Cellphone Ban in Movie Theaters 电影院：该不该和手机说拜拜？

温婷

相信每个人都有过这样的经历：买了电影票和可乐爆米花，坐下来准备好好欣赏期待已久的电影。突然漆黑的电影院里闪起一道亮光，响起刺耳的铃声，“喂？”把人吓一跳的同时，让原本沉醉于电影里的你一下子跌落出来，好不容易收拾心情把注意力重新放回屏幕上，不远处又一个手机屏幕亮起来！针对这一令人抓狂的现象，电影院又该如何应对呢？

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： 大笔的钱；shell out： 支付。

2. chain： 连锁店；Alamo Drafthouse： 美国得克萨斯州一家连锁电影院，因其严格的观影政策而闻名；zero-tolerance： 零容忍，绝不姑息；eject： 驱逐，强制离开；patron： 顾客。

3. follow suit： 照着做，如法炮制；AMC： 美国AMC影院公司，是全球排名第二的院线集团；moviegoer： 常看电影的人。

4. “当你让一个22岁的人关掉手机，不要毁了电影，这对他们而言就相当于是让他们砍掉整条左臂。”elbow： 手肘。

5. youngster： 年轻人。

6. 然而，去电影院看电影最大的优点应该是可以远离这些干扰，在这个连锁电影院越来越受到家庭影院设备威胁的时代，影院应该全力突出这一特质，而不是放弃它。theatrical： 戏剧的，戏场的；distraction： 使人分心的事物； distinction： 特质，特性。

7. seat-mate： 邻座的人；annoyance： 使人烦恼的事。

8. go through： 浏览；good： （数额、大小、范围等）相当大的；tap sb. on the shoulder： 拍某人的肩膀。

9. Zoolander 2： 《超级名模2》，2016年上映的美国喜剧片；celebrity cameo： 电影里客串的名人。

10. recall： 回想起。

11. 面对越来越多的人在观影时使用手机，电影院分成了两大阵营：如Alamo Drafthouse电影院之类的小公司对观众强调严格执行行为规范，而大一些的连锁影院如Regal影院和AMC公司则会在电影开始之前提醒观众关闭手机，之后并不真正在意它。proliferate： 激增；camp： 阵营；make a point： 特别重视，特意强调；enforce： 实施，执行；behavioral： 行为的；pay heed to： 留心，注意。

12. 当几个月前刚成为AMC公司首席执行官的阿伦表示鼓励观众发短信时，其实他也就承认了未加控制的手机使用行为在全国影院十分普遍。 opine： 认为，以为；unchecked： 未受到抑制的；rampant： 蔓延的，猖獗的；cineplex： 影城，多观众厅电影院。

13. millennial： 千禧一代，通常指1984—1995年出生的一代，他们几乎与电脑同时诞生，在互联网的陪伴下长大。

14. auditorium： 观众席。

15. nightmarish： 噩梦般的，不愉快的； Batman v Superman： 《蝙蝠侠大战超人：正义黎明》，2016年上映的美国科幻动作片。

16. 在完美的世界中，这样的电影票可能会是最低的价格，然而阿伦却认为恰恰相反：这将成为拯救形势艰难、收入浮动的影院产业的又一附加收入。rock-bottom： 最低的；surcharge： 附加费用，额外收费；revenue stream： 收入来源。

17. gulf： 鸿沟，隔阂；patronizing： 显得高人一等的。

18. objectively： 客观地；discipline： 自制力。