black people, movies, WTF? STFU
 

It happened again. I was sitting there, quietly watching a movie, surrounded by a bunch of other people who were quietly watching the movie. And there’s one person who is talking…no, shouting advice to the actors on the screen. And, just like every other time this happenes to me, the person is black.

This time it was a little different, because it was an in-flight movie, and the person was right next to me. And she was really going off; bellowing to make herself heard over the headphones she was wearing.

“Oh, no girlfrien’! You don’ go in dere! I done TOLE you not to go in dere!”

I wanted to turn to her and say, “Do you realize that the people on the screen can’t hear you? Do you realize that you are a walking talking (OK sitting, yelling) are a racial stereotype? Do you realize all the people on this plane are giving you dirty looks?

I know it’s not ALL black people. I lived in a house where I was the only white guy, and none of my housemates pulled this crap. I used to date a goddamn BEAUTIFUL black woman, and she never yelled at the screen. Yet every time it happens to me, without fail, it is a black person who has the big mouth.

Seriously, WTF is up with this? Is there a segment of black society that believes that if there is a movie on, they are all expected to provide running commentary? Do they think all of us quiet people are uptight, and don’t get it?

I don't really have anything to say about black people and the movies, but I would like to leave a comment on something in this post:

GREAT dialect-ical writing! I'm impressed! How vivid!

Missy

Annoying is annoying regardless of the color of their skin.

Asta!!

Man, I have no idea why that trend is so strong, but I will say that going to a theater here in Columbia SC, Jefferson Square, which is your basic downtown ghetto-ass 99% black people theater, to watch Trespass with Ice-T - high out of my got-damn mind - when I was in highschool was one of the funniest and scariest things I have ever done in my white-boy-from-the-suburbs life. The black dude in front of my family when we went and watched Silverado with Danny Glover was pretty good too - "Shit, homeboy maaaad now. He is going to KICK yo ass." He had the commentary in the pauses though, so it rather added more than subtracted from the experience. Black theaters are so, so very different than the white-flight suburbs I grew up in.

hmm..i've noticed this too..i was friends (sorta) with this purto rican guy...he would talk to the tv as if 1. teh people around him wanted to hear his input about every action or movement in the movie or 2. the tv could actually hear him..

his father did it to...

annoying..beyond..i think it just has to do with like class...not so much race..

but yea..i've never seen/heard a white person do it before...

maybe your right and its a "shaniqua" thing...

I can see how it might be different in other cultures, but if I was the only one doing that, I think I'd take a hint.

lol yea zeraph maybe YOU would but you woul dbe suprised at how many people dont even realize it..its like sad/funny/annoying

It's so much worse if the person doesn't understand the rhythms of the movie / T.V. show. I can almost tolerate people talking about (ABOUT - not to) what's on the screen if they get the pauses correctly, but when I watch I'm focused. I simply can't watch T.V. with some people. I don't watch much, but when I do I'm in a zone.

p.s. Is anyone on this board a sociologist / psychologist who might have input.

hahaha i know what you mean pigg!!..me and my mother went to go see brigette jones diary..there was thsi whole row of black ladies making comments both about and TO the movie..and they had NO IDEA WHAT THE MOVIE WAS ABOUT.

Oh, it's worse than that. Whenever I visit my parents - my very own parents - and watch T.V. with them (to my heartfelt chagrin, they serve a nightly line up of CSI, followed by CSI, followed by CSI:Miami, followed by CSI:New York....sometimes there's golf), they turn the thing on, I get all "Look into my eyes...I am an Oriental" Bruce Leroy focused, and then they start up talking about everything else under the sun, while taking breaks from discussing how unrealistic the show is and singing songs to their dogs. I have contemplated, on more than one occasion, scarfing some Xanex before putting myself through it.

What the hey. I love 'em.

/apologize for any threadjackage of non-black-people-yelling-at-movie-screen action. If it helps, imagine that my parents are black. You can call me Navin.

//ps. one of my parent's dogs is deaf. go figure.

While I haven't encounter any black people who did this in the movie theaters (thankfully), I do have other experiences like it. I have a friend (who isn't very smart) who did the same thing in the movie theater. I resolve to not go to the movies with him ever again. We'll just have to watch it at home where I can pause, tell him to shut up, rewind 30 seconds, watch, pause, tell him to shut up again, rewind, repeat...

you know, this reminds me of the time when I went to watch StarTrek:TNG - First Contact with some friends, who were tanked. The food starts flying on the screen, and when it gets to the gummy bears, all three of them stood up and started yelling "They don't sell gummy bears here. That's bullshit. They don't sell gummy bears - resistance is futile!" for about five minutes. I must have been busy that week, because I wasn't let in on this protest movement. I thought I was going to crawl under the seat...save for the fact that under a movie theatre seat has to be one of the most disgusting places ever conceived. While they weren't black, one of them was a dark-skinned Indian, and my mother used to call him "The Black Hippopotamus."

I don't run into this problem too often, so I can't really comment.

I can say that I run into the "roving group of white comedians" more often than "black folks yelling at the screen."

If I had to choose which was more annoying, it's the white kids as they offend my comedic sensibilities.

