# Inaccurate portrayals of violence & death in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308 "2009-02-03T21:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/81 "2009-02-05T14:38:27Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I saw _Othello_ once where Desdemona, after being smothered, has the pillow taken off her face, weeps and wails a bit, and _then_ dies. WTF? That’s probably more realistic, actually. It’s my understanding that while unconsciousness can happen rather quickly, you would need to keep smothering somebody for AT LEAST 10 minutes to make sure they are dead. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/82 "2009-02-05T14:45:07Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Not forgetting death in outer space. I’m sure being exposed to a sudden vacuum doesn’t make you pop like a balloon as in “Outland”. I think the death of Woody Blake (Tim Robbins) in [_Mission to Mars_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_to_Mars) is probably the most accurate cinematic portrayal to date of what would happen. (He takes off his pressure-suit helmet, turns purple as he dies, but doesn’t explode.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/83 "2009-02-05T14:49:34Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > Same thing in _the Godfather_. Carlo gets in the front seat, then a guy in the back wraps a cord around is neck and pulls. Carlos feet flail enough to kick out the windshield, but his arms stay by his side??? I remember Carlo helplessly groping at his neck. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/84 "2009-02-05T14:49:54Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > That’s probably more realistic, actually. It’s my understanding that while unconsciousness can happen rather quickly, you would need to keep smothering somebody for AT LEAST 10 minutes to make sure they are dead. You’re kidding, right? I’m not arguing the fact of what you say, but its application to the referenced portrayal. Once the victim is unconscious, are they really likely to come to, speachify a bit, _then_ expire? For the record, in my _Riverside Shakespeare_, the stage direction “Smothers her” appears on line 83 of act 5, scene 2. It is followed immediately by Desdemona’s line “O Lord, Lord, Lord!” on line 84. Desdemona then comes back for the following, ll. 117-125: > [@](#): > > _Des._ O, falsely, falsely, murder’d! > _Emil._ [O Lord], what cry is that? > _Oth._ That? what? > _Emil._ Out, and alas, that was my lady’s voice. > Help, help, ho, help! O lady, speak again! > Sweet Desdemona, O sweet mistress, speak! > _Des._ A guiltless death I die. > _Emil._ O, who hat done this deed? > _Des._ Nobody; I myself. Farewell! > Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell! [Dies] ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/85 "2009-02-05T14:59:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I remember Carlo helplessly groping at his neck. Confirmed. The garrote comes over his head at 2:47:41 by my player, and he appears to be out at 2:48:00. The actor (one of the worst in the film, IMHO) appears to be anticipating the action, and I will say that given that, his _reaction_ to the garrote coming over seems very delayed, but just before he is pulled over the seatback, he does reach up to struggle. **spooje** is pretty justifed in his recollection, though, because for the first full second or two, Carlo does seem to be just letting it happen. That hit is one of my few complaints about [Paulie]_One_[/Paulie], though. They did such a harrowing job with the hit on Luca, this one is anticlimactic in every way, I feel. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/86 "2009-02-05T15:28:40Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yeah, the only problem is that a gut wound like that is pretty much guaranteed to turn septic. Inigo is gonna be dead in a week, unless there’s some sort of miracle. If only there were a Miracle Man handy . . . ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/87 "2009-02-05T16:39:46Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Yeah, it was. I don’t know much about septic tanks, apparently. > > ::stabs self in abdomen, drops dead:: **Septic tanks do not work that way!** ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/88 "2009-02-05T18:41:03Z")
After reading this thread I feel very informed but also a bit nauseous. I can see why Hollywood doesn’t go all realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/89 "2009-02-05T20:38:35Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yeah, the only problem is that a gut wound like that is pretty much guaranteed to turn septic. Inigo is gonna be dead in a week, unless there’s some sort of miracle. Covered in the book, but I suspect you know that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/90 "2009-02-05T20:52:01Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I think the death of Woody Blake (Tim Robbins) in Mission to Mars is probably the most accurate cinematic portrayal to date of what would happen. (He takes off his pressure-suit helmet, turns purple as he dies, but doesn’t explode.) [/.QUOTE] Actually, that scene was silly in its own way. He removes his helmet and dies instantaneously - in fact, he appears to be mummified or something. That would not happen; you’d suffer. > [@RikWriter](#): > > No, not exactly. What happens when you’re knocked down by a punch is that you’re punched and then you fall down because you’re stunned and/or lost your balance. The momentum of the punch doesn’t knock you off your feet. You’ve never seen someone punched in a way that the momentum knocks them over? Really? It’s quite possible to do. Have you ever seen a hockey player receive a blindside check? The checker can stay on his feet while the checkee flies backwards. Readiness to take the force can have a lot to do with the body’s movement. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/91 "2009-02-05T22:02:03Z")
