The Velvet Café

A room for thoughts about movies

How to pick a perfect seat in a theatre

with 57 comments

A fellow movie blogger from Sweden once told me that anyone who sits as ridiculously far back as in the third row can’t be considered a true cinephile. He asked rhetorically:

“Why would you want to have rustling and tilting heads and talking and whispers between yourself and the movie?”

To be honest I’ve spent the majority of my movie going life in the far back of the room, which is pretty stupid considering how short I am. I have a vague recollection of that it originally somehow had to do with this problem. If I had the seat in the last row I could make my own arrangements to see better, such as sitting on my knees, without having to take into consideration how this would affect the view of people in the rows behind me.

Moving forward
As years have gone by, I’ve moved forward, row by row, and nowadays it’s not rare to see me in the second or third row. Maybe I’m turning into a cinephile after all? But the first row I still usually avoid, unless there are no other options available. I just don’t enjoy too much of neck bending.

I hate having heads in my sightline as much as anyone else, but my strategy to avoid them is to look for seats on the sides, which generally are less popular. I also try to pick a seat which allows me to sit down and take as much time as I want to watch the credits or put on my clothes without having a queue of impatient people waiting for me to leave so they get passed.

Almost every time I go to a movie, I pre-book my seat over Internet. Once I get to the cinema I pull my credit card in a machine and pick up my ticket.

It’s been like this for many years in Sweden by now. The only place where the free seating remains is in the last remaining independent theatre in my city. Whenever I go to one of their shows, I just buy a ticket, enter the room and pick whatever place that is free.

Stacking in the middle
So what do I make of the reservation system? Well, I can see some disadvantages.

I often go and watch movies on my own, so it’s not a big deal to me, but for people who want to go in company with friends, I can see that there might be a bit of a hindrance of spontaneity. Assume that you buy your seats for a certain row and a few hours later your friends decide that they want to go too. In that case you can’t be sure they’ll get places anywhere close to you.

Before the Internet booking took over and we still bought the tickets at the cinema, you could also see some pretty strange placement drama going on in the theatres.  For some reason the people who sold the tickets always assumed that you wanted to sit as close to the middle as possible. And they were obviously instructed to pack the audience efficiently together, making sure that no seats would be wasted. That’s the kind of ticket you’d get unless you specifically asked for something different: a seat close to the middle in the middle row or maybe a little bit further back. As a result, you’d often end up in a small island of 10-15 people, gathered in the small centre of a huge sea of empty seats.

Those islands made us uncomfortable. I know it’s not the case in every country, but in Sweden, the personal zones are serious business. If you’re entering a bus for instance, and there are only a few people on it, you’re expected to spread more or less evenly. Sitting down next to someone in that situation would be considered creepy, hostile, bordering to criminal.

Honouring the rules about personal space, people often started to change places, spreading out a little. The problem was that you could always bet that someone would turn up late to the movie, claiming the very seat that someone just had moved to. And more often than not, this latecomer would be obsessed with keeping the right order, so instead of just taking any of the one hundred other free seats, he or she would insist on the seat thief to move away somewhere else. The entire audience would get involved, because the space betweens the rows is generally so small that you have to stand up to let people through. Oh, the joy…

Nowadays those situations won’t rise quite as often. People book their tickets online and as they pick their spots, they spread out a little, if not evenly, at least sufficiently enough not to intrude the unspoken laws about how to share a space with others without being considered a threat.

Don’t need to queue
Seat reservations are for good and for bad. The bad thing is that it’s so inflexible. If a guy who could candidate for a freak show thanks to his length sits down in front of you, you can’t adjust to the situation, moving a couple of seats, without risking to cause a mess.

The good thing about it is that you can choose your favourite spot days in advance. You don’t need to stand in a line inhaling the sickening fumes of popcorn; you don’t even have to turn up at the cinema until the movie is about to start. It’s very convenient if you’re the planning type.

So: what’s your favourite seat in a cinema? Are you the kid in the front row? Do you hide in the back? Or are you going for the sides in the hope not to get someone in front of you?

Please feel free to share your views as we’re about to enter the weekend, sipping a cup of coffee or maybe something stronger!

Cheers!

Written by Jessica

September 30, 2011 at 5:00 pm

57 Responses

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  1. Toward the back and to the side a bit, ideally in one of the center sets of seats, but on the edge of those. I don’t like being close in, because then I have to move my head a ton to see what is going on. I wonder what it would do for my sense of immersion if I was closer and therefore had to move to follow the action. Would I feel like I was in the scene, having to keep up just like if it was real, or would I just end up missing half the action?

