Disabled Teen Kicked Out Of Theater For Laughing Too Loudly

[LiviaOlivia]

Disabled Teen Kicked Out Of Theater For Laughing Too Loudly

POSTED: 11:54 am EST February 28, 2006
UPDATED: 2:44 pm EST February 28, 2006

OLDSMAR, Fla. -- The mother of a disabled teen complained to the American Civil Liberties Union after she and her son were kicked out of a movie theater because he was laughing too loudly.

Susan Brown said she and her 19-year-old son, Matt, were asked to leave an AMC Woodlands 20 theater during a showing of "The Pink Panther" Sunday. An AMC spokeswoman said several patrons complained about the teen's outbursts.

http://www.local6.com/news/7542555/detail.html

[DS1]

1. Oh look... FLORIDA!

[rfranklin]

2. They should thank him for making that turkey seem funny...

RIP Peter Sellers.

[Connie_Corleone]

3. I saw a couple of scenes and it didn't look funny at all.

[HuffleClaw]

4. i see no problem with this.

i've witnessed people being 'asked to leave' the movies. usually its disruptive kids, but i've seen disruptive adults turfed too. the theatre did offer a refund, which is more than i've ever seen 'em do to anyone else who got kicked out of the movies.

[MadMaddie]

5. How can you laugh too loud and a Pink Panther Movie....?

(this comment is sarcasm....I don't think there is enough laughter in the world, funny movies are meant to be laughed at)

Typical Florida Morans.....

Maybe the producers of "The Pink Panther" movie will send him a special copy.

These people are cruel....cruel...cruel...

[cdsilv]

6. My daughter is deaf and laughs loudly at movies ....

......and SHE CANNOT HEAR THE DIALOGUE. If a theatre kicked her out, I'd raise unholy hell.

I'd definitely contact the ACLU and ask for their help in a lawsuit.

Geez, people, how about a little TOLERANCE???? Sympathy for the disabled? What do you want us to do, lock them away in the attic so you don't have to deal with them?

Grow the F up!!!

[MadMaddie]

8. No you misunderstood me...

I meant that as sarcasm...

Pink Panther movies are made to be funny...and people should be laughing...laughing loud as far as I am concerned...

The people that complained are assholes if they don't want to hear other people laughing they should wait for the movie to come out on DVD so they can see it their quiet homes.....


I am African American and Gay on top of that...I know about tolerance...
and intolerance.

I understand that you are sensitive to this so I am not going to be a bitch about the below statement.....


<snip>
Geez, people, how about a little TOLERANCE???? Sympathy for the disabled? What do you want us to do, lock them away in the attic so you don't have to deal with them?
<snip>

I want the disabled in this country to be able to go wherever they want whether it's a diner/movie or any where else in this country and enjoy themselves without fear of being persecuted.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MadMaddie]

14. Never Mind....

sigh....

[medeak]

28. wow

I got deleted... wierd? Can't think of anything bad I said?

except for re post #4?

[KamaAina]

7. What, again?!

This happened to a New York State boy just last August. He was laughing too loudly at "March of the Penguins". Make of that whatever you will.

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/08/18/laughter2.html

The happy 7-year-old, who spends much of his time in a wheelchair dealing with cerebral palsy and autism, was ejected from the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday.

As Anthony was busy laughing and having a good time watching the film "March of the Penguins," a theater manager told his shocked family Anthony was laughing too loud, and that he had to get out.

Remember, no laughing if you have a disability! :sarcasm:

edit: spelling

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. I was just mentioning that incident

I hadn't seen your post yet at the time.

Exactly, no laughing loudly if you're disabled. After all, people pay good money for those tickets.

These are sad times we live in, are they not? :cry:

[medeak]

9. saw movie with retarded man in front row laughing so hard

made a bad movie tolerable.. was so good to see genuine happiness like that!

