Cinema: a great idea ruined by people
Cinema would be great, if you didn't have to share the experience with anyone else. Lucy Bean explains...
When I was younger, the cinema used to be my favourite place to go. Today, I think the days of cinemas are over. As a fun night out has been utterly destroyed by other people. The fun has gone; now it’s torture. It begins in the foyer. A mixture of sweet and sour treats kept in small compartments along the pick ‘n’ mix wall are still for sale, and people are always tempted to fill the bright coloured bags to the brim. Not to mention the share sized bags of beloved chocolate brands and the variety of drinks served behind the counter. And, the most famous cinema treat is, of course, popcorn, where you’ll be asked whether you want sweet or salty.
But, let's be honest, popcorn is a pain. Quiet visitors to the cinema cringe at the crunching and rustling of popcorn. If people want to sit down for two hours and eat, then surely they can take themselves off to a restaurant or café where they can make all the noise they wish to and order all the food they want. Seriously, did they come here to eat or watch a film?
If you don’t find crunching and rustling annoying, or you have no idea what I’m going on about, then imagine someone running their fingernails along a chalkboard or someone repeatedly sniffing. That's how bad it is. If that makes you cringe, then loud eaters at the cinema definitely will.
What is wrong with these people? How can someone munch away on their snacks and be completely unaware that they are making any noise? If I had my way, food, especially popcorn, would be banned from the cinema and everyone would have their mouths taped shut for the duration of the film.
Crunching and rustling are not the only horrors of popcorn. I can almost at some point, guarantee you that someone watching a movie will probably drop their popcorn which leads to great hilarity and whispering among friends and family. Is it really that funny? Really?
The next most kickable crime is people slurping their cool, fizzy beverage. The way some people drink their drinks makes them sound like a toddler. Now, don't get me wrong, I’m not yet saying drinks should be banned from cinemas but I think that straws should be replaced with a quiet way of drinking, maybe those takeaway lids you get with your coffee from Costa?
The horror doesn’t end with the food and drink though, it’s always my luck that I get that one person who sits behind and kicks the chair the whole time. Most of us have probably experienced this. And when you turn around and give them the “what the heck are you doing?”, look, they always act like they aren’t doing anything, or it’s your fault. If it’s not a chair kicker behind you, you will have either the couple that constantly kiss, or the kid that moans and whines the whole time that they are either bored or they want more sweets.
Before the movie, there is always the message that says “please make sure all phones are switched off and are not being used while the film is playing”. So, why is there always at least one person that uses their phone throughout the movie? It almost makes me think that they got the film for free and they didn’t actually want to watch it but they went for the sake of having a free ticket. Either that or they love to waste money.
As if all this wasn’t enough then, there are latecomers. You’ll be sitting down in your seat with the movie just starting and all of a sudden the doors will fly open and a family will come casually walking in as though they are not a minute late. I mean fair enough, if you have young children, but still maybe start packing up that extra hour earlier if you know you want to go to the cinema.
Then, just when you think that all the food and drink has gone and you can finally relax, some annoying person needs the loo and you have to go out of your way to stand up and let them through. I always want to scream, “well you shouldn't have slurped all your drink in the first five minutes of the film then you wouldn’t need the loo”. From now on, I'm going to wait for the films to come out on DVD and watch it in the comfort of my own home.
Lucy Bean, Year 12
When I was younger, the cinema used to be my favourite place to go. Today, I think the days of cinemas are over. As a fun night out has been utterly destroyed by other people. The fun has gone; now it’s torture. It begins in the foyer. A mixture of sweet and sour treats kept in small compartments along the pick ‘n’ mix wall are still for sale, and people are always tempted to fill the bright coloured bags to the brim. Not to mention the share sized bags of beloved chocolate brands and the variety of drinks served behind the counter. And, the most famous cinema treat is, of course, popcorn, where you’ll be asked whether you want sweet or salty.
But, let's be honest, popcorn is a pain. Quiet visitors to the cinema cringe at the crunching and rustling of popcorn. If people want to sit down for two hours and eat, then surely they can take themselves off to a restaurant or café where they can make all the noise they wish to and order all the food they want. Seriously, did they come here to eat or watch a film?
If you don’t find crunching and rustling annoying, or you have no idea what I’m going on about, then imagine someone running their fingernails along a chalkboard or someone repeatedly sniffing. That's how bad it is. If that makes you cringe, then loud eaters at the cinema definitely will.
What is wrong with these people? How can someone munch away on their snacks and be completely unaware that they are making any noise? If I had my way, food, especially popcorn, would be banned from the cinema and everyone would have their mouths taped shut for the duration of the film.
Crunching and rustling are not the only horrors of popcorn. I can almost at some point, guarantee you that someone watching a movie will probably drop their popcorn which leads to great hilarity and whispering among friends and family. Is it really that funny? Really?
The next most kickable crime is people slurping their cool, fizzy beverage. The way some people drink their drinks makes them sound like a toddler. Now, don't get me wrong, I’m not yet saying drinks should be banned from cinemas but I think that straws should be replaced with a quiet way of drinking, maybe those takeaway lids you get with your coffee from Costa?
The horror doesn’t end with the food and drink though, it’s always my luck that I get that one person who sits behind and kicks the chair the whole time. Most of us have probably experienced this. And when you turn around and give them the “what the heck are you doing?”, look, they always act like they aren’t doing anything, or it’s your fault. If it’s not a chair kicker behind you, you will have either the couple that constantly kiss, or the kid that moans and whines the whole time that they are either bored or they want more sweets.
Before the movie, there is always the message that says “please make sure all phones are switched off and are not being used while the film is playing”. So, why is there always at least one person that uses their phone throughout the movie? It almost makes me think that they got the film for free and they didn’t actually want to watch it but they went for the sake of having a free ticket. Either that or they love to waste money.
As if all this wasn’t enough then, there are latecomers. You’ll be sitting down in your seat with the movie just starting and all of a sudden the doors will fly open and a family will come casually walking in as though they are not a minute late. I mean fair enough, if you have young children, but still maybe start packing up that extra hour earlier if you know you want to go to the cinema.
Then, just when you think that all the food and drink has gone and you can finally relax, some annoying person needs the loo and you have to go out of your way to stand up and let them through. I always want to scream, “well you shouldn't have slurped all your drink in the first five minutes of the film then you wouldn’t need the loo”. From now on, I'm going to wait for the films to come out on DVD and watch it in the comfort of my own home.
Lucy Bean, Year 12