I don't know....I've encountered this very same phenomena that Clavus described and I find it amusing. My roommate in college was Puerto Rican and he did it all the time and it cracked me up. I guess what you need to do is just appreciate the humor of the situation, realize that there are some cultural differences and enjoy the moment. Pretty soon you'll be back, naked in your garage trying to break in to your own home. ;)

Well, my experience (the only one I've had, that I can recall) of being in the middle of the "Funny Guys" was pretty horriffic. If I had known, I probably would have sat elsewhere. I don't think anyone in the theatre was amused. Throw in the fact that one of guys brought an old sock he named "Stanley," which he pulled out to pseudo-vantriloquize (word?) his request for tickets and drinks, and it was a night to remember.

I've definately noticed the black people being loud stereotype. Everytime I go to the mall and hear lots of yelling and screaming, it's a group of blacks being obnoxious.

Never whites. I don't know why. Maybe it's just the same annoying group of blacks everytime.

I blame cultural differences. Seriously.

The yelling at the movie screen bit, seems to be a black thing. I'm not sure why, but I'm reporting what I've seen. It's there, it's happening, and there's no one else I see doing it with such regularity and fervor.

The white people things are: to have 12 goddamn giggling little 14 year old bitches sitting in the whole ROW in front of me, who can't shut their fucking cell phones off / or / 4 teenage guys who can't stop fucking with each other the whole movie / old ass people who can't hear shit, so they spend all movie asking their partner "what did he say? what just happened?"

The hispanic thing is...well, I don't think I've seen it yet. Other than the whole go everywhere in large groups thing.

I'm sure there's an asian thing. I don't know what it is. Asians aren't flocking to central Ohio, it would seem; so, you got me there.

All of the above groups have thier damn annoying movie theater "things." Why none of them notice that maybe other people don't appreciate it? I dont' fucking know.
I DO know why so many people are spending a billion dollars a year on home theater equipment: People love movies, and people hate other people's annoying move theater "things."

I also know that I pretty much hate going to the movies, because so many other people can't STFU for two hours. My wife and I go to early afternoon weekend shows. So far, those seem the emptiest we can go to, on our schedules.

I will be spending mass amounts of money next year, to build a home theater. As my wife and I are now two-week old homeowners, we'll be building a home theater system and investing more in DVDs. No neighbors to worry about soundwise (because we ARE the kind of people that WON'T turn our TVs up loud past 11 on a weeknight!!), so turn the 5.1 surround UP!!

Final Note:
The whole loud black people thing. Pure BS. The stereotype is "blacks are loud." Therefore, you see loud black people, you go: "see, more loud black people." But, you don't view the same group of loud white people in the same theory-proving way. Thus, the loud whites aren't marked and remembered as "extra loud."

So I say, so shall it be.

Thank you, that is all.

That happens pretty often in NJ. I usually just yell out "SHUT UP!" if they do it for more than 30 minutes into the movie. My shut up is usually followed by some sort of applause.

The part that pisses me off even more is the people with cell phones. This exact scenario happens every time i go to the movies: Movie about to begin, warning is given on screen to shut off all cell phons or you will have your ass beat. 30-40 mins into movie Phone rings... 5-8 times, and the person doesn't answer. Phone stops ringing. 2-3 minutes later, phone rings again, person pics it up and begins a 5 minute converssation consisting of "Yea im in a movie" *insert random crap here no one cares about* .. (conversation still continues) .. "ok, yo i'll catch up with you guys in a few".... 5-10 minutes later that same person's phone goes off again. Followed shortly by 3-4 other people who think its then ok to turn their cell phones back on.

I would love to shed some light on this subject, but alas, we've not one African American in town. We do have a theater with one screen. No one talks because the owner will come down and drag your butt outside. Really makes it nice to watch a movie. I don't know anywhere else you can go and watch a PG movie and the Jr. High kids are all quiet. :lol: I do hope this is not a stereotype against these folks, there's enough of that anyway.

Regards

Yeah, I'm not a sociologist or anything but someone asked if there was anything sociological or psychological... the only thing that comes to mind really is labeling theory (sociological). Labeling theory says that people act a certain way because of others preconceived notions about them. Like the "black people are loud" stereotype. If I were black and I knew the people around me already had this idea, I wouldn't give a fuck and be loud if I want to be loud. Just my thoughts... if anyone has any others feel free to share :) I would love to learn.

I don't know why, but I only see black people acting this way at movies.
And there has only been one time where it didn't annoy the shit out of me.

I was watching "28 days later" which I think was the worst movie to ever exist, and the audence revolt was a welcome deversion from the movie.

Am I the only one that has seen white people do this at movies? This is not a black-white issue. This is a most-people-on-this-godforsaken-rock-are-assholes issue.

The only thing you need to know when you go into a movie theater is that unless you bought up the whole show, others are in there as well, and they deserve to be able to enjoy the movie. If you can't shut the hell up, wait for the movie to come out on DVD.

Actually the biggest troublemakers I see in theaters are kids and the dumbassed enabling parents who allow them to run all over the theater through the whole movie, and yell, scream, cry, kick, fight, throw popcorn, whack the backs of chairs, wander around saying "hi" to random people, etc. If you have children, there is only one societal rule that you MUST follow if you don't want to be an asshole : Your children are wonderful and we're all happy for you that you enjoy them, but you do not have the right to impose them on others. Keep the kids quiet and well behaved in public gathering places. If this is not possible, remove the kids from those places immediately.

