Has America Become Clap-Happy? - Why Are People Applauding in Movie Theaters?

By Jennifer M Thomas

I've noticed a trend in the last five to seven years -- you're in a movie theater, the movie ends, the credits roll...and people start clapping.

My first response has always been to ask, "You know the people who made this movie aren't here, right?" People didn't always clap at the end of movies. Sometimes they did it during the movie -- like if, say, a belittled office drone finally works up the courage to tell off his boss -- and sometimes they booed in the middle or at the end. But the applauding when the credits roll is something newer. And I don't like it.

The issue is that clapping is often a forced activity. Yes, sometimes you really do want to applaud something or someone, but other times it's like watching the painfully scripted applause breaks during a State of the Union address. Movies seemed to be the last bastion of entertainment where you could just get up from your seat and not have to assure someone that they did a good job.

The difference between movies and other events -- concerts, plays, sports games -- is that in most cases, the people responsible for the movie aren't there to receive the applause. You're basically sending out your approval to a blank screen.

Two major developments could be responsible for this growing clap-happiness:

1) The Internet. Today, people can give their opinion on anything and everything, and it can be done quickly.

2) The growing popularity of film festivals. It's not just Cannes and Sundance anymore; local libraries, colleges and movie theaters are hosting festivals that let more people encounter the film fest experience. And at film fests, it's appropriate to clap since the people who made or appeared in the movie are often in attendance. At the very least, you can thank the people who organized the festival.

But for every other movie experience, I ask you to sit on your hands -- we clap enough as a society as it is.

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