• About
  • Rent College Pads
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
Search
News
Opinions
Sports
Classifieds
Comics
BMA
Events
Subscribe

Donate

Eastern Echo

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Print Edition

Subscribe

  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Profiles
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
  • Search
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Profiles
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
Search

Subscribe to the Echo

Donate to The Echo

You can support the Echo by donating through the EMU Foundation and selecting to apply your gift to a specific fund. Any of the funds listed below will provide support to the Echo.

01049 -- EMU Echo Editor Endowed Scholarship:  Provides financial support for the current EMU Echo Editor.

02414 -- Scott Stephenson Eastern Echo Scholarship:  This expendable scholarship is for the benefit of student(s) in the School of Communication, Media & Theater Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences.  It will be awarded to a full or part-time junior or senior EMU student majoring in journalism and working for the Eastern Echo.  The student should be working to self-finance their education and not be eligible for need-based grants.

00825 -- Student Media Development:  Provides support for the Student Media program.

Thank you for supporting the Echo and EMU Student Media.

Give Now


9/19/2012, 7:40pm

Phones distract and annoy at films, concerts

By Sammy DeMarco

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

Have you ever tried enjoying a music show or movie in the theater only to find yourself distracted by the bright lights of people texting? I’ve had enough. Here’s a thought—turn your mobile devices off at venues and just enjoy the show.

Last Saturday, I went to see the Irish singer, songwriter and Academy Award-winning Glen Hansard at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. It was sold out, as Hansard has quite a following. The show was great, but all throughout it I found myself peering into large LED screens watching stubby thumbs and skinny fingers dance across the keypads doing their own versions of an Irish Jig.

Luckily, Hansard’s passion and performance were enough to drown out the distraction, to a point, but I still wondered why someone would pay $50 just to sit in the dark and text away. Did the people in front of me want their friends to know they were at a cool show, thus making them cool? Were they bored? They couldn’t have been bored because Hansard’s voice had the theater vibrating. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t good enough to distract others in the audience from the show.

Brian Hunter, program manager for the Michigan Theater, doesn’t approve of using mobile devices during shows.

“It’s just rude to the people around you who are there to enjoy the entertainment,” he said.

Most theaters ban the use of mobile devices during the show. Goodrich Quality 16 Theater in Ann Arbor requires viewers turn their phones off. This all sounds like common courtesy, and it is, but many people still find themselves drawn to inform the world where they are at, at that very moment.

Hunter suggested if someone in the audience persists on using their devices during the show, simply alert an usher to the situation. It’s a clash of cultures, though, narcissistic self-absorbed individuals vs. those in the audience actually there to enjoy the show.

Hopefully our venues adopt the attitude the Alamo Draft House Theater in Austin, Texas has taken. According to their website, “We have zero tolerance for talking or cell phone use of any kind during movies, and we aren’t afraid to kick anyone rude enough to start texting their friends during a show right out of the theater.”

When someone breaks out their cell phone at a show, I say, “Remember the Alamo!”

Share



Related Stories

dodie rainbow.jpg

Review: Dodie releases a beautiful fan favorite "Rainbow"

By Chelsea Bacci

70d68846b1425b25648d8f92277f832269-saweetie-doja-cat-best-friend.2x.rsocial.w600.jpg

Review: Four new music releases to listen to for a great start in 2021.

By Layla McMurtrie

peter bake off.jpg

Opinion: Great British Bake Off series 11 brings a familiar joy to 2020

By Chelsea Bacci


The Eastern Echo welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Most Popular


1/14/2021, 7:15pm

Review: Four new music releases to listen to for a great start in 2021.

By Layla McMurtrie

From pop to R&B, from love to heartbreak, the new year has already began providing us with a variety of great music for all listeners.


1/18/2021, 2:40pm

Ypsilanti house shooting occurs south of campus; no injuries reported


1/17/2021, 8:54pm

Washtenaw County Prosecutor will no longer charge cases related to marijuana, shrooms, and various psychedelics


1/14/2021, 7:09pm

The Jim Toy Community Center closes physical location due to COVID-19, but the community lives on


Podcast


1/17/2021, 9:00pm

The Road to the Mac Tournament For EMU Men’s and Women’s Basketball


1/14/2021, 7:11pm

Documentary features EMU student artists' experiences amidst COVID-19 pandemic


1/13/2021, 5:10pm

Podcast: Gov. Whitmer appoints new EMU Regents; Ypsilanti City Council discusses Water St. redevelopment; Jim Toy Community Center to close


12/15/2020, 12:25pm

Summit Street A Cappella to compete in international championship; Two shootings at Aspen Chase Apartments


Tweets by TheEasternEcho
Eastern Michigan Echo To Homepage
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Freelance
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Distribution

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2021 The Eastern Echo

Powered by Solutions by The State News.