Imagine this.
You’re hanging out with your friends, having a good time. Someone suggests a
movie that you all really want to see. Why not go now? You arrive at the ticket
window and what do you find? “Sorry it’s sold out.” Why is it sold out if the
movie has been out for nearly two weeks?
As
I’m sure anyone who has gone to the movies lately has realized, there have been
some drastic changes. Of course, the new comfy seats and machines that serve
you whatever kind of drink you want are great, but I’m referring the change in
how to buy tickets. In order to reassure you can actually buy the tickets, they
must be bought online, which has actually been an option for the last few years.
Now, however, it’s practically mandatory to buy them online at least a day prior,
and there’s even a chart of the theater for you to pick seats. Okay, great. Now, not only do you have to make a
plan between you and the group to see this movie together on a scheduled day,
but also, you get to plan it all out down to the exact seats you’ll be sitting
in. Aren’t you thrilled with all the changes the movies have made for your “convenience”?
Okay, now imagine this scenario. You
and your friends are talking and someone brings up the fact that a favorite
musician you all share, will be performing near you in three months. Excited, you all go
online to find out more information and see that you can buy tickets there.
Then you come across what? Another complicated seating chart! The excitement becomes replaced with frustration as most of the good
seats have been already picked. Eventually, you manage to find some. They even come
with directions that include the exact door you should enter through. You hear
your mother mumble something about how that was never the case in her day. “If
you wanted to go to a concert, you’d show up at a booth, buy a ticket, and walk
right into the concert, using whatever door you wanted. Nothing complicated
like this,” she says.
You then come to realize that she's right. The world didn’t used to be like this. Now, everything is scheduled.
Everything is planned. Even trivial matters, such as where to sit at the
movies, are carefully outlined. Somehow the world has managed to suck all the
fun out of activities that are meant to be enjoyable. It becomes clear to you that
the days of spontaneity are over.
Julia, I enjoyed your post but I have to disagree with you. I think the arranged seating has only improved the movie theater. There have been times where my friends and I spent ten minutes trying to find empty seats that were located together. My friend Anna and I went to see “Catching Fire” a couple of weekends ago and missed part of the movie while frantically searching up and down the aisles for two seats together (this was at the Randolph Theater, where they don’t have assigned seating). At the Braintree Theater, however, the assigned seating eliminates time spent searching for seats. And the seats are self-assigned, so you still have some freedom of choosing where you sit. I agree that there is no spontaneity, but I think that overall the organization makes the experience more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteJulia, this is an interesting post. I really can't weigh-in on this debate, because I have never had to choose seats at a movie theatre. I see movies either in Hingham, Randolph, or Boston Common. None of these theatres have assigned seating. Ever since a mouse ran across my wife's lap at Braintree, during the climax of "The Fighter," I have not returned there.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I might naturally tend to agree with Micaela on this one, I think your post addresses an interesting generational phenomenon that warrants exploration. It does seem to me that people - myself included - are much more conscious of scheduling events now than we were in the past. Why is this? I recently bought my first smartphone, just so that I could use the calendar. True story. Even students these days are so much more schedule-conscious than they used to be. When I was a kid, I never carried a calendar. Now, whenever I mention an event in class, students whip out their agenda books and schedule it in.
Your post is quite good, definitely well written. When you think about this issue, though, you might consider the more macro-level perspective that drove Braintree to experiment with this new system. I do agree that it is nice to spontaneously make a decision to see a movie. I still like this freedom, and that is why I see movies in Hingham. I saw "Catching Fire" on opening night. I bought the tickets at the counter, old-school style, and I got great seats.