If you’ve been on social media lately, odds are that you’ve seen lots and lots and lots of pictures from the latest musical hit, Wicked. But these photos are different; these have been taken by moviegoers via their cell phones during crowded screenings. And for this particular film, pics snapped of the movie screen are spreading like wildfire. Some are even encouraging others to share photos taken from their seats in their theater of choice, while others are going one step further and taking video clips of the film’s final scene and posting it to social media.
While this is by no means an isolated epidemic and the digital revolution has made it far easier to pull off recording in public places, the sanctuary that is the movie theater is being violated nearly daily simply for clicks. It’s gotten so bad that the famed Alamo Drafthouse theater spoke out against the trend and even The Hollywood Reporter is weighing in on the action, with one source calling it, “intolerable behavior.”
Look, I get it. You want to share moments of your experiences with your friends and the world. And lord knows that technology is encouraging constant documenting of your life and making photography accessible to all. But in a public movie theater, where millions of people have worked hard to display their stories in the biggest, grandest fashion, phones simply do not belong.
First of all, whipping out your cell phone and taking pictures in the dark, crowded theater completely derails the experience of watching a movie for those around you. Movies are not concerts. They are not once in a lifetime experiences that need to be documented and shared with your friends. If you’re seeing Wicked today, that doesn’t mean that no one else will ever see it. Posting clips from a film playing to millions in theaters spoils the fun of going to the movies not just for those who sitting there with you, but for those who haven’t seen the film and stumble upon your post.
Also, movie theaters place a certain amount of trust in their customers when they walk through the doors. Etiquette and decorum in public places is paramount. Remember when the Minions movie came out and theaters had to ban certain people from dressing up in suits and causing chaos during screenings? I do. I witnessed this firsthand. That’s nothing compared to recording a movie for your TikTok page.
Most importantly, recording films in theaters is against the law. There are signs in the theater saying as much and warnings played onscreen before the film begins. Why do you think recorded clips from movie theaters are being removed from the internet? If recording was really harmless, why would they do that? Because it’s not harmless. It not only hurts the filmmaker’s intent for their work to not leak online, but hurts the film industry as a whole since millions are flocking to illegal pirating sites to watch the latest movie.
Even so, people are not only ignoring these basic rules, but justifying them by encouraging others to break the law. And unfortunately, it’s working. Just because you can sneak a pocket sized camera into a theater via your phone doesn’t mean it must be used. You and hundreds of other people paid money to sit in a room and enjoy a collective experience. The least you could do is respect that.
