Cellphone Ban in Movie Theaters 電影院：該不該和手機說拜拜？

溫婷

相信每個人都有過這樣的經歷：買了電影票和可樂爆米花，坐下來準備好好欣賞期待已久的電影。突然漆黑的電影院里閃起一道亮光，響起刺耳的鈴聲，“喂？”把人嚇一跳的同時，讓原本沉醉于電影里的你一下子跌落出來，好不容易收拾心情把注意力重新放回屏幕上，不遠處又一個手機屏幕亮起來！針對這一令人抓狂的現象，電影院又該如何應對呢？

Its become a sadly common experience at this point： a night out at the movies， a fortune shelled out on tickets and snacks，1 suddenly ruined by someone in the audience taking out their phone. Some theater chains recognize how annoying this problem is for viewers： The Alamo Drafthouse has a zero-tolerance policy and will eject any patron distracting viewers with their light-up screen.2 But not every company is following suit—according to the new CEO of the theater chain AMC， the battle against moviegoers who use their phones has already been lost.3

“When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone， dont ruin the movie， they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow，”4 Adam Aron said in an interview with Variety. “You cant tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. Thats not how they live their life.” You heard him： The youngsters5 simply cant sit still for two hours without checking their phones， so we might as well abandon hope. But one of the chief advantages of the theatrical experience is being removed from such distractions， and in a time when cinema chains are being threatened by expanded home-viewing options， they should try to promote that distinction， rather than abandon it.6

The biggest problem with cellphone use in a theater is that it doesnt just distract someones seat-mates； the annoyance of a screen lighting up is unavoidable to anyone in the rows behind the phone user as well.7 Ive watched someone go through their emails for a good 10 minutes while I was sitting 10 rows behind them， and all I could do was wait for someone nearby to tap them on the shoulder.8 At a recent viewing of Zoolander 2， I sat next to someone who excitedly took out their mobile device， opened their Notes app， and wrote down the name of every celebrity cameo in the film.9 （If you havent seen Zoolander 2， it has a lot of celebrity cameos.） The film writer Matt Singer recently recalled10 someone taking pictures of the screen during a 3D movie， perhaps unaware that their phone didnt also have 3D glasses on.

As cellphone use has proliferated， movie theaters have divided into two camps： Smaller businesses like the Alamo Drafthouse that make a point of strictly enforcing behavioral rules for its theatergoers， and larger chains like Regal and AMC that remind viewers to turn off their phones before the movie starts but pay no real heed after that.11 When Aron， who became CEO of AMC a few months ago， opines on encouraging texting， hes acknowledging the truth that unchecked phone use is already rampant in cineplexes around the country.12

Arons argument is largely generational. Millennials13 love their phones， and they experience and document all their media experiences with them， so why deny them that right？ “Were going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesnt disturb todays audiences，” he acknowledged. “Todays moviegoer doesnt want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on.” Todays moviegoer doesnt， but according to this 60-something CEO， tomorrows does， and thats a reality to be lived with， not challenged.

One possibility， raised by Varietys Brent Lang， is to have “a certain section” of the theater reserved for texting； Aron also suggests making “specific auditoriums14” texting-friendly. One can only imagine such a nightmarish environment， as Batman v Superman plays on the big screen while much tinier screens light up every other second around you.15 In a perfect world， such a ticket would be available at rock-bottom prices， but Aron is probably imagining the opposite： yet another surcharge to help float the revenue stream of the struggling theater industry.16 Whatever generational gulf might exist on this issue， Aron is still taking the most patronizing approach.17 A film is objectively less enjoyable， for you and everyone around you， if you look at your phone while it plays； telling “Millennials” that they dont have the discipline to keep their phones in their pockets for two hours doesnt change that fact.18

1. fortune： 大筆的錢；shell out： 支付。

2. chain： 連鎖店；Alamo Drafthouse： 美國得克薩斯州一家連鎖電影院，因其嚴格的觀影政策而聞名；zero-tolerance： 零容忍，絕不姑息；eject： 驅逐，強制離開；patron： 顧客。

3. follow suit： 照著做，如法炮制；AMC： 美國AMC影院公司，是全球排名第二的院線集團；moviegoer： 常看電影的人。

4. “當你讓一個22歲的人關掉手機，不要毀了電影，這對他們而言就相當于是讓他們砍掉整條左臂。”elbow： 手肘。

5. youngster： 年輕人。

6. 然而，去電影院看電影最大的優點應該是可以遠離這些干擾，在這個連鎖電影院越來越受到家庭影院設備威脅的時代，影院應該全力突出這一特質，而不是放棄它。theatrical： 戲劇的，戲場的；distraction： 使人分心的事物； distinction： 特質，特性。

7. seat-mate： 鄰座的人；annoyance： 使人煩惱的事。

8. go through： 瀏覽；good： （數額、大小、范圍等）相當大的；tap sb. on the shoulder： 拍某人的肩膀。

9. Zoolander 2： 《超級名模2》，2016年上映的美國喜劇片；celebrity cameo： 電影里客串的名人。

10. recall： 回想起。

11. 面對越來越多的人在觀影時使用手機，電影院分成了兩大陣營：如Alamo Drafthouse電影院之類的小公司對觀眾強調嚴格執行行為規范，而大一些的連鎖影院如Regal影院和AMC公司則會在電影開始之前提醒觀眾關閉手機，之后并不真正在意它。proliferate： 激增；camp： 陣營；make a point： 特別重視，特意強調；enforce： 實施，執行；behavioral： 行為的；pay heed to： 留心，注意。

12. 當幾個月前剛成為AMC公司首席執行官的阿倫表示鼓勵觀眾發短信時，其實他也就承認了未加控制的手機使用行為在全國影院十分普遍。 opine： 認為，以為；unchecked： 未受到抑制的；rampant： 蔓延的，猖獗的；cineplex： 影城，多觀眾廳電影院。

13. millennial： 千禧一代，通常指1984—1995年出生的一代，他們幾乎與電腦同時誕生，在互聯網的陪伴下長大。

14. auditorium： 觀眾席。

15. nightmarish： 噩夢般的，不愉快的； Batman v Superman： 《蝙蝠俠大戰超人：正義黎明》，2016年上映的美國科幻動作片。

16. 在完美的世界中，這樣的電影票可能會是最低的價格，然而阿倫卻認為恰恰相反：這將成為拯救形勢艱難、收入浮動的影院產業的又一附加收入。rock-bottom： 最低的；surcharge： 附加費用，額外收費；revenue stream： 收入來源。

17. gulf： 鴻溝，隔閡；patronizing： 顯得高人一等的。

18. objectively： 客觀地；discipline： 自制力。