are pleased with your lame sequels. Let us all clap in unison to show our endorsement of the advertisments". I honestly think that the theater is paying these people to cheer in an attempt to get the rest of the audience wanting to see the film.

Anyways, the lights dimmed and the movie started. For a while the audience was relatively quiet. As soon as Gandalf the "White" showed up everyone started to applaud yet again. This isnt a fine play folks...cheering doesnt make you look "cultured"...nobody who had anything remotely to do with the creation of the film is anywhere near by. Who are they applauding? The theater for showing the blockbuster money maker? Prehaps they are applauding the dorky teens with red vests and flashlights for providing an official ambience to the room. IMHO people who clap during important scenes of movies should be dealt with in the same fashion as a person who stands up and screams "Penis!".

As the movie ended and the credits faded in I had an epifiny as to why people applaud. As the credits rolled by several groups of people were clapping, I overhead a white teenage with frosted blonde hair ask his companion "Dude, should we be clapping?!". His friend responded "Yeah, Prehaps someone will look at us!". I kid you not, that is what he said. While driving home that little tid bit rolled around im my head for a while, funny how the more stupid something is the more it sticks. I came to the conclusion that people will do anything for attention these days....poor Tolkien would be rolling over in his grave if he knew his works were being used as entertainment for this caliber of people...

[Eornia]

Hmmm seems that I've read this before, but it was about a different movie. Spiderman perhaps?

[dak]

There was nothing worth applauding in Spiderman...

[Eornia]

yes there was. 2 words : wet t-shirt

[Eomer]

I didn't have anyone clapping when I saw it on Saturday night, but I agree it is an incredibly stupid thing to do and would also bug the fuck out of me.

One thing, however, that did bug the hell out of me during the movie was laughter. Hey, I don't have a problem if someone laughs at a funny scene or line, but often people were laughing when there was no attempt at humor being made, they just completely mistook a few things as being jokes. It bugged the hell out of me, the entire theatre was way too laugh happy.

[Samus Aran]

People were clapping during Two Towers in some of the most bad ass parts and rightfully so. The part where Legolas does that crazy ninja move to get on the horse, several people said "Ohhh Shit!" and clapped. Personally, I don't mind it at those times. They did the same thing during Fellowship when Aragorn cut the orcs head off at the end. It shows that people are really into the movie, just like me.

[Ritkhan]

people like that are the reason i wish they would release DVDs at the same time as the movie is in the theatre. I would rather watch a movie at home on the couch with no anoying people than in a stupid crowded theatre with fat comic store pigs eating their popcorn and nachos next to me throughout the whole damn movie.

[Telrem]

*I would rather watch a movie at home*

I don't care how big your Wide Screen is, or how clear your Digital Sound is. Movies like LoTR and other special effect bonanzas were ment to be seen in Movie Theatre.

But yes, the people who clapped at the end of TTT and when Gimmli fell off his horse anoyed me somewhat

[Schar]

Lol i love how everybody claims to know when and why Tolkein would be rolling over in his grave, like he was their personal friend. If anything, i would bet that Tolkein would like the fact that his work ended up entertaining so many people worldwide.

Anyways, clapping and laughing does not bother me. NOTHING beats seeing a movie you love in a theatre packed with other people who have the same passion for it as you do. Although i don't applaud at all, it makes me happy to know that some people are enjoying the movie enough to express it like that. I agree, seeing a movie in a theatre with others is much better than seeing it at home alone. If you dont want annoying people beside you, bring some friends next time.

[Tristinn]

Geez... some of us actually enjoy the audience interaction of movie going.

Not all of us are anti-Social jerks who get their panties in a wad when someone accidentaly touches them or something.

[dak]

If I wanted to listen to bunch of prepubescent junior high students clapping like a bunch of trained seals everytime they see something "cool" I would go to a pep rally.

This isnt a football game we are talking about here, its a theater experience...people bitch at folks who have their cell phones ring a few seconds or have their baby whimper a little bit but they are perfectly ok with some 16 year old turd standing up and yelling "Fuck yeah! Gandalf!" in the middle of a conversation. Bullshit, if they are "really into" the movie they should sit down, shut the fuck up and watch it.

It totally ruins the mood and really takes away from the film as a whole. I missed atleast 10 minutes worth of conversation which was rendered inaudible by the peanut gallery sitting in the first few rows. Whats next? I can see it now...people who "really enjoy the movie" are gonna be acting shit out as the watch it. To some this will be perfectly acceptable since they are just "expressing their enthusiasm". This isnt what theater is supposta be.