In psychology, this is called Selective Perception.

An example:

One day, someone you know buys a red Hyundai. In the following few days you notice while driving around that a lot of people own red Hyundais. In fact, you see so many of them it's like they've all suddenly appeared out of nowhere and are now everywhere you look.

In reality, there aren't any more red Hyundais on the roads than there were before, you're just selectively perceiving them. In other words, you make special note of red Hyundais now when you probably wouldn't have given a moment's thought to them before.


Now, you might've heard a comedy routine or seen a movie parody where people talk to the movie screen, and you've mentally associated the actors' behavior with their skin color. Then, in public you're more likely to selectively perceive the people of that same skin color exhibiting that behavior, despite the fact that people of all different colors behave in equally stupid ways.


My point is that the color of your skin doesn't determine how you behave in a movie theatre. Only an ignorant, prejudicious bigot thinks it does.


That's just my educated opinion.

It's also related to the area that you live in and the theatre's you visit.
Take a drive to the more reserved expensive areas and it stops.

As a Brit visiting America, I'd like to comment on the initial post and ask why Americans feel the need to clap at the end of a movie?
Just like your comment on the actors not being able to hear the lady in the plane, they can't hear you clap to show your appreciation either.

Funny thing though, I was visiting in Provo, Utah and went to the dollar theatres with some uni buddies. Blond hair and blue eyes everywhere (honestly, utah is an aryan utopia) except for a friend from South Carolina sitting with me. I tell you, this girl was the SC stereotype - loud, fried chicken feasts, the works. The movie was Rush Hour, and at one point when Chris Rock did something particularly cool, my friend blurted out "That's mah nigguh!!!!"

The entire place turned it's head at us and I just pissed myself. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. All these young Mormon politically correct eyes just bugging out to see who would dare say that and when they picked her out they all seemed to give a collective sigh of relief. "It's ok, she' can say it, she's one of them."
Funniest shit I ever saw.

Why oh why do we have to justify any comments we make about race with this "I'm not racist I have plenty of them as friends" type statement

Everyone is a racist. If you notice a difference between one group of people and another, either of dress style, skin colour, belief, habits, etc - you are racist.

Face it, it's natural. It's the old survival instinct to aid the preservation of your particular group and geneset kicking in.
Even you saying that you yourself belong to a certain ethnic group is a racist statement.

The big difference is if you discriminate based on racial differences. Statements like "those italians are all crooks" or something like that.

One of the biggest tragedies would be if my white, asian, african and oriental friends all suddenly started acting alike. I like the differences between the races.

I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed that one.


I'm not prejudiced! One of my friends is black!

Yeah but it's not a black thing any more than young white kids making a general ass of themselves throwing shit all over the theatre talking loudly amongst themselves and going so far as to have length conversations on their cellphones the ENTIRE MOVIE. I've only seen white kids do that but I don't have the illusions that it's just a "white" thing.

I think you might be right.
My opinion is that it's typical of the African social environment.

Community interaction is very imporant. It helps build the communal ties and helps carry on the history and beliefs of a people that historically, were predominantly illiterate and nomadic in nature. (Bear with me, I'm talking sub saharan africa pre white explorers)
If you ever go to a church in a predominantly African American neighbourhood, you'll see the difference. Whereas the white church community generally sit and listen to the single preacher pass on "god's word", the african community will resound with "amen"s and "hallelujah"s.
I see the one stemming from the strict calvinist and puritanical ancestry of the white settlers and the old authoritarian structure of the original catholic church.The african influence of community participation is evident in their preaching and singing.
It encourages the individual to sing out their belief and opinions or agreement with another. For a people who had been put to slavery, church participation was the only way they could give voice to their feelings. Doing it at any other time would have resulted in a beating or worse.
I think this would have helped cement the practise in the african american social habits.

You can see the same in music today. Whilst the whitey sings, the backing singers only do what's been laid out for them in the score. The african raps along and his "homies" add their voice in at will to back him up with "uh-huh"s and "ah-yeah"s. Rap isn't really my thing, but I'd definitely get whigger-fied before you'd catch me waving a lighter at a Celine Dion concert. ;)

Why not in movies?

I'm sorry, but being from Alabama, I am *SO* enjoying this hapless little thread.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that he chose Alabama as the focal point of the Civil Rights struggle NOT because Alabama was the most backwards place, but because it was the place that showed the most promise of success. He went on further to say that the main difference between the Deep South and the rest of the country is that in the rest of the USA, groups of races can acceptably mingle even though their individuals do not, and in the Deep South the situation is exactly the opposite.

King's analogy applies wonderfully to this discussion of movie theatre customs and behaviors.

Hee hee hee.

Nice one clavus! Crazy as it sounds I don't go to the theatre complex that's closest to my house because of this very phenomenon. I'll drive the extra 25 minutes to go to a complex in a different area that draws from a population base that knows how to keep it quiet in the theatre.

