Chomping and slurping

Since when did it become normal for people to eat and drink in theatres and cinemas with absolutely no consider-ation for those around them who're trying to concentrate on the film or play?

When I was younger people might eat the odd packet of popcorn or chocolate bar or have the odd drink, but they did it as discreetly as possible and without disturbing their neighbours.

Now it's seen as normal by some to chomp and slurp and rustle as noisily and blatantly as they like, sometimes so conspicuously that the play or film has to be halted and the offending individuals told to be quiet or leave.

And often when someone asks the people concerned to keep the noise down, they're met with a torrent of abuse and anger and told to mind their own business, as if the person complaining is the guilty party.

There are also the chatterers - those people who just chatter to each other continuously, and you wonder why on earth they paid good money to be there when they must be missing so much of what's going on.

Quite often heavy drinking seems to be involved, with the resulting indifference to other people's annoyance. And again, if you're drunk you'll be missing half of what's going on, so why not stay sober?

I can only sympathise with the actors trying to deliver a major speech to an audience that finds stuffing their mouths more important than what's happening on stage.

All steamed up

This fiasco in Italy is exactly why I have no time for the organised church. Not content to encourage religious beliefs, they too often want to impose those beliefs on everyone else, with utter contempt for people's freedom of opinion. In this case, proselytising has become overt censorship.

The Catholic Church, which owns over 1,100 cinemas in Italy, has decreed that the film "Weekend", from the same director who made "45 Years", is irreligious and has banned it from all their cinemas.

According to the Italian Conference of Bishops' Film Evaluation Commission, the film is "not advised, unusable and scabrous (indecent or salacious)." It claims that the film's main themes - seen by critics as love and identity - are actually drugs and homosexuality.

So now it can be seen in just ten independent cinemas not controlled by the Catholic Church.

The film is in fact about two gay men who meet in a club and spend the weekend together. They talk about sex, relationships, coming out, careers and aspirations, before finally separating.

Says Cesare Petrillo, the distribution company's President, "I cannot see any other explanation than a problem of homophobia in the church. They decided that it was unacceptable, that it should be censored, and they have used their power to paralyse the distribution."

What gives the church the right to censor a film, or anything else, and declare that people can't decide for themselves what they think of it? What gives them the right to say their views are the only valid ones and other views count for nothing?

I have plenty of time for religious teachings in general. People like the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Buddha and Jesus have helped many troubled individuals to live better and more productive lives. But what repels me is when religions aggressively seek converts and try to control other people. When they turn into ruthless empire-builders rather than spiritual advisers. That's when humility gives way to arrogance and the rot sets in.

Pic: Chris New and Tom Cullen in "Weekend"