When I saw “Jackass 2” in theaters last week, something about the crowd was off. I tried to rack my brain over the sounds of women squealing in disgust and men fearfully repeating to the screen, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.”

I figured out what was amiss just as a snake bit into Chris Pontius’ trouser snake, which caused the street tough behind me to kick the back of my seat in horror. It was the etiquette — or lack thereof!

People were actually loose and maintaining quiet conversations during the parade of self-inflicted wounds. This was a clear breach of theater etiquette. Talking is the quickest way to ruin someone’s movie magic, yet nearly all the audience members were defying the laws of the Marcus intro animations which clearly state, “Shhhhh” before the movie starts. Why was “Jackass” unraveling the fabric of civil movie viewing, and century old unspoken laws?

The obvious answer is the movie’s lack of plot. There’s really no need to follow along. The term “eye candy” is almost more applicable to “Jackass” than to movies like “King Kong.” The viewer could honestly go without sound and leave feeling fulfilled.

With my expectations of a stale, silent and tense movie theater drowned out by giddy laughter, I wondered, “Is it better this way?”

A typical visit to the flicker-box screen goes as follows: Enter the theater, get stared down by people already seated, awkwardly navigate to your seat by climbing over people, quietly talk during the previews, go postmortem stiff once the movie starts to avoid bumping the seat in front of you or disturbing nearby viewers, and enjoy two hours of silence and internal pondering. Later, you emerge from the theater squinting and full of complaints about or cheers for the movie.

But what if the atmosphere was like the aforementioned viewing of “Jackass” every time you went? Seeing a movie could become a social event. Friends could be ridiculous together, talk to other people and feel free from the silent, always watching and judging audience. Perhaps that’s dramatic, but people can’t deny feeling a bit uneasy in a large crowd of silent people. Let’s face it — movie-going has become as social as a silent auction.

Theaters could be great places to meet someone too. Think about it. If you’re at the same movie, chances are you share some interests with the other audience members.

Also, film is an art. All good art opens itself for discussion. Instead of discussing, we act as sponges; always soaking up information and waiting for someone we know to come by and squeeze it out of us.

Obliviously, most audience members would not appreciate these discussions while viewing certain films. But movies like “Jackass” and “Snakes on a Plane” are example of movies where talking should be permissible. These are movies we see not for storytelling value, but because we want to laugh AT them.

Next time you’re at a horrible movie and notice the person next to you starting to mock, don’t chastise him — join him — and maybe the movie-going experience will evolve.

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