First post of 2015. Brief, but more will come.
Yesterday I went to the cinema to see The Theory of Everything. It was a great film. Oh, I do enjoy the cinema. The experience of sitting in front of an enormous screen with enormous sound next with wonderful company is delightful.
But not all of my company was delightful. To my left, with regret, sat two girls who must have only been around 15 years of age who spent an awful amount of time sending text messages.
Perhaps my singing praises of the cinematic experience are, in part, down to the fact I turn off my mobile before entering the screening room and solely devote my attention to what’s in front of me. Is that possible?
A sign of modernity? The constant need and desire to check what is happening. But it removes one from what is actually happening. There were scenes in the film which were emotionally complex and meaningful to which one of the girls, to impress her friend, loudly murmured, ‘what a bitch’. I sighed heavily.
‘Turn your phone off and shut up’, I should have angrily whispered. But, to avoid the possible embarrassment to my company which would have nearly undoubtedly ensued, I did not. Maybe it wasn’t my place to say? Is this a sign of the times? I am very guilty of eye-flickering behaviour when watching television or watching something on the computer. Eyes flicker from one form of ‘entertainment’ to another form of ‘entertainment’ – social media, oh dear. Concentration is watered down, but two birds are killed with one stone.
The cinema, I think, should remain a haven from mobile phones and other technology. Don’t be staring into abyss. Don’t miss out on what’s right in front of you, and what you have paid an awful amount of money to see. More on that another time.
Samuel
