Analysis: The film is one of many where cinema audiences have reacted to what's happening on screen with chaotic behaviour and in ridiculous ways
There has been an upsurge of late in Google searches for an unexpected term: something by the name of "Chicken Jockey". The two words, taken from the first trailer for Jared Hess' videogame adaptation A Minecraft Movie have since sparked joy and contempt in equal measure from cinemas and cinemagoers alike.
The term is shouted by Jack Black's character about halfway through the film, when his friend (Jason Momoa) is made to fight a zombie riding upon a chicken (hence: chicken jockey, a rare enemy type in the videogame). The scene has caused audiences to react in increasingly ridiculous ways, wreaking utter havoc on cinemas. Audiences have thrown popcorn and drinks at screens, screamed the line in unison and, on one occasion, even hoisted a live chicken into the air. At least one screening culminated in police being called to clamp down on the over-enthusiastic crowds. Cinema staff appear less than amused by these lively audiences.
The Chicken Jockey effect is not an entirely new phenomenon in its appearance: screenings of cult films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) or The Room (2003) are similarly defined by audience bad behaviour. In fact, this bad behaviour is the main reason for attending these screenings. For example, The Room is a famously terrible film about a disintegrating relationship. One of the more unusual details in the film is found in it’s set dressing; inexplicably, every room in the film seems to contain a framed stock image of a plastic spoon.
In 2016, I attended a sellout screening of the film, with actor Greg Sestero in attendance. After a brief Q&A, plastic spoons were distributed to the audience. Fans of the film were encouraged to yell and throw these spoons at the screen whenever a framed image of a spoon appeared. It quickly became apparent that the main performance of the night was not the film, but instead the performance of the audience – who threw every spoon and knew every line.
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From RTÉ 2fm's Weekend Drive with Emma & Graham, interview with actors Jason Momoa, Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen and director Jared Hess about A Minecraft Movie
While the chaotic behaviour seen at Minecraft screenings might initially resemble The Room, the behaviour diverges in important ways. For one, The Room was an independent production and a cult film; retrospective screenings are relatively rare and each one is an event. They are all attended by dedicated fans. Minecraft however, looks set to hit $1 billion at the box office. a sure sign of crossover appeal to non-fans of the videogame. The Room was a financial flop, while Minecraft is smashing box office records.
Instead, Minecraft audience behaviour recalls two more recent audience trends.The first of these is the superhero effect: screenings of Marvel films are often attended less as films, and more as theme park rides or concerts. For example, Avengers Endgame (2019) and Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (2022) saw fans scream and clap in excitement as their favourite superheroes appeared on screen.
What happens here recalls the work of noted German philosopher Walter Benjamin on the concept of the 'aura' in theatre vs cinema. The aura is the air of suspenseful spontaneity that is present in theatre, but necessarily absent in film, as "the audience [for the actor] is replaced by a piece of equipment". The Chicken Jockey effect seems a way of artificially restoring aura to film, by making theatre attendees both performers and audience at once. It makes attendance at the film less about the film itself and more about attending other cinemagoers’ reactions to the film.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, listeners give out about out of control youngsters spoiling their experience of Minions in Irish cinemas
The second trend is one of ironic engagement. In 2022, a short-lived phenomenon accompanied the release of animated sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru, where young men attended the film in formal dress. The trend, dubbed #gentleminions, helped to propel the family film to nearly the billion-dollar mark. At the same time, the #gentleminions trend allowed young male audiences to watch the film at an ironic remove. By showing up to the cinema dressed in a suit, they can signify that they are in attendance as a joke – to laugh at the Minions, crucially not with the Minions.
The Minecraft situation looks similar and the Chicken Jockey trend is about meme-ing the film for social media clout. The joke at the heart of the scene (the absurdity of a zombified child riding a chicken into battle against Momoa) is secondary to audience hijinks.
If your idea of a good theatrical film experience is a quiet and engaged audience, all of the above probably sounds like torture. But rest assured, things can and will get worse, because the audience behaviour outlined above is not only tolerated, but encouraged and endorsed by film corporations.
From ABC News, how the Chicken Jockey trend is making A Minecraft Movie a box office hit
In advance of the impending M3GAN 2.0, 2022 horror film M3GAN will be rereleased with special audience interactivity provided by Meta. The technology, termed Movie Mate, aims to encourage phone use in cinemas (ostensibly to access special features for films as they screen). 2024’s comic book hit Deadpool & Wolverine was a film largely comprised of cameos and Easter eggs, resulting in audience reactions even more explosive than Avengers Endgame. The film’s star, Ryan Reynolds, enthusiastically posted videos of these reactions, endorsing the theme park atmosphere generated by the film. As with Minecraft, the audience have become a part of the spectacle.
But the success of this sort of cameo culture has led to some lamentable film-making. This includes failed blockbuster The Flash, which digitally resurrected Christopher Reeve for one more appearance as Superman in a flawed pursuit of Avengers Endgame's audience-friendly cameo-fest.
There seems little danger of the Chicken Jockey effect being replicated by audiences at the next Ridley Scott or Martin Scorsese film.
Much of this ties back to the franchising of current popular cinema. Most of the films discussed here (and indeed most successful modern blockbusters) are derived from existing media properties. These may be videogames, comic books, or even toys (as with Barbie). These audience reactions can then be understood as a way of signifying that you are in on the joke, that you get the reference, that you recognise the character onscreen.
But these changing audience trends seem confined to franchise films, which are designed increasingly with fans in mind. There seems little danger of the Chicken Jockey effect being replicated by audiences at the next Ridley Scott or Martin Scorsese film. While these films may have a shorter shelf life thanks to their reliance on in-theatre antics, the fans seem satisfied. And who are we to argue with a Chicken Jockey?
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
