I firmly believe that the movies are a sacred art. They truly are a highest form of art. Without movies, our lives would be crushing, empty, and cold.
With that said, when I pay to watch a movie in a theatre, I'm not just paying for the benefit to be there... I'm paying for the complete experience. To truly appreciate the big screen, you have to fully give yourself over to the movie... remove yourself from all distractions and to try and really feel and connect with what you're seeing and hearing.
Yet out of the seven out of ten times I've gone to the movies in the past few months, I've always been unpleasantly disturbed at some point: bawling children, cell phone business calls, chit-chat next to me, people walking into the theatre late and then talking...
When you walk into a church, a cemetery, or a library... there is a firm expectation of silence, solemnity, and respect. It is a code of honour to respect the sacred values that these institutions represent. The film theatre, is one such institution, yet for some reason it doesn't often command the same deference or the same respect.
People are truly inconsiderate when they text away, talk loudly, or bring screaming children into these hallowed grounds. Those who truly appreciate the movies have paid good money to experience a part of their soul and a vision of true artistry. It is unfair that others should get to carelessly, thoughtlessly, and negligently (or worse, intentionally) disrupt this experience.
There needs to be consequences to deter such behaviour.
I believe it is time for the government and the theatres to work together to protect the rights of movie-goers.
So NSG, what should we do about this problem?
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Since there is apparently no common law duty of care towards fellow movie-goers (I couldn't find a Canadian case even in nuisance where a private action succeeded related to modern movie theatres), we should create a statutory duty of care. From this moment on... ALL movie-goers owe each other a statutory duty of care to NOT disrupt the film-going experience. If anyone breaches this, the statute should allow a private right of action with high punitive damage awards.
However, it can be expensive or time-consuming for individual plaintiffs to bring forward these types of cases, so clearly... we can't leave it all to civil liability and private suits.
We need broad enforcement powers.
Movie theatres are after all, mostly privately owned and a very non-intrusive way for the government to deal with this is to encourage and incentivize private actors to enforce this policy. I suggest tax credits, retirement benefits, and other benefits packages to cinemas that take extra action to lay down and enforce internal regulations (within reason) to protect movie-goers from getting interfered with. I expect this will have all the threatres throughout the country implementing changes on their own volition in a race to get these benefits and protect the sacred art.
Finally, there should be state-imposed consequences. In the event that a private cinema has lax enforcement mechanisms and no one is willing to launch a private right of action... there will be a regime of regulatory and criminal penalties. The Criminal Code should be amended to include a new offence: Disturbance of the Sacred Peace (the penalty I suggest, should be up to 100,000 Canadian Dollars and 14 months of imprisonment). However, the elements in a Criminal Code provision can be hard to enforce because they often require proof of intention, which is why there should be a counterpart in the non-criminal regulations imposing regulatory fines (I would suggest, up to several thousand Canadian dollars). With this in place, a concerned citizen doesn't have to burden himself with a lawsuit or rely on the goodwill of the guardians of the cinema to enforce his rights, he can simply exit the cinema and call the relevant authorities.
I believe this will solve the problem. Its a very carefully designed three pronged attempt to solve the problem. To reiterate: 1) a statutory duty of care in the cinemas to be enforced by private lawsuits 2) a benefit package to encourage self-policing in the cinemas 3) Criminal and regulatory penalties against offenders.
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So this is my suggestion.
However, I understand there are different points of view and different solutions that others could suggest.
What do you think?
Have you ever been interrupted while in a theatre? Do you think this is a serious problem? What do you suggest we do about it?
What should be done about this problem NSG?