    Klepsacovic

    September 30, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    • Hm… I suppose it’s more like in an imax theatre, you know one of those that has a projection like a half sphere? Sure, you have to move a bit to see everything, but it’s more immersive.

      Jessica

      September 30, 2011 at 11:46 pm

  2. Most US theaters (and far as I can tells, dang near all the ones built in the last ten years) has gone with “stadium seating” – each row be significantlies higher than the one in fronts of it. So unless yer sittin’ behind a basketball star wearin’ a sombrero, ya can pretty much see the screen fine from anywheres, even if yer a kid or a pink-pigtailed gnome. Reserved seats be pretty rare here – I’s only seen it employed in theaters what show big-time blockbusters on IMAX screens and can pull big crowd every night. Might be done more in high-density cities like New York, I dunno. Here in Texas we tend fer ta sprawl out a bit – saw Warrior with the missus couple weeks ago, and we was the only ones in the theater.

    Me, I likes fer ta sit in the middle of the row, mebbe about a third of the way back from the screen. Is mainly ’cause that way I can see fine without me glasses. Too far back, and the screen gets kinda blurry without’em, and I tend fer ta forgets ta bring’em in from the car with me.

    Ratshag

    September 30, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    • I’ve been to movies a couple of times in US and I was so envious! They were steep, comfortable, had everything I could wish for. The theatres I have in my city are (most of them), crude and quite terrible in comparsion. If someone is sitting in front of me, his or her head will take up a bit of the screen unless it’s a very small child. 😦

      About your glasses: I feel with you. Maybe you shold try one of those strings you can attach to them? They’re called “senile strings” in Sweden. Kind of fitting. If I wore glasses I would definitely need it.

      Jessica

      September 30, 2011 at 11:49 pm

  3. Interesting. I haven’t gone to a movie yet with assigned seating in St. Louis, so I still just pick my seat at this point. I also seem to be going at random times like a weekend afternoon or late weekday night, so it’s never that crowded. I don’t like sitting really close to the front, especially if I need to turn my head to watch different parts of the screen.

    My preference is to sit about halfway back, generally on the aisle for bathroom breaks if needed. The specific spot depends on the type of theater. If it’s stadium seating, I’m picking a one of the first rows after the seats start going upward. Then, the issue of having heads in front is minimal. If it’s more of a standard theater, I’m still looking to be about halfway back. If I had a choice, I’d rather sit near the back over sitting in the front. Of course, the theaters are usually pretty empty when I go.

    Dan Heaton

    September 30, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    • To be honest the theatres are often quite empty when I go too. In one way it’s a relief of course. The risk I’ll have someone in front of me is lesser, especially if I pick a seat at one of the sides. But in another way it makes me sad and worried about the future of the theatres. Actually thinking of it, the sadness and worries are stronger than the relief.

      I don’t think I’ve ever had to go for a bathroom break during a performance. But then I plan my cinema visits pretty well. I’d never have tea or a beer just before going to a theatre. And I don’t buy soda either, just to be sure I’ll not have to go. I know some people have medical conditions forcing them to leave though. I feel for them.

      Jessica

      September 30, 2011 at 11:53 pm

  4. In Germany and in the Netherlands most are free-for-all. So I usually go for one in the middle-ish to the sides, so I can get out easily if the movie is bad, or stretch my legs sideways, or hang back really deep in the chair, without anyone in front of me. But other than that I don’t care, little surprises make it interesting.

    Harmen

    September 30, 2011 at 6:48 pm

    • “Get out easily if the movie is bad”!!! I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a movie because it was bad. The only time I’ve left was because they had misinformed me about the length and I had to get home because the babysitter expected us…

      Jessica

      September 30, 2011 at 11:55 pm

  5. Generally considered, the seats that the movie technicians use to test a movie offer the best seats:

    “According to experts, preferences vary but in order to get the most out of the sound system in most theaters, you want to pick a row about two thirds of the distance between the screen and the back of the theater. And then you want to sit one or two seats from the exact center of the row.
    Why is this? Because the sound technicians check the audio levels from the center seat about two-thirds back from the screen.”

    http://kpartin.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Seat-In-The-Movies

    Carra

    September 30, 2011 at 8:17 pm

  6. I like the middle. Just as recently as last week when I went to see Moneyball, I felt we were sitting too close to the screen even though we were in the middle seats (I guess the screen was quite huge). It makes it harder to see the entire screen without turning your head left and right the whole time.

