# Insane interpretations that you have seen about media? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236 "2024-12-27T18:45:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/61 "2024-12-30T19:46:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think a lot of this nonsense is when people assume everything’s so well thought out and put together that it _has_ to make some sort of sense, and start looking for it in order to make it all fit together. > > It’s like they can’t accept that Quentin Tarantino, George Lucas, or whoever can’t just have oversights and plot holes, and that it _all has to make sense_ somehow. > > IMO, it’s the same sort of assumption that leads to conspiracy theories- it can’t just be oversight, random events, and bad luck, it _ **has** _ to be intentional and everything has to be orchestrated by someone, so they start playing lunatic mental Tetris to make it all fit. Jesus, no, that’s not even remotely accurate. It’s been more than a century since the terms [“Watsonian” and “Doylist”](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WatsonianVersusDoylist) were coined, it’s astounding that people still don’t understand this very basic way people interact with popular media. People don’t make up elaborate head canons because they think creatives “can’t make a mistake” (Seriously, have you ever actually met a Star Wars fan? There is no group of people on Earth who are more critical of George Lucas’s skills as a movie maker than Star Wars fans.) They make up these elaborate head canons because papering over obvious errors in the original work _is fun_. Everyone understands that Doyle just fucked up when he gave Watson two different first names in his Sherlock Holmes stories, but it’s entertaining to try to find a way to justify it in the text, _as if_ it were intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/62 "2024-12-30T20:08:25Z")
In terms of actual batshit crazy theories Blade Runner is an anti-union film because it depicts how due to American unionization efforts in the 1970s the United States slowly becomes more and more non-competitive in the global markets so by 2019 all American companies have been bought out by foreign competitors. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/63 "2024-12-30T20:48:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Everyone understands that Doyle just fucked up when he gave Watson two different first names in his Sherlock Holmes stories, but it’s entertaining to try to find a way to justify it in the text, _as if_ it were intentional. What was the Victorian equivalent of a Marvel No-Prize? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/64 "2024-12-30T20:51:10Z")
> [@Cee](#): > > Same thing is happening in the queer community. Some ppl assume that a character is gay (Rainbow Six Seige?) for giving another woman her coat to stay warm. Other ppl assume Travis from Yellowjackets is a trans woman just cuz he apparently shares some stereotypical traits with being a woman. Some ppl even assume the girl in my pfp is a trans man just because she has masculine mannerisms and wears practical clothing in the dead ass of winter. I’ve seen people argue that Gwen Stacy in the Spider-Verse movies is trans because her costume is white and pink. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/65 "2024-12-30T20:51:52Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Blade Runner is an anti-union film because it depicts how due to American unionization efforts in the 1970s the United States slowly becomes more and more non-competitive in the global markets so by 2019 all American companies have been bought out by foreign competitors. And not because they manufacture artificial people to replace workers? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/66 "2024-12-30T21:02:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Everyone understands that Doyle just fucked up when he gave Watson two different first names in his Sherlock Holmes stories, but it’s entertaining to try to find a way to justify it in the text, _as if_ it were intentional. But what people miss is that these two men are shown as very close friends- but they dont call each other by their first names. Now back in that day, you didnt call anyone but close friends or relatives by their first names- or maybe servants. But Holmes and Watson should. Unless they arent really friends. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/67 "2024-12-30T21:24:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But Holmes and Watson should. Unless they arent really friends. They are products of British public boys schools. All male non-family members - friends and acquaintances alike - are referred to by their last names. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/68 "2024-12-30T21:53:48Z")
Or nicknames. More often at the club I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/69 "2024-12-30T23:03:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > When the Beatles wrong songs about drugs, they didnt deny it- see Doctor Robert - Lennon "Mainly about drugs and pills. ", and _I get high, with a little help from my friends”_, _Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey’_ and others. The last-named isn’t about drugs, either. The “monkey,” according to Lennon, is Yoko Ono. She is his “monkey” and he is hers. OK, he was no doubt on drugs when he wrote it, but that doesn’t make it _about_ drugs. For that matter, “Hey Jude” isn’t about shooting heroin (“so let it out and let it in”). And while we’re at it, Paul ain’t dead. (Speaking of insane interpretations, in 1970 Batman and Robin confronted the mystery only to find that “Saul Cartwright” was the only survivor when the other three died, and they came up with the fake story about “Saul”'s death to cover it up.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/70 "2024-12-30T23:15:32Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The last-named isn’t about drugs, either. The “monkey,” according to Lennon, is Yoko Ono. She is his “monkey” and he is hers. OK, he was no doubt on drugs when he wrote it, but that doesn’t make it _about_ drugs. It’s mostly about shit they heard Maharishi Mahesh Yogi say, during the brief period where they glommed on to that “spiritual teacher”/cult leader. “Accept your joy,” and “Every body’s got something to hide,” were direct quotes from him. (Although the bit about the monkey was, as you note, from Lennon.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/71 "2024-12-31T00:10:12Z")
I was arguing (while stoned, yes, what of it?) that Glenda was the true villian in _The Wizard of Oz_ back in the 90s. Shoulda just wrote a book about it. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/72 "2024-12-31T00:20:56Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > McConnoughy is dead the whole time, No, that is just the way he smells all the time. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/73 "2024-12-31T00:22:11Z")
A decade later, my brother was a college radio DJ, and one night, he worked the midnight to 6am shift AS A VOLUNTEER, because they needed it covered or they would have had to go off the air, and he got out all the foulest, filthiest, most offensive things they had in the stacks, because the FCC regulations didn’t apply during those hours. Not the first time people had done that, either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/74 "2024-12-31T00:24:37Z")
Don’t forget Jerry Falwell’s opinion of the Teletubbies, specifically the biggest one, Tinky Winky, who was purple and carried a purse. > **[Yep, the Purple Teletubby Was Gay](https://slate.com/technology/2017/12/jerry-falwell-and-tinky-winky-the-gay-teletubby.html)** > > We now understand that the mere presence of queer characters is not in itself “sexual innuendo.” ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/75 "2024-12-31T00:39:52Z")
I find this more fun than insane, but that Ash Ketchum is Giovanni’s son. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/76 "2024-12-31T00:59:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’ve seen people argue that Gwen Stacy in the Spider-Verse movies is trans because her costume is white and pink. …that’s reductive. Her coloring throughout is white/blue/pink motifs matching the trans flag. She has a “Protect Trans Kids” poster in her room and the nature of her strained relationship with her father resonated with people in the queer community. So it’s not “insane” it’s just an interpretation that hasn’t been denied or confirmed. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’ve been called insane for my conviction that the transporters in _Star Trek_ are really suicide machines. I believe this as well and would never use a transporter. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/77 "2024-12-31T01:14:58Z")
I’m not sure if the assertion that Pink Floyd’s Dark side of the Moon matches The Wizard of Oz is _insane_ or not. I mean, they _claim_ it is. But it totally does match up. Sure, there was LSD involved last time I checked, but even the title, as an allusion to Oz: _Dark Side of the Moon_ - c‘mon! You hear pigs oinking when she falls into the pig sty! When Glenda appears, you get the line about “do goody good bullshit.” _Money_ starts as soon as Dorothy opens the door and the screen turns to color. Those munchkins marching in tune. I’ve been told I’m insane for saying it matches, but it’s well done nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/78 "2024-12-31T02:01:14Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Everyone understands that Doyle just fucked up when he gave Watson two different first names in his Sherlock Holmes stories, but it’s entertaining to try to find a way to justify it in the text, _as if_ it were intentional. I get the fun of trying to make stories hang together - I had six books on the chronology of the Holmes stories at one point. After the first six books, though, people either have to totally steal from the earlier theories or go on to insane stuff that nobody else would think of. The Baker Street Journal was the mystery genre’ first major fanzine, started in the 1940s, populated by scores of big name writers. By the 1960s they were running bilge, shoving Bond and Batman into the stories. But my favorite was postulated by some doctor in the 1950s, and later taken up by [William S. Baring-Gould](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Baring-Gould), who had his own, shall we say idiocentric, version of the chronology. His brainstorm revealed that Nero Wolfe was the son of Holmes and Irene Adler, conceived during Holmes’ three missing years. Wolfe was a spitting image of Mycroft so he had the genes, etc. etc. And the proof of it became the great O-E theory. The vowels in Sherlock Holmes are e-o and o-e. The vowels in Nero Wolfe are - wait for it - are e-o and o-e. Q.E. -there’s that vowel again - D. O, yeah. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/79 "2024-12-31T02:04:32Z")
I’ve met numerous people who thought Indiana Jones became immortal at the end of The Last Crusade because he drank from the Grail. This was much more prevalent when the 3 movies were the only ones. It made no sense, though. It was clear you had to keep drinking from the cup to stay alive and that, of course, the cup can not pass the great seal. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236/80 "2024-12-31T02:23:49Z")
I read a novelization of the movie that directly stated he and his father were immortal. But, I agree with you, the movie says immortality expires when they leave the cave. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-interpretations-that-you-have-seen-about-media/1012236.md?page=5)