Last updated April 12, 2019
The use of new or old cell phones in movie theaters is becoming a problem, so much so than when the Texas cinema known as the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema kicked out a female patron for talking on a cell phone during a movie, she responded with a phone message of ranting verbal abuse. That abusive message was then turned into a public service announcement played at the cinema, and has also become a huge hit on YouTube.
The editor in chief of the film review website known as Rotten Tomatoes, Matt Atchity, says that the problem is becoming ubiquitous and seemingly impossible to stop. “Even 10 years ago, not everyone had a phone, not everyone was text messaging,” Atchity notes. “The younger generation grew up and the kids who were texting in class are now… texting in movies.”
Oscar nominated film producer Barry Mendel fears that the reliance on both social media and a demand for information 24 hours a day has made the ability to just sit and concentrate on one thing for two hours without other distractions is becoming a thing of the past. “It makes me worry for my profession, for making movies,” he says.
John Fithian, who serves as the current president of the National Association of Theater Owners, says that while the appeal of cinema is in some ways that it is a shared experience, “that also means there are shared responsibilities”.