Sunday afternoon cinema in Dublin

milos

This is my first time on this post so please forgive me if this has been talked about before.

I have just returned from a Dublin cinema (not city center) where I bought a ticket for the 14.30 showing of Taken 2 (12A).

When I entered I noticed that the majority of those in the cinema, about 50, were aged around 12 but unaccompanied by an adult.
As I enjoy hearing and seeing my movies uninterrupted I took a seat near the front .

Just as I settled down in comes TWO young mothers with their prams and babies who proceeded to set up camp two seats away from me.
I left and spoke to the cinema manager who apologised but said because it was a 12A film any child could attend if accompanied by an adult.
A refund was requested and given.

My question is

Who regulates what age a person is when they attend a film.
Why do we as adults allow children into 12A films.
Is it ok for under 12s to see the violence in Taken2 because they are accompanied by a "responsible" adult.

Can we as adults who enjoy a film in a cinema please have an "adult admission only. No children" screening of popular films.

Myrddin

The 'adults' can be far worse than children, depending on the cinema/where you go. I find it hard to go see a movie without being interrupted at least once by moronic/ignorant mouth breathing apes.

johnny_ultimate

Quite simply if you want a quiet, mostly adult screening, Saturday or Sunday afternoon is just not the time to go. It's the only chance most schoolkids get to go the cinema. Plenty of other screenings during the week and weekend that will be closer to adults only.

As for whether the film should be rated 12A, well Im pretty sure most young teenagers will have seen much worse. It's a parent's individual decision, really, what their kids should be allowed watch. I think IFCO generally do a good job.

krudler

I havent gone to the cinema on a Sunday afternoon in years, I saw an 11am showing of Prometheus and thats the closest I've come, Sunday is scanger/family/sh1thead head at the cinema, go midweek its bliss. Many a time I've gone on a Tuesday afternoon or something and been the only person in the screen, saw Total Recall in an empty cinema, Samsara had about 6 people at it, no phones, no talking, the odd sweet wrapper rustle, the way it should be.

AnonoBoy

milos wrote: »

Why do we as adults allow children into 12A films.

Generally because there's nothing in them that aren't suitable for most children hence the 12A cert.

Is it ok for under 12s to see the violence in Taken2 because they are accompanied by a "responsible" adult.

Yes, as long as their parents deem it acceptable for them hence the 12A cert. I haven't seen the film but I hear the violence in it is very tame.



Admit it though you're not concerned about what kids see are you? You're just annoyed because there was loads of kids in the screening you wanted to go to.

I'm the same but I just do as others suggested and go at times when young kids aren't around.

Peppa Pig

Vue in Liffey Valley do over 18s only screenings, of under 18s films. They are doing Skyfall in a couple of weeks.
Link

Don't see the issue OP. it's a film which has been deemed suitable for 12 year olds and as such they are going to go see the film at the weekend during earlier screenings. I've been at plenty of films where the audience has been made up predominatly of kids and more often than not they are a lot quieter than audiences made up of adults.

As for adult only screenings well you have those pretty much every Monday to Thursday. Head to any screening after 8 pm on those dates and you are likely to have a kid free viewing experience. Bear in mind though that you may have to put up with adults who think its acceptable to read and send texts during the film, talk loudly to one another and generally act ignorant.

milos

I understand your replies and as I look back I was looking forward to seeing the film but understand that
it was at a time where most teens are likely to be in the cinema but
babies in prams in a cinema ?
There is no way the baby will enjoy the experience and god forbid if anything happened in the cinema
like a fire or worse.

Antar Bolaeisk

Parents get very upset when you refuse to let their little darlings into strictly 16s and 18s films unsupervised as it costs more to pay for a babysitter for the couple of hours.

Most people don't seem to care any more about ratings, I honestly gave up stopping parents bringing their kids to see stuff plainly unsuitable for them as it became far too much hassle arguing with the parents. I'm not the kid's parent so why should I care what they're exposed to. They paid full adult fare though when going into 16s and 18s films. The only thing I wouldn't allow was letting the kids in unaccompanied.

The 15a and 12a films though seem to have taken the place of PG of old as it seems to be treated as a bit of a free for all but then if parents don't bat an eye at taking their kids to an 18s why would they care if they go to a 15a.

One could argue that the parent knows best what material their child is fit to view and I would absolutely agree but in some cases it's more that the parent would rather go to see Shooty Shooty Bang Bang 10 instead of Fluffles Sings Again 17.

I have also only ever seen one parent remove their child from a screening as they felt it was unsuitable, I think the showing was Sucker Punch and the kid in question was about 10. Though to be fair the adult could have been using it as an excuse to escape a terrible film.

AnonoBoy

milos wrote: »

There is no way the baby will enjoy the experience and god forbid if anything happened in the cinema
like a fire or worse.

Babies don't enjoy going shopping either or going to restaurants either but parents aren't allowed by law abandon them any more.

Now I think parents should refrain from bringing small children to the cinema (outside of parent/toddler screenings or screenings of films aimed at kids) but seriously what would happen in a cinema that would be any different from anywhere else? If there was a fire the parents would leave with their child same as anywhere else.

irishash

preface - Not a killjoy

On one level I have to side with the OP, but not from the point of view that it is annoying to have children near me when a movie is on, but more from the fact that it has become socially acceptable to have kids at movies that are not acceptable for them to be watching.

I never wanted to see a film outside my age rating when I was growing up. Maybe it was the fact that it was the pre-multiplex era, and going to the movies was a big event, a special treat. Maybe it was the fact that all the movies I really wanted to see were in my age bracket (back to the future, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, etc).

Now with TV advertising, young children (and I define that age by saying that is anybody under 16) see trailers for films that look fantastic, but are not suitable for them, instead of getting excited about the films they can see (whether they are good or bad films).

Go to the movies on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you are going to get kids there, and from the posts above, most people accept that. I accept it too, and I avoid going at those times.

But what I cant forgive is the fact that when Denver cinema shooting happened, and then there were the news reports about the 6 month old baby surviving it, and the parents getting interviewed and all that, not one person queried or asked why they brought a baby to a midnight screening of the Dark Knight Rises. They could not have waited 8-10 hours???

Like I said, it is now socially accepted. (yet again, seriously, I am not a killjoy)