The backlash on on phone usage in theaters increases

Lord knows noisy people have been the bane of movie theaters since magic lantern shows became popular. And before that it can only be assumed it was a nuisance at playhouses and the opera. Of course, back in the day there was a certain social stigma associated with being an irritating disruption to other people’s entertainment. Being a jerk could get you blacklisted from all the best social events for the rest of the year. And if you’ve ever seen a portrait of Beethoven, he doesn’t look like the kinda guy you’d want to PO during a performance. But somewhere along the way, maybe about the time it became popular to fire your six-gun at the ceiling during a can-can routine, audiences became more tolerant of people talking during a show. About all an inconsiderate ninny could expect to endure would be a chorus of shushes. And then of course technology, which has revolutionized so much else in our lives, introduced a new device to torment the movie going crowd: the cell phone. Read ahead to see what’s being done about this growing epidemic of cell phone usage in movie theaters!

Who among us hasn’t been annoyed by a ringing cell phone during a movie? Or worse, someone talking on one? But of course there’s been a backlash, and some seem to have reached their breaking point. Witness the recent case of movie blogger Alex Billington who, upon seeing a fellow critic recording a movie on their cell phone at the Toronto International Film Festival, actually called 911. Never mind that this was at a showing for critics and journalists where such recording was allowed, and that, presumably, the offender wasn’t being noisy. Some might think this a bit of an overreaction, and indeed some have. Tweeted another critic, Scott Weinberg, “911 is for emergencies, you embarrassingly unprofessional attention-starved stooge.” Well said, sir.

And then there’s the new Geico Hump Day/Movie Day commercial. You’ve probably seen the one set in an office and maybe the new one but if not it’s basically a PSA starring an obnoxious camel reminding folks to turn off their cell phones in movie theaters. Apparently Geico figured they could reproduce the phenomenal success of their beloved spokeslizard (excusez-moi, spokesgecko) with a smart-alecky dromedary, whose name happens to be Caleb by the way. And apparently they’re spot on, according to ABC News. As of Oct. 8, the commercial had been viewed 16 million times on YouTube and spawned 50,000 spoof videos, and the phrase ‘It’s Hump Day’ has become such an annoyance to teachers at one Connecticut middle school that they’ve virtually banned it. It’s reminiscent of ‘Where’s The Beef?’ and ‘Help! I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up!’ for those of a couple generations ago.

As dire as the problem of cell phone usage in movie theaters is, you could be excused if you toyed with the opinion that maybe Geico, an auto insurance company, might have been better served by producing a commercial addressing the arguably more serious problem of driving while talking or texting. But then we’re movie buffs here, and we can’t help but applaud Geico’s efforts to combat this insidious problem.

And for those of you whose narcissistic personality disorder tempts you to use your phone at the movies, and you know who you are, Android cell phones have plenty of features that make it a breeze to disable them. If all else fails, do the rest of us a favor: Stay home and watch the movie on your phone.

BTM Guest Author: Lester Frazier / Lester loves his smartphone and dedicates his time to writing about mobile phones.