[Skittles]

24. yes that happened to me too

he had me laughing harder because he was having such a good time :)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Not unlike the boy with Cerebral Palsy and Autism that was thrown out

That was a few months back. He, also, was laughing too loudly, then the movie was the march of the penguins.

The way I see these situations is that I'm fortunate that me and my family are healthy. Far be it from me to complain about the pleasure of someone who may not be as fortunate as I am.

[Texacrat]

12. I see this going both ways

Of course, the parent can sue under the ADA. At the same time, SEVERAL patrons complained about the loudness of the laughter.

[tomhayes]

15. Look , I hate hate Florida too but...

If someone is laughing TOO LOUDLY, it would have to be:

a)REALLY LOUD
and
b)Inappropriately

If someone is making a lot of noise, be it laughter or talking that stops the other patrons from watching/enjoying the film, then I think they should be asked to leave.

I'd expect that in 99 out of 100 ejections are caused by people who or drunk or on drugs.

But if someone is laughingly UNCONTROLLABLY during the entire film (including parts clearly not funny) I'd appreciate if they were not in the sam theater as I am.

I think this one needs to go to court and let a judge decide. I hope someone has a recording of the laughter (and any other noises) that they could submit to evidence against the movie and let a jury decide.

[LostinVA]

17. Good grief -- it's a disabled teenager at a comedy flick

Everyone needs to have some tolerance and realize they have a right to be part of society, too. Are they supposed to wait for Netflix?

I have no one disabled in my family, and I can't imagine having to deal with these attitudes in 2006.

[rpannier]

29. Question for you

Other people pay 7 or 8 bucks to see a movie too. There's some guy who is so loud you can't hear the movie or enjoy it becuase of the disruption. What about their rights?
To you it may sound terrible that they made them leave, but there are other people involved here. The other people have the right to enjoy the movie as well, do they not?

[LostinVA]

16. This happened at another theater a few months ago -- remember?

MAJOR flamewar thread about it...

[bluestateguy]

18. This is a tough situation

We don't know the specifics, how loud he was, was he really being disuptive? We just don't know. The other customers paid for their tickets too, and if a number of reasonable customers found this teenager to be disruptive then something has to be done to protect the rights of the many customers rather than a single customer who is being disruptive.

[bleedingheart]

19. The lack of compassion in our country is amazing

whether it is this kid...or the guy with tourettes who can't find a place to live because no one wants him around...

it is just sad

[tomhayes]

22. Sad you'd equate these..

>whether it is this kid...or the guy with tourettes who can't find a place to live because no one wants him around...
>it is just sad

There's a difference here :

Someone is disrupting a MOVIE
VS.
Someone needs healthcasr/food/shelter.

I agree, if they kid was thrown out of a homeless shelter (while raining)I'd see it as a disabled person issue.

What this *is* is someone making a *LOT* of noise at a MOVIE and then asked to leave. It states in the article that "Several members of the theater audience complained that the guest's outbursts were disruptive," AMC spokeswoman Melanie Bell said in a statement.

The DEVIL will be in the details, and we don't have the DETAILS yet.

It's like the "Stupid lady spilt coffee on herself so she don't deserve no money from McDonald" thing. That case had a LOT of details that never made the HEADLINE obsessed media.

I think this one needs to be ADJUDICATED.

If it turns out he was just a little over exuberant and kicked out because he was unfairly targeted then I say he should sue the theater and win.

BUT..

If it turns out this kid was making an intolerable amount of noise (not just laughter, but could he have been yelling, or something else) then it was right that he was asked to leave.

I'll tell you this: if you can't control your outburst in court they BIND AND GAG YOU. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/orderinthecourt/2006/02/judges_have_aut.html)

Let's get this one in front of a judge and jury and then debate it here afterwards.

[jillan]

20. I would rather listen to a disabled teen's laughter than a

normal teen talking on their cell phone.

