I went to the cinema the other night. What a different experience it is these days. Book and pay for tickets online, choose your seat and know that there will be no scramble for space when you arrive.
It was the latest Bond Film - Skyfall, and of course therefore unmissable.
Tickets nowadays cost an arm and leg and the prices of consumables is unbelievable. Gone are the days of the bored usherettes braving the crowds at intervals, in fact by and large, gone are the intervals. Nowadays it is hot seating, with a cursory cleaning of the aisles between showings.
The show began at 5.45pm and being sticklers for good timekeeping, we took our seats at 5.35. Clearly this is not the done thing as the place was more or less empty and yet when booking, available tickets were few and far between. For the next 25 minutes, people drifted in, armed with soft drinks and mountains of popcorn and were still doing so as the main feature began. Whatever you go to see these days, there is always someone who is late, and the same someone or someones are always those whose seats are the least accessible, and they in turn are the ones most likely to make a noise as they take their time to settle down. On this occasion the last to come in were of course at the far end of our row. I was reminded of why I am becoming less and less fond of the majority of fellow people. So many of the values that were instilled into my generation seem to have gone by the board. It isn't just punctuality, it is also consideration for others that seems so unimportant to many. The last concert I attended at the O2 was partly ruined by people in the same row, wandering from seat to bar and back again and then from seat to the toilet and so on. Basic manners seem to have gone by the board, and any criticism of bad behaviour is likely to raise a violent or abusive response and so by and large we are all allowing the tail to wag the dog. We are becoming less and less civilised and this is obvious in all aspects of our lives. There is less and less respect for any sort of authority; pretty soon the job of referee in football will become untenable, the police force seems under fire from all sides and teachers have had all authority taken away from them over the years. It is not hard to imagine the possibility of an anarchistic future.
The film was enjoyable as Bond films tend to be, and the premises both clean and comfortable, though on balance, I can see why more and more people are more likely to watch films in the comfort of their own homes and away from the population in general.
It was the latest Bond Film - Skyfall, and of course therefore unmissable.
Tickets nowadays cost an arm and leg and the prices of consumables is unbelievable. Gone are the days of the bored usherettes braving the crowds at intervals, in fact by and large, gone are the intervals. Nowadays it is hot seating, with a cursory cleaning of the aisles between showings.
The show began at 5.45pm and being sticklers for good timekeeping, we took our seats at 5.35. Clearly this is not the done thing as the place was more or less empty and yet when booking, available tickets were few and far between. For the next 25 minutes, people drifted in, armed with soft drinks and mountains of popcorn and were still doing so as the main feature began. Whatever you go to see these days, there is always someone who is late, and the same someone or someones are always those whose seats are the least accessible, and they in turn are the ones most likely to make a noise as they take their time to settle down. On this occasion the last to come in were of course at the far end of our row. I was reminded of why I am becoming less and less fond of the majority of fellow people. So many of the values that were instilled into my generation seem to have gone by the board. It isn't just punctuality, it is also consideration for others that seems so unimportant to many. The last concert I attended at the O2 was partly ruined by people in the same row, wandering from seat to bar and back again and then from seat to the toilet and so on. Basic manners seem to have gone by the board, and any criticism of bad behaviour is likely to raise a violent or abusive response and so by and large we are all allowing the tail to wag the dog. We are becoming less and less civilised and this is obvious in all aspects of our lives. There is less and less respect for any sort of authority; pretty soon the job of referee in football will become untenable, the police force seems under fire from all sides and teachers have had all authority taken away from them over the years. It is not hard to imagine the possibility of an anarchistic future.
The film was enjoyable as Bond films tend to be, and the premises both clean and comfortable, though on balance, I can see why more and more people are more likely to watch films in the comfort of their own homes and away from the population in general.
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