Applause

When I was growing up, younger than ten, people would always clap at the end of a movie. Sure, the movie makers weren't there, so they didn't know, but the theater knew, and they paid the bills for the good movies. But people don't clap anymore. The only time I've heard people clap is when I went to an overflowing theater for Star Wars: Episode 1. It was jam packed with fans, and they were going to clap regardless.

So what happened? Did we have too many "during the credits" segments where people wanted to start clapping, but then the end wasn't clear, like a Kubrick film (I hate that guy).  Animated films are particular offenders. But I don't think this is the whole picture.

What I think is that we've become afraid, afraid of voicing our opinions. Woah. America? Afraid? But think about it, why do you stay your hands? What if you clap and your buddies think it was terrible? What if someone in the theater thought it was terrible, said something, then you had to stand up for your opinion. That's a scary statement, "back up your convictions." How many people are willing to stand up and say that he has a different opinion? Some. All the time? Not many.

So we sit on our hands, keep our mouths shut, and while the voicing of our opinions may drive a wedge between us from time to time, but it also unites us. Not like our silence, we only become islands unto ourselves. Alone.