Paul Ross talks about cinema etiquette

Reading this article from Paul Ross I had to comment, duplicated here for my own record.

I agree with his article, mostly. We’d been living in Australia until 2010 and cinema’s there are generally more modern, clean and tidy and the people polite (and not eating meals, just cold snacks), the experience being as I remember it being here in the UK. 

But one trip to the Cressex Empire soon after arriving back in the UK put us off ever going to the cinema again, especially when family told us it was ‘a normal cinema experience now’!

When we walked into the lobby the place looked and smelt like a fast food hall, nowhere obvious to collect tickets and believe it or not no listings showing what was on!

When we got into the cinema the sounds and smells of people eating spoilt the movie to the extent that we haven’t been back.

I think part of the problem is that the younger generation (yes I’m an old git at 52) see the cinema as a casual outing, whereas older people used to dress up, eat first or after and generally make an evening of it. Nowadays it seems cinemas are used much the same way as people would their living room, shoes off, feet up, grazing on food and drink.

Times have changed and I don’t think Paul will change them back unless he wants to open a 'posh’ cinema with his own rules, I’d be a customer for one but I’d say if you don’t like the modern cinema experience then don’t go, do what we do, fire up iTunes on the iPad and plug it into your TV.