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Does This Massive Frankenblanket Violate Outdoor Movie Etiquette?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 20, 2013
Modified Aug 20, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 20, 2013
Modified Aug 20, 2013
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If you see an empty blanket spot, that's all theirs.
Let's say you want to cram into a park with strangers to watch one of the last remaining outdoor movie screenings of the summer; it is your duty to act like a decent human being. If you fail to do this, the fragile ecosystem of the outdoor movie gathering will fall apart. Your neighbors will turn on you. Chaos will reign. And the next day you'll likely be publicly shamed on The Internet. But is laying down a massive, sewn together set of blankets to save spots for your friends really so wrong?
A tipster sent this photo in from last night's Bryant Park screening of E.T., their final movie of the summer, noting that the "greedy couple" unfurled a 25-ft-long sheet, hogging prime real estate. The duo allegedly "sewed together a bunch of items so they could landgrave with a giant sheet. Kind of ingenious, but annoying at the time as they were knocking small children out of the way to claim it." Small children should not be watching E.T. anyway because it is traumatizing when he gets sick.
But back to this couple, surely there were others coming to join them? "12 to 15 people did show up later, but it was never crowded" on their frankenblanket, our tipster reports.
What say you: Is this "unsportsmanlike cheat sheeting" or perfectly acceptable blanket behavior?
Tagged
bryant park
bryant park movies
cheat sheeting
etiquette
frankenblanket
original
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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