|
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Author
|
Topic: How to stop / discourage kids from making out or more in theaters.
|
Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000
|
posted 09-18-2008 08:57 PM
quote: Andrew Bangs
We have a problem now and it is kids, usually high school or college, doing some serious making out or even other more private activities, in the theaters.
You're just now experiencing this? I could open a second hand store with all the different articles of clothing we've picked up out of theatres over the years. I'm sure others here have seen girls leaving the movie with the tag of their sweater sticking up under their chin. What I don't get is how you can forget your bra. Wouldn't you notice that something feels different?
I think it really took off when drive ins started shutting down. Most kids don't care. They'll have something to brag to their friends about. Most adults too for that matter. Stadium seating seems to limit the behavior. Is it that big a nuisance? I can't really believe too many parents would be finding out about this from their kids that work there and then complaining about their little Johnny being exposed to such filth.
To Galen's comments, many theatre chains do not allow employees under 17 to enter theatres playing R rated films. Its a double standard if you deny your customers but afford your employees that privilege. As far as what they can expect to be exposed to, there is no way upon hiring you can tell an employee to expect to see to real people doing some real acts. That's ridiculous. In that regard, maybe the parents do have a legitimate complaint.
Maybe the suggestions were a joke, but I would stay far away from photographing anything, in case one of them does happen to be a minor. I would stick with the bright flashlight idea and tell the concerned parents you are glad they are concerned and you are welcoming suggestions as to how to stop kids from wanting to have sex.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
|
posted 09-19-2008 11:45 AM
quote: Chad Souder
To Galen's comments, many theatre chains do not allow employees under 17 to enter theatres playing R rated films. Its a double standard if you deny your customers but afford your employees that privilege. As far as what they can expect to be exposed to, there is no way upon hiring you can tell an employee to expect to see to real people doing some real acts. That's ridiculous. In that regard, maybe the parents do have a legitimate complaint.
Then I would say many theater chains are stupid. If you hire people to do a job which includes patrolling theaters, and then disallow them from patrolling certain theaters based on the MPAA's arbitrary ass rating system, you are dumb. My previous theater allowed 16 and up to see R rated movies, and had a minimum hiring age of 16. Problem solved. I'm not advocating that anyone make 16 year olds go slap some half naked kids around, but part of the typical usher's job description is to patrol auditoriums for unruly patrons.
If they are understandably uncomfortable with approaching two people having sex, they can certainly identify people who appear to be having sex from a distance (thus diminishing the likelihood of seeing even partial nudity) and go get someone else to throw the people out. Managers make the "big bucks" for dealing with crazy customers, so let them do it, but I know I usually have more important things to do on a Friday night than to do theater patrols constantly.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Jack Ondracek
Film God
Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002
|
posted 09-19-2008 12:53 PM
Somewhere along the line, I formed the impression that the big chains really don't want to hear comments from their customers... good or bad. Think about it... if you have anywhere from a few hundred screens to a few thousand, the staffing you'd have to have to read and respond to even one comment from each screen per day would mean having to add a floor to your building.
No... I think the chains expect the Managers to insulate them from the customers. That's why most of them have big rolls of passes in their safes, and that's why you don't hear much about confrontations between management and customers, even when warranted.
On the other hand, a privately-owned business, where the owner IS the manager, is usually much different. We generally know who we want to serve, what kind of atmosphere we want to encourage and what limits of behaviour we're willing to accept. That can tend to fly in the face of some customers' attitudes, when they think that an admissions ticket buys them a piece of the rock.
Because of the "hands off" policies of the chains, I think it surprises people to learn that private theatres can enforce policies not much different than if the customers were in the owner's back yard... which sometimes, they are.
I'm not sure we'd go the squirt gun route, but we do find ourselves dealing with behavior that's not directly related to the movie on the screen ![[Wink]](wink.gif) .
Generally, most problems are fixed by telling them that we're a family show, but that doesn't include making one at our place (a drive-in!). If what they're doing is obviously visible to other customers and staff, we just send them down the road. Law enforcement's always an option, but we rarely need to go that far.
The point is that we can deal with unwanted behavior, and we do. A chain manager may not want to, may not be required to, and possibly, for reasons of liability or just financial greed on the part of his boss, could be prohibited from corrective interaction with customers, except in fairly well-defined circumstances.
If the chains aren't willing to get aggressive with cell phones and loud conversation, why should you expect them to deal with "spit swapping" (that was funny!) and 'related activities' in the auditoriums?
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000
|
posted 09-19-2008 09:39 PM
[QUOTE] My previous theater allowed 16 and up to see R rated movies, and had a minimum hiring age of 16. Problem solved. /QUOTE] Actually, problem created. Not to wander too far off topic, but this is a major fault of some theatres. I know you're no longer affiliated with this theatre, but it is exactly that kind of non-compliance with the MPAA rating system that will ultimately lead to a bored session of congress making it law. That would be horrible for all of us. This has obviously been discussed around here before, but like the system or not, the government does compliance checks regularly at theatres large and small and if their non-compliance percentages come back too high for long enough, the rating system will become law and those 16 year olds that work there either won't work there any more or will be strictly prohibited from entering auditoriums showing R rated pictures, much like you have to be so old to serve alcohol. Beg your higher-ups to comply with the rating system, as it is this compliance that is keeping the rating system in our hands, or keeps it arbitrary ass as you put it, instead of legal ass.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
|
posted 09-20-2008 08:29 AM
In order for any legal rating system to stand the scrutiny of the courts, it would have to have infinitely more transparency than the MPAA's "system." I'm not saying that it would be better, just that the inevitable challenges would destroy it if it were not based on an extremely codified set of standards. One of the few explicit rules the MPAA has is its "one fuck" rule which, while hilarious, makes no logical sense.
As much as I prefer self-regulation over government interference, I don't think the 17 year old rule has a legal leg to stand on. If it became a matter of law, it would almost certainly have to migrate a year up to 18, which the industry's lobby would fight tooth and nail. Plus, when it comes to swaying public opinion, Hollywood has an advantage over Washington.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic