The Sad, Surreal Experience of Seeing an Audience Laugh at Moonlight (Spoilers)

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http://www.vulture.com/2016/11/surreal-experience-of-laughter-in-moonlight.html

Last weekend I watched Moonlight, Barry Jenkins’s remarkable coming-of-age film, again. It was a Friday night at BAM, and the screening was completely sold out. Early on, though, one scene made me realize I might have picked a bad audience: It’s in the first third of the movie, where our young hero Chiron is sitting at the dining table with this surrogate parents, Juan and Teresa (Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe). He asks them, point-blank, “What’s a faggot?” It’s a moment that feels like a gut punch. When I first saw it, I held my breath, waiting to hear what Juan would say. He explained that it was a negative word used to describe men who liked other men. Then came the next question, “Am I a faggot?” A group of women behind me started giggling at the first question and were full-on laughing by the second — so much so that they drowned out Juan’s response. I was perplexed: Were we watching the same movie?

In the darkness of a theater, no one can see you side-eye. And perhaps emboldened, the laughter only got worse as the film went on. There was a noticeable pattern: Every time there was any expression of gay male intimacy, they laughed. They tittered during the scene where teen Chiron has his first sexual experience on a beach, and they let out wolf whistles when we first meet adult Chiron, shirtless and muscular. (Although to be fair, I thought something similar in my head). And while we got to the film’s emotional climax, the diner scene between Chiron and his grown-up crush Kevin, it was like they were a studio audience watching a sitcom.
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Of course it's very audience specific and not indicative of all theatre experiences, but it's a very good example of how a bad crowd can sour a movie viewing. I don't go to the theatre often anymore, and one of my biggest fears when going into the movie is the chance of getting a bad audience.

I thought this was a good, interesting article so while I'm sure this topic will center on personal theatre anecdotes I encourage everyone to give it a read.
 
Praise theaters that DGAF and will kick out any disturbances like this. What a bunch of pitiful people.
 
wenis said:
Praise theaters that DGAF and will kick out any disturbances like this. What a bunch of pitiful people.
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If you've an Alamo Draft House in your area, utilize it to the fullest.

Seriously though this isn't just a bad crowd, this is endemic of the very damn issue the movie tries to highlight.

That gay black men are seen doubly so as social pariah's and something to be mocked in disgust.

Being gay shouldn't be a damn joke.
 
Wide release was a mistake. Seriously people don't know how to fucking act during a movie. So many god damned narcissists that don't understand no one gives a shit about their inputs. The guffawing peanut gallery has single handedly destroyed the movie going experience.
 
Hanzou said:
Eh you can't really kick people for laughing at something he less they are being loud annoying on purpose.
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nah as the poster below you mentioned, I have an Alamo Drafthouse in my area and the few times I've had disturbances during films (clacking on phone screens, no so quiet whispers or even couples making out)I have raised the order ticket and had them be given a warning and it feels oh so goddamn good. Now only if there were a way to do this in other theaters too.
 
daffy said:
Wide release was a mistake. Seriously people don't know how to fucking act during a movie. So many god damned narcissists that don't understand no one gives a shit about their inputs. The guffawing peanut gallery has single handedly destroyed the movie going experience.
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You can tell when you're at a movie and people laugh not because something is funny, but because they want other people to hear them laugh.

Like in movie trailers when there's a joke at the end of a movie trailer. Usually several seconds between that last joke and "Coming 2017" or whatever, but they wait until the trailer is over and there is silence and THEN they laugh, because if they laughed during "Coming 2017" nobody would've heard it.

Attention whores, the lot of 'em.
 
Frozenprince said:
If you've an Alamo Draft House in your area, utilize it to the fullest.

Seriously though this isn't just a bad crowd, this is endemic of the very damn issue the movie tries to highlight.

That gay black men are seen doubly so as social pariah's and something to be mocked in disgust.

Being gay shouldn't be a damn joke.
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An Alamo Drafthouse opened around me recently and it's one of the best non-Imax theaters I go to.
 
daffy said:
Wide release was a mistake. Seriously people don't know how to fucking act during a movie. So many god damned narcissists that don't understand no one gives a shit about their inputs. The guffawing peanut gallery has single handedly destroyed the movie going experience.
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I don't know. I've seen movies, generally bad films, made better by the peanut gallery. Different crowds in different cultures will react differently to the exact same film.
 
I haven't seen the film but I can't imagine the sort of person that finds the word "faggot" funny past middle school, even if they secretly use it.

What a bunch of assholes.
 
daffy said:
Wide release was a mistake. Seriously people don't know how to fucking act during a movie. So many god damned narcissists that don't understand no one gives a shit about their inputs. The guffawing peanut gallery has single handedly destroyed the movie going experience.
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I've only ever experienced super hype crowd moments from superhero movies or giant franchises like Star Wars tbh. Even then, I think u guys gotta relax. If someone reacting to a movie spoils the entire experience for u, then wait till it hits DVD or go at an odd hour.

Speaking on the word "faggot", none of my friends are homophobes but me and a lot of people in the theatre actually laughed when Eazy-E said but I ain't no faggot tho in Straigh Outta Bompton
 
Living in a big city, I NEVER go to a movie during normal movie-going times, because the audience is ALWAYS a hot ass mess. If I can't make it before work, or on like a Wednesday afternoon, I just don't go.

I mean, there's just no more home training, and it doesn't matter what movie it is. I mean, HOW do you go to a movie like Moonlight and not know what it's about? And, if you do know what it's about, and you still go just to laugh at it, what the fuck is wrong with you?

EDIT: I'm also likely to walk the fuck out if I see someone with a small herd of kids walk into the theater. Yeah, no. No time, homie.
 
Is Moonlight not considered a really modern and realistic depiction of current attitudes in the black community about homosexuality?
 
A lot of people laugh out of empathy... like in terms in unexpectedly recognizing themselves in something.

For example, people find talking animals funny in movies when they do human-type things.

I am not comparing gay black men to animals, just trying to explain the impulse to laugh at some stuff.



I personally found the idea that Chiron didn't have sex between the second and third sections of Moonlight to be laughable. His sexuality is something I can't really understand. It seems contrived for the sake of the movie.
 
Culturally speaking, in broad strokes, black people laugh at different things that white people, so this seems like a bit of an overreaction from the writer.

When I saw Precious people laughed at her stealing fried chicken... I did too. I don't know if that was the intended effect or not.

When I saw 12 Years a Slave in Compton, I laughed at the scenes where Sarah Paulson is cucking Fassbender. These scenes were clearly funny to me, but a black man got up, came over and lectured me, asking, "Do you think this is funny?". I said yes to him, but we didn't get into a big discussion about it, as the movie was running.
 
Unison said:
These scenes were clearly funny to me, but a black man got up, came over and lectured me, asking, "Do you think this is funny?". I said yes to him, but we didn't get into a big discussion about it, as the movie was running.
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This story is a lot funnier than 12 Years A Slave. Awkward.
 
I know I'm very vocal about audience participation during films...but jesus christ this makes me so sad. Moonlight was so heartbreaking, I can't fathom another human being laughing at it. Damn :/
 
Unison said:
I personally found the idea that Chiron didn't have sex between the second and third sections of Moonlight to be laughable. His sexuality is something I can't really understand. It seems contrived for the sake of the movie.
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i can testify that its entirely possible to go long periods of time without having sex
 
Yeah, so just in case any one thought that magically, homophobia was disappearing slowly from society... Yeah no. There's a difference from tolerating something on the surface and still thinking it's a joking or disgusting behind the scenes.
 
I try my best to go during off-hours or late at night. Never at primetime.

I haven't seen Moonlight and idk where I can even see it around where I live. I'd really like to though
 
Unison said:
When I saw 12 Years a Slave in Compton, I laughed at the scenes where Sarah Paulson is cucking Fassbender. These scenes were clearly funny to me, but a black man got up, came over and lectured me, asking, "Do you think this is funny?". I said yes to him, but we didn't get into a big discussion about it, as the movie was running.
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We using that term now.....really?
 
Unison said:
I personally found the idea that Chiron didn't have sex between the second and third sections of Moonlight to be laughable. His sexuality is something I can't really understand. It seems contrived for the sake of the movie.
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Chiron is an extremely shut-down character, in fact that scene with Kevin in the kitchen is the only time he expresses desire or want for anything in the entire film, and it's why it works as the emotional climax. I think it makes perfect sense in light of the kid we got to know in the first two parts of the film, it would only seem contrived if literally the first thing we learned about Chiron wasn't how profoundly closed off he was.
 