    Castor

    September 30, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    • I’ve actually never thought about “turning my head” as an issue. But having to bend my neck can be. Above all some screens look a bit weird when you get too close. Especially in one of the theatres in my town the screen looks dotted. Thousands and thousands of visible spots. I guess they’re there for a reason but they really stand out in that particular theatre and I don’t want to get overly near them.

      Jessica

      September 30, 2011 at 11:58 pm

  7. Lacking other people, I will tend to go for a seat in the center of the screen (fairly close to that 2/3rds back thing Carra mentions). For a foreign language film I’ll often sit off to the left aisle so that my default head position will be on the left side of the screen, where each line of subtitle starts. Maybe it is just placebo effect, but I think that makes subtitled films slightly less taxing. While the nicer theaters have decent leg room, as a fairly tall fellow, for those that lack legroom I’m definitely going to prefer the aisle so I can stretch my legs a bit more.

    The idea that true film fans sit in the front few rows is really weird to me. Maybe they don’t start the seats out as close in Sweden but in the US those are terribly uncomfortable on your neck such that when I went to my opening night Harry Potter screening where they had sold out many screens, they weren’t seating in the first few rows (unless someone wanted to sit there).

    Bondo

    September 30, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    • I won’t pick the front row normally either, although if that was the only row left, I defnitely wouldn’t pass on the movie because of that.

      As far as I understand it you seem to have a better inclination in the US so it’s not such an issue to have people in front of you – especially not if you’re tall. Legroom is never a problem to me. But it’s not much of a comfort. After all – seeing all of the screen is what matters.

      Jessica

      October 1, 2011 at 12:07 am

  8. Pretty much the only thing I remember from High School math is when we calculated the best seat to sit in when going to the movies. We had to factor in angle of viewing and the stadium seating and the height of the screen and all that jazz. Bascially, the answer was in the middle horizontally and a bit towards the back vertically. In this particular theater that was in the math book. I pretty much just try to get the furthest away from people but still not have to turn my head too much.

    The best place for 3D is further back and as close to the middle as possible. But I may be crazy there.

    Alex Thompson

    September 30, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    • Hehe, that’s a good way to make maths enjoyable and meaningful! You should publish the formula on your blog!

      Jessica

      October 1, 2011 at 12:09 am

      • I’ve long since forgotten it, unfortunately. I remember only the answer.

        Alex Thompson

        October 1, 2011 at 12:18 am

  9. “Assume that you buy your seats for a certain row and a few hours later your friends decide that they want to go too. In that case you can’t be sure they’ll get places anywhere close to you.”

    And why on Earth would you like to sit close to your friends…? Being the film blogger referred to in the first sentence, I don’t see why one has to sit close to one’s friends in a cinema. The point is, you’re there to see the film, not to look at each other or talk or whatever.

    Actually, only this last Wednesday I attended a screening at the Swedish Film Institute together wity my mum and a friend of hers. But I didn’t sit anywhere near them – or anybody else, for that matter. I waited until most everyone had picked a seat and then sat as far away from everybody else as possible.

    On the other hand, I don’t see the point in going to the cinema together with anyone at all – just as I don’t see the point in reading a book having a couple of friends reading over me shoulders. I’m there to see the film, not to chitchat and thus destroy the experience for myself and others.

    All the best,
    Bellis

    Bellis

    October 1, 2011 at 12:12 am

    • Actually I didn’t refer to myself there. I just tried to imagine how it might appear to other people. Like you I see most movies on my own. But judging from what I see in theatres I actually believe we’re in minority.

      On the rare occasions that I go to a cinema in company, I wouldn’t dream of chit-chatting to someone during the show. They always know how to behave and it’s actually quite nice to have someone to talk to about the movie afterwards. I think your efforts to get away from your mother are sort of cute, but a little extreme. Do you actually say that she’s talking to you during the movie? Sounds a bit weird to me!

      Jessica

      October 1, 2011 at 12:19 am

      • No, my mother would never dream of uttering a word during a screening. As you know, she founded the European Film Academy and the European Film Award, and that if anything probably goes to show what a cinephile she is. My point is that no matter what, one is always more focused on the film seeing it surrounded by empty seats, for even inadvertently people can sort of disturb your attention.

