The trip to go see the film The Discreet Charm of the
Bourgeoisie has become an experience were one can compare the English and
American culture based on a simple activity as going to the movies. One of the
first major differences between the theaters in these two cultures is that in
the British theater one gets to choose their own seats the moment one orders
them. This gives the advantage of doing things before the movie starts without
having to make or ask someone to save a seat for you. In the American theater
one doesn’t get the chance to do this because one sits wherever they want.
Another thing that can be noticed is that the tickets are different. The
British ones are larger and in them they have your seat number. As you walk
into the theater you can see in plain view the room in which they are rolling
and preparing the film. You also get a piece of paper with information about
the movie that you are about to watch. This sheet gives a general summery about
the film and it gives all the information about who were the contributors to
the film. For example it gives the name of the Director, Production manager,
Assistant directors, etc. As you make your way in there is a visible sign that
clearly states that you can bring drinks in, but no food is allowed. This is a
major difference because in the American theaters one can bring food and drinks
and in a way one is expected to eat in the theater while one is enjoying the
movie. The room of the theater was smaller than the rooms of the American
theater. The seats here were smaller, but more comfortable compared to the
other ones. The space was confined and you couldn’t walk that easily in between
the rows. I also noticed that there was almost no advertisement not just of
products, but of other movies as well. For example there were no trailers
before the movie started, the lights just went off and the movie started to
appear. The room itself was pretty small, but the screen was large enough for
the room. The room also looked sophisticated and instead of appearing as a room
to watch movies it appears as an actual theater room, where one can see a live
performance. This experience of watching a film in a different country has become
the second chance for me to compare and contrast our culture with another one. The
first time I got the opportunity to contrast it was when I went to the theater
in Mexico and the major differences involved social classes. Basically I went
to two theaters in Mexico, which are part of the same company and are right
next to each other, the difference is the price, which for one the price is
cheap and for the second one the price is three times more expensive. In both
they show the same movies and the same advertisement, the difference is that the
service they give on the second one is as if one is a V.I.P. member. By doing
simple activities just as going to the movies one can see positive and negative
traits from a certain culture. For example the experience in Mexico made me
realize the enormous discrimination between social classes regarding money and
one in that country is place as a person with money or a person with no money. Regarding
this British experience one can see a positive trait in it, that the atmosphere
in the theater is more sophisticated and proper and that makes the activity
more personal regarding ones attention to the film, which makes ones analysis
of it to be profound.
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