There was a chick to the right of me in the theater who laughed several times in moments that had zero humor, intentional or otherwise. Didn't know what the hell she found funny. It was really annoying.
 
umop_3pisdn said:
Chiron is an extremely shut-down character, in fact that scene with Kevin in the kitchen is the only time he expresses desire or want for anything in the entire film, and it's why it works as the emotional climax. I think it makes perfect sense in light of the kid we got to know in the first two parts of the film.
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For me that's why he doesn't work as a psychologically real character.

I read that the play Moonlight was based on didn't have a third act. That doesn't surprise me.
 
takriel said:
We resort to laughing at things we don't understand or make us uneasy.
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Yup... this.

It's a very human response. To try to deny someone it is actually fairly cruel in its own right.

Not everyone's as woke as you. People used to see communal moviegoing as a chance to feel unity. Now we look at other people as a nuisance that we can't get away from fast enough.

... something has been lost.
 
Yeah happened to me when i saw it at BRIC in Brooklyn. Some people were chuckling at basic scenes or ones that were so serious. And they werent chuckles or laughs out of like.. idk a sigh of joy for the character. example the scene
In the dinner at the third act a few times i heard laughs like.. its such a powerful and intimate scene during this whole journey
Or in
the second acts end where the main character confronts the bully and its after math
..

IDK how you can go into a theater knowing (if at all) what this movie is about and laugh it off...

Loved the movie myself though. One of my favorite movies of all time, especially from a personal stand point. You dont see films made this gently and beautifully often, especially with black folk and the themes it explored. All handled with grace and thought.
 
Man a lot of you would hate to watch a movie with me. I laugh at inappropriate moments all the time. Especially during stressful movies about real shit. It's really easy to take a single line or moment out of context and find it funny. Like, I read the excerpt in the OP, and honestly, I laughed pretty hard at the barely in context quote. Obviously the scene is playing out much differently in my head as opposed to the movie, but a real life example, I watched Augustus Orange County with some friends and me and the guy sitting next to me were laughing at parts of it because God Damn, that movie is fucking familial stress incarnate. I ended up pulling out a cigarette midway through just for the emotional support and me and him were giggling at it like crazy.
 
Unison said:
When I saw 12 Years a Slave in Compton, I laughed at the scenes where Sarah Paulson is cucking Fassbender. These scenes were clearly funny to me, but a black man got up, came over and lectured me, asking, "Do you think this is funny?". I said yes to him, but we didn't get into a big discussion about it, as the movie was running.
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This gets a big bag of 'wut' from me.
 
No surprise there, that's why I went to watch Moonlight at the emptiest possible time window lol. It's just, I get it, it's the kind of subject matter that folks 'round here don't empathize with on the same level the film requires them to be on...so you may be better off watching it like a private screening, lmao.

The thing is there's also been plenty of times a theater experience almost ruined the movie for me too. Because it's public, there's a lot more environmental factors which you can't control and eventually learn to compartmentalize.

Though in one case it was because my friend wouldn't share the popcorn.
 
Unison said:
I personally found the idea that Chiron didn't have sex between the second and third sections of Moonlight to be laughable. His sexuality is something I can't really understand. It seems contrived for the sake of the movie.
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Its less about sex and more about intimacy as a whole and
He barely got intimacy and love from his mother with his mother going deeper into her crack addiction, and while she DID love or try to love him, she couldnt be there for him cause of her addiction. Juan was there for him but once reality set in when he asked juan about what he does it breaks his innocence and reality of his intimacy with juan. Kevin was the only constant that always was there for him, as a friend, sexually mid way and at the end reconnecting together.

umop_3pisdn said:
Chiron is an extremely shut-down character, in fact that scene with Kevin in the kitchen is the only time he expresses desire or want for anything in the entire film, and it's why it works as the emotional climax. I think it makes perfect sense in light of the kid we got to know in the first two parts of the film, it would only seem contrived if literally the first thing we learned about Chiron wasn't how profoundly closed off he was.
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exactly which is why it DOES indeed work especially since
The last scene of the movie is to contrast their first sexual moment where you see their backs and now you see them together facing the camera. It all comes full circle.

god this movie <3
 
i laughed the whole way through Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, and people told us to shush

i know its not the same thing, but the point is people observe things different than you may
 
This reminds me of seeing Quentin Tarantino films and getting at least one group of people laughing hysterically whenever someone white says "nigger" and it's not a scene meant for laughs. It just goes to show how damn immature people can be.

