Blocking Cell Phones in Your Local Cinema
Speaking of dreams, I’ve always dreamed of starting a website at (if you’ll pardon my French) www.shutthefuckup.com (as it turns out, there’s already a website there–enter it at your own risk). My site would advocate for silence in movie theatres. One of the reasons I go to a lot of week day matinees is to ensure the fewest number of fellow viewers, and therefore the quietest possible cinema.
From Engadget, there’s word that the National Association of Theater Owners wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow the blocking of cell phone signals in theaters:
John Fithian, the president of the trade organization, told the Los Angeles Times theater owners “have to block rude behavior” as the industry tries to come up with ways to bring people back to the cinemas. Fithian said his group would petition the FCC for permission to block cell phone signals within movie theaters.
Presumably 911 calls would be permitted, lest cinemas become popular locations for muggings. I hate to break it to the NATO (hey, that acronym’s taken), but I don’t think blocking cell phones is going to staunch the box office bleeding. Cinemas have jumped the shark, and there’s no going back.
