Crouching Lightsabre, Hidden Boredom
Dubai cinema etiquette is among the most deficient in the entire world. From wailing babies at late night showings of adult-targeted films to loud mobile phone conversations in quiet scenes, it's no wonder the DVD pirates do such a roaring trade. The peace of one's own home makes the shaky, blurry picture and often Chinese-language audio track all worthwhile.
But when it comes to a film so turgid and tedious as that featuring Ewan McGregor with gingery face-fungus and a stupid animated troll unable to grasp English syntax after decades of practice, interruptions become quite appealing. The twenty-minute "love you love you love acha hay tika hay" mobile call in the next seat was far more entertaining than trying to work out which - if any - of the cast were actually played by humans rather than robots.
But when it comes to a film so turgid and tedious as that featuring Ewan McGregor with gingery face-fungus and a stupid animated troll unable to grasp English syntax after decades of practice, interruptions become quite appealing. The twenty-minute "love you love you love acha hay tika hay" mobile call in the next seat was far more entertaining than trying to work out which - if any - of the cast were actually played by humans rather than robots.
14 Comments:
Interesting site.
How about posting some pictures of the place?
hahahaha @ ring tone
While we are used to the (lack of) phone etiquette in cinemas, our visit to Mercato yesterday to see Star Wars was marred by something completely different. BetterArf had entered the cinema somewhat earlier than me (I needed a toilet break). She found her seat occupied by a kid, asked him to move, and was told that he was waiting for his mother and didn't know where he was supposed to sit. After a while the mother turned up, berated BetterArf for harrassing her son ('he's only ten!'), and took their proper seats.
Sometime into the movie, after taking a few phone calls on her high-intensity phone, the mother started yelling at the guy sitting behind her son. I couldn't hear what it was about, but she left the cinema for a while and came back with some security guys. They spoke to the guy in the row behind us, he left the room for a few minutes and then came back.
As we left the auditorium, we saw him, and he showed us his free tickets for another movie and explained that the mad woman had accused him of touching her kid's hair. It seems the management are up to speed on this particular lady, and deem it easier to give out free tickets to her victims than to stop her patronising their establishment altogether.
Weird!
That is the most bizarre story ever! What nationality was she?
Why is her nationality relevant? I think we can all agree that neurotic, overprotective mothers transcend cultural boundaries; they are annoying in any language.
Why is her nationality relevant? I think we can all agree that neurotic, overprotective mothers transcend cultural boundaries; they are annoying in any language.
True! It is relevant only so far as some nationalities are treated better than others here: some can get away with far worse behaviour than others. For example, I wouldn't think twice about asking another expat to be quiet in the cinema, or to stop smoking in a non-smoking area, but I would almost certainly not ask a local to.
Begins with L
Second letter O (5 letters altogether)
Oh dear ;)
First of all... BRILLIANT title! I killed myself laughing at that alone!
You are SO right about the Dubai cinema experience. It is an exercise in infuriation if ever there was one!
You should just drive down to sharjah. Sure, there is some traffic to deal with, but you won't have to worry about being interrupted given that most screenings are usually empty.
Isn't that the truth! This is exactly why i hate going to the movies. I went as far as thinking of bringing a stunt gun in to punish those annoying people lol
There exists considerable statistical discrimination against nationals in the Gulf; See
saudi-cab-drivers-harmed-by-their-own-rights: The Emirates Economist
and the links therein.
The reason is that the obvious one noted in these comments: they have a preferred legal status. Some of those then abuse that status, to the detriment of the general perception of that group. Stereotypes of groups are often true, and invariably the stereotypes are not inherent genetic differences but differences in institutions that are beyond the individual's control.
It's one of Chilton's maxims, borrowed from John Stuart Mill. We're all the same; unexceptional. Only the institutions that surround us are exceptional; sometimes, exceptionally bad.
In some cases sellers (or buyers as in the case of Saudi taxi drivers noted in the link) can discriminate and choose not to trade with someone identified as a national. In other cases, as in the case of movie theaters, you can't.
By the way, to deal with the talking and mobile phone problems, there shouldn't be any problem with the new 21 screen theater offering the same film with different rules of behavior. Right? It would be good for business, if the complaints in these comments are the tip of the iceberg. And I think they are.
Ok I realise that this is an old post... what happened to the 'phone jammers' they had in operation at some of these cinemas?
There was a whole year of peace until they allowed phone service at Grand Cineplex again!
Post a Comment
<< Home