If you’re a reader of this blog, you probably know I hate everything. Last week’s blog wake-up call has had me thinking: what ‘initiative’ blogs should I post? So I’ve decided to create a weekly segment, ‘Ryan’s Roast’, which is exactly what it sounds like.
The inaugural roastee is AMC Theatres, the Hoyts of America (that isn’t a compliment). This week they revealed their plan to create “texting friendly” theatres. CEO Adam Aron cited the following reason:
“When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life”
How about screw you millennials. Why must you be the destroyers of every remaining good thing in this increasingly uninspiring world? “You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life” – this is what the Gen Xers deserve, because they have refused to say no for years.
The movie theatre is the last sacred venue for art to be viewed. The director created a piece of work to be viewed in a dark room, with no distractions, so you can fully immerse yourself in the experience. Phones should never be used in a theatre, not even in an emergency. If you really want to use your phone, do us a favour and watch the film at home by yourself.
Now it’s not all doom and gloom. The public have (somewhat) restored my faith in humanity by complaining about this poor idea, which has resulted in AMC backing down. +1 to common sense. But the fact that AMC originally considered this to be a good idea is a scary thought.