DEAR MISS MANNERS: In a small movie theater, at the end of the show, the couple sitting two seats away from me asked if I had enjoyed the movie.
I smiled and said very much so, and they proceeded to tell me in front of others that I had completely ruined it for them because of my noisy popcorn chewing, and they hadn't been able to hear a thing. I apologized and said they should have told me sooner.
I was horribly mortified and upset, and when I ran into them in the lobby on the way out, I explained that I am the sole caregiver for my disabled husband and am able to get to a movie twice a year at best, and if it was any consolation for them, they had also now completely ruined the experience for me.
I again said they should have said something sooner and walked away before giving them a chance to reply.
Is there any way this could have been handled better by either party? I also don't believe I chew popcorn any louder than anyone else and have certainly never been told so before.
GENTLE READER: Well, Miss Manners is not in a position to weigh in on that. She does agree, however, that if the offending noises were such that the couple could not enjoy the movie, they should have said something at the onset. Something such as, "Excuse me, the popcorn seems to be unusually crunchy, and our seats are so close together. I wonder if you would mind chewing a little more quietly."
Miss Manners cannot guarantee that you would have been any less taken aback by the request, but at least it would have been made politely.
She didn't confront them. They approached her first.
I was horribly mortified and upset, and when I ran into them in the lobby on the way out, I explained that I am the sole caregiver for my disabled husband and am able to get to a movie twice a year at best, and if it was any consolation for them, they had also now completely ruined the experience for me.
__________________
Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
In a movie theater, if you are munching popcorn loud enough to drown out the movie, then you HAVE to be an animal.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I thought this letter was going to be about the jerks who litter the theater with popcorn.
I've known people who are super sensitive to chewing noises so I'm not too surprised someone would complain about the woman chewing her popcorn loudly.
I've never been able to hear the person beside me eat popcorn during any movie.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Unless the person is a loud muncher, I can't hear it in my own living room over the tv.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
The point is, in a theater, several seats away, I really doubt someone eating popcorn is going to drown out the sound of the movie.
I don't care how old or small the theater is.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
What A-holes! They obviously had popcorn envy because if they were enjoying munching on their own they would never have noticed someone else a few chairs away munching.
Another reason I prefer to watch movies in the comfort of home.
WE ate a ton of popcorn at the movie yesterday, and we were not the loud, annoying ones. The SAME family did the following:
Brought a child too young that cried out several times during the movie.
Did not silence their cell phone and it went off (mind you they were sitting there during the "silence the phone" on the screen for 3 full minutes.
Played with their keys and dropped them on the floor (sounded like a janitor's ring).
Let their kids stand up and lean over the seat of those in front of them (me).
__________________
LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I expect kids to be at a kids movie and I expect the kids at a kids movie to not be the best movie watchers.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I can't even hear myself eating popcorn in a movie theater. How the heck could they hear it at such a great volume that it ruined the move from two seats away?