Cell phone users in the theatre are also ridiculous. People regardless of race seem to think it’s okay to take or make a damn phone call in the theatre which is down right maddening. If it’s that damn important then get off your lazy ass and go out into the lobby! :mad: Of course I’m sure no tfp-er would be guilty of this offense :D

The only time this has ever happened to me was when I was in HS. My friends and I were the only white people opening night of an Eddie Murphy movie, can't remember which one. The thing is, when all the people around us were talking back, it actually made the movie that much funnier! We walked out just laughing our asses off at all the people around us.

If it wasn't for those damn laws and morals, I'd so be solving that problem with violence. Damn you, corrupting media! Putting ideas in my head...

This to me is like saying that if you notice the difference between men and women then you are a sexist. That's simply not true. I think I get your point but the word racist, based on the common context in which it is used today, implies a negative connotation associated with racial bias and sterotyping that contributes to discrimination.

I have noticed that every time I visit a particular movie threatre complex there is always excessive talking and noise that distracts from my experience at that theatre. I choose based on that experience to go to a different theatre but it's because of the behavior that I've noticed rather than because of a particular group of people are present. Am I a racist? No...I am a grumpy old man movie go-er who likes to enjoy a quiet theatre where I can hear the audio. :D

my aunt is the exact same way, yelling, crying, pleading at the characters in the movie, and she is white. It soooo annoying.

there is also a theater in town, probably 80% white, (95% 12-15 y.o.'s) where without fail, every movie will be loud and obnoxious. There is even histerical laughter and applause at the "turn of your cell phone" preludes.

I'm not really very comfortable discussing generalizations of this sort. I don't know how much worthwhile insight can come from it - while I do know how this sort of generalization can lead to problems.

We'll see what direction it takes. I do tend to think thoughtful good people can discuss it intelligently.

I have yelled at these people to "Shut the fuck up and watch the damn movie!" but it doesnt help. They feed off of the attention. I really hate these people.

...and you people who give applause at the end of the movie, who are you clapping for? Please tell me it isnt for the guy holding the broom.

I'm glad I dont own a gun.

First run movies, I agree, STFU. Having said that, I used to go to some late night kung fu fests at a local theater and the black folk MADE that shit fun, yellin at the screen passin around the booze, good times man

I will not go as far as to create stereotypes about the percieved perptrators of movie jibber-jabber. I will say, however, that all of my experiences involving rude, loud patrons have been black teenagers. When I saw "Lord of the Rings" for the first time, I saw a matinee that was filled with kids. Next to me was a group of 3 black teens who decided that anytime there was something to comment on, they would. They would not stop throwing out F-Bombs at everything. They would stand up and let everyoone else in the theater know that they liked particular parts of the movie. I found it extremely irritating and rude.

One of the other pet peeves in a theater is the cell phones. I don't care if you have it on silent mode, keep it in your fucking pocket. Everytime you pull it out to see who just called, everyone behind you can see your brightly lit phone and it detracts from our movie watching. Just put it away, sheesh!

live theatre solves this problem. proper etiquette is strictly enforced in a stage theatre, symphony or opera. while the lack of etiquette may not lie within a specific race, it does lie on the shoulders of a specific group. that group is the movie theater operators themselves. simply lodge enough dissatisfied complaints with the movie theater managers from enough people, and you'll see ushers actually back in theaters doing the jobs they used to--maintaining an enjoyable audience where people enjoy the movie and not their own egomaniacal experiences.

the solution is simple. if theaters would enforce their own rules, and the silent majority of those going to the movies would voice their dissatisfaction, the problem would be solved. call it a country club mentality if you will, but if someone's paying good money for their enjoyment, they should be required to comport themselves in a manner which doesn't infringe the enjoyment of others.

**as a disclaimer, I am not some snooty nose-in-the-air asshat with an inflated sense of self-worth. I'm actually most comfortable in a pair of cowboy boots, blown-out jeans, my "If found drunk, please return to [my dorm's name]" shirt, listening to Waylond, Willie, Johnny and Jerry Jeff at a famous little waterin' hole called The Dixie Chicken, where we get drunk, rowdy and sing off-key to great classical country songs. However, if I'm in a place (i.e., at the theatre, in the movies or watching a symphony), I'm extremely reserved, and focused on the production presented. Disturbances are rude to the performers and the audience, and public rudeness is something that I find pretty offensive.

***yes, I did spell theatre and theater seperately. there is a difference.

I had this awful experience. I went to see a musical (can't remember its name) but it seemed like the entire audience was shouting and singing along, and making commentary, and throwing stuff at the screeen. It was horrendous. the guy next to me, I swear, he must have thought it was halloween. His face was all white-painted, and he was throwing toast and playing cards at the movie!! I couldn't hear a damn thing, or follow along the movie.

These guys were mixed, black, white, chinks like me... everything. But never again. It's dvd's for me from now on.

that was funny. i think i saw the same show, but it was a community theatre...good times.

This thread backs my true feelings of watching a movie with an idiot in the room, whether they describe the "action" for you or its someone eating popcorn with there mouth open. I have not been to the movie theatre in years. last movie i saw at the show was fucking Space Jam! got me a home theatre, wait for it on dvd!

I have had the same experience only usually it involved white people, mostly teens or very young adults.

