The recent announcement that the Alamo Drafthouse is getting rid of its pen-and-paper ordering and in-seat call buttons has been met with an overwhelming backlash from customers. Now the Austin Film Critics Association has joined the chorus by releasing a statement that calls for the Alamo Drafthouse and its owners, Sony Pictures Entertainment, to reverse this decision.
[Full disclosure: Chronicle critics including Kimberley Jones, Marjorie Baumgarten, and Richard Whittaker are members of the AFCA.]
On January 10, the Drafthouse announced the shift to ordering via QR code. In the statement, management explained that they believed it will reduce distractions during screenings, and that staff will still be available to assist if there are any issues.
However, the consumer response online has been wholly negative, as this is a complete reversal of the Drafthouse’s cornerstone policy that bans phone usage during screenings. Moreover, there have been broad concerns among Drafthouse staff that, when introduced nationwide in February, the immediate result will be a loss of staff.
So far, the Drafthouse has not issued any further statement on the change, but every social media post released since has become a forum for protest. Even the company’s LinkedIn page has seen complaints and calls for the old system to be reinstated, and a Change.org petition promoted by workers union Alamo United has already gathered more than 4,000 signatures.
Now the AFCA has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a statement in support of the reversal and laying out the reasons for its opposition.
Here’s the statement in full:
The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) strongly condemns the Alamo Drafthouse’s plan to implement a mobile-based ordering system during film screenings.
“Don’t talk. Don’t text.” has been the Drafthouse’s mission statement since its earliest days as a single-screen cinema in Austin. Its growth into a national cinematic institution has been in no small part due to audiences knowing they can have a disturbance-free experience, and that staff will intervene to prevent the distraction of cellphone usage.
Removing the paper option and call buttons for ordering and assistance, instead forcing people to use their phone during screenings, is the antithesis of what made the Drafthouse what it is. As press, we seek to appreciate films in optimal conditions, and this shift does not support that.
Aside from the simple matter of increased distraction, the new process puts staff in an impossible position of policing the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ kind of phone usage, opening the system to abuse, and the potential for piracy. This is particularly worrying as Drafthouse locations are often used for festival and pre-release screenings, potentially damaging the ability of filmmakers to get distribution.
Furthermore, we stand with Drafthouse theater staff: replacing human interaction with automation threatens the livelihood of the dedicated workers who are the backbone of the Alamo experience and will diminish the experience for customers.
Moreover, the new process is discriminatory at multiple levels: against those who either do not have or do not wish to have a cell phone, that can’t or don’t want to use online payments, and against customers with disabilities that may require more assistance, especially those with visual impairments that make ‘dark mode’ apps unusable.
As a critics association, we ask our PR partners to join us in condemning this shift, and to be cognizant of our position when scheduling press and promotional screenings. As the Drafthouse’s own PSAs put it: keep your devices dark, silent, and out of sight.