There was an extraordinary moment in the evolution of human consciousness and the sociology of cinema etiquette last week. Perhaps it was the first time it had ever taken place – and I was there as a witness! Like being there in 1903 when the Wright brothers flew their way into history; or sitting in the space capsule as Neil Armstrong stepped down onto the surface of the moon.
So I’m sitting in the Cineworld Fulham Road last week as the trailers take place before the new Start Trek film (disappointing: 6/10). The guy next to me takes out his mobile phone, checks for messages, leaves it on, and then – this is the Close Encounters of the Third Kind moment – he places it in the moulded plastic fizzy drinks holder attached to the front of the arm rest between us. No self-consciousness; no shame. The bottom of the phone comes forward, towards him; the back leans against the upper edge of the drinks holder; so the phone is at a perfect 37 degree tilt from the vertical for him to see. And he’s watching the film as he is glancing up and down at his incoming messages – like a driver with the TomTom in the edge of vision.
I was too awestruck at the audacity of this technological leap to be shocked. It’s the kind of unforseen improvisation that delights and appalls me at the same time. I bet you big money that within two years there will be dedicated and beautifully designed mobile phone holders on the arm of every cinema seat, but this time just above the fizzy drinks holder. What would my friend have done if he had had a 6 litre carton of coke as well? [Just for the record: This is my idea, and I hold the patent…]
Is this the end of civilisation or the beginning? Is this common in London or New York or Shanghai and I’ve just never witnessed if before?
Bridges and Tangents 
I’ve never seen this before in Toronto, Canada, but I’ll bet this happens all the time.
The days were anyone just sits and watches something (either at the movies, in front of the TV or at the theatre) are numbered!
I enjoyed The Great Gatsby last week except for the music. Star Trek was Ok though I found Kirk annoying. The boys loved the fact that ‘Sherlock Holmes’ was the bad guy!
Yes I am shocked by how many people are now glued to their phones. They are like zombies walking around head down oblivious to oncomers in their path. So I am not surprised they are still glued in the cinema dividing their attention in two. A schitzophrenic existance.
It saddens me greatly when a phone goes off during Mass and the person actually walks out to answer it, only emerging later on after they have had their conversation. They cannot even give an uninterrupted hour to God any longer. On one occasion someone’s phone went off behind me whilst going up to receive Communion in Westminster Cathedral. At least on this occasion they did not answer it. Why don’t all Churches and Cathedrals have a notice to the effect of Switch Mobile Phones Off? I have seen such notices in France.