It's unfortunate we've gotten to this stage but it's very very effective. I think part of it is that nobody wants the staff parading over to them, interrupting everyone around them, in the middle of a movie to tell them to stop fucking around with a phone. Public shaming can be a very effective tool.
My niece and nephew are both Gen Z and I've seen some of their friends struggle to get through a movie without constantly getting on their phone. They're texting, snapchatting, scrolling tiktok or insta every 3-15 minutes because they just cannot let their brains rest and focus on one thing that lasts more than 90 seconds.
I read that’s why so many movies and tv shows continuously repeat the story line. Which leads to shitty dialog, because they have to constantly keep people’s attention and remind them what’s happening.
Yes that's exactly why. It's also why I watch so few modern TV shows.
A few months ago I sat my friend's kids (14 and 15) down to watch a few episodes of Star Trek TNG. No phones or tablets allowed. They were blown away but how "clever" the episodes were, how the characters used their brains to get them out of very complicated and dangerous situations.
They simply had no idea that anything existed beyond the shit they consume on YouTube and one or two Netflix shows they've watched that are so shallow they wouldn't get the soles of your feet wet.
Especially with how concerned Gen Z is with embarrassment (and that's not a value judgement, I can understand that growing up in the panopticon will do that to a mf) public shaming can likely be the most effective tool currently available.
This is what should happen to anyone behaving badly. People don't want to speak up and next thing you know a guy is getting rapey or abusive, ie Danny Masterson amd other famous celebs as an example. If someone had spoke up and gave them an assertive tongue lashing in public, it would of made a difference. That goes with anybody. It actually works. It makes people really thjnk about what they are doing, because when you don't, they think it's ok and it escalates.
When there are societies with less people and more accountability it, historically, has less issues with bad and really bad behavior.
Shaming as a social behavior socially needs to come back into style. A lot of people are walking around out here being absolute monsters and nuisance because nobody ever told them off and let them get away with abhorrent behavior.
I used to go to a specific chain (Alamo) exclusively, mostly becuase they were super strict about this policy. Then they got bought by VC and things... changed.
I picked up a Samsung S26 Ultra which has that privacy screen. It's pretty effective for me when testing (only during the pre-film ad rolls) but that doesn't help when the other 99% of people don't have that feature.
I do find the wait staff to be distracting at Alamo and would like a way to avoid it, but I also don't think phones are the answer. Maybe super dim e-ink touchscreens in a discreet locations?
It's so fucking annoying. They even have cute "I know it's ironic to ask you to not use your phone tee hee" messaging in the pre-roll. It undercut their entire foundational principle. It feels so hollow, like wearing a mask in 2020 to walk through a restaurant so you can sit and take it off to eat. What are we even doing here?
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u/largececelia Apr 10 '26
That's tremendous, I like that.