When I saw that the Vue chain of cinemas had banned children from certain performances, such as the new James Bond film, at first I had some sympathy with the decision. The idea was to keep under-18s out, so that adults could watch the film in peace, without having to put up with teenagers doing things such as talking and texting, and eating their popcorn too loudly. Fair enough, I thought.
For about a second. But it doesn't really make sense, does it? For a start, the most unruly people I've seen in cinemas in the last few weeks were not teenagers – they were people in their twenties. It's a similar story outside the cinema, too. What sort of people cause the most trouble at football matches, or festivals, or on the beach, or when the pubs shut? Adults.
But there's another thing to remember here. Think of the very British practice of doing things without your children, and what it actually means. These days, more and more people leave their children behind when they go to restaurants, or parties – the latest phenomenon is child-free weddings.
But this is not helpful in the long run, is it? It's by going to these things, over time, that children learn how to behave properly. And it's by leaving their children behind that adults learn how to behave badly. Having adults around forces kids to behave better, and vice versa. Otherwise you end up with adults snorting coke and being sick while their kids watch X-Factor with a babysitter.
Of course, I can understand what Vue have done – they think they can increase their share of the market by offering specialist viewings. And, in a way, good luck to them. But what they are doing can be seen as an affront to multiculturalism. And think of the arguments in favour of multiculturalism. If you start segregating people, so that different groups don't have to put up with each others' customs, what happens is that each group just becomes more extreme, and the process intensifies.
Vue's policy is yet another example of one group alienating itself from another group. This sort of thing is happening across our society, as the market segments us into its niches. And I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing.
