Comments on Silver Spring, Singular: Majestic Theatergoers Manage to Top Themselves (Li...

"Don't tase me, bro."

2008-06-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

"Don't tase me, bro."

I was in there Friday night for The Happening, and...

2008-06-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

I was in there Friday night for The Happening, and there was some group of young people laughing at inappropriate times (apparently at something they were saying to each other) and generally making noise, fortunately not so continuously as to ruin the movie for me. However, toward the end, some guy behind me called out, "Nobody thinks you're funny. Shut the f&%^$ up!" I almost applauded.

The problem is that rarely works. For example, on another occasion not too long ago, some young women in front of me were making noise, and when someone shushed them, they just talked back with attitude: "Don't you sush me!" That's when I had the taser fantasy myself.

Never have I seen an adult of any race, ethnicity, economic status or any other category make a nuisance of themselves. It's always teenagers. And since nothing else works, I think yes, ushers armed with tasers is exactly what they should have. "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

Anonymous @7:58, that's a pretty foolish thing to ...

2008-06-16T09:28:00.000-05:00

Anonymous @7:58, that's a pretty foolish thing to say. I guarantee that if you lived in some parts of rural America where there was a lot of poverty and ignorance, you'd say the same thing about white people. Socioeconomic conditions are what's important, not skin color.

Living in DC has made me realize that I really don...

2008-06-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

Living in DC has made me realize that I really don't like black people.

Well if they were to open up a new cinema in Wheat...

2008-06-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

Well if they were to open up a new cinema in Wheaton right now, it would probably be called El Teatro Espanol.

Let us not forget the that the closing of the late...

2008-06-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

Let us not forget the that the closing of the late, non-lamented Lowe's Wheaton Plaza probably forced the a lot of this group down the road to the Majestic. My friends and I used to call the Lowe's the "baby-momma" cinema because it was pretty much a given that you would hear the phrase shouted into a cell phone during your attempt to watch a movie.

Hey Ian,Please see a doctor about that chip lodged...

2008-06-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hey Ian,

Please see a doctor about that chip lodged in your shoulder. It's giving your terminal self-righteousness. You also should abandon the lame ass attack on those awful, awful white middle class people. What the hell are you, white boy? Moreover, your own racism is shining through. Do you beleive that non-white, non-middle class people don't mind having their movies interrupted by noisy and obnoxious people? Because, you know, since they're not white they don't value what movies have to offer aside from explosions and car chases and naked boobs.

You also imply that there are no non-white middle class people in Silver Spring (but if there were, they too wouldn't mind having their movie experiences ruined, since you know...they're not white or even worse, white and middle class).

Grow up already.

Ian, there have always been wealthy white people i...

2008-06-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ian, there have always been wealthy white people in Silver Spring, e.g. the old neighborhoods along 16th St. and East-West hwy. Not to say that they are being oppressed or suddenly driven out by the poor minorities, or vice-versa. The big elephant in the room (and by "room" I mean the open-air promenade of Ellsworth) is the huge socioeconomic and cultural gap here. To paraphrase Chris Rock, "every town has two [theatres]...."

man, given the comments on this forum, its pretty ...

2008-06-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

man, given the comments on this forum, its pretty clear why silver spring was built up and gentrified... because the necessary white privilege racism is already here.

this town belongs to the poor, to the minorities, to the people who love the CITY PLACE movie experience. i bet many of you avoided going there because you were scared or felt uncomfortable. but don't forget that silver spring is THAT kindof place. new money and new buildings and new white people cannot completely drive out the people who have lived there for their whole lives. this isn't bethesda, and i sure hope it never will be. if you're looking for that kindof movie experience, then take a short drive down east west highway and PLEASE feel uncomfortable being in my town. i am white, middle class, and raised in silver spring. and i hate what it has become.

I remember the City Place cinema. The only differe...

2008-06-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

I remember the City Place cinema. The only difference between that and the Majestic is that at the Majestic, you can pay more to have your films ruined by the same horrible audiences as the old City Place cinema, but in cushier surroundings.

And, we're still stuck with the same old bottom o' the barrel City Place Mall.

For those of you who remember movies at the City P...

2008-06-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

For those of you who remember movies at the City Place movie theater, we have come a LONG WAY. I enjoy the major upgrade to the Majestic. It's no E Street, but I'll totally take it.

Christ, meant to say "not so much race, but age!" ...

2008-06-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Christ, meant to say "not so much race, but age!" I think race isnt really an issue as so many people in cinemas lack respect these days.

Charged list this one - I have stopped going to th...

