The movie-going experience isn´t just limited to what happens on screen but what happens when you enter the cinema and who sits around you. Diki Gurung, 29, says “Different places attract different personalities,” and thus affects your experience of the movie.
First thing is first - standing in line to get your ticket. Sachit Lamsal, 20, who sells tickets at the QFX Central, Sundhara, says, “Most people are good about staying in line but there are always some people who are more noisy.” She has had to request patrons of the theater to maintain order and for the most part they listen. “It´s not just my responsibility though,” she adds, “If you´re standing in line and someone cuts, you should be able to remind them to stay in their place.”
Once making it to the counter, Lamsal says, “Most people don´t seem to pay attention to which seats they´re getting. We tell them where their seats are, there´s even the screen but people complain about their seats.” He says that so far, this is the biggest problem which can be easily avoided, “We let them choose seats; people should just pay more attention.”
With ticket in hand, viewers proceed to the hall but before getting there, one has to pass a short security checking. “We mainly just look to make sure that no one is trying to take in their own food or drinks,” says Narendra Kumar, 22, a guard at QFX Central. In his experience, no one has been deviant but adds, “Some people can´t get tickets when the house is full so they try to fight with us about it.”
Before or during the movie, viewers often visit the food kiosks. “Of course people want to eat something, but there tends to be a rush and sometimes people aren´t very understanding,” says Riyaj Shrestha, Executive Associate - Marketing, QFX, who reminds everyone that it´s a first-come-first-serve basis. “So far we haven´t had other issues, but there´s not much you can do to avoid the rush,” he says. What you can do is be a good sport, wait your turn and be gracious.
After sitting down, there are off-screen events that can ruin the movie: People talking loudly or commenting, phones ringing, and of course people answering their phones and having a conversation. “Oh my god, those people are so irritating!” says Beautician Merina Singh, 24, who adds, “People who talk and answer their phones - it´s wrong, they don´t think about how it disturbs others.” Shrestha comments by saying, “This isn´t school, we can´t confiscate phones especially since emergencies can happen. What you can do is go outside and talk or if you have to, answer the phone and ask the person to hold for a moment while you make your way outside.”
Singh, who keeps her phone on silent mode and always refuses answering calls during a show, comments on how theaters have become less about the movie and more about couples, “It´s embarrassing for everyone, they should be more considerate of others,” Singh says of lovers who are more interested in each other than the movie.
When others are being a nuisance, she says she doesn´t call them out, “Others don´t like to be interfered with, and even if you say something it doesn´t make a difference,” she hopes that advertisements showing the “idiot” would be enough to make the perpetrator feel stupid. Singh does however admit to turning around and glaring to indicate her displeasure.
After the movie ends, the audience leaves all their trash behind. “We clean after each show,” says Nanda Dahal, 20. “It takes about 10-15 minutes to clean after each show. We do a thorough cleaning of the theater in the morning which takes 1.5-2 hours.” Working an eight hour shift, Dahal might be spared a lot of pain if patrons were able to exit the hall with their own trash in hand. “We have trash cans placed strategically all over the cinema,” adds Shrestha.
Shrestha acknowledges that there are many issues at the movies; some have even gone as far as profane graffiti. “We can´t exactly filter people out, we have premium prices in order to have some standard but even then, it´s a free country and people can go where they want to.” Having a price bar, one would assume that those who paid the higher prices would be educated and therefore more aware of social etiquette but this isn´t always the case. Shrestha says, “You´re going to a public place, follow social norms and be considerate.”
Related story
Talking about experience
-1200x560-1776666120.webp)
-1776353206.webp)
