‘If you want to talk, stay home’: Local man slams noisy moviegoers. Is movie etiquette dying?

SINGAPORE: Cinema-going may have lost some of its appeal over the years with the rise of online streaming platforms, but has proper movie etiquette also begun to fade along with it?

A local man recently raised this issue online after a visit to the cinema was disrupted by a group of boys who repeatedly talked during the screening.

“Seated about five rows in front of me was a group of boys who kept talking,” he said. “Maybe it’s how theatres are designed but I could hear muffled voices from the front throughout the movie.”

After enduring the disturbance for some time, the man eventually asked the boys to keep quiet. However, rather than complying, the group allegedly mocked him after the movie had ended.

“Honestly, if you want to talk, do it after the movie. Or best still, go back and Netflix – even better because you don’t have to pay for your tickets,” he continued.

“I love going to the movies, still do, because you are immersed in the movie. But are we all so used to streaming at home that we forget how to behave in theatres?” he asked.

“These kids were never taken to the movies by their parents.”

Many online users resonated with his experience and shared similar frustrations in the comments. One said, “Unfortunately, that’s just how people are. You’d think it’s kids being kids, teens being teens, but no, there are many fully grown adults who act like that all the time. I do not know how they ended up this way”

Another commenter called for stricter enforcement of cinema rules, writing, “There should be some rules if you are going to watch a movie in a cinema. Customers who don’t comply with these rules should be escorted out by the ushers and their money NOT refunded.”

A third chimed in, “These kids were never taken to the movies by their parents, so they were never taught movie etiquette. It’s just not worth it as a family activity anymore.”

Still, not everyone agreed that cinema etiquette had completely disappeared. A few pointed out that such incidents are not universal and that many moviegoers remain considerate.

One shared, “I believe it is just black sheep. I watched the movie The Kings of Kings with my kiddo at Shaw Theatres and there was nothing like that.”

In other news, a furious mother has blasted Grab online, demanding that the company “take action” after a driver allegedly mocked her daughter, who walks with crutches, and unfairly “slapped on a $3 late fee”.

In a post shared on the ‘COMPLAINT SINGAPORE’ Facebook group, she explained that her daughter, accompanied by the family’s helper, had arrived punctually at the designated pickup point.

“My daughter, who is ON CRUTCHES, waited with our helper for her Grab. Driver was nowhere in sight but insisted he was already there,” she said.

Read more: Mother outraged after Grab driver ridicules daughter on crutches and charges $3 late fee