# Fiction which is misrepresented in pop culture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683 "2013-06-23T03:17:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/1 "2013-06-23T03:17:33Z")
Star Trek TOS- The pop culture image of Captain Kirk is something like the obvious satire character on Futurama Zapp Branagan. > **[List of Futurama characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapp_Brannigan)** > > This article lists the many characters of Futurama, an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.\[citation ... The actual Kirk as depicted on the show is nothing like that at all, the recent Trek movie reboots even went to the pains of having Kirk in movie have a reason to be more like the popular image of Kirk. 😛 Inception- The word dream, or dream within a dream is never used in the movie(I think :p). The tech is explained as a virtual reality machine developed by the military, and the only reason they use those sedatives is so they can achieve the crazy time dilation we see(like experiencing a lifetime in a few hours). It is a movie about VR, more like they are plugged into a mini matrix then a dream. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/2 "2013-06-23T03:20:24Z")
Uh, dreams are mentioned a TON Inception. Did we see the same movie? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/3 "2013-06-23T03:29:58Z")
And _Star Wars_ - what a rip-off. All of the fighting involved humans and aliens and robots. The stars were apparently neutral in these wars and were barely even mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/4 "2013-06-23T03:30:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Uh, dreams are mentioned a TON Inception. Did we see the same movie? It has been a while since I’ve seen it but yes dreams are mentioned, but no one in the movie is dreaming in any conventional sense. Even the basement full of “opium addicts” where the dialogue explicitly says their dream has become their reality, it is more like their self programmed holodeck fantasies. Anyway in my OP I forgot to mention I’ve seen criticism of the film that actual dreams are not like the ones depicted on screen, which is off the mark since the movie is about a VR machine not normal dreams. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/5 "2013-06-23T03:33:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And _Star Wars_ - what a rip-off. All of the fighting involved humans and aliens and robots. The stars were apparently neutral in these wars and were barely even mentioned. There is probably something in the VAST extended universe about a sentient star, or you could watch Andromeda if stars getting involved in galactic politics is your thing 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/6 "2013-06-23T03:44:27Z")
Frankenstein? Ain’t the monster. He’s the guy who made The Monster. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/7 "2013-06-23T03:51:38Z")
Deliverance is a lot more than Dueling Banjos and Squeal like a pig. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/8 "2013-06-23T04:57:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And _Star Wars_ - what a rip-off. All of the fighting involved humans and aliens and robots. The stars were apparently neutral in these wars and were barely even mentioned. To be frank, most of them weren’t stars yet and Hamill and Fischer never really became stars. ---
**Author:** ![Among\_Liberals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Among\_Liberals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Among_Liberals)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/9 "2013-06-23T05:15:24Z")
The Inception soundtrack was made without having seen the film. Track #9 is “Dream Within A Dream”. How did Hans get that idea if it’s about virtual realities? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/10 "2013-06-23T12:51:35Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Frankenstein? Ain’t the monster. He’s the guy who made The Monster. Incorrect. “The Monster” refers to Victor Frankenstein as “Father” throughout the book, which would make him a Frankenstein as well. My own contribution… **Texas Chain Saw Massacre** and **Halloween** are remembered for their non-stop gore, but both are actually pretty bloodless and much more moody than horrific. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/11 "2013-06-23T13:12:40Z")
The movie _Aliens_ is clearly misnamed – as far as I can tell, all the space marines are legally documented citizens. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/12 "2013-06-23T13:32:55Z")
I think _Jaws_ fits the bill. The actual film is 90% sometimes smart, sometimes funny, always well written and acted interaction among a set of human characters. 9% is tension and fear about sharks, but no gore (nor actual sharks). Only 1% is gory shark stuff. I’d guess that the public perception of the film (and book its based on) about reverses these proportions. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/13 "2013-06-23T13:41:14Z")
**The Great Gatsby** and **Saturday Night Fever** - both are caustic commentaries on the cultural niches they portray - the social scene at Gatsby’s party is as silly as the disco scenes in SNF - and yet both were glamorized and held up as cool places to be. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/14 "2013-06-23T13:59:38Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The movie _Aliens_ is clearly misnamed – as far as I can tell, all the space marines are legally documented citizens. 'Cept maybe Vasquez. _“Someone said ‘alien’, she thought they said illegal alien and signed up!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/15 "2013-06-23T14:19:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’d guess that the public perception of **[Jaws]** (and book its based on) about reverses these proportions. The book is even worse! A good portion of the book involves Mrs. Brody’s affair with Hooper and there’s a lengthy discussion about how Mrs. Brody really wants to be raped by a black guy with a giant cock. Most of the rest of the book covers the economic effects the beach closure has on the town. The 70s were fucking weird. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/16 "2013-06-23T14:19:58Z")
Why can’t Cyclops’s eye-beams be used as construction materials? Madness! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/17 "2013-06-23T14:21:47Z")
In a surprisingly large number of parodies/ripoffs of _ **Star Wars** _, the Fortress of Evil™ is destroyed by the good guys sneaking in and pushing the big red Self Destruct button. Which was not the case for either Death Star. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/18 "2013-06-23T14:31:59Z")
You could probably do a whole thread on famous quotes that were never actually ever said like “Beam me up Scotty.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/19 "2013-06-24T01:23:42Z")
> [@grude](#): > > It has been a while since I’ve seen it but yes dreams are mentioned, but no one in the movie is dreaming in any conventional sense. Even the basement full of “opium addicts” where the dialogue explicitly says their dream has become their reality, it is more like their self programmed holodeck fantasies. > > Anyway in my OP I forgot to mention I’ve seen criticism of the film that actual dreams are not like the ones depicted on screen, which is off the mark Well, dreams, they feel real while we’re in them, right? It’s only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question: you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what’s going on. _“I guess, yeah.”_ So how did we end up here? _“Well we just came from the a…”_ Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now? _“We’re dreaming?”_ You’re actually in the middle of the workshop right now, sleeping. This is your first lesson in shared dreaming. Stay calm. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683/20 "2013-06-24T01:51:17Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Incorrect. “The Monster” refers to Victor Frankenstein as “Father” throughout the book, which would make him a Frankenstein as well. I doubt this. If the “creature” had referred to Victor as “Mistress Daisy” throughout, would that have made him a flower? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-which-is-misrepresented-in-pop-culture/661683.md?page=2)