        These days I actually see most films on DVD, but when I go to the cinema I prefer to go in the daytime on a weekday, and to a large multiplex with gigantic theaters at that. It’s a quite wonderful feeling sitting nearly all alone in front of an enormously huge silver screen. I wish I had such a system at home, actually. Know where I might obtain one cheaply?

        All the best,
        Bellis

        Bellis

        October 1, 2011 at 12:42 am

        • I’ve only been alone in a cinema watching a movie once, when I watched Beginners earlier this summer. While it was awesome, it was also quite depressing. I can’t stop thinking about how bad it must go and what signals it will send to the film producers when quality movies attract such a small audience.

          I’m afraid I’m at a loss about home video systems. I only have a normal DVD at home. No blue-ray and not even a surround sound system. Maybe some other commentor can help you.

          I’m afraid that our house is way too small for a big screen. I can’t understand where people put those things. I suppose their homes have more space.

          Jessica

          October 1, 2011 at 12:49 am

          • Eh, I was joshing around… I meant I want a big silver screen at home, but unfortuantely me living room is far smaller than even your friendely, neighbourhood cinema. 😀

            All the best,
            Bellis

            Bellis

            October 1, 2011 at 1:11 am

  10. I try to sit as close to the center from the side and as close to the screen as I can see everything on it without ever having to turn my head. I am never concerned about the sound because generally it is played so loud that it doesn’t matter where I am it sounds fine. If people have to crawl around me afterwards, so be it. I find that to be more their problem than mine.

    Adam

    October 1, 2011 at 12:18 am

    • “If people have to crawl around me afterwards, so be it. I find that to be more their problem than mine”

      That’s the spirit! You must be really absorbed by the after text though not to let yourself be disturbed by poeple crawling around you.

      Jessica

      October 1, 2011 at 12:21 am

  11. I’m usually good around the middle in the middle of a stadium seating theatre. Sometimes I’ll go a bit higher/to the back, sometimes lower/to the front. At TIFF this year, a lot of the seats my friends chose were closer to the screen, which is not my usual choice, but I actually kind of got to liking it. Also nice were the shows at the Ryerson theatre, which has an upper balcony. At that theatre, we got seats right at the front of the balcony where we could put out feet up and enjoy the awesomeness of Midnight Madness.

    Also, at the Lightbox here in Toronto, they sometimes show movies projected in 70mm, but it’s onto a screen that isn’t large enough for the format, and it’s not curved. When I go to those shows I make up for it by sitting as close as possible to the screen so that the entire screen is still in my field of view through my glasses, but only just. The 70mm film is so sharp in quality that sitting closer doesn’t make it look blurrier at all. 2001: A Space Odyssey was a marvel to behold from that angle.

    Corey Atad

    October 1, 2011 at 12:41 am

    • An upper balcony! Awesome! Now I get so nostalgic. When I was in my teenages I was a member of a movie club. Every Saturday afternoon I watched two movies in a row in a classical old theatre in what was my home city at that time. It wasn’t only huge; it also had a balcony, which is something I’ve never seen in a cinema anywhere else in Sweden (you see it in some theatres for real theatre though). I always, always sat on the front row on the balcony and I too put up my feet. It was fantastic. I thought about mentioning it in my post but couldn’t quite fit it in. But now you gave me a reason to talk about it! You have my full approval for your choice!

      Jessica

      October 1, 2011 at 12:54 am

  12. For me the ideal seating position is where the screen covers a roughly 45 degree viewing angle, wherever that may be depends on the screening room.

    Bonjour Tristesse

    October 1, 2011 at 8:21 am

    • I’ve never thought about the angle to be honest, but it sounds about right.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 9:59 am

  13. Due to my eyesight, I tend to sit slightly to the left at the cinema- the majority of my sight is courtesy of my right eye, which means if I sat in the middle I’d be turned to the left slightly. So whatever else, that’s my first call. (Luckily the husband has similar problems with his eyesight, also with his left eye, so we can comfortably share the experience!)

    I generally choose halfway up the rows, as I find the screens so big, and sometimes hard to take in all at once. The only time I vividly recall sitting in front row seats was for Twister, and we ducked at points during that (who needs 3d when you’re at the front and there are flying cows?!), so I do understand the appeal. I’ve also found position depends on the style of cinema, size of screen, and who I’m with.

