Comment

There's too much action in local movie theaters

By Eric Jou (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-17 09:20

Ah, the movie theater. Comfortable seats, ice-cold air conditioning and movies! It's the perfect summer get-away.

I remember countless hours and afternoons wasted sitting in dark theaters, feeling the chills of a horror movie or the action and suspense of a summer thriller, but here in Beijing, movies and movie theaters feel very different.

The ticket and concession prices in Beijing make almost every theater feel like the Union Square 14th Street Regal Theater in New York City - expensive and valueless.

However, that isn't the case for Beijingers. In my experience, movie theaters in Beijing cater to the dating crowd. Couples seeking privacy head to the theaters in droves looking to hide in the solitude and anonymity that the darkness provides.

Sure, there are those who hit the movie theaters for the sake of watching movies, or to further their English abilities, but it doesn't make sense for many to spend money on a movie ticket when a DVD street vendor can offer the movie for 10 times less.

Often times, there are street vendors right outside of the movie theater with copies of new movies for sale, yet people still hit the theaters.

None of it made sense to me until I attended a showing of Tom Cruise's latest box office bomb, Knight and Day.

The movie was set with simple laugh track humor to which the crowded reacted, but for much of the plot-hole-filled spectacle there was another sound that was evident, the sound of clothes rustling and lips smacking.

Now, those sounds can be easily explained, viewers can get fidgety sitting for too long and they could be eating popcorn or various other snacks, but once I turned around I witnessed a sight that was too public: Couples making out or groping each other in the cover of darkness with no restraint. It was kind of kinky and disgusting at the same time.

Everyone looking forward can only see the back of someone else's head silhouetted by the brightness of the screen.

This kind of "public" privacy is akin to hiding out in the bushes and making out.

While the many couples thought they were hidden by a veil of darkness, anyone turning around would be able to see the source of the commotion. Clearly, they did not account for the fact that the noise and movement would turn heads.

It is interesting to see these public displays of affection (PDAs) in China where they are often frowned upon in other places but where a cinema seems socially acceptable.

Perhaps it is OK because of the perceived privacy that these public venues provide. However, the interesting fact is that there could easily be someone else watching.

In some theaters, they have security cameras that face the crowd. So, in reality, the privacy that people pay for could have been better spent on a half-day room in a cheap hotel.

Most of the cheap hotels have TVs with a movie channel so its privacy and entertainment without the prying eyes of the movie theater, and nosy patrons such as myself.

Maybe it's just me, but I think PDAs should be left to other venues and not the movie theater.

Shushhhh, keep your make-out session quiet, I'm trying to watch the movie!