Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Alamo Drafthouse felt like the future of movie-going. Then, at shocking speed, it all fell apart, hitting rock bottom with the nonsensical introduction of QR-code ordering alongside the company’s famous prohibition on cell-phone use. (One of the last times I was at a Drafthouse location, the woman sitting next to me both answered and placed calls on her cell, while her date slept soundly.) In a balanced cocktail of fury and humor, David Ehrlich describes the consequences of bad management—which is to say, management schooled in the idiocy of late-stage capitalism:
But here’s the thing: Using your phone in a theater that requires you to use your phone doesn’t make you a jerk, it just makes you complicit in a braindead business model. Giving audiences permission to selectively use their phones during a movie is like giving a drug addict a baggie full of blow and saying “we trust that you’ll only use this to barter with the wait staff.” If you force people to turn on their device and navigate to an app whenever they want another $11 box of Peanut M&Ms, you can’t reasonably expect them to set their phones to airplane mode before the movie starts—to ignore notifications, take their stupid pictures of the screen, resist the urge to google if Rosalina is single, and otherwise remain mindful of the collective viewing experience.
More picks about the silver screen
The Strange Saga of Faces of Death
“It scarred countless children—and allegedly left one dead. Many still believe it was all real. Some of it was.”
A Complimentary Profile Of Jason Lee That Was Surprisingly Difficult To Publish
“The paradox of Jason Lee . . . is that he is a celebrity who openly invites fans to come hang out with him on a regular basis, but who also has historically remained a notably private person.”
The Unexpected Epiphanies of Watching 57 Movies With my Sleeping Newborn
“Between the opening credits and the 3 a.m. feedings, as I watched films in 20-minute increments, something profound happened.”