2008-06-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

Charged list this one -
I have stopped going to the Majestic due to the audience - I would say race has a lot to do with it but moreso age - young audience goers (and I realise this is a generalisation) tend to be poorly behaved. I would say this is a worse cinema than the one in Tysons but even at Tysons I have been annoyed by talky teens and their constant cell phone addiction. I now go almost exclusively to AFI or Landmark and often find the movies there better anyway, plus I can sip a beer in peace. If beer was available at the Majestic all hell would break loose. Also the Majestic needs more ticket machines - its so disorganised.

The comments here are not racist. The comments re...

2008-06-11T07:07:00.000-05:00

The comments here are not racist. The comments reflect the FACT that much, but not all, of the disruption at the Majestic is done by black kids and adults. It's not because they are black, but because of their "general upbringing" in an area where the underclass is overwhelmingly black.

Social dysfunction is what happens in underclasses of any color. Does anyone deny that the most violent and crime-ridden areas of this region are found in P.G. County and the poorer parts of the District? If you get murder and assaults and other crimes in higher numbers in these areas, along with broken families and children raising children, why does it suprise anyone that kids who come from these places will also show terrible manners in a movie theater? And the fact is, in the D.C. area, the places with the most social dysfunction are overwhelmingly black. That's the reality here. It doesn't mean black people are inferior, and it's not racist to point it out.

The Majestic does show all sorts of films, including more artsy types or mass entertainment types like Harry Potter, and it sometimes shows "grown up" movies that you'll also find at the AFI or Landmark, but if you want to see those movies with a well-behaved crowd, you'd better go anywhere besides the Majestic.

I followed a link from the Washington Post Local b...

2008-06-10T18:50:00.000-05:00

I followed a link from the Washington Post Local blog to here. Amazed at the amount of openly racist comments here. Wow.

Been to Majestic several times and seen disruptive behavior by youth of ALL races. I would say their attitude had more to do with their age and the general upbringing in our society today, and less due to race.

And only a moron would expect crowds here similar to those in AFI or Landmark Bethesda - the genre of movies shown are completely different .. but then, judging by the comments of "anonymous @ 9:31am", he/she IS a bigoted moron.

Thats the showing I went to....but we arrived late...

2008-06-10T15:36:00.000-05:00

Thats the showing I went to....but we arrived late and got the 2 seats left in the back row....they weren't in the very back row, were they!? D:

It was the 8:40pm(ish don't remember specific) sho...

2008-06-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

It was the 8:40pm(ish don't remember specific) showing on Sat

Anon 12:58, which SATC showtime on Saturday was th...

2008-06-10T13:02:00.000-05:00

Anon 12:58, which SATC showtime on Saturday was that?

They were definitely gettin' it on. Full lights an...

2008-06-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

They were definitely gettin' it on. Full lights and pretty full theater too before show time... I mean WTF, any sense of decency here?

Never ever wearing a skirt to the movies at the Majestic again.

" Enjoy your little Klan haven by yourself, cracke...

2008-06-10T11:08:00.000-05:00

" Enjoy your little Klan haven by yourself, cracker."

"Cracker"? Looks like this board has a racist on it after all...

You call B.S. on my observations? Well, I can't do...

2008-06-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

You call B.S. on my observations? Well, I can't do anything about that, because they are what I've observed. My wife and I go to movies at the Majestic about once a week.

And we will enjoy moving back to NoVa, thanks. Enjoy your little Klan haven by yourself, cracker.

'Cause no one's racist or xenophobic in Virginia.....

2008-06-10T10:50:00.000-05:00

'Cause no one's racist or xenophobic in Virginia...

@Anonymous 10:47. I call B.S. on your observation...

2008-06-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

@Anonymous 10:47. I call B.S. on your observations.

Have fun moving back to Virginia.

What's with all the ignorant, racist, classist com...

2008-06-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

What's with all the ignorant, racist, classist comments? Is that typical? I just started reading this blog because I thought it was about Silver Spring, not a rallying spot for white supremacy.

My experience at the Majestic has been disrupted by teens of every race talking, using cell phones and generally just being young jackasses. Almost all the extended loud conversations have been middle-aged and older white folks.

What can be drawn from my experience? Nothing. The plural of anecdote is not evidence, something your racist readers seem not to understand. No wonder civilized people seem to think Montgomery County is a backwards-looking haven for ignorant selfish white people. I think we will be moving back to Northern Va.

IHY, you speaketh the truth, but you left out stuf...

2008-06-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

IHY, you speaketh the truth, but you left out stuff. The Majestic (bad name -- let's rename it!) does occasionally show more highbrow films, but the audience still sucks. We went to see "The Illusionist" there, and we still had brats run in midway during the film, and some braindead adults talking during the damned climax.

Also, even us pointyheaded feelmgoers enjoy the occasional Spiderman or similar fluff, or we like good horror movies, etc., and we ought to be able to watch them in peace even if they're not highbrow works of art.