WTF de Jour

[howeird]

scendan and leatherapron are ranting today about the sad state of etiquette in the movie theaters these days.

I share their pain.

But the part of me that lives in a parallel universe had a tangentially related WTF:

Why do people applaud after a movie?

Nobody who has anything to do with the movie can hear you.* Save it for live theater.

I have the same WTF for people who are introduced on a TV show or maybe an awards event, and they applaud for themselves. Sheep.


*Yes, it's fine to applaud at the end of a movie if it's a premiere or preview or you otherwise know someone in the cast or crew was in the audience.

Comments

[scendan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I only applaud movies at premieres and previews.

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

I think applauding at a movie is probably a throwback to the early days of the cinema when people would behave like they were at a play. I think that part of the reason people applaud at the movies is just being in a group and getting excited.

Applauding oneself: It's been explained to me that the person is actually applauding the audience, its a sign of gratitude.

[howeird]

throwback
Nah. We had no applauding in movie theaters in the 50's-70's. There was applause for the pianist in the silent film days, but not for the movie. People in groups are sheep.

And as for applauding the audience, that may be the lame excuse given by the bozoid who is called on it, but it's the same sheep thing again. The crowd applauds, you applaud. When I direct a play, I tell the cast they had better not applaud during the curtain call, it Looks Stoopid.