Black Reaction to Cinema Conduct

When you find yourself sitting in a cinema where there's a competitive amount of action and sound effects between those 'watching' the movie and the actual movie itself...you know ther gon'b sum black peeps up in thur, standard.

Don't blame us,  I swear it's in our genes (I'll explain)! And even though i get really annoyed when I'm sitting there watching a movie with a manic lady screaming at the screen, with popcorn flying everywhere around her as she targets at the film's antagonist...wait, who am i kidding?! That manic freak is me, I'm that annoying lady in the cinema...well at least last night at a Preston cinema i was. I never really realised it back at home (In Africa) amongst my fellow 'homeboys' (please excuse the cheesy American slang), with them I'd just blend in!

'Oh hell no, he did not just go there', these are the words i found myself saying in the epic scene in Twilight: Breaking Dawn when Jacob ***** ***** ** *** ****** *** .........(Starred out for the sake of those who haven't watched). Anyway the point is, well who was i talking to and why did i feel the need to comment, in a cinema, where the only lights on are pointing to the screen and the rest of the room is in darkness, clearly indicating a separation between where there SHOULD be action/sound/talk and where there SHOULDN'T!!!

Well here's the deal, I'm black, my roots stem from the African soils (Though science/history shows we all did, for the sake of the point I'm trying to make I'm speaking from the perspective of Post-Ape era here). It all boils down to understanding, meaning and the nature of communication taught amongst the African society. And yes, though it may be true that to some extent different cultures and races are gradually amalgamating into one unison popular way of life (especially in the 'first world'), the change definitely hasn't fully affected this largely inherent characteristic difference in communication between, well for the sake of simplicity in this writing, the black and white race.

Both storytellers and audience are involved in creating the sense of the story

Let's take away the cinemas, theatres, ipads, kindles and even books...and understand a form of communication that exists largely in the context of an integrated, communal oral performance. That is the background in which storytelling (and cinema) exists in African tradition. Without back and forth interaction (oral and physical) a story does not exist. Storytelling was and continues to be used as a way to teach, involve and excite the listener.

If you look at the example of hip hop (considering it as a black art form), there isn't a rapper out there who doesn't provide a platform that allows for the integration of the audience with his art...there's always a 'Can i get a Hip Hop Hip Hop' or a 'Wave your hands in the air, like you just don't curr' (feel free to adapt to modern day lingo). The point is it isn't worth the watch if you can't get involved in one way another....


'Throw your hands in the airya and wave dem like u juss dont careya'!

Anyway, this brings me back to cinema and why i find myself having a hard time maintaining my composure through action sequences, love scenes and even through the scenes in between. It's just not in me to sit and silently internalise what is to me a natural reaction to performed storytelling. Whether it be on screen, radio, on paper or on line my culture has ingrained in me to physically and orally react, while involving those around me. Screaming, squirming, popcorn throwing and posing hysteric rhetorical questions during a film are all a part of the cinema experience for me, if i had to sit motionless and quiet for a full on 120mins i honestly, without doubt, wouldn't be able to follow the film's narrative!