For that very reason I have been to only one movie in the last ten years. It seemed every time I went to see a flick, the village idiot or idiots had to sit directly behind me and yell, scream and provide running commentary.

I'm not the type of person who is able to ignore behavior I consider an affront to me and my companions, so natrually I would tell them shut the hell up. Then they get indignant and turn their rude behavior towards me and before you know it I'm ready to go over the seat and teach them some manners.

Needless to say that makes for a less than enjoyable evening, so now I wait for the DVD release.

My dads wife is the same way- she'll just start saying her mind while I'm trying to watch a movie I want to see. The very most common action of hers is putting both hands to her mouth and saying "OMG did you see that??" *looks at my dad while saying it* - I totally think to myself "No woman, I was watching the paint on the wall peel."
I usually get up and leave at this point so I don't throw my mouth off at her.
They wonder why I don't watch movies with them anymore.

I remember a heavily specific time... we were all watching Chris Rock on HBO doing live comedy, and she was close to getting up off her seat and throwing the snapping fingers into the air, meanwhile for the next 4 minutes she's saying how true is that!? like 7 times or and was encouraging the man in the tv.

If you havn't guessed, shes black.
But no where do I associate black people being loud. So far I've noticed (In my are anyway) if white ppl are being loud during a movie in a theater, some other white guy gets up and tells him to shutup, then a fight breaks out. It's hard to choose whats entertaining you at this point- the movie you paid for Or two white idiots beating the shit out of eachother.

I notice this around me. I think it has more to do with the relative economic situation and levels of education. The theaters around here are right on the border of the rich, suburban town with a great public school system and the poor, urban city with overcrowded, underfunded schools. It's the fault of our society that lines between economic classes have been drawn in the same places as the lines between racial and cultural groups.

I'd also like to say that nobody would question this and consider calling it racist if Bill Cosby siad it.

Many of the loud, annoying theater patron experiences have involved blacks, more than a few, whites, and a few (only one recently) myself (I was really into Gladiator, and the Theater served sangira by the pitcher. )

Here's the difference - When I tell the white teenage girl in front of me that if she doesn't shut her insipid yap I will squeeze her head until it pops, she will shut up. When I tell the row of 8 to 13 year old black kids in the R-Rated movie to STFU, they get pretty hostile.

I agree that it is a selective perception thing, here. I also think there is some of the participatory style noted in black Baptist and pentacostalist churches, but that's not a question of more or less, but a question of style.

I've been one of the white-boy bad commedians. I've gotten over it. Fun to get loaded with friends at home and turn, say, Much Ado about Nothing into Rocky Horror, but that's in one's own home.

I haven't had this kind of problem...yet, but I've often experienced something similar. People "reacting" to the happenings on screen. Some examples would be "Ooh! Did you see what he did!?" "That's awesome!" "Oh no!" "Holy shit!" It's more than annoying. It's downright irritating. I've tried telling one person who've done it to be quiet (politely) and what I got in return was a dirty look.

I've been to movie theaters in different neighborhoods and have noticed the ignorant and annoying at ALL of them - didn't matter the color of the participants.

I think it's our whole society in general that has just gotten louder, ruder, and stupider. How stupid, and inconsiderate, is it to drive through the streets with your car stereo cranked up to maximum ear pain levels? Not to mention playing your stereo at home so loudly that your neighbor's walls reverberate, or walking in the street while yelling into your cell phone. People have taken socially unacceptable private behavior into the public realm, and EVERYONE has abdicated their responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that is respectful and considerate.

Whatever happened to HOME TRAINING?

The worst experience I've had at a movie was when I saw Terminator 3. There was a little old white lady who constantly talked throughout the entire movie, mostly complaining about how violent it was. All I could think was, "you came to a movie starring Arnold called Terminator and you're surprised that it's violent?!?!" After the show I saw her sneak into another movie.

My favorite is when a person brings an infant to an obviously adult movie. Have you ever heard a baby cry durring Resident Evil: Apocolypse? I have. Same thing with movies from M. Night, Jason, Freddy, Bourne Identity/Supremacy, and a truckload of other movies. I can see this happening during Shrek or the next Pixar movie, but what is wrong with these parents? Do tehy realize how bad that is for an infants ears? Do tehy reaize that scares them shitless? Do they realize that a 3 month old can't keep up with the storyline? Get a babysitter for God's sake!
IMO

Bingo. You hit the nail squarely on the head. People today generally don't give a crap about anyone but themselves. If they want to do something, they do it, and screw whoever happens to be around. This problem is compounded by businesses so desperate for every scrap of cash they can possibly squeeze out of the public that they bend over backwards to avoid pissing anyone off - even the bad customers.

So we wind up with movie theaters that won't do anything about rude patrons. Hell once I had one guy threaten to put my (then) girlfriend in the hospital right in front of an usher, and nothing was done by the staff. Something was done by me, but that's another story ;)

The problem is also compounded by our kid-centric society. Parents are put on some sort of god-like pedestal and are allowed to get away with stuff that the rest of us never could. Want to bring your crying kid into a theater? That's OK, you're a MOMMY. Want to change your kid's diapers on the table in the mall food court (i've seen this enough times that I never again will eat off of one of those tables)? That's OK, you're a DADDY. And with all those parents being forgiven for acting like rude asshats, it's hard to frown on the rest of society if they also want to do rude and inconsiderate things.

