Cinema stopping kids in suits from coming in - Minions

[jackstini]

DS & his friend (both 13) had tickets this pm for Minions, Rise of Gru

Like lots of people per TikTok, they dressed up in suits/ties - just for fun
Got to cinema and were told they couldn't come in because of what they were wearing

DS called me upset and DH went down to see if he could sort it. Found 5 grown men standing over them and a few other kids, shouting at them that they needed to leave and they were not allowed in. Kids felt very intimidated

No dress code visible in the cinema or on the website

DH asked if they had misbehaved and was told no, we just don't like this suit thing as some of the people on TikTok have kicked off
DH pointed out, they hadn't kicked off, just wanted to watch the film, so what was the problem. Stoney silence
He took them outside, took their jackets & ties off & they went back in 5 minutes later and were admitted by a different member of staff

Is it just me or is this ridiculous? And pathetic for them to treat kids like that

I really want to complain but wanted the MN population to vote on if you think they were BU or not

YANBU - cinema staff were out of order & I should complain
YABU - don't complain

Reading all this has really upset me.

My DS is 12 and he is desperate to go and see this film. He is also autistic and really struggles in the cinema. He and his dad were going to see it next week as a treat while i take DS2 to a birthday party.

This will crush him if this trend happens while he is there. He has to work himself up to going to the cinema at the best of times and this could absolutely send him over the edge.

I have just looked through the next week and there are no autism-friendly screenings of it in the comning week scheduled so far. But the whole point was they were going when DS2 was at a party (DS1 never gets invited to parties and it saddens him so this seemed ideal).

Wow seriously?! My teen son and his friends saw it yesterday. The first film came out when they were 8 years old they've grown up with it it's their thing. The same a

Posted too soon!

@RedLorryTime I downloaded it for three months for research purposes. The algorithm is very, very clever and incredibly attention-greedy. It data-gathers aggressively and the security is horrible. And that's before you even start on the content. I compare it to the worst kind of ultra-processed food: brightly coloured, deliberately addictive and bad for your (brain) health.

Are you serious that you consider complain against the cinema op?

I would send all the parents of those lunatic, idiotic teenagers to the cinema to clean up after their little darlings and repay all the damage and refunds that has been caused by their behaviour to the cinema.

How unfair for all those families and staff to deal with such a problem.

This is insane, what will be next?

They don't have any respect whatsoever to anyone and anything , they are just bored to death and think that they can do whatever they want, because they're untouchable.

Yanbu

It's ridiculous and I'd have been extremely pissed off.

What makes it so bad? I've only really seen people doing silly dances and duets on there - but I'm not a teen obviously

You need to calm down. OPs son didn't vandalise anything I think you are on the wrong post.

Do many boys of 13 have suits? Really?

Ffs i am taking my younger ones this this tomorrow and it better not be filled with dick heads doing stupid shit "for tik tok"

I literally do not understand the world anymore 🤦‍♀️

That’s weird!
my 18 yr old son went last night w friends, one who dressed as a minion, but heard nothing about suits.
if there’s a tiktok trend to cause chaos in suits then I can understand the cinema being wary of letting any kid enter in a suit.

What makes it so bad? I've only really seen people doing silly dances and duets on there - but I'm not a teen obviously

Children have been seriously injured / died copying stunts they've seen on TikTok.

Fair enough to kick them out if they interrupt the film, but to not let them in at all is just silly
I disagree
They were let in🤷‍♀️
If they have or expect trouble it is better managed to take action to prevent it happening in the first place.
It will be much more of a challenge as well as a disruption for other customers to react mid viewing.

YABU to think that your DS would only follow half the trend.

My daughter has just been & told me there was a sign inside saying no-one admitted in suits. There was a group of around 20 outside, I saw them arrive in the car park, so just assumed they were waiting for others. But perhaps they knew they would t get in.

She also said a large group of boys (not in suits) got kicked out for being loud. & disruptive. Neither her or her friends could tell me the reason for the suits other than ‘it was on tick tock’

i really can’t blame the cinemas for banning people if they are causing trouble, but perhaps it should be based on the number on a group rather than what they are wearing. Bloody ridiculous behaviour at a kids film, though!

@Tigofigo I think we cross-posted there, but basically it's highly intrusive, weak security, designed to be addictive, and its data-gathering policies are shady to say the least. There's all kinds of harmful content on there, everything from glamourising self-injury, depression and drug abuse to adulation of serial killers and school shooters to dangerous challenges. Accounts get banned, but its extremely easy for users to recreate one, and because its designed for virality, once something is uploaded it can spread across the site in various forms.

Also, its designed to maximise the time users spend rapidly flicking through extremely short videos. Even if not actively harmful, these are typically either meaningless, or completely polemic and one-sided. Our brains are very plastic (young people's brains even more so) and there are real implications for attention span and concentration. Sample of one, but in the time I was using it for work, I experienced firsthand how it demands and manipulates the user into more engagement, and I felt like my concentration decreased and anxiety increased during that period.

Well that turned into a novel. 😆

My 12 year old is there with his friend as we speak. Hope they don't have any trouble. YANBU...

It’s the same old story of a minority of idiots spoiling everyone else’s fun. DS was at a showing last night where some of the suits also had water pistols that they were using. The film got stopped and a group was escorted from the premises.

However, if a cinema is going to bar people wearing suits from a showing, they need to communicate this BEFORE people have bought tickets. Very poorly handled and I would probably drop them a line to complain about it.

Behave, I love the minions!

Tell your son that getting sucked into tiktok 'challenges' is not going to get him far in life. Personally, I'd have never let him go out in the first place dressed like that. If the cinema has had issues with idiots in the past, then they are within their rights to ban anyone they believe could be following suit (no pun intended). Why can't kids just be normal?!

I cannot believe what little shits some children have become. No rules, too much freedom and just unruly.

But why would they dress up in suits unless they were following the tiktok challenge? How many teens normally wear a suit to the cinema? If they know that part of the challenge is to cause disruption (even if they weren't planning to) why even do part of the challenge

It’s not about the clothes is it? It’s about the disturbance created. I am sure OP’s DC weren’t intending to cause a disturbance, but the cinema needed to ensure this doesn’t occur, probably had advice from head office.

vm.tiktok.com/ZMNBVS5cT/?k=1

Seems to be a thing on TikTok

Completely agree with both of you.