Quoth **RickJay** : > [@](#): > > 1. Even if it did, bullets fired from personal weapons just don’t carry enough energy to knock a person flying. Bullets kill by penetrating the body and damaging tissue, bones and organs, not through sheer kinetic energy. Actually, a bullet does have enough energy to knock someone over. That’s irrelevant, though, because the bullet’s kinetic energy can’t all be converted into kinetic energy in the target, since the bullet doesn’t have enough _momentum_. Most of the bullet’s energy gets turned into heat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/92 "2009-02-05T23:48:50Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > You’re kidding, right? I’m not arguing the fact of what you say, but its application to the referenced portrayal. Once the victim is unconscious, are they really likely to come to, speachify a bit, _then_ expire? There was a belief in the middle ages, that the body of a murder victim would bleed again when the murderer was nearby (sometimes the murderer had to touch the body to make it bleed again. I’ve always assumed Shakespeare was just taking this belief of a body’s ability to accuse the murderer to an extreme that could be heard/seen on stage. I agree with you, it’s a totaly bogus scene. Unless Desdemona was a zombie. That would have been cool. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/93 "2009-02-05T23:57:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **RickJay** :Actually, a bullet does have enough energy to knock someone over. No, in fact, it does not. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/94 "2009-02-05T23:59:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Have you ever seen a hockey player receive a blindside check? The checker can stay on his feet while the checkee flies backwards. Readiness to take the force can have a lot to do with the body’s movement. That has to do with the checkee being off balance, not the momentum of the hit. If you’re off balance, it only takes a fraction of the force to knock you over because most of the weight of your body was already leaning the way you wound up falling. This is not the same as a bullet hitting you and knocking you backwards. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/95 "2009-02-06T00:09:03Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > I’ve always assumed Shakespeare was just taking this belief of a body’s ability to accuse the murderer to an extreme that could be heard/seen on stage. > > I agree with you, it’s a totaly bogus scene. Unless Desdemona was a zombie. That would have been cool. And totally fitting with what one of my English profs called “Shakespeare’s Hallowe’en Episode.” ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/96 "2009-02-06T00:19:31Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > No, in fact, it does not. Before you start arguing, it, in fact, depends. Handgun bullet does not. Shotgun can do - as anybody on receiving end of rubber bullet can attest. .50 cal or above can blow chunks of you all around the place. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/97 "2009-02-06T00:41:20Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > And totally fitting with what one of my English profs called “Shakespeare’s Hallowe’en Episode.” Hm. I would’ve thought that would be [_Titus Andronicus._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_andronicus) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/98 "2009-02-06T00:45:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hm. I would’ve thought that would be [_Titus Andronicus._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_andronicus) 🙂 It was undergrad. No one expects undergrads to have read _Titus Andronicus_. BA, English: can tell Keats from Shakespeare MA, English: can tell Keats from Yeats PhD, English: can tell Keats from Shelley ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/99 "2009-02-06T01:32:22Z")
> [@puppygod](#): > > Before you start arguing, it, in fact, depends. Handgun bullet does not. Shotgun can do - as anybody on receiving end of rubber bullet can attest. .50 cal or above can blow chunks of you all around the place. Shotguns, of course, can also knock down the shooter! You ought to brace yourself well before shooting a shotgun. In a related myth, Hollywood often shows up with people punching others across the room. Punches will not do this unless you’re being whacked by Mike Tyson with cybernetic implants and power armor. Kicks can knock you a fair few feet, though. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308/100 "2009-02-06T03:40:52Z")
> [@puppygod](#): > > Before you start arguing, it, in fact, depends. Handgun bullet does not. Shotgun can do - as anybody on receiving end of rubber bullet can attest. .50 cal or above can blow chunks of you all around the place. I’m sorry, but you’re incorrect about a bullet knocking you back off your feet. Mythbusters did an episode on it, in fact…but I knew it already, as anyone acquainted with physics does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccurate-portrayals-of-violence-death-in-movies/484308.md?page=6)