# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 264
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5267 "2023-02-07T17:51:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Disrupts my ability to accept she’s that inexperienced if she’s been a prostitute for any length of time. Another plot point is that she may not have been a prostitute for very long. The bar owner makes a point to Little Bill about how he has a contract with her to “come out west and whore for him”, which means he’s out a lot of money. That’s why Little Bill decides not to hang or even whip the bad guys - because he cares more about making the bar owner financially whole than about punishing the bad guys. So she may have been a woman who fell on hard times out east, and came west as a whore in hopes of re-establishing herself. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5268 "2023-02-07T17:51:44Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m aware of the vampire counting thing but honestly I doubt Sesame Street thought beyond “He’s called the Count”. Actually, there may be a rather tenuous tie between vampire lore and Sesame Street. Everyone knows Joss Whedon, creator of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and _Angel_ is all about vampire lore, but less well known is that his father, [Tom Whedon](https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Whedon), was also a television writer who happened to write for the Children’s Television Workshop, which of course creates shows like Sesame Street and Electric Company. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5269 "2023-02-07T18:04:59Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > **Unforgiven** (1992), directed by Clint Eastwood. I hadn’t noticed that the Schofield Kid’s near-sightedness is a nice metaphor for his youth and inexperience And he deals with it by constantly squinting - as if he’s some kind of Clint Eastwood type… ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5270 "2023-02-07T18:46:24Z")
Haw!!! 😁 ---
**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 7, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5271 "2023-02-07T22:46:17Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I hadn’t noticed that the Schofield Kid’s near-sightedness is a nice metaphor for his youth and inexperience. On the other side of the coin, I don’t know if it was deliberate, but in the Harry Potter books, Sybil Trelawney was farsighted. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5272 "2023-02-07T22:49:29Z")
Lol, pretty sure it was, given ‘sybil’ means oracle. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5273 "2023-02-13T13:31:22Z")
I just realized that “Teledoc” doesn’t just mean a remotely-working doctor, but is also a play on “Tell A Doctor.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5274 "2023-02-16T00:56:40Z")
I was rewatching Total Recall recently, and for the first time realized in the scene where Benny was fondling the three breasts of the mutant in Last Resort, he said “Mmm. I wish I had three hands!” He did have three hands. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5275 "2023-02-16T10:59:21Z")
An excellent choice of return post! ---
**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 17, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5276 "2023-02-17T00:39:00Z")
I mean, Trelawney being farsighted might not have been deliberate, because the way it was indicated relied on things that Rowling might not have known. Her glasses are described as magnifying her face. But ordinary glasses, worn by nearsighted people, don’t magnify what’s behind them. Lenses of that sort are used to correct farsightedness, not nearsightedness. By the same token, Piggy from Lord of the Flies was also farsighted. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5277 "2023-02-27T23:45:28Z")
Saw one this week, while re-watching The Expanse. There’s a scene in which one character is drinking a bottle of booze while mourning a loss. But it’s in zero gee. At one point, even though the bottle is “upright” relative to the image on the TV, the remaining booze is clearly floating in a mass above the bottom of the bottle. There have been other examples in the show of liquids doing weird things in low- and no-gee areas, but this one was kind of subtle, but also obvious as soon as you see it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5278 "2023-02-28T01:00:52Z")
It took me years to figure out Law & Order is backwards- the police are Order, the DA is the Law. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5279 "2023-03-12T15:46:28Z")
Ian McKellen has a scene in _Extras_ where he explains that acting is pretending and that he had to tell Peter Jackson that he was not really a wizard and that there is a script with the words and blocking to know where to stand etc. I had thought that it was just a comedy bit - Sir Ian being funny. After all, Ricky Gervais calls him Sir Ian to which McKellen protest there are no titles in the workplace then keeps referring to himself as Sir Ian. But after the millionth time I realized, it’s not just a bit of comedy. It is a scathing commentary on method acting. [You can see the scene here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5CX00i4uZE). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5280 "2023-03-12T16:00:16Z")
That was pretty funny. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5281 "2023-03-12T18:18:33Z")
Brian Cox just went off on Jeremy Strong in the same way. > **[Brian Cox calls 'Succession' son Jeremy Strong's Method acting 'f---ing...](https://ew.com/tv/brian-cox-jeremy-strong-method-acting-succession-annoying/)** > > Brian Cox called his 'Succession' costar Jeremy Strong's Method acting 'f---ing annoying' and encouraged his TV son to 'go back to your trailer and have a hit of marijuana' instead. And there’s this classic putdown. > Dustin Hoffman has long been known as one of method acting’s most earnest exponents. A showbiz story involves his collaboration with Laurence Olivier on the 1976 film Marathon Man. Upon being asked by his co-star how a previous scene had gone, one in which Hoffmann’s character had supposedly stayed up for three days, Hoffmann admitted that he too had not slept for 72 hours to achieve emotional verisimilitude. “My dear boy,” replied Olivier smoothly, “why don’t you just try acting?” The Brits especially seem to hate the Method. And that works fine for them. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5282 "2023-03-12T20:01:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The Brits especially seem to hate the Method. And that works fine for them. Sometimes. British acting _can_ seem very mannered. And I don’t have a high opinion of Olivier. He nearly always seems fake to me. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5283 "2023-03-12T21:34:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > “My dear boy,” replied Olivier smoothly, “why don’t you just try acting?” “Is that when you think you’re doing Shakespeare while filming a bit role in a Hollywood production?” Lol, or what @carrps said. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5284 "2023-03-12T22:11:34Z")
Olivier died 24 years ago. If he’s still acting, even manneredly, I tip my cap to him. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5285 "2023-03-12T22:37:42Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Olivier died 24 years ago. If he’s still acting, even manneredly, I tip my cap to him. Heck, it’d already be pretty impressive to die in the 1990s after dying in the 1980s! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5286 "2023-03-12T22:42:39Z")
The funniest part: “Please, no titles in the workplace.” Then he only refers to himself as “Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sur Ian…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=263) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=265)