The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVII

[cybrxkhan]

Do Americans actually clap and cheer when they go to the cinema? Quite often when I'm reading film reviews I see things like "the whole theatre erupted in cheers!" or "we all clapped at the ending credits." ...what?

Yes. Well, the clapping at least, during the ending credits.

Though of course it'll vary, and my impression is that it happens less these days, but it'll happen. I remember one time when I went out with friends and watched a rather crappy movie, towards the end some people started clapping out of politeness but they stopped after a few seconds when they realized no one is clapping since the movie was that crappy.

 

[salty mud]

Doesn't anyone find it a little odd to be clapping at a screen? I can understand in a theatre with live actors but clapping a screen is very, very odd.

 

[BenitoChavez]

Do Americans actually clap and cheer when they go to the cinema?

I think the two key ingredients for applause at a movie is 1) Opening weekend 2) A rabid fan base.

The last time I can think of it happening when I went to a movie was when I went to see one of the Lord of the Rings movies on opening day. Since I usually see movies a week or two after they come out, I haven't experienced it since.

Doesn't anyone find it a little odd to be clapping at a screen? I can understand in a theatre with live actors but clapping a screen is very, very odd.

I suppose that when one is very excited about something they tend to make noises and bang their hands together, regardless if its at an inanimate object or not.

 

[bhsup]

Do Americans actually clap and cheer when they go to the cinema? Quite often when I'm reading film reviews I see things like "the whole theatre erupted in cheers!" or "we all clapped at the ending credits." ...what?

Depends on the movie, I suppose. You should have heard the theatre I was in when Aragorn beheaded the Uruk-Hai that pin-cushioned Boromir. Ear splitting is not much of an exaggeration.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Doesn't anyone find it a little odd to be clapping at a screen? I can understand in a theatre with live actors but clapping a screen is very, very odd.

Lot of customs and habits people have don't make sense, I guess. I think this might be a remnant of the age when people went to live theaters and clapped at the end of the performance; films were mostly the same thing, except that they're not live, so people kept the habit.

 

[timtofly]

First of all did people clap at a live performance because they were asked to or because they felt the desire to? While it is true that some people perform just to hear the response (clapping) to their performance. Some people just clap because they enjoyed it, not because the performer was expecting it. That it not being a live performance looses the potential for the one getting the applause to receive it, but it does not change the desire for the one giving the applause. Some people though may even feel funny clapping, because there is no one there to receive the applause.

 

[gay_Aleks]

I've never understood the name of Empire State Building. Since, you see, USA is not an empire...

So why is it named like this?

 

[Antilogic]

New York's nickname is the Empire State.

 

[madviking]

I've never understood the name of Empire State Building. Since, you see, New York is not an empire...

So why is it named like this?

 

[bhsup]

Nobody knows why the State has that nickname / motto.

 

[cardgame]

I'd wager that it's from the 18th century, when NY had vast territorial claims.

 

[bhsup]

Most Many of the original 13 had ridiculous land claims, though.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

What regional rivalries are there within the People's Republic of China? In other words, what do they have for "east vs west coast"?

 

[Antilogic]

Nobody knows why the State has that nickname / motto.

Yeah, wiki agrees. Seems like it was in use by the 19th century although there are a couple of stories that trace it back to George Washington. I'd wager those are apocryphal, though, like the other myths around Washington.

 

[cybrxkhan]

What regional rivalries are there within the People's Republic of China? In other words, what do they have for "east vs west coast"?

Besides the minority vs. majority Han issues, I guess you can say north vs. south China in a vague sense, it's probably the closest to th US's east coast vs. west coast differences, though it goes a lot deeper and has its roots in centuries of Chinese history. I'm not sure whether I'm qualified to elaborate on that further, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Takhisis]

Yes, cybrxkhan has it, mostly.

 

[schlaufuchs]

Do Americans actually clap and cheer when they go to the cinema? Quite often when I'm reading film reviews I see things like "the whole theatre erupted in cheers!" or "we all clapped at the ending credits." ...what?

Yes it happens. The theater I went to recently applauded at the end of the new Planet of the Apes film. For the record I find clapping at a theater that isn't hosting a premier the cast/crew are present for rather odd as well.

 

[Mouthwash]

How do I accurately measure population density, as in how close together people are usually crammed, and not the country's size relative to population? It would really come in handy with a place like Egypt. I know there's a way, I just don't know what it's called.

What regional rivalries are there within the People's Republic of China? In other words, what do they have for "east vs west coast"?

There's a pretty large income disparity, even within Han China.

 

[Leonel]

I'm curious about what convoy duty is like if it's on a US highway. I'm doing research for a story and I'm curious about a lot of the intricacies. Who does the convoy commander report to and how often do they check in along the journey? Why do they do it? What are the procedures? Can the convoy commander relax a little while they're on the road? Obviously not in a place like Iraq but perhaps in the Continental 48?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Would the song "Convoy" be sufficient to answer his questions?