Hey all, Thought this might be an interesting read of some sorts. I omitted the names and email addys per aD rules, so don't be surprised if there are some x's and such in the article. Also note that this was "borrowed" from Slyck.com and the original starter of the thread gets full credit for this. Here it goes: -------------------------------------------------------------- How the MPAA killed the movie theater experience: a first-hand report [I'd be glad to share other experiences, or a reply from the MPAA should they choose to send one along. --(Name deleted)] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: MPAA kills movie experience. Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2005 11:22:20 -0500 (EST) From: xxxxx xxxx <xxxxx@xxxxx.net> To: xxxxx@xxx.com Hi (Name deleted), My girlfriend and I are writers here in Toronto and I thought I'd share this, as if you needed evidence that privacy abuses are out of hand, here's our completely insane experience with the MPAA from last night. OMGMPAA1984WTF? I wonder what kind of dystopian cyberpunk future we live in when you are physically searched before entering a movie theatre. Last night (November 3rd), my girlfriend brought me along to see a screening of Derailed at the Paramount theatre in Toronto, which she had to review for a magazine she works for. The lineup for the screening was unusually long, as I think they also fill seats at press screenngs with radio call-in winners, who in hindsight, might have accepted such poor treatment in exchange for the ostensible privilege of paying for $30 worth of parking and fast food at a free $13 movie. Anyway, the line was moving slowly because they were asking customers to raise their arms so that they could be electronically frisked with a metal detector, and women's purses were being searched by uniformed security guards. Try to remember that this is Toronto, Canada we're talking about here, not New York, Tel Aviv or London. People who submitted to the search (everyone from what I could tell) had their cellphones taken from them and checked at a table set up in front of the theatre and they were given a ticket to reclaim it when they left. I was having none of this, and checked the back of my ticket stub to ensure that there was no mention of being required to submit to a search listed as a condition of sale. As my girlfriend and I made it to the front of the line, the guard looked at me and asked me to raise my arms for the search. I politely declined saying "No, thank you", and proceeded to the ticket taker. I could hear him calling "Sir! Sir!" behind me, but even though I slowed my pace in case he was really going to do something about it, as I had expected, I wasn't stopped. The ticket taker took my ticket and I waited for my girlfriend just inside the gate, as her purse was being subjected to a thorough going through by one of the guards. Since she was there for work, and her deadline was that night, she was not ready to risk not seeing the movie. Her 150 words won't have room for what happened next. Her phone was taken from her and put in a sealed plastic bag with a claim ticket, and she joined me where I was waiting, past the gate, and we walked into the theatre together. To add further insult to the debacle at the gate, near the exits at stage right and left were two uniformed security guards at each door, all four with video cameras scanning the crowd and making themselves very conspicuous. This was not just a bit of pre-show MPAA theatre, they stood there for the entirity of the movie, red LED's glowing, scanning the crowd to remind us that we were under close surviellence and our actions were being recorded. If you have sat in a chair in a dark room watching disturbing scenes unfold in front of you, while four uniformed people with video cameras stand in front of your, silently recording your reactions, you might be reminded of scenarios from a Clockwork Orange, Brazil, 1984, Videodrome, and strangely, that 90's relic: SFW. Security guards regularly use handheld video cameras to harrass and intimidate people, particularly during political rallies and protests, as the guards know that the cameras carry with them a clear implication of future retribution against those being recorded. The cameras are quite literally, a threat. ( The threat is that if you do not behave as the camera holder asks, the recording of your actions will be used to persecute or discrace you.) Upon leaving the theatre, my girlfriend and I had to stop at the security desk to claim her phone, which involved them searching through a pile of bagged cellphones for the correct one. We took another moment to turn the phone on and wait for signal in the threatre to validate that we in fact had the correct phone. My girlfriend had said that if she hadn't already agreed to her deadline, she would have made a point of walking out of the screening and giving the PR person a talking to. I did not confront the camera wielding guards in the theatre because she was my host she had a job to do. Only people who think they have done something wrong, or deserve to be searched, submit to that kind of authority, which is why guards get away with it, and the rest of us continue to be subjected to it and it becomes "normal". Anyway, apparently this is Alliance Atlantis' idea of how to treat an audience, then I for one can certainly live without seeing any of their films, and we will be skipping movies at the Paramount theatre. I also know that at least one reviewer will also be seeing her movies elsewhere too. I would also say that this is further evidence that movie studios are losing revenue because of the increasingly poor movie-going experience and general low-quality of the movies they are making, as after this, I can certainly undertstand why someone would prefer to watch a movie on their 14 inch screen than suffer the indignity of a multiplex. http://www.politechbot.com/2005/11/04/how-the-mpaa/ ----------------------------------------------------------- Interesting, huh? Anyone else have this same thing happen. I know if I ever go to the movies and see this...I'll never hit another one again.
i swear i didnt even read this post.i just wanted to point out the lack of response to this thread is in noway because of the length of the post. and by the way,im on page 1243.im getting tired of reading.how does this story end?...you know im only kidding.
Hehe...it's ok, I didn't realize how long it was till I just looked over it again. My bad. Ok, to sum it up...it is saying that there are theaters that have you relinquish your cell phone and other digital devices before going into a theater. At that one, located in the story, they had security guards all around the theater using video cameras to record everyone's behavior....JUST to stop and deter people from doing cam version of new released movies. Kinda scary to want to go to the theater and get patted down or strip search before going in there, huh?
no, i actually like the strip search.im a lonely person and i crave the attention.its just them video taping it that makes me uncomfortable.i mean,i have a reputation to uphold.
You know, i actually took the time to read this, and this seems familiar to me. Here in Holland, most movie theaters have a policy of checking bags, backpacks and purses for laptops, camera's and such, they have devices placed that kill cellphone reception, and security people that keep watch during the film to ensure no one's taping it. And the worst thing is, if you decline being searched, they can refuse to let you in, without a refund... which is one of the reasons why there is such a lively trade in illegal copies of newly released films here...
Never had this happen to me before or even seen it happen here in seattle. Here there are like two people working and they don't care about anything. Hope this never happens here, that would suck.
the same place a street drug dealer would put his stash...well im sure nobody will want to steal your wallet after that.and thats for sure.
