When my friend and I went to see Django Unchained in the theater last Monday, we had some idea the kind of movie we were paying to watch. We knew it would be typical Tarantino—violent and probably profanity-laden. But watching that film was our choice, and neither of us intended to watch it uncritically or thoughtlessly.
We did NOT pay to see NC-17 smut before the film even started. At the Salem Lancaster Mall Regal Cinema, the normal previews were followed by another with a mock warning that the preview was inappropriate for children but "perfect for you and your sick friends." What followed was a pornographic trailer for some "comedy" film that included "jokes" about rape, bestiality, etc. I stopped watching after the first few seconds, but I could hear everything.
I was so shaken up I couldn't concentrate on the film I'd come to see, so fifteen minutes into Django Unchained I found a manager and explained I wanted a refund for the two tickets, but still wanted to finish the movie I'd come to watch. After some haggling he obliged, but not before saying, "Well, you did come to see an R-rated movie."
To which I replied, "Yes, but I paid to see this R-rated movie, not some other one I don't know anything about, and certainly not an NC-17 one."
I'm no prude, and I've seen plenty of movies, many that would be considered edgy or even offensive, so it wasn't lack of exposure that made me hate this preview. It was obscene, callous, and perverted, but there was something worse: the "warning" before the trailer bore the Regal Cinemas logo and name. Not only were they wilfully showing filth, they were purposefully mocking and deriding anyone who would be offended by the content.
If it was just a trailer for a filthy movie, I'd have complained to my friend and left it at that. But the theater was making a calculated move to not only purvey smut, but to rub it in the faces of viewers while telling them they're idiots and morons if they find the content too twisted. If I choose to go to an R-rated film, I fully expect to see previews for R-rated movies, but I don't expect to see those movies themselves. And while I'll pay to watch No Country for Old Men or movies of its ilk, I wouldn't watch a filthy comedy whether I had to pay or not.
So, I'm never going to a Regal Cinema again. I don't usually boycott places, because I know that there is corruption and wickedness at all levels of every business, but this went too far and was enough to make me stand on principle. I won't try to convince anyone else to join me in this protest, but I have composed a letter to the Regal management, and if you intend to watch a movie at this or another Regal location, know what may be awaiting you and don't say I didn't warn you.
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