For me, though, nothing has topped my 12 Years a Slave experience, when damn near the entire crowd erupted into applause when Solomon started whooping on Paul Dano's character, and I'm just sitting back in my chair horrified because 1) even without the applause, I knew damn well whatever was going to happen next to Solomon would be horrifying and 2) I've never seen such a misread from an audience that seemed to think that less than halfway into a film called 12 Years a Slave that we were going to be allowed any kind of respite. The silence accompanying the following scene was deafening.
 
I made the mistake of going to an AMC on a Friday night to see American Hustle. There was a lady on lady kiss and a teen girl behind me went "ew!" really loudly.

Didn't really ruin a good movie though. Fuck me, American Hustle is such a mess.

Hanzou said:
Eh you can't really kick people for laughing at something he less they are being loud annoying on purpose.
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Alamo Drafthouse would kick your ass out for this shit. A good theater doesn't play.
 
This is depressing, but not surprising. There's still a huge population out there that thinks it's cool to say "gay" all the time in response to....I dunno. When is the proper time to say gay?

"...and then they swerved in front of me and nearly drove me off the road."
"Wow. That's gay."
 
Personally, I think a lot of the laughter at serious movies comes from an inability, or unwillingness, to connect or empathize with the themes of a movie or its characters. It can be a stressful thing to do, but it I think its a defense mechanism to keep from connecting to a film and what it's trying to say to you.

I have not seen Moonlight with a large black audience, but I can imagine dealing with laughter in a theater if I had. Exploring masculinity and the manifestation of male sexuality is a tricky, uncomfortable thing in the black community still, and that's when we're talking about STRAIGHT men. Add in homosexuality, and it can be a lot for black audiences to take in.

Especially because the way Moonlight does it is very real, and human. There's a real, delicate and uninterrupted focus on Chiron's life and his existence as a young, black male coming into his sexuality, what that means, and the forces around him. And there's very little comic relief or ease. No sassy black sidekick. No Cookie Lyon to add a dash of fun and constantly remind you that this is not serious and it's supposed to be fun. This is a movie, it's fake, but it's a real experience and you might know this person. You might be this person. You might have made fun of this person, and are now seeing for the first time the human side of what was once a joke to you, and how you made that person feel. And in your laughter, you're looking for kinship, some sort of reassurance that you're not a terrible person.

I think that when movies dealing with serious subjects are successful at presenting those subjects to the audience, the audience will either allow themselves to be pulled in...or put up a barrier to keep from being pulled in. Oftentimes that barrier is laughter.
 
Also, not completely the same thing, but your experience in the audience reminds me of why I can't stand live audiences/laugh tracks for TV shows. There are numerous moments in Friends that some pretty serious shit is being talked about on screen, and you'll hear some random fuck laughing their ass off. I think one particular recent scene was when Rachel was discussing her parents and how they always fought and yelled at each other.

royalan said:
Personally, I think a lot of the laughter at serious movies comes from an inability, or unwillingness, to connect or empathize with the themes of a movie or its characters. It can be a stressful thing to do, but it I think its a defense mechanism to keep from connecting to a film and what it's trying to say to you.

I have not seen Moonlight with a large black audience, but I can imagine dealing with laughter in a theater if I had. Exploring masculinity and the manifestation of sexuality is a tricky, uncomfortable thing in the black community still, and that's when we're talking about STRAIGHT men. Add in homosexuality, and it can be a lot for black audiences to take in.

Especially because the way Moonlight does it is very real, and human. There's a real, delicate and uninterrupted focus on Chiron's life and his existence as a young, black male coming into his sexuality, what that means, and the forces around him. And there's very little comic relief or ease. No sassy black sidekick. No Cookie Lyon to add a dash a fun and constantly remind you that this is not serious and it's supposed to be fun. This is a movie, it's fake, but it's a real experience and you might know this person. You might be this person. You might have made fun of this person, and are now seeing for the first time the human side of what was once a joke to you, and how you made that person feel. And in your laughter, you're looking for kinship, some sort of reassurance that you're not a terrible person.

I think that when movies dealing with serious subjects are successful at presenting those subjects to the audience, the audience will either allow themselves to be pulled in...or put up a barrier to keep from being pulled in. Oftentimes that barrier is laughter.
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This is a damn good post. I agree. I think some people can be very uncomfortable when presented with certain emotions, certain scenarios where these emotions are being evoked, and they use this barrier just like you say.
 
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