Editorial: Show good manners at movies

We at The Pacer have long held that movie theaters are battlegrounds.

Screaming babies, bratty children and teenage girls that seemingly have their cell phones grafted into their skins have ruined many a movie experience. From our past experiences, we have made our own list of do’s and don’ts for the movie theater.

First, let us explain something. 

Adult movies are for adults. 

While we would never accuse anyone of negligence, we doubt a 7-year-old can fully grasp the concept of Satan trying to occupy the body of a young boy, as presented in “Ghost Rider 2” (P-13). Ratings are assigned to movies for a reason, so please abide by them. G and PG movies are for kids, and PG-13 opens the door for teenagers. As for R, no one under the age of 15 should be anywhere near a room where this type of movie is playing. It also spares more mature viewers the annoyance of loud and messy children when they were expecting a movie about teenagers getting their heads sawed off. 

Please make all your children use the restroom before the movie. More than two restroom breaks during a movie will result in a Milk Dud pelting. 

While cell phones are useful tools for everyday life, their presence should never be felt in a movie theater. We know this lecture has been preached before, but here are the basics once again: turn your phone to silent or vibrate, step outside for phone calls and rein in the text messages. One sneaky glance at your phone to see if your mom has called you is allowable, texting through half the movie is not. Phone glow is distracting and ruins the atmosphere. Please be respectful and stick that phone in a pocket, and leave it there. 

To that amorous couple that sits in the back: we can still see you. Being overly affectionate in a movie theater makes us, the other movie-goers, uncomfortable. It’s difficult to concentrate on the movie we paid upwards of $10 for when a large chunk of our brainpower is being used to block out the smooching sounds coming from behind us. 

Whispering to your neighbor is socially acceptable, as long as your whisperings are few and far between. Loud conversations are not acceptable, neither is yelling at the screen. 

The best gauge for appropriate behavior is simply respecting the people around you. Human decency is not too much to ask. The movie theater experience costs money, so a fair assumption can be made that the individuals who pay for a movie want to see it and want to see it distraction-free.