In the wake of the film’s release, cinemagoers have been sharing footage of crowds watching the film, with certain moments prompting loud, vocal responses from the people in attendance.
One moment, which features prominently in the film’s trailer, sees Black and Momoa confronted in a boxing ring by a cuboid Minecraft chicken, who is ridden around the ring by another character. “Chicken jockey,” exclaims Black’s character, a reference to the video game that seems to be sending audiences wild.
Several videos captured by cinemagoers show audiences chanting the line along with Black, before whooping and clapping loudly. On social media, many people attested that they had witnessed, or participated in, similar outbursts.
“My theater clapped every time Jack Black name dropped a Minecraft item that was in the trailers, and when he said Chicken Jockey I s*** you not the entire row in front of me gave a standing ovation,” one person shared.
“Just got back from watching the movie myself, can confirm everyone in the theater collectively yelled ‘CHICKEN JOCKEY’ during that moment and it was glorious ngl,” wrote another.
“This is what made me love my experience more, bc even though the movie wasn’t as bad as i thought it was going to be, the packed cinema with everyone shouting, clapping and cheering whenever jack black name dropped something genuinely gave me so much joy,” commented someone else.
However, the phenomenon has drawn staunch criticism from others, with some claiming that audience participation had “ruined” the theatrical experience for them.
Isn’t audience participation part of the theater experience?
For stage shows that have some audience participation as an element, sure. For most other cases, it just seems like people who don’t know how to behave themselves in public. Like, sure, go for it if you’re at a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening, or the theater advertised it as a sing along screening, but otherwise, it’s inappropriate and inconsiderate.
How did TRHPS experience become what we know it as today?
Imagine hearing about TRHPS in 1976 or 1977 and going to see it and experiencing it especially without knowing fully what you were walking into?
What is different about the emergence of participatory memes for Minecraft vs. the established memes for TRHPS? The quickness of the behavior? The documentation of it? The fact that it’s new for us now and not something we inherited?
Quite Frankenfurtively, I’d rather be in the theater with a bunch of people enjoying it as opposed to people sitting there rigidly watching what amounts to be a very silly movie.
And besides, if people are so upset, ask for a refund or comp ticket and leave the theater. The same raucous behavior happened every Friday night when a horror film was screening back in my day.
Eh, if I knew it was permitted going in, that’s on me. If it’s a new movie and there’s no notice that they’ll allow that behavior, and they allow some guests to be loud and obnoxious for the whole showing, I wouldn’t go back to that theater unless I heard things changed. That was more than enough to avoid teenagers being insufferable at Friday night horror films when I was growing up. Some of them allowed it, and they had ongoing problems with teenagers being little monsters (breaking stuff, causing fights, bothering other patrons outside the theaters, etc), and gained reputations for being dumps not worth going to. Others required teenagers to be accompanied by parents, to control them a bit and shame them into behaving. Others just didn’t indulge in it at all, and would just straight up kick out disruptive people.
I’d prefer more places had a system like Alamo Drafthouse’s, where they post on the site when it’s going to be a screening with audience participation, or a children’s screening, or whatever. Everyone is free to choose the sort of screening they want to attend, and those who opt for a quiet theater experience without some muppet feeling the need to scream “Oh no! He’s gonna get you bitch, run!” or similarly obvious outbursts, don’t have to put up with it.
Honestly, 9/10, I find the people shouting and carrying on really only add something to the experience for the friends that went with them and find them funny. Save that for when you’re watching at home with them, or when there’s a screening that explicitly allows it.