It's turned into a downward spiral, and I think it's going to spell trouble for us as our population continues to rise. The Japanese developed a social system of hyper politeness largely because they have about a jillion people per square inch, and if everyone was a rude asshole they'd end up with people snapping and mowing down crowds every day. Our society, meanwhile, continues to have the attitude of "I do what I want when I want and fuck everyone else" while we continue to increase in population and proximity to each other - and we wonder why we continue to have more incidents of rage.

Just as an example, when I was growing up in the early 80's, we never heard of road rage. Didn't exist. But there was also a higher level of politeness on the highways. Now we've got some of the rudest behavior of our society happening daily on the highways, and people are snapping.

We have to decide as a society to start being courteous and considerate toward each other again. If we don't, we're going to find ourselves in deep trouble down the line.

Americans applaud at the end of a movie? That's so adorable!

I love "talking back" to movies, it makes the experience more intense. Like screaming when riding a rollercoaster. I also love to watch movies with friends and talk about what happens on screen. Of course we keep it down at public theatres, but in private we scream, cry, swoon, bitch, laugh and cut the movie to pieces with great gusto. Some of the best movie/theatre experiences I've had are when the audience becomes alive and our hearts seem to beat in unison. This entire sitting still and shutting up thing at the opera/movies/whatever has only been around since maybe the late 1800's anyway.

To get the background: I'm white, most of my friends are white, we are all well educated and most come from well educated families. And I hate when people with disgusting lung diseases goes to the Opera.

I've never been in a movie where people clapped at the end..

Maybe a northern thing :confused:

I have had more than a few instances where black people yell/scream/talk at/in the theater. I don't believe it is a racist issue, because EVERY single time I have had an issue at a movie, it has always been because of a black individual or group. Either they are constantly being loud and obnoxious through out a majority of the film, or they talk amongst themselves during the film. God forbid you tell them to shut their mouths too; otherwise it is a fight ready to happen.

I use to go to the same theater for a good few months, and 70% of those times I had problems, and being stubborn, I insisted that me and my g/f continue to go to the same theater because I found it to be the best one in our vicinity comfort wise and technology wise.

But luckily, a while ago I have found a new theater that I go to and have had no bad experiences as of yet.

In the old one I attended, the last bad experience I had was in "28 Days Later". Me and my g/f got there early and found some good seats because we knew the theater would be packed. About 10 minutes into the movie, two black girls decided to walk DIRECTLY in front of us obstructing our view (we were in the second row), asking if we would move over so they could sit down. So I decided what the hell, and moved over, although I HATE when people come in late and expect me to move my seat after I have been there for the last 30 minutes. Anyways, we move over and they sit next to us. What a big mistake that was, for the REST of the movie all they did was talk to the fucking actors and when they weren’t doing that, they were talking out loud on their cell phones. To top it off, about 10 minutes before the film ended, they found a party and decided to leave the theater and attend the party instead. I know this because they were so LOUD talking on their cell that I could hear their whole conversation.

After that incident, I decided I am COMPLETELY sick of going to that theater.

The funny thing is, most people never say anything to them because they are probably afraid of their violent behavior. Even if they are not violent, the way they yell during films portrays them as so.

Yes it is. How many times have you seen black people behaving well in a theater? Why didn't you mention that this time? I dunno about you but I see plenty of black people NOT being assholes.

If you choose to single black people out as being a group that behaves like assholes in the theater, then you are being racist because that's not true - SOME black people are assholes, but then so are some white people.

The theater thing is not a race issue, it's an asshole issue.

I understand it is not ALL black people, but from my experiences it is always a black person or group. If it was always a white person being obnoxious, or a Hispanic person, or a Asian person, or a middle eastern person, or whatever race at all, I would say the same thing about them if the thread was aimed towards that group being annoying in whatever situation if it was true in my case as well.

The topic of the thread is "black people, movies" WTF?" Not "assholes, movies, WTF?". If that were the case, I wouldn't single out black people, but like I said, my experiences have always been with obnoxious black people in theaters. Considering I have black friends and acquaintances, I don't consider this racist.

How frustrating!

I think, as others have also stated, this most likely a cultural difference. Not all Black people are loud and obnoxious at movies, and certainly not all White people are quiet, reserved, and considerate at movies.

That being said, most of these type of differences can possibly be attributed to differences in both culture and socialization. We all may agree on certain things, but the multitude of different racial/ethnic groups in the US leads to many different norms, dependant on the location and situation. Partially because of these differences, what is offensive to one person often is perfectly acceptable to another person. While Whites might frown on behavior such as exhibited in Clavus' post, those from a different cultural background may wonder what everyone is being so uptight about.

I tend to run into people from all ethnic backgrounds being jackasses in theaters. Usually the biggest troublemakers are the middle school-high schoolers who come in droves and make asses of themselves. As far as cell phones go, every time someone's phone goes off and they sit there and talk or fiddle with it, I am overcome with the urge to grab it and throw it against the nearest concrete surface.

my bro's GF does this to, but she is White, not a damn bit of color in her.

