# How aware are movie directors of movie cliches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567 "2019-08-12T18:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/21 "2019-08-13T16:37:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But two-lane roads look better, and given the choice between realism and a good shot, 9 times out of ten, a director is going to choose the good shot. > > Plus, 2-lane highways have much more storytelling options. You can pull over and have a meaningful conversation, In _Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion_, the titular duo was driving from LA to Tucson for the titular event, and shown to be doing so on a two lane desert road. In real life, you get on I-10 in LA and get off I-10 in Tucson. I’m pretty sure it is not possible to find a two lane route connecting the two. It’s desert. The old two-lane roads are now incorporated into I-10. But, they did manage to pull over and have a meaningful conversation, so there is that. A good director could just have them talk in the car, or at a wayside, or a gas station, or maybe the Picacho Peak Dairy Queen! Anywhere but a deserted two lane highway. The Cabazon dinosaurs\*, the Palm Springs area wind farm, Hadley’s, the George S Patton museum, the Desert Center palm tree farm, Quartzite, or the Mirana air park are all photogenic and/or quirky places to film a meaningful conversation that are easy and believable stops along I-10. Style doesn’t have to override believability. \*Tell 'em Large Marge sent ya! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/22 "2019-08-13T16:47:38Z")
But real cemeteries hire the same iron shops to make real cemetery gates. And sometimes, the iron shop makes mistakes on those, too. So sometimes real cemeteries have misspelled signs. If movie cemeteries, then, also sometimes have misspelled signs, that’s just realism. Likewise, a lot of mistakes purportedly made by directors could just as well be faithful depictions of mistakes made by characters. Like, in _Firefly_, when Jayne needs to fire at a target in vacuum, but it’s complicated because he needs to keep his gun in an atmosphere. Sure, I know that Vera wouldn’t actually need oxygen… but does Jayne know that? His character definitely isn’t the sharpest log in the woodpile; it’s quite plausible that he doesn’t know, or thinks he knows things that are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/23 "2019-08-13T16:56:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But real cemeteries hire the same iron shops to make real cemetery gates. And sometimes, the iron shop makes mistakes on those, too. So sometimes real cemeteries have misspelled signs. If movie cemeteries, then, also sometimes have misspelled signs, that’s just realism… When it was first brought up, I thought -ARY was probably more accurate. I was picturing an Authentic Olde West cemetery, where a misspelling probably happened all the time, and nobody who bothers walking out to the ol’ buryin’ ground is quite sure _how_ to spell it… ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/24 "2019-08-13T17:00:00Z")
Since they do this as a living, they would have to be totally aware. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/25 "2019-08-13T17:57:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > The have infinite bullets because the director doesn’t want to stop the actual to reload unless it moves the plot forward. Or deliberately, to hilarious effect. “The old man’s still an artist with a Thompson.” ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/26 "2019-08-13T19:31:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But real cemeteries hire the same iron shops to make real cemetery gates. And sometimes, the iron shop makes mistakes on those, too. So sometimes real cemeteries have misspelled signs. If movie cemeteries, then, also sometimes have misspelled signs, that’s just realism. > > Likewise, a lot of mistakes purportedly made by directors could just as well be faithful depictions of mistakes made by characters. Like, in _Firefly_, when Jayne needs to fire at a target in vacuum, but it’s complicated because he needs to keep his gun in an atmosphere. Sure, I know that Vera wouldn’t actually need oxygen… but does Jayne know that? His character definitely isn’t the sharpest log in the woodpile; it’s quite plausible that he doesn’t know, or thinks he knows things that are wrong. Sort of plausible, but I gotta disagree. It’s one thing for some six-grave family cemetery to have a sign misspelled, but we’re talking about a big, been-around-long-enough-for-someone-to-point-out-the-error cemetery. If you’re in the cemetery business, you know how to spell it and you’re going to have the sign made right or corrected (at the manufacturer’s expense). Same with major misspellings in the fake newspapers, especially with older, major city papers. Misspellings and typos were usually caught. Not always, but usually. When I see one, I think “that’s a production assistant/prop guy who didn’t do well in school and created this the night before without showing it to anyone.” Takes me right out of the movie and gets me wondering why that person didn’t use spell-check. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/27 "2019-08-13T20:03:14Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In _Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion_, the titular duo was driving from LA to Tucson for the titular event, and shown to be doing so on a two lane desert road. In real life, you get on I-10 in LA and get off I-10 in Tucson. I’m pretty sure it is not possible to find a two lane route connecting the two. It’s desert. The old two-lane roads are now incorporated into I-10. I think it is still possible, at least for most of the distance. CA-62 (the Twentynine Palms Highway) and Arizona 72/85 are generally two lane. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/28 "2019-08-13T20:43:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No one ever left a movie saying, “That was really dull, but they got the trivial details right.” Not true. I’m sure people have walked out of a theater saying that. They walked out fifteen minutes after it started. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/29 "2019-08-13T20:48:03Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > I think it is still possible, at least for most of the distance. CA-62 (the Twentynine Palms Highway) and Arizona 72/85 are generally two lane. Or just go through Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/30 "2019-08-13T21:22:18Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > I think it is still possible, at least for most of the distance. CA-62 (the Twentynine Palms Highway) and Arizona 72/85 are generally two lane. It only adds 4 hours, but the scenery is nice! And you’re running the I-10 frontage road from Casa Grande the last 40 miles. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > No one ever left a movie saying, “That was really dull, but they got the trivial details right.” No, but they leave all the time saying “why’d they do something so stupid, when a little effort could have cleaned it up?” And “if they’d just ask us, they’d get it right for free.” And “that was a good movie, but it could be better if they’d only have fixed X”. “But they can’t because RealityChuck only believes in absolutes. In his world, a movie can either be accurate or boring.” ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/31 "2019-08-13T21:50:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > No, but they leave all the time saying “why’d they do something so stupid, when a little effort could have cleaned it up?” And “if they’d just ask us, they’d get it right for free.” And “that was a good movie, but it could be better if they’d only have fixed X”. “But they can’t because RealityChuck only believes in absolutes. In his world, a movie can either be accurate or boring.” Do they though? Are there that many people going “I would like Hobbs & Shaw if they reloaded more.” I’d wager that the vast majority of movie goers aren’t that nitpicky. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/32 "2019-08-13T22:06:25Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Do they though? Are there that many people going “I would like Hobbs & Shaw if they reloaded more.” I’d wager that the vast majority of movie goers aren’t that nitpicky. But I bet there are thousands who react when: Person A is holding a gun to Person B’s head as coercion Person B does not react Person A cycles the action to emphasize “he really means it” Bonus eye roll if person A cycles it again Everyone who has ever handled a semi-automatic is going “so, you didn’t mean it the first time? or you had a round in the chamber that you just ejected?” Not to mention the eye strain from watching a movie with silenced weapons that go “ffft”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/33 "2019-08-13T22:15:01Z")
Speaking of Hollywood professionals: One of the recent Elementary episodes had a scene where a guy is pretending to be a terrorist, and buys a rifle and a large propane tank. The propane tank salesman tells the buyer to be careful shooting around the tank, as it could go BOOM. Of course, it won’t, and a person that sells propane and propane accessories should know that. You shoot a propane tank with a standard rifle round and all it does it put a hole in the tank. A 9mm might not even dent the bottle. And Hollywood et al use that one all the damn time. Even in my favorite Bond film. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/34 "2019-08-13T22:22:48Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But I bet there are thousands who react when: > > Person A is holding a gun to Person B’s head as coercion > Person B does not react > Person A cycles the action to emphasize “he really means it” > Bonus eye roll if person A cycles it again > > Everyone who has ever handled a semi-automatic is going “so, you didn’t mean it the first time? or you had a round in the chamber that you just ejected?” > > Not to mention the eye strain from watching a movie with silenced weapons that go “ffft”. If they treated firearms realistically in movies, you’d just need a new hobby, since the hobby of complaining about unrealistic firearms in movies will have gone away. 😉 In all seriousness…there are, undoubtedly, many people, like yourself, who know enough enough firearms to know that they’re used unrealistically in movies. Of those people, _some_, like yourself, are bothered enough about it that it takes you out of the moment; the rest probably notice it, but shrug, and don’t let it distract them from the film. It’s pretty clear to me that a lot of that unrealistic usage either (a) has become tropes in action movies, and/or (b) is done because realistic usage may distract from the scene (such as reloading). It’s also pretty clear to me that while some people, like yourself, are bothered by it, not _enough_ people are bothered by it to get the industry to change how they do it. Action movies with lots of unrealistic usage of firearms can do really, really well at the box office. Long ago, I realized that there’s a rule of thumb about TV shows and movies: if you know a lot about a topic (and especially if you’re passionate about a topic), you’re likely to be disappointed by shows and movies that feature that topic, because, unless they’re intentionally striving to be highly accurate, the odds are very high that you’re going to be distracted by the inaccuracies (which come in because the writer and director are trying to tell a story, not make a documentary). I can’t watch shows about ad agencies, for example, because I work in the industry, and I find myself getting hung up on the details they get wrong. Queen is one of my all-time favorite rock bands, and when I went to see Bohemian Rhapsody, I had to intentionally shut down that part of my brain, because they _did_ take liberties on things like the timing of events, to tell a compelling story. