Hunger Games. Somehow this whole article started with Hunger Games: from my weird, aggressive personality to the movie I saw this last weekend. I waited for weeks to see the movie once it came out. Partly, I waited to see it with my lovely little sister (future Cobber class of 2016, whaddup), as sentimentality strikes again. I also waited because me in a movie theatre is just bizarre. Not for the reasons you think, but for the fact that I am extremely particular about my experience while watching a movie, and just about the only person who can handle that is my little sister. From my obnoxious laugh to my intolerance of talkers (hypocrisy, I know), it is a bit overwhelming.
We picked a Saturday show. The Baxter movie theatre was our best bet, and from the looks of it we were right. Only about 20 cars in the lot, meaning very few people: optimal theatre time for me. We were ten minutes late, and entered when the theatre was already dark. To our delight we saw only 10 people. FANTASTIC. They were all in the center, which meant I could chill on one of the side sections and hang out with my sister and her boyfriend and have no complications.
Yet here is where the problems begin. A group of four tweens decided to migrate to a spot four rows behind us. There are two things wrong with this: for one, that they migrated at all, and two, they were tweens. There is not an age group in the world I hate more than tweens, especially in public. Their attitudes and idiocy also seemed to be magnified by the fact that they were speaking full-voiced, during the movie, near me. After five minutes, I told them to shut up or get out, much to the chagrin of my little sister.
In my mind there are several fundamental rules of the theatre, like “no smoking” and “no bringing in food from the outside.” These are straightforward and effective. Then there are the unspoken rules, like “shut up,” “don’t hog the armrest if near a stranger,” “don’t spill,” “don’t run around like 5 year old” and “wear clothes.” In my life I have seen every single one of these rules broken: adults bringing entire meals in from Subway, super loud children telling stories, parents bringing their kids to movies beyond their comprehension, a man smoking in the corner and a couple engaging in mildly distracting behavior.
The movie theatre is a perfect example of what people like to do when they think no one is watching. When people are in the dark, they are idiots and only prove to accentuate their idiotic activity. I have seen people picking their nose or shoot ice at other patrons of the theatre. We Cobbers know better though, right? May the odds be ever in the favor of a fantastic movie experience for you.
Katelyn Henagin graduated from Pierz-Healy High School in 2010, and grew up in both Pierz and Worthington, Minnesota. She is graduating in 2014 with a Philosophy Major and a minor in Psychology. If you feel like talking to Katelyn, striking up a conversation about Harry Potter is always a good choice.
Katelyn, I understand people who are frustrated after spending some money buying a ticket and trying to watch a movie.
What I do not understand is that you have a fantastic opportunity in this column to write. And write you shall. You should use the emotion or passion you have for a subject and make use of all the vast amount of words the english language has in its repertoire. Create a name for yourself as a critic (maybe this is the reason you chose an opinions column). Your lexicon seems very limited and cheeky at times, and while mine is not as plentiful, I do not particularly write for a newspaper.
Lastly, I think it is preposterous to read strong words as ‘hate’ or ‘shut up’ in your column, more so in your pursuit of a major in sociology and a minor in psychology. Have you read about how permanent writing can be, and more so in the world of publishing? I point this out because it seems almost as an oxymoron to be a sociologist or psychologist that does not tolerate individuals.
Ludvik