Specially for the “Sherlock Holmes” movie I exchanged lots of airmiles for a free movie ticket. It arrived in the mail on Wednesday while “Sherlock Holmes” premiered on Thursday here in Holland. I love going to the movies and I hate planning with people when, what or how late so movies I really want to see I go as soon as I can.
And because movie theaters are always full of people, loud people, I have taken the habit to go in the afternoon when most are at work or school. Now becoming deaf has some small advantage, you don’t have to hear people talking during the movies anymore. Ok sure you miss all the great soundtrack but thanks to surround sound you can feel the action, even deaf I can sometimes say “men that movie was loud”.
So at this new theater in the city, all 9 theaters have a minimum of 300 seats taking a rough guess. In the beginning I would always go sit in the middle but after a few times I notice most people like doing the same. So there I am with 200 something empty seats around me and everyone sitting in my close neighborhood, with the one behind me always being the worse because their mother didn’t teach them to not put their foot on the chair in front of them.
So yesterday I walk in to watch “Sherlock Holmes” and I decide I will sit between the middle and left side of a row but not in the middle and in not in the center of the theater, but more in the back. There are already a few people here and there so I took a guess that considering the movie was about to start in 10 minutes others coming later will sit elsewhere. Boy was I wrong… I settled myself, put my bag in the chair next to me because with 200 something empty seats in there they won’t miss one.
Two minutes after sitting down a couple comes in, walks into my row, stand next to me and start bending and peering pass me to see if they can sit between the few people also in the same row. They then decide that sitting right behind me is the best spot in the room. Couple of minutes later two guys come in and sit right at the entry of the row with 3 seats between them and me. No problem, I can still watch the movie without being disturbed. I expect the movie to start within 5 minutes, all that time they have been showing previews.
Then to my utter amazement some 16 year old guy walks in, sees the 200 empty seats, walks pass the two guys in the same row as I am, walks pass me and drops in the seat next to me ignoring my bag there. I was speechless, fuming with myself that I’m not the type to open my mouth and say something. Wishing I had the guts to go loudly “excuse me? did it go pass you that there are 200 empty seats in here? must you come sit right next to me and making us both uncomfortable having to share an armrest?” I was seriously considering just getting up and sit somewhere else, but again my guts where left at home, but then 3 girls, the preppy kind that sit upright during the movie and whisper the whole time bending their heads together, came and sat right in front of me.
There I was with a kid right next to me, people right behind, people right in front. And a sea of empty seats in front of me. It was all I needed. So I took my jacket, bag and drink, made a big deal of standing up, walking a few rows in front pick a seat and made a big deal of sitting down comfortable.
It really makes me fume people like that. It’s not only in theaters but in the train, bus, etc. There will be like empty seats all over the place but they come and insist for you to make room for them to sit right next to you. All the while that if they sit in an empty section they will sit comfy and so would you, nobody annoyed.
I love going to the movies in the afternoon when there is no crowd, and the theater is almost empty, you can really lose yourself in the movie and forget where you are. But not when people with apparently some abandonment issue need to sit right next to strangers when there is plenty of seats.
I should as experiment go a few days without taking a shower, put on some dirty clothes and go the movies and see if people will still clamor around me in spite of all the empty seats.