Leave your mirrored horses and enormous metal hats at home: AMC Theaters has issued new guidelines for audiences attending Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé. Much like Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, theaters are asking fans to take it down a notch when it comes to treating these screenings as concerts.
According to AMC’s website regarding the film, “We want to see your amazing outfits! Feel free to take selfies and group shots to celebrate the occasion and the beautiful ensembles you came up with,” adding “If parts of your outfit will potentially block other viewers from the screen, please remove them as the film begins (ex. headwear, wings, etc) and please keep in mind that masks (except for standard face masks used explicitly for health and safety reasons) are not permitted.”
This seems to be common sense: if you are rocking a huge hat or headpiece that blocks someone’s view, don’t wear it. If your angel wings are spilling over your seat and into someone’s popcorn, take it off. Of course, audiences are going to treat the concert film like an actual concert, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of someone else’s theater-going experience. And besides, the movie is nearly three hours long. That metal sombrero will start feeling heavy before “Cuff It” hits.
Theater chains issued similar requests for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour after the singer encouraged fans to treat the film event like a concert. And while you can expect some people to wild out during a concert film, I feel that these warnings speak to a larger issue of Americans no longer knowing how to act in public spaces. Maybe it’s the return from Covid-induced isolation or maybe it’s just rugged individualism run amok, but everyone needs to dial it back. It seems like every week someone is getting kicked off a plane for screaming at flight attendants or throwing a temper tantrum because McDonald’s stopped serving breakfast.
So don’t do it. Don’t be the person that embarrassed themselves in front of Queen Bey, of all people. And don’t ruin this spectacular experience (because yes, this movie will blow your mind) by being a fool. Your fellow audience members and mirrored horses deserve better.
(featured image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood)
