Applause in the theater used to annoy me for some of the same reasons aforementioned, but primarily because it seemed so completely pointless (cast and crew being absent, and all). I mean, how many of us, upon finishing a great novel, really feel the need to "give it up" for its particular author, regardless of the fact that he's not even present (or likely alive) to hear it? <P>But over the years, I've come to appreciate the phenomenon for what I think it truly is: a celebration of individual humanity as realized through the sharing of an experience with other humans. It has more to do with communing with our neighbors in a public space (a primal social need religion used to provide) than it does with showing our appreciation for the work itself. Of course, this response is only triggered when an audience is moved through an access of emotion, whether positive or negative, so it really speaks to the quality of the work when a film achieves it to such a lofty degree as that witnessed with ROTK. But YMMV.
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