A Dark Knight for Theater Goers

Last night, I was lucky enough to be one of the people who got to see The Dark Knight two days early. My husband was excited as well, since he had been counting down the days for nearly six months.

The film is awesome and Health Ledger’s performance stands up to the hype—and then some. But this isn’t about the film—this is about the increasing efforts to protect intellectual property and the rights we give up as consumers.

With tickets in hand, we headed towards the theater to get in line. We stood corralled like cattle for almost an hour, eagerly anticipating the sneak peek.

About ten minutes before we were allowed to enter the theater to be seated, a security guard stepped in front of us to tell us exactly what we were about to go through before we could watch the movie. The man informed us that we would be escorted down the corridor and separated into two lines—one for males and one for females. We were then to open any bags and empty our pockets for search (presumably for recording equipment) and then wanded. It was implied that a pat down may have been in order if the wand detected anything—I can’t think of another reason we needed to be in separate lines.

After going through the security checkpoint, I assumed that was the end of it. I joked with a few people behind us that I felt like I had either just given up constitutional rights or was about to board a plane.

We sat through the commercials and then trailers and finally the film started. The first five or six minutes (which was leaked a week or so ago) are fast-paced and action-packed, so I was fully engrossed. Shortly after, the paced slowed and I happened to glance over to the exit aisle. I noticed a theater employee standing with his arms at an odd angle and took a closer look; I then realized he was using a handheld night vision unit to scan the audience. I assume he was monitoring for recording devices.

I must point out that the tickets were free and I entered the theater of my own volition after reading the rules printed in bold on the back. The rules indicated that we would be searched and monitored, but I had no clue that it would be to such an extreme extent. I was fine with the search of my person by a security guard since I was free to decline and leave, but was a little uneasy when I realized I was being viewed via infrared technology.

This experience got me thinking about how important and serious the protection of copyrighted material has become. Seeing the summer’s biggest blockbuster ten years ago didn’t mean going through the same security you would find at an international airport. The measures must be effective, since a Google search this morning did not turn up a full-length pirated version of the film.

In the future, I predict security measures becoming stricter, but I also predict that people will just become more clever when recording. People will always find a way around searches, DRM and other things that limit access and prevent sharing. Since it is almost guaranteed that someone somewhere will eventually leak the film online, I wonder what we will have to go through in the future to see a movie.