As the hero comes busting through the door, he confronts the villain, and sees the damsel in distress, he debates how to make his grand move, only to be stopped by the latest hip hop song as the person behind you in the theater picks up their phone. The person pretends to be considerate, whispering, talking about what restaurant they want to go to later, or what they are up to the next day as the rest of the audience in the theater all contemplates exactly how long of a sentence they would get for murdering a theater patron. We all have been there, and we have all contemplated the murder of an inconsiderate theater member with a cell phone, but what would happen if theaters picked up a handy little cell phone jammer? Would you support that decision?
Cell phone jammers are down to around $200, but it’s the morality and legality of the situation, more than the cost. So, first off, would you support a jammer morally? Would you mind the idea of having no touch to the outside world while you are watching a movie? Some would say they wouldn’t mind not having the annoying talking person that is always behind them, but they would think twice about not getting email, texts or phone calls. For me, I would have no problem shutting the outside world off for a movie, especially one I am really excited for, and would probably consider cold blooded murder on the person that interrupts it. If I am worried my house is on fire, my relatives are dead, or my dog just kidnapped a school bus full of penguins, then I would choose a later showing for the movie, end of story.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2010.