For this assignment I was planning on going to a major film on its opening night in hopes that I could see as many people as possible during their movie-going experience. However, a few weeks before this assignment was due, I went to a movie and decided I just had to use it as the subject of this paper. I went to the Mel Gibson film “Apocalypto” at the Movie Mill. It was a Friday night during “Midnight Movie Madness”, so the film didn’t start until 12:30am. Having said that, the theatre was quite empty. Although I didn’t go to the movie with this assignment in mind, after I got home and started thinking about the whole experience, I knew that it would work quite well for this paper.
After reading Russell Smith’s article from the Globe and Mail, I couldn’t help but be angry. He came off as being the most miserable, pompous, dramatic man I had ever read anything from. Smith not only spent a good 500 words spelling out his intense hatred of movie going, but he also made it explicitly clear that he is a pessimistic grouch. It’s easy to say that his article made me as mad as he felt when he went to the theatre. Needless to say, I interpret movie-going much differently than Smith does.
It was just before midnight when we got to the theatre. I had expected a really poor turnout and that it would mostly be college-aged people in attendance. On top of that, I figured most people wouldn’t be seeing the movie we were since who wants to read sub-titles for two and a half hours in the middle of the night? Apparently, seven of us do. We got in line to buy our tickets and I was shocked to see the people in front of us carrying a baby. Don’t babies go to bed earlier than midnight? And if they were asleep, wouldn’t the extremely high volume of the film wake them up? I thought that was a little strange. We waited to get into the theatre for probably about 10 minutes or so. There was a good thirty to forty people waiting in the lobby for their theatre to open up and I must say I didn’t see a single person gorging on super buttery popcorn or drinking a gallon-sized cup of Coke. People chatted with each other and glanced ever so often at the ticket booth to see if they could go in yet.
Finally we got into the theatre and sat in our ever-so comfy seats. Here is where I start loving the movie experience and disagreeing in every way with Russell Smith. I absolutely love going to movies. I enjoy every aspect of it. The seats are comfortable, theatres are now designed so that nobody’s huge head is obstructing your view, and it’s extremely dark. Nothing pleases me more than watching a movie in complete darkness. Even when we’re at home watching movies, most people turn out majority, if not all, of the lights (though I’m sure Russell Smith watches them in broad daylight with every single light on). We took off our jackets to get more comfortable and quietly took our “contraband” snacks which we pre-purchased as Super Sam out of our purses and jacket pockets and munched away. The thing with the Movie Mill is that you don’t get that fun trivia before your film starts. Smith hates this part, but I love the movie trivia. It makes the time fly by before the movie gets going. However, I was not so lucky to have this luxury. The Movie Mill plays really poorly funded ads and PowerPoint presentations from local business before the movie starts. I don’t mind the first go-around, but after that I get sick of seeing that real estate agent who advertises himself as being John Travolta (does that work? Do people hire him based on the fact that he looks like John Travolta?). So instead I people watch.
There was an older couple two rows in front of us that sat in the end seats. They shared a popcorn and did not speak a word to each other before, during, or after the movie. You could tell that they had been together long enough that silence was comfortable and they were just enjoying a nice night out of the house. The next two movie goers who walked in were two guys, probably in their early twenties. Their seating arrangement really intrigued me. They sat so that there was a one-seat “buffer” between them. I call this extra and completely unnecessary seat a “buffer” because I can only assume that this seat is being used so that it doesn’t appear to anyone else in the theatre that they are on a date. This blew my mind. If they’re so uncomfortable going to a movie with each other, then maybe they should just stay at home. It is presumptuous of me to make this claim, but I really cannot think of another reason for the “buffer seat”.
Apocalypto is a typical Mel Gibson creation. It is violent and bloody, yet at the same time, completely captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. There were numerous times that I gasped out loud and I can’t even count how many times I covered my eyes due to the graphic scenes. The other patrons were doing the same thing, even the two guys NOT on a date. This is another reason I love going to movies in the theatre. The massive screens allow everything to come to life and get right in your face. There is no escaping the emotions, actions, and music on screen. I couldn’t disagree with Russell Smith’s article more. I think that having people talk during movies, the sticky floors, the overpriced concession food, and the anticipation of waiting for the lights to dim is an experience that cannot be matched. Whether there is seven people or three hundred people in theatre, it’s sure to be an experience far greater than one you could have in your own living room at home.
