Chicken-chucking, screaming teens just might save Hollywood

Upon its release earlier this month, “A Minecraft Movie” exploded onto the scene in more ways than one. On a positive note, the film has drawn large audiences to once-empty cinemas and is on track to earn more than $1 billion globally — a welcome vital sign for the American film industry after its decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, “Minecraft” has also sparked literal explosions of chaos in theaters. Fans, overcome with excitement at scenes like a baby zombie riding a chicken or the introduction of Jack Black’s character, Steve, have reportedly screamed, hurled popcorn and toilet paper, and even tossed live chickens at the screen — leaving staff with colossal messes to clean up afterward.

For most Zoomers, passionate moments of shared interest and fun are virtually nonexistent.

According to my high school students who watched the movie and could explain this bizarre behavior, these outbursts came from people who actually liked the movie. Reading through the mediocre movie reviews, I assumed that fans were disappointed and consequently engaged in shameless hooliganism. Quite the opposite. They were expressing their excitement at the movie’s many references and Easter eggs to the beloved video game.

Reckless or simply fun?

Of course, causing a public ruckus raises concerns about today’s youths who react so strongly to an otherwise silly movie. Such outbursts suggest that the younger Zoomers have pent-up rage, lacking healthy outlets for their aggression. The recent TV series “Adolescence,” which controversially portrayed radicalized youth engaging in violent acts, may have struck closer to the truth than we’d like to admit.

Then again, there might be a good reason to see these rampant outbursts as a salutary development. Not only are young people going to movie theaters and thereby reviving a moribund entertainment industry, but they are also charging a previously stagnant environment with some much-needed energy. This isn’t the glassy-eyed, TikTok-scrolling crowd we’ve come to expect. These lively crowds of young people are sharing an intense moment with a piece of entertainment they all love — not Beatlemania, but “Minecraft mania.”

Dwindling social outlets

Older generations, which have their own experience with various social crazes that brought them and their peers together in effusive exuberance, may not understand just how special this is for young people today.

Previous generations enjoyed countless concerts, movies, video games, and even books that routinely brought together fan communities that frequently became rowdy and occasionally chaotic — and hardly any of it, even for Millennials, was coordinated through online social media.

As a Millennial myself who’s about to turn 40, I remember the insanity at the cinema when the original “Star Wars” trilogy was re-released in anticipation of the prequels. People gasped and cried when they saw a remastered Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. I can also recall driving by bookstores — before Amazon put most of them out of business — observing the long lines of “Harry Potter” devotees decked in their Hogwarts uniforms, eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. More recently, similar fan frenzies were seen with the latest Taylor Swift concert or “Avengers” movies.

At the time, I pitied these nerds who, for all appearances, lost their minds over something seemingly insubstantial. Now, I envy them and yearn for a return to this kind of enthusiasm.

These days, pop culture has become hyper-individualized and mediated through online streaming and social media platforms. Algorithms, not authenticity, inform everyone’s taste. Nothing about it is natural or real. For most Zoomers, passionate moments of shared interest and fun are virtually nonexistent.

Zoomers don’t realize that physically gathering with fellow fans is normal and that such events add up to more than the sum of their parts. They represent rare moments of authentic public celebration. Yes, they usually center around some shallow piece of pop-culture fluff, but they generate a collective spirit that only happens when fans are allowed to “nerd out” and let go with one another for a little while.

Welcome ‘Minecraft mania’

The “Minecraft” chicken jockey mania continues this tradition. One of my students told me that watching “Minecraft” in the theater was the most fun he’s ever had at the cinema. He conceded that the movie is mostly Hollywood slop, but the audience’s reactions made it worth the annoyingly high price of admission.

He and his peers should understand the value of sharing experiences with friends and fellow fans. Active participation beats passive consumption on the couch every time.

Let the next cultural craze bring the same energy and excitement — minus the chicken feathers.