Everyone seems to think the finale of Roseanne (the original) said that the finale wacky season was a novel the main character wrote. That isn’t what it said: the entire series was her novel. She said she changed a bunch of stuff about her “real” life such as her daughter’s husbands. She does say she had her novel go in wacky directions after she gets to the point of Dan’s death (again in the original, this all got retconned in the reboot) but still the entire breadth of the series was her novel.
People think the Enterprise crew makes their Whale tank in Star Trek IV with transparent aluminum. They don’t. They trade the formula for thicker normal plastic walls to build the tank. The guy even says it will take him years to invent even with the formula.
What are some other examples?
Note: the Board’s software has just reminded me I actually started a similar thread once before but considering that was almost a decade ago I think I can do it again
A lot of people think that the ending of LOST was “they were dead the whole time” which is completely false. The problem is the series finale revealed that the “flash-sideways” seen in the last season were in fact the afterlife and ABC also decided to just show random shots of the plane crash on the beach after the episode was over.
Rummaging around my head for an example to post, it just dawned on me that the end of Thelma and Louise was supposed to be an homage to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
I think you all knew it and conspired to keep it from me.
Tyler Durden was not supposed to be a role model. That aspect of his personality is a hypermasculine violent anarchist and that’s not supposed to be a good thing. The whole point of Fight Club is that aggression is a destructive and unhealthy response to white collar disillusionment.
Darth Vader was not lying to or trying to trick Luke. If he had joined Vader they really would have killed the Emperor together and then ruled the galaxy as father and son.
In a twisted way this was a very father-like thing to do (spend time with his son and push him to greatness). Probably the only kindness he was capable of after being corrupted.
While I admit I am one of those people, in the big picture the scene is still stupid. Why do they even need clear tanks, aluminum or plexiglas, for the whales? They’re only going to be traveling, what?, half an hour? The whales are intelligent, they can handle being cooped up for that long. It’s not like there’s anything to see in the ship anyway! They’re not going to look out the window into space!
And yet, the movie ends with the destruction of several buildings in Delaware, as the narrator watches. The movie seems to present this as a good thing, desfructive, yes, but unhealthy? I’m not convinced they are saying that,
Nearly every character in Beavis and Butt-head is a parody. The hippie teacher Mr. Van Driessen, the former Marine D. I. Coach Buzzcut, the burned out principal Mr. McVicker, the snooty intellectual Daria.
I can’t believe I am the first to put out: Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen. I mean the song is used as a national anthem of pride… but the lyrics and meaning are anti-war and effectively anti-US system.
Glory Days is also often misused. It is depressing as hell.
In Bleach, Ichigo does not dye his hair. He’s 1/2 american and has naturally orange hair. He’s bullied and treated like a punk because they all THINK he dyes his hair like the Japanese punks do.
Not sure if this counts, but the DEFCON system - DEFCON 5 is the most relaxed state of readiness; it denotes normal peacetime. DEFCON 1 is the direst; you’re on the brink of nuclear war.
When someone roars, “We’re going to DEFCON 5!” (or 7, or 11), it unintentionally means…WE’RE CHILLING OUT!!!
Was he? I mean, there are a lot of similarities (ordinary person with a lame leg transforms via magical lightning into a superhero powered by myth). But there are also some pretty significant differences (Billy Batson was a kid, Donald Blake was an adult professional; Captain Marvel was himself a pastiche of Superman, Thor is from actual Norse mythology; Captain Marvel has basically the Superman power set, Thor is super-strong has no other powers but has a magical hammer that gives him weather control; their looks are very different, etc.)
Given the similarities and how popular Captain Marvel had been in the early 50s it strains credulity to think there’s no connection, but as far as I know, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby never mentioned any inspiration from CC Beck. And “updating” mythological figures into super-heroes and super-villains was pretty much Kirby’s go-to move throughout his career.
I admit that’s how it came across to me when I watched, too. But going back to the script, I’m not so sure that’s the intent. The Narrator wants to stop all the bombs, but is only able to stop the one in the building he is in. That suggests to me that we’re not supposed to agree.
Plus, I mean, it’s not like destroying the buildings would actually in any way reset anyone’s credit to zero, like Tyler said. It’s an entirely useless act that would only result in more restrictions on people as they got worried about terrorists.
I also note that Tyler says the buildings were evacuated, other than anyone in Project Mayhem who weren’t good enough to get out.
Despite all the above, I definitely like the book better in this regard, where nothing happens, and the Narrator gets put into a mental health asylum. It makes more sense, even if I’m not a fan of it ending with the implication that he’s going to get back out, and having now merged with Tyler. I like that he actually defeats Tyler in the movie.
Something I didn’t pick up on for a long time in ESB.
Throughout the movie, every time an Imperial officer screws up, Vader kills him. At the end, right after being assured that the Millenium Falcon’s hyperdrive has been deactivated, it jumps to light speed, allowing Luke to escape, alive and uncorrupted. And Vader just turns and walks away, leaving the Admiral notably un-Force Choked.
