Dear Editor,
On Thursday, 18th June 2026, at around 3:15 p.m. I visited MovieTowne mall to look at a particular movie. I purchased a ticket and proceeded into the lobby where I ordered food items from Pandora Treats and a juice from the small concession stand opposite it.
The lobby was practically empty, apart from a male patron who purchased food items also and proceeded to the ticket collecting attendant. He gave her his ticket and was allowed to proceed. However, when I handed my ticket to the attendant, she informed me that she needed to look into my shoulder bag.
My bag was opened and, on my shoulder, while I held my purchased food in my hands. When I asked what she was going to check for, she said that she was checking for food! I asked her if she couldn’t see the food in my hands which I’d just purchased from the vendors in their lobby area. The food from Pandora Treats was uncovered and in half of a paper box. She still insisted that she had to check my bag for food and that it is the company’s policy. Although I found her position ludicrous and invasive, I turned for her to look into my opened bag, but she wasn’t satisfied with that. She insisted that I put down my uncovered food and take out the contents of my shoulder bag so that she could search for food items.
I was not carrying shopping/plastic bags, just my personal (work) bag. Also, while there was a sign on the wall next to her stating that no outside food or drink is allowed, it was the only sign. There was no notice/sign that patrons must empty or move the contents of their hand/shoulder bags to allow attendants to search for ‘outside’ food or else they will not be allowed to enter the movie theatre. If this is the company’s policy, then a notice must be prominently displayed at the ticket purchasing area, so patrons are aware before buying a ticket.
I felt very demeaned by how she was treating me and viewed it as an invasion of my privacy apart from the demand being illogical. Although, I repeatedly pointed out the food in my hands and explained that her demand was demeaning and invasive, she refused to allow me to proceed to the theatre. I asked to speak to her supervisor, and several persons came including HR personnel and the accounts manager (a mall security guard told me that this is his position).
They said that it’s company policy to search hand/shoulder bags for ‘outside’ food although they saw that I was holding food purchased from inside their lobby! I took off my shoulder bag which I placed on a nearby table and gave them permission to search it. They then said that they were not allowed to touch my bag; that I had to take out the contents for them to look at. I felt humiliated and saw their demand as a violation of my privacy and dignity. The entire situation was being witnessed by other patrons. They wanted me to take out the contents of my shoulder bag and display it to them and others who were around. They are all strangers to me.
I refused to subject myself to the undignified act of emptying my personal belongings for people to gaze at although I had no ‘outside’ food in my bag. I found the entire experience humiliating and requested a ticket refund. They said that they couldn’t issue a refund and I needed to full up a form. I once again expressed my displeasure and asked for my refund since I was being prevented from entering the theatre by the attendants. The accounts manager then pompously announced that he was going to call security to put me out of the building. They refused to issue the refund and so I left the cineplex area.
While standing in the walkway outside the cineplex, the accounts manager saw me and loudly told some security guards to take me out of the building. One came next to me and was bewildered. He wanted to know what was going on. He was very polite and lost at the same time because he didn’t understand why the accounts manager asked him to take me out of the building. After observing us, he called for another security guard and the same thing happened. Both men were quite nice to me and just kept walking around in circles. The power-drunk manager soon disappeared; it seems as if he views the mall as his personal residence. However, none of the security guards wanted to give me his name; they all seem afraid of him.
Furthermore, I was subjected to the same demeaning ‘bag search’ demand minus the involvement of security during a previous visit and left reviews of the company on different platforms. Naively, I assumed that the relevant personnel read these and made improvements. During that visit, I noticed that some patrons were searched while others were allowed to proceed without being searched. I pointed out to the attendant that those persons could be hiding weapons also and the selective process was discriminatory. I’d assumed this was the purpose of the search. However, the staff informed me that they were not searching for weapons, only ‘outside’ food and were instructed not to search small bags.
Also, they did not have any handheld or fixed scanning device and there aren’t lockers there. If someone did some shopping before deciding to see a movie in the same complex, then they are required to leave those bags in an opened area called ‘guest services’ where anyone can tamper with the items including food.
This selective and invasive behaviour by staff implies that they do not see Guyanese women as being economically empowered and able to treat themselves to a restaurant/food court meal with comfortable seats and good lighting. I observed that male patrons were not searched for food nor weapons which could be easily hidden in pants pockets. I believe that staff get a power rush and pleasure from humiliating women and looking at the personal items in their handbags. And they refer to ‘company policy’ to excuse their atrocious behaviour. However, where is the sign stating that women must subject themselves to bag searches or be barred from viewing a movie, they already purchased a ticket for? If the customer was not made aware of this ‘company policy’ at the time of purchasing a movie ticket, then a refund should be granted when the person is barred by MovieTowne’s staff.
The behaviour of staff reflects on the company. Does the owner of the Trinidad and Tobago-based MovieTowne franchise which has a subsidiary in Guyana called MovieTowne Guyana condone the distasteful and discriminatory behaviour of the staff at the cineplex?