Taylor Swift has not only overwhelmed social media threads, music streaming platforms and many stages: she has now conquered the movie theater. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” film has amassed millions of dollars in box office revenue, climbing to the top as the highest grossing concert film domestically. Swifties, as fans of the singer are called, snatched this opportunity to get the concert experience they may have missed out on. Plus, they can get Swift merchandise at some theater concession stands with popcorn buckets and cups themed around the tour.
All seems well, except for one thing: the lack of social awareness viewers have had. While this movie’s purpose is to provide the concert experience that most couldn’t due to ticket shortages and expenses, audiences seem to forget that they are in a movie theater, not at a concert arena.
While the film calls for people to have fun, with most advertisements encouraging audiences to dance and have a good time, there needs to be a boundary set. Certain theaters released rules for said celebration, including AMC theaters. Swifties could dress up in Eras attire with friendship bracelets, dance and sing along with the film. They could not record the film itself, dance on the seats or block other viewers. In short, they just needed to be respectful.
Yet, there were many online debates over the behavior of theater audiences during the film. One Swiftie took to X, formerly known as Twitter, with complaints that she could not hear Swift’s voice over the rest of the audience and phone flashlights shining on the screen made the film hard to see.
Here’s the deal: I’m not a Swiftie, so it may seem like I am being harsh, but as someone who loves concerts and has artists I love just as much: people need to be respectful of others. They deserve to sing and dance along, but they need to keep in mind they aren’t the only audience members there. To fall to your knees screaming and overwhelming the film’s audio takes away that important experience for a fan who genuinely wants to hear the music and enjoy the movie.
Plus, it is disrespectful to the workers at the theaters who are trying to ensure a great experience. Not only are they rewriting the rules of theater etiquette by allowing singing and dancing, but they are going through damage in order to make sure the movie runs smoothly. A small-town movie theater in the Pacific Northwest had to deal with two amplifiers being destroyed while test running the movie.
During the first test, when the first amp blew due to how loud the movie was, it shut down a theater. Then, a second one blew, and neither had the chance to be replaced. It made Shane, a manager at this theater, worried about potential future concert movies. This is just one example of how theaters work hard in order to make the experience memorable.
Overall, it seems like a fair request to just keep in mind that you are in a movie theater. I know the experience of being at a live concert is legendary and this movie is meant to mimic that, but it doesn’t negate the fact that it is not a live concert. Keep having fun and celebrating Swift in all her glory, but do so respectfully.
pbortner@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Ronald Woan, Flickr