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/35 "2019-08-13T22:36:45Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But I bet there are thousands who react when: > > Person A is holding a gun to Person B’s head as coercion > Person B does not react > Person A cycles the action to emphasize “he really means it” > Bonus eye roll if person A cycles it again > > Everyone who has ever handled a semi-automatic is going “so, you didn’t mean it the first time? or you had a round in the chamber that you just ejected?” > > Not to mention the eye strain from watching a movie with silenced weapons that go “ffft”. When a movie is bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars, I guessing the director isn’t going to be worried that ‘thousands’ of people noticed the gun being racked twice. Also, all those people that noticed, paid to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/36 "2019-08-13T23:24:11Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > When a movie is bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars, I guessing the director isn’t going to be worried that ‘thousands’ of people noticed the gun being racked twice. > Also, all those people that noticed, paid to see it. Well, that’s the problem isn’t it. It doesn’t matter to Hollywood if they make a good product or not, because the system is set up that we don’t know if the product is good until we have already paid for it. You buy a bad burger, you don’t go back to that chain again. It can make a difference. You see a bad movie, what can you do? Just not see it again. Which is what most people already do, even if they liked it. Makes no difference to Hollywood. It could be millions. Billions, who care. No one can say, because once we paid our 12 bucks the filmmakers are done with us. Just because Endgame made a gazillion bucks doesn’t mean there weren’t tons of people unhappy with the ending. And just because I hated the ending of Endgame doesn’t mean I won’t watch the next one, because it will probably be enjoyable. But it could be better. How are we as individuals supposed to tell the directors that it makes a difference? We’re just suppose to keep eating their crap because the system can’t be changed? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/37 "2019-08-13T23:32:33Z")
Just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it a bad product. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/38 "2019-08-13T23:54:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, that’s the problem isn’t it. It doesn’t matter to Hollywood if they make a good product or not, because the system is set up that we don’t know if the product is good until we have already paid for it. In fact, the studios actually do an awful lot of market research, particularly on bigger releases. They do test screenings, among other things, to make sure that what they put into the theaters isn’t going to disappoint or tick off audiences. The studios can, and regularly _do_, re-edit, and even re-shoot, scenes that prove to be problematic. If unrealistic use of firearms was enough of an annoyance for enough moviegoers – and, conversely, if rigorously realistic use of firearms _would_ result in even stronger ticket sales – I am pretty damned certain that the studios would have figured this out by now, and reacted accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/39 "2019-08-14T00:25:31Z")
OK, I feel like we got bogged down too much in the “errors” or “unlimited ammo” thing. About cliches in general: One of the biggest reasons Game of Thrones was such a success at first was because of its willingness to kill off characters whom audiences would normally expect most TV shows to preserve (the death of Eddard Stark, for instance.) That willingness to defy the “hero always gets rescued from the chopping block at the last moment” cliche was one reason for its popularity. But with other cliches, it seems that directors persist in them simply because of habit and inertia. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567/40 "2019-08-14T10:56:10Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Some cliches are useful shorthand even though they’re inaccurate because they’re so common. They don’t have to reflect reality, they have to convey necessary information to the viewer without getting bogged down. This. Many, many times, clichés are there because reality just doesn’t sound/look “right.” e.g. [ul] [li]Drop a lit match in a pool of gas and it’ll extinguish the match, not catch fire[/li][li]Cars don’t explode when running off a cliff[/li][li]Cars don’t explode when you shoot a gas tank[/li][li]Gun shots certainly don’t sound the way they do in movies[/li][li]Lasers don’t make sound. Many times they aren’t even seen, except on the target. No pew-pew-pew[/li][li]All planets don’t have 1g surface gravity[/li][li]Lights inside a space helmet will totally ruin night vision. Great for illuminating characters faces, though[/li][li]Heroes never ever have to stand and wait three minutes for a subway train. Unless suspense can be added from cross cutting with villains approaching the platform[/li][li]Being hit with a fire extinguisher in the head will only lead to our hero shaking his head briefly and resume to beat up the bad guy[/li][li]Anyone who’s had abdominal surgery, done by medical pros, knows that the pain and discomfort leaves on bedridden for a couple of days. Stab wounds in movies are fixed with duct tape and a shot of booze[/li][/ul] ASF. **Just Asking Questions** wants more realism in movies. I’m wondering if that extends to all aspects, or just the ones he is knowledgeable about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-aware-are-movie-directors-of-movie-cliches/838567.md?page=3)