I
like those public service messages that Cingular runs in movie theatres featuring
Mr.
Inconsiderate Cellphone Man. The guy is so obnxoious that there’s almost
something likeable about him. However, there is nothing admirable about his
mobile telephony habits. Well it looks as though nos amis in France have
done something
to end Mr Inconsiderate’s reign of terror, and the UK is thinking about doing
the same:
The infuriating ring of someone else’s mobile blights many a night out at
the cinema or theatre. France has decided to jam phone signals to allow audiences
to enjoy shows in silence – could the UK follow suit?
I doubt that we’ll see anything like this in the US. The Bill of Rights makes
it darn difficult to curb obnxoxious behavior. I’m not saying that jamming phone
signals in movie theatres is a free-speech issue. Beats me if it is. I’m saying
it would almost certainly be opposed on those grounds.
Plus, in my limited recent movie-going experience in suburban Denver, I haven’t
observed much of a cell-phone problem in the US. Now if they had had this technology
a few years ago in Malaysia…