As much as we’d like to believe that there are hard and fast rules for these things, cinema has never been a pure sanctuary. It certainly didn’t begin that way, as crowd participation was expected during the first part of the silent era, when filmmakers such as Georges Méliès used movies like a magic trick and Mack Sennett’s Keystone Studios riled up viewers with slapstick chaos and shots of bathing beauties. When Buster Keaton’s projectionist jumped from the audience and onto the screen in 1924’s Sherlock, Jr., he only illustrated a blurred line between spectacle and spectator.
Even when the incredible success of D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation moved cinematic displays from nickelodeons and roadshows to movie palaces, stringent expectations weren’t in place. Films would play as part of hours-long programs, consisting of not just the “A” feature, but also a “B” feature, serials, cartoons, and newsreels. Audience members would regularly arrive and leave mid-showing, and committing various other disruptions.
That changed with the arrival of Psycho in 1960, when Alfred Hitchcock demanded that ushers not seat anyone after the film began, in order to preserve that movie’s mid-film shift. However, filmmakers have never completely left behind the desire to play to the crowd, whether in the form of William Castle’s carnival barker tricks, interactive films like Mr. Payback, or fourth-wall breaks in Funny Games, I, Tonya, and Deadpool.
If this trip through the history of cinematic presentations makes you squirm, you’re not alone. This writer also prefers theaters to be silent and audiences to be respectful, no matter what. Moreover, most people at least accept that quiet observance should be the norm, even if they violate that norm from time to time.
However, the explosive response to Michael proves that some people want to be part of the movie. And they’re not alone either. Fan participation screenings aren’t new, ranging from showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Room to sing-along releases of The Greatest Showman and K-Pop Demon Hunters to those weird rowdy screening of Cats. Furthermore, 4DX and 3D upgrades promise more immersion into the film, even if they don’t provide space for the viewers to talk back at the picture.
For cinematic purists (see: this writer, again), these special screenings transform the movies into something other than movies. These showings are more like concerts and amusement park rides than they are proper films. Lest that sound condescending, one need only look at the comments from people singing and dancing at showings of Michael.