[Poll_Blind]

21. Anatomy of a movie-theater ejection, for those angry with the theater.

I'm not defending the movie theater. I wasn't there, I didn't see what happened with my own two eyes. But I worked at a movie theater many years ago and still have friends in the business which, by the way, is still thankless and still pays little.

However, I've been in numerous situations like the one mentioned above (although none of them were with disabled folks) and I can say the last thing the management wants to do is to eject a patron. Seriously, the last thing a theater manager wants is to eject a patron- especially a disabled one. Read that last sentence again. Why? Because people love to sue movie theaters. Alot. People love even talking about suing movie theaters. And usually the theater will settle with them on it in some fashion- usually in the form of comps, compensation in the form of free movie vouchers, free concessions or a refund. A movie theater owner is usually highly aware of how to deal with the public because outside of concert security movie theater owners have to deal with some of the most unruly, unreasonable people and situations that do not generally involve spilling blood that there are.

Did I mention the last thing a theater manager wants is to eject a patron- especially a disabled one?

However, there's this creeping evil thing- so insidious I dare not mention its name but I will: Other Patrons.

Other patrons are not the theater manager. Other patrons don't give a shit if you're disabled and making the noise because of your condition or gargling too loud because you're suffering from a sucking chest wound from a shotgun. All other patrons know is they paid too much god-damned money for the tickets and popcorn and they'll be damned if anything is going to be allowed to detract from such an expensive experience.

And they will, one by one or more, leave the house they're watching the movie in and go to the podium where tickets are taken and raise hell- they're already pissed about the cash they know they shouldn't have spent so much of- and this gives them a chance to perform a certain grim pageant of hyperbole and disgust that I have only seen at movie theater podiums and airline ticket counters.

The manager will send an usher in or go in themselves after the first complaint and stand at the back of the theater. They will listen and watch. If the behavior a) is unreasonable and b) is consistent they will ask the patron to quiet down or leave. Believe me- at this point the theater manager has little option. They can allow the person to continue to disrupt the movie for the other patrons or leave the disruptor in the theater and give 20-30 (or more) refunds plus comps which is very very expensive in a business (theater-running not movie-making) were you make very little dough.

I'm not sure what the mother thinks her angle is, legally, because she hasn't got one. I'm not surprised to see her exercising her litigious rights in this matter though.

PB

[Texacrat]

23. Her legal option are vested in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

I don't know the merits of her case, but she can sue, make no doubt about that.

[Poll_Blind]

27. But what part of that act was violated? That's my question.

Her legal options are also vested in The Constitution, the Bill of Rights and a host of other documents. None of them cover situations relating to this, based on that same news article that we have both read.

Maybe I misunderstood you- were you saying that there was something in that act that was violated to your knowledge? Or were you saying that if she sued, she would likely use that piece of legislation to support her argument, whatever her argument may be?

PB

[sleipnir]

30. Nail to Head. Ding.

Exactly. At the risk of being flamed, you're absolutely right. It's the reality of the situation and no bickering or complaining about rights is going to change that.

The thing is, both sides of this argument are right. The poor kid has the right to see a movie, but the people attending the theater also have a right to expect considerate behavior from the other patrons (irregardless of disability.) Oh, I've gotten into flame wars about this exact thing in the past, but both sides have a right and one always wins over the other. The only time you read about the patrons winning is if the disabled person is thrown out. You never read a story about how the patrons ignored or put up with above-normal laughter or noise.

It's a touchy subject, one that goes beyond what we expect as progressive behavior and into the world of reality.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. How stupid

I didn't think they ever kicked people out of movie theaters these days. Crying babies, cell phone talkers, they all get to stay. I once sat behind a guy who started reading the credits and went on to explain just about every scene in the movie to his kid. But this teenager gets kicked out for laughing - at a comedy? Unfriggin real.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

26. used to do mst3k commentary as a teen

when i got stuck in a bad movie and they never kicked me out.

yes, i know i was an asshole for doing it-i was 15, but films like the avengers deserved it