    Alq

    October 1, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    • Oh, you’re blessed with big screens. Sadly enough most screens in my city are very small, some of them barely bigger than the home movie arrangements some enthusiasts have at home. When I was to the movies in Britain the screens were way larger. I might just have been lucky. Or maybe you actually ARE blessed with better cinemas on the other side of the channel.

      Flying cows? I haven’t watched Twister, but it certainly sounds a bit twisted…

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 10:01 am

      • Oh, we found Twister a great deal of fun in the blockbuster movie style, it’s very predictable but at the time it worked for us, and we like it because of that. It doesn’t work on a small screen so well, sadly. It’s a standard Hollywood style film, but I loved the storm chasing aspect and the passion of the main characters about the storms. There’s a couple of bits in it, where tornadoes are picking up trees and flinging them towards the audience (would have been great in 3d!) and then a cow goes flying past the heroes’ vehicle.

        I do love big screens, but sometimes I find myself craving the intimacy of the smaller screens and cinemas. Again, I think it depends on the film!

        Alq

        October 2, 2011 at 2:22 pm

  14. It has taken me three decades of notorious fieldstudies to come to the right conclusion (for me): fourth row, in the middle. Always the fourth row and always in the middle. If I can´t get that seat I choose another film. 😉

    Fiffi

    October 1, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    • Haha, that’s awesome. I’ll have to try the Fiffi spot sometime and see if you’re right.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 9:55 am

  15. Not the first, not the second, but maybe the third row, usually a little bit on the side in order to sit more alone.

    BUT I also appreciate sitting in a packed theatre enjoying a good movie IF the people in the theatre really are focused on the movie and not on chit-chatting, using their smartphone to check the time every five minutes, peeling mandarins, etc. A focused audience can actually make a good movie even better.

    Going with friends is not bad if the friend(s) keep to the rules (no talking during the movie). With a friend you can talk during the commercials and you can sit thru the whole end credits and discuss the movie (yes, I allow talkikng during the end credits). Once though I went with a friend that was disturbing me. He started twisting and turning in his seat and kept checking the time. Gah. This was during the looong and trippy movie Enter the Void.

    Jojjenito

    October 1, 2011 at 10:54 pm

  16. Incredible post! I hate the front few rows, especially in 3D.

    themovieblog8

    October 2, 2011 at 12:00 am

    • Thank you! I watch very little 3d. Avatar was the last one I can remember. And then I was somewhere further back, so I can’t agree or disagree about if 3d is particularly bad for row one.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 9:55 am

  17. Hmm at the family run *foreign* cinema here, I usually wedge myself in somewhere near the door so I can run out for a quick beer 🙂
    In England, I always used to sit near the back towards the right hand side as you look at the screen.
    I don’t know why.. I think it was somehow related to where the best place was to sit when watching a brass band concert.. and habits die hard with me.
    More recently I sit dead centre – I think it’s the best view. I don’t have to worry about people around me or noise, as I tend to try and go at a time when the cinema will be pretty empty, and watch a film in it’s last few days rather than the first few.

    Issy

    October 2, 2011 at 12:52 am

    • Run out for a quick beer! That sounds exotic! And a bit daring. I would never dare to challenge my bladder with beer going to the cinema.

      I love too when I don’t feel stressed out towards the end of the movie because everyone else is rushing off as if the place was on fire.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 10:03 am

  18. Back and to the side. I think I got into the habit while working for the Filmstudio in Umeå when you had to be able to jump up at a moments notice to dash out and tell the technician to adjust the picture.

    I have the exact same experience with poeple who are obsessed with sitting at their alotted chair, despite there being hundreds more available. Swedish personal space colliding with Swedish sense of justice (or jealousy?) 😉

    Sofia

    October 2, 2011 at 9:43 am

    • The Filmstudio in Umeå! That’s my old film club from my teenages. I used to sit on the balcony in the Odeon theatre. On the front row up there.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 9:53 am

      • Alas, Odeon was before my time but wasn’t that Filmstudio the best ever? I was a member (and also active) between late 1991and until it closed down 😦

        Sofia

        October 3, 2011 at 10:04 am

        • It was awesome! I’m a member of a film club in the town where I live now but it’s nowhere near what that was like back in the days. I’m sad to hear it closed down. I movied away from Umeå in 1986, so I’m afraid we never met there.

