Fergus Dennehy: What is to be done about increasingly rude behaviour in cinemas?

Irish Independent

2 days ago

At the risk of sounding old – I'm 33 by the way – I'll answer for you. Yes, it really, really has.
Maybe it's because I'm a very frequent cinema-goer and would, on average, try to go at least two or three times a month.
It's fair to say that I do have more pleasant experiences than negative but I feel there's a growing epidemic of rudeness and it needs highlighting.
This year alone I've watched 16 films in the cinema, at least five of which have been properly blighted by the astonishingly rude behaviour of people sitting near me.
Seriously, I cannot wrap my head around how people who have paid to watch a film in a public setting can think that it's okay to act in the way they do.
Let me preface this by saying that it is in no way the fault of cinemas or its staff, they have a busy enough job list without having to confront rowdy teenagers or even adults.
For instance, I've experienced one guy sending multiple voice notes at high volume on WhatsApp throughout an entire movie; I've also had two people sitting right next to me hold a full blown conversation throughout a film, all the while recording videos of scenes from the film on snapchat and sending it to friends.
Meanwhile, in the US, recent issues around the 'chicken jockey' scene in the new Minecraft movie and the ruckus this has caused Stateside – live chickens were brought in to some screenings while full popcorn buckets were thrown into the air – are just more examples of this sort of behaviour.
Then there's my most recent example, one which happened on Sunday evening which finally inspired me to pen this opinion piece.
Picture the scene: I'm at the cinema with my brother to see the new Mission: Impossible film and we're sitting in the back row of the screen. Enter two teenage girls, aged approximately 15 or 16, who proceed to sit two seats away from us.
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Before the film starts there are no issues and they are simply chatting and on their phones. But when the film starts I know I'm in for a long three hours.
Their phones are never put away, meaning out the corner of my eye I can constantly see their bright phone screens as they send snapchats to friends. It's not the biggest issue, I just put my hood up and we're all good.
This was just the beginning, though, and over the course of the film, the two girls proceed to make loud animal noises at the screen, rock as fast as they could back and forth on their chairs (miming Tom Cruise's famous running style while doing so) and even wrestle each other in their seats.
I kid you not, they were clambering over each other in their seats and hitting each other, all just two seats away from me. One even sat on the floor of the screen, clawing at her friend in her seat. Unbelievable stuff altogether.
So why did I not just alert cinema staff and report them or turn to them myself and tell to cop on?
The answer is – maybe it's an Irish thing or just my own natural shyness and aversion to confrontation – the thought of calling them out was, in my head, a worse scenario than simply sitting there and taking it.
Of course, others would have handled this differently but my question is: 'How have we got to the point in society where people think behaviour like this is okay?'.
I've read enough posts online to know that it's a worsening trend, particularly since COVID, and sadly it shows no signs of stopping or abating.
So my last question is this: 'Is there anything – apart from confrontation – that can be done to stop this?'.
Permanent security guards at each screen is an ideal solution but too costly of course. Maybe the only other option is to avoid the cinema altogether and settle for watching movies in the comfort of our own homes.
Yet nothing beats the big screen experience, so I don't see myself abandoning that any time soon.
Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted.