A Question of Moviegoing Etiquette

Why are audiences so reluctant to follow a simple rule in the cinema?

Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The screening is about to begin. Please switch off your mobile phones.” So begins the English version of the bilingual message that plays before every single screening at the Venice Film Festival. Press and Industry screenings also have a textual version on the screen right before the movie starts, and on occasion staff will shine laser pointers at people who don’t obey (this year, it happened during Joker: Folie à Deux).

And yet, this doesn’t seem to be a sufficient deterrent for people, particularly of a younger persuasion, who somehow cannot resist the temptation to whip out their mobile devices even while attending the premiere of a highly anticipated film, which they’re getting to see, at the very least, a few weeks before general audiences. This year’s Venice was arguably the worst experience I – and others – have had when it came to viewers thinking the auditoriums were their own living rooms.