Movie Theater Experiences

[Jonathan S]

The spectrum is so wide though, with many misinformed symptoms attached, that we should be careful about pre-diagnosing people as "very likely" to be on it just because of stereotyped observable behavior by non-professionals...

Thanks for pointing this out. Although I've been officially (and rigorously) diagnosed as autistic myself, I'm the sort of person more likely to be disturbed by inappropriate audience noises than to cause them. It's one of the reasons I stopped going to cinemas about 20 years ago. I remember particularly a National Film Theatre (BFI) screening of THE GOLEM (1920) which was received by the other audience members as if it were a non-stop slapstick comedy.

Even at home, I've been known to complain about my partner's heavy breathing during (mainstream) films and, despite the fact I also have a diagnosis of severe hearing loss in both ears, the constant chuntering noise made by my Sony S-3700 as it plays discs is often distracting to me (apparently, not a faulty one as several reviews of this model complain of it too). Extreme sensitivity to noise (and/or light, taste, smell, touch) is of course very common among autistic people.

[willoneill]

I had a hilariously bizarre theatre experience this weekend. I saw Dumb Money at a local multiplex, and right behind me in the mostly empty theatre were a mother and her two sons who looked to be about 8 and 10 years old. From their conversation I overheard before the film started that, it was clear that they thought the movie was going to be about video games, rather than the stock market. The subject matter was clearly above their heads, and the boys kept audibly asking their mom "what's shorting? what's an IPO? What's a congressional subpoena?" and their mom did her best to answer (again, at a volume definitely above a whisper).She even got most of it correct (though not all of it!). I was curious as to how the mom would react to the strong language, but she was laughing harder than anyone in the theatre. The kicker at the end was when the kids seemed surprised that the people in the film were all still alive. Too bizarre for me to get angry, so I never said anything.

[flyonthewall2983]

I had that experience once, when me and my brother went to see Forget Paris which would have had you believe by the commercials it was mostly Billy Crystal as an NBA ref. Mom took us.

[Black Hat]

With respect to laughing guy: since he's popped up I've been on both sides of it, in the let him be camp currently but, I also don't sit anywhere near him. Very tough call on what to do about it but, knowing the intense importance of these screenings to these people, it would be unwise not to check him. Is it really not possible for him to control himself?

[Roscoe]

At FOOLISH WIVES at the Museum Of The Moving Image, a cellphone went off, apparently belonging to the kind of jackass who just decides to let it ring and ring and ring and ring, until someone finally had to yell at him to "turn that fucking phone off!"

A rarity at MOMI, where audiences are usually most respectful and well-behaved.

[senseabove]

The laugher in question speaks, complete with Q&A clips where you can hear his laugh for yourself. In other news, I look forward to everyone accommodating my misophonia and learning to chew with their mouths closed.

[black&huge]

I had a hilariously bizarre theatre experience this weekend. I saw Dumb Money at a local multiplex, and right behind me in the mostly empty theatre were a mother and her two sons who looked to be about 8 and 10 years old. From their conversation I overheard before the film started that, it was clear that they thought the movie was going to be about video games, rather than the stock market. The subject matter was clearly above their heads, and the boys kept audibly asking their mom "what's shorting? what's an IPO? What's a congressional subpoena?" and their mom did her best to answer (again, at a volume definitely above a whisper).She even got most of it correct (though not all of it!). I was curious as to how the mom would react to the strong language, but she was laughing harder than anyone in the theatre. The kicker at the end was when the kids seemed surprised that the people in the film were all still alive. Too bizarre for me to get angry, so I never said anything.

this is amazing

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

This could probably go in the New York Repertory thread as well, but for those who frequently attend post-screening discussions here in NYC, has anyone noticed an extremely loud and obnoxious laughter at those events over the past year or two? It's coming from a guy who is very likely to have autism spectrum disorder and it's been particularly awkward because I'm not sure how one should respond to the guy. It's gotten so frequent and disruptive that apparently people in an official capacity HAVE talked to him about, especially when he's attending a professional event - he's been made well-aware that at times it can be inappropriate but he apparently has been dismissive of such criticism.

I think I know who you are talking about—if it’s who I am thinking of (he was laughing egregiously at, among other things, PlayTime on 70 at the Paris and had to be spoken to)—he is very much “on the spectrum” and is sadly just clueless.

[hearthesilence]

The laugher in question speaks, complete with Q&A clips where you can hear his laugh for yourself. In other news, I look forward to everyone accommodating my misophonia and learning to chew with their mouths closed.

I'm stunned that he's lashing out at the local theaters for "institutional ableism" and accusing them of violating ADA compliance rules, arguing that "discrimination is evident at venues that don’t allow people with physical disabilities to easily access the stage or ground level to participate in Q&As." Every single venue I can think of here is handicap accessible, at minimum to the floor level of the theater (and where I've seen some Q&A's happen when the guest can't be onstage, which is more than acceptable considering they have microphones anyway). Handicap seating is often closest to where the guests are, and in places like Lincoln Center where handicap seating is in the back, it's not an issue - they have someone running around with a microphone and request that anyone with a question wait until it's brought to them. I imagine he's angry despite his claims that he isn't, but if he's a freelance critic, he really needs to be careful not to violate the trust between him and his professional contacts.

[Furstemberg]

So today for the first time I actually encountered the Laughing Menace after having managed to avoid him for years. He laughed, gasped, ooh-and-aah’d, and oh-no’d his way through the first official New York screening of Man, Woman And Sin in 97 years, at the MoMA. It was distracting to say the least. When reading this thread in October I thought I was team let him be, but now I’m firmly on team stay in the house. His refusal on principle to even consider correcting himself is wrong.

[Mr Sausage]

I've had perfectly uneventful screenings ever since I went back to watching films in theatres last year. But when I saw American Fiction on Monday, some older guy near the front answered a fucking video call on his smartphone. When the person calling asked where he was, the guy turned his phone towards the screen in explanation. Thankfully the person on the other end said goodbye quickly and hung up so I didn't have to bellow at the guy for being a total cretin in public.

[Gregory]

Someone ruined a screening of UHF by angrily pulling out and cocking his gun after being repeatedly told to be quiet (and "someone may have thrown a drink" at him) at Chicago's Logan Theatre

[TechnicolorAcid]

Christ that escalated quickly.

[therewillbeblus]

To be fair, what do you expect to happen at a screening of UHF