Let's go to the movies…in New York
Going to the movies is supposed to be a pleasant activity. It should be easy and stress-free. It could even be a second or third date plan for the new couples. The warm conversation before the movies while waiting in line for popcorn…The peaceful comfort of having numbered seats waiting for you while you make a quick stop at the restroom…The 15-minute break to assure you that you can comfortably drink a gallon of water to ease the thirst fattened by your salty popcorn without holding you pee for two hours. New York movie theaters make me miss the peaceful movie nights.
As if all the stress the poor New Yorkers endure during the week is not enough, they have plan whats supposed to be a carefree viewing occasion hours ahead. Delegate responsibilities…One goes online to buy the tickets (if there are any left), one buys the popcorn, one waits in the long line with numerous extra garments to save a few seats next to him/her. Drinking is allowed only in small amounts as there is no intermission. If you are lucky you will get a good seat and if you are blessed with a sixth sense you will get a short, small-headed person in front of you. All these wishes for a single movie…I would rather stay home and watch On Demand.
Even though I can understand your distress when going to the theatres here, I strongly disagree. The 2 main things that you talk about; the 15 minute break and the seats not having numbers, both have very reasonable explanations.
I think the unnumbered seats have a simple explanation. It sells more tickets. When you’re buying tickets and you see that the best seats have been taken, you don’t buy a ticket for that specific showing. Slowly, you lose interest because you’re unable to find tickets for the seats you want. This not only diminishes your interest in the film, but hurts the film tremendously. Box office numbers are the biggest publicity that a film can get these days…
2nd: The 15 minute break. I’m going to approach this from a very historical point of view, so please bear with me.
I hate the 15 minute break. It was in fact Wagner who brought the new theatre. When he wrote his operas, he wanted to create this idea of undivided attention and concentration. He changed the design of opera houses and made undivided rows (100-150 seats in only one row). You couldn’t leave even if you wanted to. Once the opera started, the theatre would go completely dark, taking out any element of distraction. And most importantly, he took out the 15 minute breaks. He wanted his audience to indulge themselves in his work with their heart and soul. He wanted his work to become real for those 4-5 hours and he wanted his work to be the only thing that mattered.
This is an incredible invention. Before him, people went to operas because it was the social event of the time. Going to the opera meant you were of a certain class, of a certain education. The way they dressed, with whom they went were all very important aspects. After him, they stopped coming to the opera as a social event (ones who went to see Wagner operas of course), their dresses, their jewelry their social status didn’t matter anymore, because no one could see that anyways. His opera became the only experience in the opera house.
So, a bit too much of a music lesson, but this is how these theatres were created. A movie is made as an experience, when the director, writer makes a movie, it’s intended to be enjoyed as a whole. You can’t put in a 15 minute break! That ruins the concentration, ruins the connection with the characters, ruins your dedication to the story… This may as well be too much of a theoretical response, but I’m really glad we don’t have them 15 minutes you should be too!!!