/annoyed at bro's gf...

Huh? Toast?? Is that some kind of joke particular to the movie, or is it just completely random?

"Come on, we're running late!"
"Dammit I still have to make 4 more slices, I'm going as fast as I can! Maybe if your toaster wasn't such a piece of crap we could get there on time!!"

:confused:

I have heard anthropologists whisper about strange and dark rituals surrounding a movie known as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".

They're talking about "Rocky Horror Picture Show".

You must be a "virgin".

VIRGIN!!!

(another movie related joke ;) )

mmm.. i went to see Bad Boys 2 and everytime a song came on, be it P. Diddy or Nelly, black people would get up and dance like they were in a club.

the big black ladies would start saying, "Hey!" while gyrating standing up in their seats.

As several posters have pointed out it is a very fine line between comments being entertaining and annoying. I assume when people to it they think they are being entertaining. I have experienced both types and have even participated in what I hope was the entertaining kind. We must have been entertaining because the other 10 people in the theater moved to the back with us and joined in. I blame it all on the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

my worst movie going experiance was viewing brosnans' fourth bond movie, and me and my friend sat in front of some middle easterners. They were loud and rude, i asked them to be quiet, and then they got louder and ruder. the entire theatre wanted to kill them, and it was packed cause it was either the first or second day the movie was out. They made sure to leave the theatre early cause they would've been jumped for sure.

that being said, I've experianced loud and rude people in theatres of every race, and its always bothersome. i can tolerate some whispered commentary on the movie, but thats it.

Great post. I can't stand going to movies anymore. If it isn't people speaking loudly, its cell phones, or whatever. Not to mention the fact that it costs a small fortune to go to a movie to sit and deal with it all.

I would just watch everything at home, but my wife actually enjoys going sometimes although she usually gets more upset everytime we try than I do. I don't mind waiting a few months for the movie to come out on ppv. There isn't anything that has come out in the theatres in forever that I actually thought I just had to run out and see opening weekend in years.

My personal ghetto experience - Watching Chris Rock's CB4 in a total ghetto theatre back in high school. Scary and exhilarating.

All post previous are the very reasons why I go to movies during their late late showings on school nights.

No kids, no annoying little highschool kids, less people on a whole. Also its a whole lot less traffic. :)

I have to agree. I don't even attend "urban" targetted movies in the theaters anymore because often the blacks will be ruining it.

However, what really gets on my nerves is the lynchings. And the lack of job prospects and of being able to earn promotions. And the abject poverty that is the legacy of slavery. But hey, what's that when weighed against someone being obnoxious during a movie hey? Maybe if we hand out watermelons and fried chicken before films, all those nigrah's will keep their mouths shut?

hrmm... this kinda correlates with black churches being notoriously known to be lively and talkative, while the white churches are quiet

He didn't mention any racists views. It's true. He didn't mention any of the black people behaving well because that's not the topic of discussion. The only topic is who's acting like a fucking idiot at the movie theater and who's not. When I go to the theater, if there's a member of the audience talking to the screen or yelling and screaming through the movie, it's always a black person. That's not racist, it's a clear observation. I've yet to see a white person do this. White people do other annoying things in theaters (old people talking, little kids talking) but every damned person I've seen that screams and yells at the screen is black. There's no racism in a simple observation. Racism would be saying that they're yelling at the screen BECAUSE they're black...and that's not the case.

I think it has to do with the culture they were brought up in. Many black folks grow up in environments that simply reinforce loud behavior (from what I've experienced). At my college, the only folks raising hell in the cafeterias are black people. They yell and scream CONSTANTLY and laugh hysterically loud from across the cafeteria to each other. Anyone in their path gets their eardrums imploded from the pressure...but JESUS, don't say it's the BLACKS cause then it's racist!! No, it's a simple OBSERVATATION just like before. Black people are loud as HELL in the cafeterias at my school and white people are not. Again, I believe it's simply being brought up in an environment where loud behavior is not discouraged but reinforced.

I don't understand why people can't sit on their asses during a movie and watch it. Don't use your cell phone, don't talk, don't WHISPER or throw candy. Just sit and watch the movie like you're supposed to. Cheer appropriately and applaud at the end if you want but don't disrupt others.

Go to a NASCAR race and you'll see white people acting just as stupid. This is a case of observations and trying to explain why they happen, not racism. Anyone that takes this thread into the racism category is not in touch with what racism actually is.

-Lasereth

wasn't that a scene in scary movie?

I've witnessed this before, but I must admit that I am a culprit of this crime too, but in a different way. If the movie sucks (i.e. Wild Wild West, Loser, or Cold Mountain), and it is obvious to me that everybody else thinks so (not really the case with Cold Mountian), I start doing a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" with the movie. Everybody seems to get more enjoyment out of the movie then.

I've always wondered the same thing. I remember yelling at people on a charter bus for clapping after we saw a movie.

Head over to Westerville if you want to find out. I've never seen them anywhere else.

I'm so embarrased :rolleyes: apparantly i went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show. and it is a tradition to do those things. So I was outta the loop on that one. The toas was for something that somebody said on the screen.