          Jessica

          October 3, 2011 at 10:25 am

  19. Personal space is the most important issue for me. If i go alone far up and to the left. If i go with my brother we have an argument he wants to sit close to the screen i want to sit al least on the fourth row.
    I do hate late-comers and the seats in Swedish cinemas isn´t very comfortable but of course there are exeptions.

    filmitch

    October 2, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    • Yeah, I think especially in Stockholm there probably are a few good cinemas with a decent grading and space around you, American style. Where I live that’s not quite the case. 😦

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 7:28 pm

  20. I absolutely refuse to go see any movie in theaters. In america, the cell phones go off constantly, and people think it’s way too cool to just be generally loud and obnoxious in public. I’ll stay at home where I can pause at will, pee in my own toilet, and generally have much more control over the ambient mood.

    The fact that you can book seats in the theater at all did blow my mind though. Just a tiny bit 😉

    Ixobelle

    October 2, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    • Cell phones going off? That’s really bad. There’s always a reminder about shutting it down before the show here and actually I can’t recall ever hearing it during a movie. But the rattling of people text messaging can be quite annoying; I agree about that.
      Still… there’s a magic about watching films in a real theatre that I can’t be without.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 7:30 pm

  21. Amazing post as usual. I really found your analysis of the Swedes mindset about personal space being spot on! I actually rather would like a system like the US where you claim your seat inside of the theater instead of reserving spots in advance.

    I try to sit at least midback in the cinema but my fiance prefers sitting closer so thats something we have to solve when going together. Unfortunately I find most Stockholm cinemas to be quite flat compared to US cinemas.

    Joel Burman

    October 2, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    • I would have imagined that you’d have better cinemas in Stockholm, but apparently not. How much is it to ask for that a cinema should be built in a way so shorter people (read women) can see the screen too? Just askin’. Glad you’re able to compromise at least.

      Jessica

      October 2, 2011 at 11:12 pm

  22. Fantastic and insightful thinking. I’ve never really decided on an exact spot; there’s never one place I’m consistently returning to each time I go to the theatre, but my preferred place would be anywhere between the first and fifth rows, and as close to the centre of my row as possible. One time I went to see SUPER 8 and sat near the front and was bothered by these kids talking and fiddling; I didn’t want to make a scene by telling them off so I sat there, trying to ignore it. I asked the desk clerk at the snack bar afterwards if they get a lot of complaints regarding noisy kids, and he said yes. Then about a week later my girlfriend wanted to go see it, so I went with her but we purposefully sat in the front row, so that if any kids started talking we could tell them off easily, or they might just be too intimidated by our presence that they didn’t bother talking at all. That didn’t go as planned. Some asshole of about 15 started talking behind me, so I turned around to shush him politely, but he shoved my face and cursed at me. That was the last time we sat that close to the front.

    Tyler

    October 3, 2011 at 4:42 am

    • Thank you for your kind words!

      I haven’t noticed that the first row would be a favorite spot for annoying, chattering kids to assemble. Maybe it’s a local thing in your theatre? Anyway I’m sorry about your experience. Shushing kids can be somewhat trickier than you might think. Unfortunately just the fact that you’re a few years older won’t impress on them very much these days.

      Jessica

      October 3, 2011 at 10:28 am

      • Well, we live in two very different parts of the world (I’m in New Zealand) so I would assume that, indeed, it’s a local thing. Which pisses me off even further.

        Tyler

        October 3, 2011 at 10:31 pm

        • You’re from New Zeeland? I had no idea but I figure I should have known considering the name of your blog… 🙂
          I’ve got a crush on NZ ever since I spent a couple of months there in 1989, making my way around hitchhiking. My strongest memory – apart from the stunningly beautiful landscapes I saw – was how friendly it was. All the hospitality we met from the kiwis… just amazing. And everyone seemed to walk in shorts all year round! I’d really really really love to return one day. Before I die I’ll have to. Take it as a promise.

          Jessica

          October 3, 2011 at 11:06 pm

  23. Wow, I loved your article! I never really thought that much about seat arrangements 🙂

    I usually try to get tickets in the middle seats of a row, and in between the first half and second half of the theatre- I always thought you can see the whole screen without turning your head too much! I do that especially on 3D or IMAX, it’s important! If not, I go with rows 3-8 middle to the edge!

    But next time I’ll get a seat near the front to see how it is!

    Diana aka Aziza

    October 3, 2011 at 10:33 am

    • Thank you! I didn’t think that much about it until I wrote this either. And then all of a sudden it was as if I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’m sure there’s a lot more to say about it. Maybe another time. 🙂

      Jessica

      October 3, 2011 at 11:07 pm

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