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Topic: Alabama Drive-In Cancells Beauty And The Beast Over Gay Character

Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-06-2017 06:25 AM

quote: James Wyrembelski
I really don't know why this story got any traction. ONE theater decides to not show it due to this and its become national news.

The news media is driven by sanctimonious outrage, and if none exists on any given day, it has to be manufactured. A few years back, it was a bunch of theaters in Utah that refused to show Brokeback Mountain. Same thing. The whole Eyewitness News "If it bleeds, it leads" thing doesn't work anymore, and has been replaced by reporting things that people can get their balls into an uproar about, no matter how minor.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 03-06-2017 10:30 AM

"The media" is a very popular target for criticism these days. Sadly, very few people seem to be aware of an enormous hypocrisy present in that criticism. Basically, it takes two to to tango. The American public is the other partner in this dance of decadance. The public made "the media" what it is today. It's all our fault. But we accept no responsibility for creating this situation.

The purpose of "the media" is to make money selling advertising. They're doing whatever they can to get more eyes on their TV channels, web pages or other outlets. They're giving their viewers/readers what they want. And what the public wants is various name-branded echo-chambers that specifically cater to their own already long-held hard-lined biases, stirring up their emotions in the process.

The general public, collectively, just absolutely loves to get pissed off about something. Many of us love indulding in feelings of anger and judgment. We also take joy in the humiliation of others, especially a public figure who has "fallen from grace." The media obliges, holding up various targets for our scorn.

Much of this human behavior was present before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. However, over the past 30 years we have seen the relationship between "the media" and the public change dramatically. Decades ago concepts like ethics in journalism were considered more important. Media companies were proud to say their news divisions were losing money. They just didn't touch on the money making formula yet.

Nearly 30 years ago talk radio and always-on cable news programming was first to figure out the fact people love turning in to get pissed off. Since then they have refined the model, amping up the emotional sensationalism to make the content more potent, able to deliver a bigger rush. Viewers/readers keep coming back to it the same way a heroin junkie searches out his pusher to score a fix.

I think all the on-screen ticker trash is one example of the manipulation. Prior to 9-11-01 a viewer usually only saw a text ticker on the bottom of the screen when there was a tornado watch or if he was watching a stock ticker on a business channel. Viewers tuned in to 9-11 coverage as if keeping vigil, constantly reading the latest developments on those tickers. Those on-screen graphics have been a permanent fixture since then.

The most harmful thing "the media" discovered about the general public is its sheer gullibility and narrow-mindedness. We are so easy to manipulate. In recent years we've seen this new breed of "news" web sites sprout to take advantage, delivering nothing short of propaganda, misinformation and even messages of hatred.

I'm not sure what the the public can do to turn around this mess, but it's all on them to make it happen. I personally don't bother with 24 hour cable news networks. Even the morning news on the broadcast channels is hard to take at times. This morning Good Morning America was running a story about Michael Jackson's kids. They showed video from the Motown 25 TV special in 1983 where Jackson first performed his "moonwalk." The fucking on-screen ticker trash completely covered up Jackson's feet.
[Roll Eyes]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-06-2017 10:47 AM

The drive-in might see a boost in popularity due to being "that famous drive-in" but that'd be short lived, if it happens. Their mistake, as noted earlier, was their Facebook post. They should have just told their booker they didn't want to play "Beauty" and moved on to other things. When people started to ask questions, they could have just said "We couldn't get it for a variety of reasons" and left it at that.

The "50 Shades" movies sort of fall outside my moral compass, but we still played "50 Shades of Grey" last year. This year, the sequel didn't get near the attention so we just opted not to play it, having plenty of other good things to choose from. But I didn't tell anybody my feelings about the movie, we just promoted "Lego Batman."

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 03-06-2017 02:17 PM

What troubles me about this situation is the owner is using his unique position to act as moral barometer for his community. I accept their right to sell whatever product they feel best suits their business. I just think it is ethically wrong to use your position to impose your morality on the community. In a small community with limited access to movies, I think it becomes a much bigger issue than if they decided to specialize in a larger community with many other choices.

As far as this story getting so much attention, I think it was only a matter of time once they put it out there that this was a moral decision. Whether it was their Facebook post, or just something they told people who asked about the movie. Issues related to the LGBTQ community have much greater awareness today than even 5 years ago. A story like this had no chance of staying local.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-06-2017 02:37 PM

quote: James Wyrembelski
I really don't know why this story got any traction.

Because it came immediately after Disney started promoting that it has a gay character in the movie. Gave the story a hook (besides "Look at what backwards Alabama is doing now." It's not as though we aren't in the news enough these days).

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-06-2017 03:31 PM

And all of this happening before the freaking movie is released. I have heard that the "gay moment" in the movie is two male characters dancing. Not exactly groundbreaking. I have a feeling a lot of people who are expecting some major statement are going to be saying "That's IT?" at the end of the movie.

I just hope this whole thing doesn't overshadow what promises to be a good movie.

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 03-06-2017 04:00 PM

If you think about the character from the animated movie, LeFou comes across as possibly being gay. His infatuation Gaston always seemed a bit too adoring.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-06-2017 10:35 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
And all of this happening before the freaking movie is released.

Remember all the fun with The Last Temptation of Christ before it was released? For that matter, before it was even completed.

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James Wyrembelski
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 114
From: Beaverton, MI, USA
Registered: Sep 2015

posted 03-06-2017 11:08 PM

Interestingly enough, typing in "Movie theaters in Alabama" brings up no Henagar Drive In. If you specifically search for Henagar Drive In Theater it brings it up and lists it as a "church" along with 21 brand new 1 star reviews.

quote: Mike Blakesley
They should have just told their booker they didn't want to play "Beauty" and moved on to other things. When people started to ask questions, they could have just said "We couldn't get it for a variety of reasons" and left it at that.

This would have been a much more tactical approach. They shot themselves in the foot with this one.

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Martin Murray
Film Handler

Posts: 69
From: ennis tx
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 03-06-2017 11:34 PM

Mike Blakesley, Their newfound popularity did not tranfer to dollars in the bank, rumor has it that they turned in $0 on Friday, $175 on Saturday, and $0 on Sunday to rentrac. They are done.

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 03-07-2017 06:02 AM

I expect that at some point the story will gain traction with some conservative religious site or network, and they will see a short term surge in support, likely including people making pilgrimages to support them. Of course this will fade rather quickly and they will find out whether they have a sustainable business model.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-07-2017 12:02 PM

quote: Martin Murray
Mike Blakesley, Their newfound popularity did not tranfer to dollars in the bank, rumor has it that they turned in $0 on Friday, $175 on Saturday, and $0 on Sunday to rentrac. They are done.

Well that doesn't mean much....they could just be lax in their Rentrak reporting.

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Martin Murray
Film Handler

Posts: 69
From: ennis tx
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 03-07-2017 12:13 PM

Yes, im sure that's what itis. Lol

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-07-2017 12:50 PM

Just checked rentrak. The Saturday number is correct. Total for a double feature for the weekend was a bit over $300 (as rentrak numbers are supposed to be proprietary, I choose not to quote them exactly).
I've had worse weekends. I'll keep a eye on their grosses.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 03-08-2017 08:11 AM

I am very close to a theatre in a town that is heavily Amish. 40%. Best to run the film, but be honest with the people about things they might find objectionable. Light suggestion at the box office that there is some"xxxx" that you might not like.

Let them determine what to do.

This is called respect and honor.

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