Oh, and Schar....I love it when people who dont even know how to spell the authors name try and tell me how they think he would feel about his modern day audience. Anyways TolkIEn was a Oxford professor I seriously doubt that he would appreciate young punks screaming out "FUCK YES!" in the middle of the telling of his story.


Oh, btw I went with 8 friends, sat in the middle of them all...of course there is this little thing called acoustics in theaters which makes people screaming in the front row clearly understood regardless of where you sit.

[Samus Aran]

Despite Dak's gay sig(Grr) I definately agree with him. People don't need to clap in the goddamn theater. Sit down, shut the fuck up, and watch it.

[Taehoon]

I used to be "friends" with this dude who would clap his fucking hands off at a movie. At the most inappropriate times. I asked him why he does it, got a reply to something along the lines of he paid his money and can clap if he wants. This guy wasn't someone you wanted to argue with, because you were just wasting your breath. He eventually pissed me and a bunch of other people off so much that we just ignored him when he'd come around bugging us to hang out with him.

Attention starved really hits home~

>>*I would rather watch a movie at home*

I don't care how big your Wide Screen is, or how clear your Digital Sound is. Movies like LoTR and other special effect bonanzas were ment to be seen in Movie Theatre.<<

Bullshit. Home theatres can look better, sound better, smell better, and feel better, than the majority of any public movie theatre. Unless you enjoy being in a room that has funny smells, god knows what stuck to the floor, audio that may be too low or too high, packed seating with a tall bastard in front of you (saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon like this...fucking subtitles..I didn't even know they were there ), all filled with people you don't know who may be crazy, violent, and looking for a reason. Vest Boy armed with a Mag-lite isn't going to be able to do anything when it comes to a guy with a gun.

Movie Theatres are okay. If you like movies, enjoy technology, and can afford it, you can put together a home theatre that will blow away a "professional" movie theatre. I would rather watch a movie at home, at my convenience, without standing in lines, without spending crazy amounts of money on tickets and concessions, and without having to put up with asshole people who are inconsiderate of others. Entertainment is supposed to be entertaining, and when Joe Kid starts throwing popcorn and playing with a laser pen, I'm not entertained, I'm annoyed. I paid to see a movie, not to go find a walking Vest to deal with a fucking asshole who failed to learn respect in Kindergarten.

Also, what is the deal with "Broke Box-Office records this past weekend..." shit? Haven't ticket prices gone up so astronomically, that less people are seeing movies but paying more? When E.T. made billions in 1979 or whatever, that was an accomplishment. When Titanic made billions, what was the difference between the cost of tickets between that movie and E.T.? I guess everyone all around just likes to hear high $$ figures. Though what would matter more to me, as a consumer, is how many people went to see a movie, not how much bling it put into the pockets of those who made it.

[somecleric]

I don't mind quietly talking with your friends, laughing or shouts of 'holy shit!' at appropriate times, but clapping in a movie makes no fucking sense. The director, the actors and the crew are all nowhere near within hearing range, so who the fuck are you clapping for?

The worst ever was the Star Wars: A New Hope re-release. I swear, fucking retards gave it a 10 minute standing ovation.

[Schar]

Dak, so it went from people applauding at parts they liked, and laughing at parts they thought were funny, to people standing up and randomly shouting obscenities? I think we would all agree that if some kid stood up and yelled "fuck yeah Gandalf!", that that would take a lot away from the experience. But people applauding? The situation really changed between your first and second post. I agree 100% with your second post, especially when the shouting is loud enough to take away 10 minutes of movie dialogue.

My question is simply why? Why do they clap? Why are these people allowed to remain in the theaters? Why arnt they shot on sight?

It was as if they were saying "YES! We are pleased with your lame sequels. Let us all clap in unison to show our endorsement of the advertisments". I honestly think that the theater is paying these people to cheer in an attempt to get the rest of the audience wanting to see the film.

cheering doesnt make you look "cultured"...nobody who had anything remotely to do with the creation of the film is anywhere near by. Who are they applauding? The theater for showing the blockbuster money maker?

Trust me, your first post made you sound like a pretty antisocial person.

I love it when people who dont even know how to spell the authors name try and tell me how they think he would feel about his modern day audience.

Yeah, i mixed the I and the E up, like i often do in lots of other words. I'm not a die hard TolkIEn fan who would kill himself for mispelling his name. But don't you think, as a human being, he would be happy that his work was in some way making people happy? Inciting so much passion in them? I can't imagine why a person who spent like 13 years writing a story like this would be angry that certain people were enjoying his work. I seriously doubt he was that stuck up. Did you know that when he started writing the series, he intended it to be a children's story?