Singing in the Cinema: The Consequences of Main Character Syndrome
When Wicked (2024) first hit cinemas at the end of November, it received (and is still receiving) a lot of attention. If you're active on social media, whether you prefer TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, there’s a very high likelihood you’ve heard of this film. Amidst the slew of online posts, one tweet (I’m never not calling it Twitter, sorry, not sorry) garnered much attention and sparked debates about acceptable cinema etiquette.
User ‘Nat’ requested others to share their photos from viewing Wicked. Perhaps I’m naive, or maybe delusional. But... I thought we all agreed: no phones out in the cinema - and definitely no phones out to photos of a movie released only two days prior. Many replies and retweets did share this opinion, with one of the responses reading: “thread full of losers.” Yet, scrolling through the rest of the replies, most of them are photo after photo from various cinema trips, picturing several different points of the film. It’s incredibly disrespectful to everyone involved in the filmmaking process to distract from the experience by whipping out your blindingly bright electronic screen. Put it away. Put it on silent. Or even better, just turn it off. It shouldn’t be a rule that adults need to be taught.
If you thought that this was the sole debate surrounding cinema etiquette that Wicked sparked, think again. It also has viewers divided on whether it’s okay to sing along in the cinema, and boy, are people heated about this one. This controversy even reached the attention of Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba.
If you’re asking me, unless you’ve bought a ticket to a sing-along version, please refrain from any musical accompaniments to the soundtrack. It’s just one of those unspoken rules I naively assumed we all agreed upon. But clearly not, as even wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson encouraged fans to join in with singing:
What about everyone else in the room? The other paying customers spending their hard-earned money on a ticket. A ticket to see the advertised stars of the shows without fighting against the noise of amateurs attempting to outshine them. Going to the cinema is not always a cheap day out. Personally, I’d recommend hitting up your local Vue for £4.99 tickets, a mega bargain. But alas, not everyone has a Vue they can easily access. Or maybe you’ve decided to spend a little bit more to attend a screening at an independent cinema. Maybe you’ve even chosen to treat yourself to popcorn and a drink. Your night is likely hitting over £15 per head. The last thing you need is somebody else spoiling that experience for everyone else present.
So why is it that we have to explain these common examples of consideration to grown adults? I have my theories.
Main character syndrome. A label given to those who believe that the world turns just for them. It's a term coined in recent years, describing that phenomenon when you start to imagine yourself as the central character in your very own blockbuster. The term itself isn’t always used to describe bad behaviour, so to speak. It isn't inherently wrong, evil, or inappropriate. You may have even experienced it yourself. Like... when you’re walking along on a gloomy day blasting your favourite sad songs, feeling like the whole world’s out to get you. Or, maybe the walk home from the pub with you're best friend after three glasses of wine, and the world feels like it was handcrafted, especially for the two of you to frolic within. You’d be lying if you said you’ve not felt this in your life at some point, whether caused by positive or negative emotions - we are all guilty of a little self-indulgence. It isn't a bad thing, but it is essential to have the ability to separate these fantastical, indulgent daydreams from everyday reality.
This is an ability I fear is lacking from a chunk of the population - such an inability then fosters selfish behaviour in said people. Selfish behaviours like failing to consider how a brightly lit mobile phone or a loud voice might disturb the viewing experience for other people in the cinema. Over the summer, I managed to catch a screening of ‘Coraline’ in 3D while it was celebrating its 15th anniversary. At key points in the movie, I found myself distracted by chatter, mainly from a few rows in front of mine, but not strictly limited to this location. Luckily, I’ve already seen this film about a thousand times before, so it could have been worse. But... it’s still less than ideal to have to put up with.
So, how are these things linked? What connects main character syndrome and behaving in ways that fail to consider everyone else involved? Well, if you’re the main character, logically, strangers making up the general populace must be assigned the role of extra. Not even a side character; side characters are people you know, people with speaking roles. Extras are simply the unnamed decorations that fill out the set. So why would you, as the starring role, bear in mind these inconsequential filler posts? I’m not saying this is a conscious decision made by anyone who displays such qualities. More likely, it's caused by a complete lack of thought and a failure to ground oneself in the disappointing fact that we aren’t always the most important people in any given room. Your desire to document a movie you love does not supersede the right of everyone else in the cinema to receive the experience they paid for. Life is not a solo-fronted show but rather a collaborative flick featuring an ensemble cast; we each bear a responsibility to keep the picture running.
So yes, if you’ve paid for a ticket to a musical, physically, nothing is stopping you from singing along except... a social responsibility to those around you. When someone is walking along the footpath, you aren’t ordered to move out of the way for them, but it’s still a nice thing to do. You don’t have to hold the door open for anyone, and yet you should probably still do it, just because it’s the kind thing to do. No one is forced to bring their glasses back to the bar when they’re finished, and yet people will help out the staff. When there’s no coin tethering you to the trolley, will you still return it or dump it for someone else to deal with? We all have these little responsibilities, each with no real penalty for failing to fulfil them… except the fact that we are failing one another.
I suspect that an online acceptance of viewing ourselves as the leading roles in our mundane lives has invited these narcissistic tendencies into our world.
Absolutely sing your heart out to ‘Defying Gravity’ - from the comfort of your own home, or in a screening solely intended for like minded viewers.
Just not when the rest of the cinema just wants to listen to Cynthia and Ariana in peace.
