It is annoying enough when someone near you in a movie theater takes out a cell phone to text. Imagine how it would be if you then saw the text on the screen. That’s what a Chinese theater is experimenting with in what they are calling “bullet screens.” The idea is that what you are there to enjoy is not the film made by actors, cinematographers, costume and production designers, the editors, and the director, but instead to enjoy the wisecracks made by whoever felt like buying a ticket. It’s sort of like paying to watch “Sharknado” in a theater and read everyone’s texts instead of tweets.

Bad idea.