I don't know... While I don't actually talk to the characters, the people around me are subject to be talked to, at great length, about the movie, its mistakes/ridiculousness, and whatever else movie-related pops into my head. And, for clarification, if I were any whiter, I'd either be clear or glow in the dark... I'm not sure which.

This sounds exactly like my in-laws!! :lol:
I Love em to death, but I cannot stand to watch tv over at thier house. And it never fails that whenever it gets to a good part in the show...they change the channel! Arrgghh!

I was watching a movie at a theatre, think it was the Grudge. Well anyway there was a group of thuggish people at the front talking loudly and shouting and a guy told them to shut the hell up and "I know your group of friends didn't pay for the movie but the rest of us did so shut the fu** up". And the guys at the front shouted back, "You trying to be racist you fu****?" The guy who replied back, "I am black." That Shut the people up at the front for the whole movie.

Don't understand why some groups of people automatically think someone is racist because they tell them to "shut up".

Some people will pull the race card any chance they get. I guess some just want people to feel sorry for them, or want their actions justified.

I guess I'm pretty fortunate because the theater I go to is usually pretty quiet, unless it is a major blockbuster opening, then there is always going to be some disturbances.

The only time this has ever happened to me was when I lived in NC and went with a group of my girlfriends (all white), and they were the rude ones...saying things out loud, talking on their cell phones, and whispering the entire movie. I scrunched down in my seat and pretended not to know them. Needless to say, I never went to the movies with them again. I hate that crap.

BTW, WillyPete, loved your comments on the Provo thing :) I grew up not far from there and I can just imagine!!!

This whole thread reminds me of "Scary Movie" the first one, where the black victim is so loud in the theater. That when the killer does kill her. The audience stands up and claps, and in the next scene. The killer is sitting there enjoying a quite movie eating her popcorn.

Wrong I know. But the whole Scary Movie series is pretty wrong as well.

I have to ask, why do Americans sporadically clap? Me and my family watch Fox news for amusement purposes, they had this guy on it a couple of nights ago talking about body armour. When he said something like "We think it's sufficient" the entire audience at the Fox place stood up, clapped and started whooping. It was really quite confusing.
I like to think that maybe the people at Fox news aren't the best cross section of the American public, but they did the same thing when I went to a cinema in America...

Another thing that bugs me about Fox. Whenever someone phones in with a well reasoned view of something that doesn't support what Bush says, the guy just hangs up on them and starts mocking them, usually through exaggerating what they said to rediculous levels, ultimately culminating in some strange disasterous situation.
Out of interest, does Fox news follow the Republicans full stop, or just the incumbent party?

They follow the party that well give them the most ratings. And trust me, the clapping is on cue.

I have no idea why Americans clap at the end of a movie...I've never done it and it amuses me when I see it done, although thats rare. What I have seen more often is people clapping and cheering after the trailer of a much anticipated movie comes out, like the first of the new Star Wars trilogy.

Guilty. And wasn't just the first of the new trilogy. I was doing it back when 'The Empire Strikes Back' made its first trailer appearance. :D

yeah, but what about SHOOTING at movie screens? Is America totally nuts, or what?

Maybe if people shot at the clappers and yellers...

I skipped over most of the thread, but to reply to the OP, it happens ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME here.

I agree with K-Wise... annoying is annoying and thats the bottom line.

If anyone is still reading this thread I just want to add my two cents. In my experiance it's not a black thing. It's a moron thing. My acquaitances all throughout life have run the gamut of backgrounds and families and it didn't matter what color or sex they were. If I went to see a movie with them and they would talk during it, not only was I gravely embarrased to be in a theater with this someone (or this one time numerous people, ugh) who was ruining a fairly expensive time out for everyone, but it would reveal a bit of their personality that I may not have discovered yet. The fact that their opinion is so important it just has to be shared with everyone. The fact that they are so important that everyone must know what they are feeling at any given moment. In short, the fact that they are morons.

i abide by racial stereo types in default settings. and i dont feel remotely bad about it. if i see a theatre filling up with a black majority, i leave because i dont need 50+ people voicing thier opinion about the movie, while the movie is on. easy. no love lost for black people...just how i operate.

[QUOTE=TheBrit]I have to ask, why do Americans sporadically clap? Me and my family watch Fox news for amusement purposes, they had this guy on it a couple of nights ago talking about body armour. When he said something like "We think it's sufficient" the entire audience at the Fox place stood up, clapped and started whooping. It was really quite confusing.
I like to think that maybe the people at Fox news aren't the best cross section of the American public, but they did the same thing when I went to a cinema in America...
QUOTE]

The problem is that nobody teaches us when it is appropriate to clap, so we do it all the time, just to be sure we don't miss an opportunity to make noise.

If you ever attend the symphony in Sacramento, you will find that we clap at completely inappropriate places: between movements, after a solo...we are really horrid about this sort of thing.

Maybe this talking thing is really a commentary on a unique social aspect of the Afro-Amer. community in the US. Sure, white people clap at inappropriate times, but...have you ever noticed how some people have to name things they see in the movie, or agree with a character when he's describing some ominous technical hardware?

I did this when I was younger, and I stopped, but there's always someone around who's doing it. Isn't it just as bad?