• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    What I’ve never understood- it doesn’t bother me but I’ve never understood it- is people who clap after a movie. I don’t mean people at the premiere where the filmmakers and actors are, I mean people in some town in Wisconsin or whatever. It’s weird.

    • ahornsirup@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      It’s for the projectionist, and it’s probably outdated these days. But until digital film distribution became common it was actually a fairly involved job.

      Edit: and if you go back to the silent film era the scores used to be played live. So maybe it’s even a holdover from that.

      • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Interesting theory but if it was clapping for the protectionist then they’d do it at the end of every movie that was well-projected, not just the movies they thought were great.

        I feel it’s more a habit carried over from live theater and music performances. They’re happy and just instinctively clap even if it’s pointless as a gesture towards the production. It just an expression of enjoyment they’ve developed sitting in a theater.