clareprop, Planemike, ever heard of the Tokyo convention? You may want to read up on that. It governs the authority of the Captain. Although you can chose to NOT listen to the safety briefing, you have to follow the orders by the Captain of the aircraft when it is in flight.
The Captain may delegate this to other members of the crew (i.e. cabin crew). So if the Cabin crew give you an order to familiarise yourself with the safety requirements of an emergency exit and you chose to stick your fingers in your ears, the Captain has the power (among other things) to remove you from the flight.
I'd happily take that case to court if I were the Captain of said flight.