In a shocking turn of events, fans of the musical movie Wicked have taken to singing along loudly to the songs during public screenings, prompting cinemas in the US to display public service announcements requesting audience members to refrain from vocalizing their enthusiasm.
The age-old debate over etiquette in public venues such as theaters, concerts, and cinemas has been rekindled, with singing during movies being the most recent point of contention, joining a long list of grievances that include eating full meals during screenings, using phones to record entire concerts, and hurling hard objects at performers, a phenomenon that has been present throughout history, with precursors such as jeering and throwing rotten tomatoes during public hangings.
While singing along to movie soundtracks is undeniably annoying and disrespectful to both fellow audience members and the performers, the surprising aspect of this trend is the fact that some individuals are defending this behavior as a fundamental right to self-expression, including Dwayne Johnson, who has publicly stated, “Sing! You’ve paid your hard-earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it. Sing.” However, this argument overlooks the fact that one’s right to self-expression does not supersede the rights of others to enjoy the movie without distractions.
Purchasing a movie ticket entitles the holder to watch the film and occupy a seat, but it does not grant them the privilege to disregard social norms or infringe upon the experience of others, just as buying a book does not give one the right to throw it at a passerby, or paying for a meal in a restaurant does not entitle one to defecate in the dining area, hence, the need to recognize and respect the boundaries that separate individual rights from communal responsibilities.
Moreover, singing loudly without consent in public should be a source of deep embarrassment, as it involves inflicting one’s uninvited voice upon others, a behavior that is particularly galling when compared to the trained musical prowess of professional performers, such as Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jonathan Bailey, whose talents should not be disrespected by amateurish and lackluster imitations.
The impulse to sing loudly in public, without regard for others, is a trait commonly associated with individuals who possess a deep-seated frustration stemming from their own unrealized musical aspirations, which they attempt to compensate for by forcing their substandard vocalizations upon unsuspecting strangers, a behavior that is both annoying and heartbreaking, as it highlights the participant’s lack of self-awareness and their failure to recognize the boundaries that separate artistic expression from social norms.
This behavior is often linked to a sense of entitlement, which is not only discourteous but also arrogant, as it disregards the rights of others and disregards the value of community and shared experiences, and instead, prioritizes the individual’s own ego and desires, a quality that is particularly evident when one considers the fact that these individuals often refuse to acknowledge their own limitations and instead, insist on thrusting their unwanted talents upon others.
In light of this behavior, it is essential to recognize that embarrassment is an ineffective deterrent, as those who engage in this type of behavior are often fueled by a desire for attention and a lack of self-awareness, which makes them resistant to shame and ridicule, and instead, emboldens them to continue their behavior, thereby necessitating a different approach, one that involves pointing out the absurdity of their actions and laughing at the cringe-worthy spectacle they create.
Perhaps the most effective way to address this issue is to laugh at the absurdity of it all, to point out the ridiculousness of their actions, and to mock their behavior, not out of malice, but rather, out of a sense of communal solidarity, a recognition that we are all in this together, and that our shared experiences should be enjoyable and respectful for everyone involved, and in doing so, we can perhaps bring back a sense of decorum and etiquette to our public spaces.
