# Sending the wrong message **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065 "2010-06-22T00:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/61 "2010-06-23T16:09:51Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > It’s good to be stupid. Being smart just makes people unhappy. Also, it gives them AIDS. I thought the movie made it pretty clear that being a whore is what gave you AIDS. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/62 "2010-06-23T17:41:31Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > **Snow White** : If you’re an attractive female, less attractive females will be out to get you because of it. This thread is called “Sending the **WRONG** Message” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/63 "2010-06-23T17:57:03Z")
Forrest Gump: All that matters is athletic ability, anything above the shoulders is unnecessary and perhaps harmful. Armageddon: Oil Platform people are really good at stopping major catastrophes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/64 "2010-06-23T19:11:16Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > **Snow White** : If you’re an attractive female, less attractive females will be out to get you because of it. I thought the message of _Snow White_ was “Don’t go acting like you’re so pure around here when everyone knows you were slutting it up with seven midgets out of town.” ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/65 "2010-06-23T19:21:23Z")
Thelma and Louise. Sorry, but the message “commit a violent act in a fit of rage, then flee with your friend across the country while robbing stores because society won’t understand and you assume you can’t get a fair trial so why not add on a few more crimes…” And then literally go off the deep end into the canyon–good sell for radical feminism. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/66 "2010-06-23T19:28:05Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > It is pretty pathetic how desperately Rudolph races to help those who tormented him. It’d been better if he’d made them debase themselves to get his help, > > “Oh, I’m not good enough for your games, but now that you _need_ my help, suddenly I’m great? My nose may be red, but at least it isn’t brown.” There was another version of the song done not too long ago with an additional verse, where Rudolph rather gently does just that. Can’t find it on google amongst all the links to the old one, though. > [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Grease- People ignore than Travolta changes for her as well. He becomes a jock, she becomes a…slut. It’s when they see how far each other was willing to go for the other, they cut through the bullshit and can get together. It’s not a bad message. This was a LOT more apparent in the play, when not only is he wearing a letter jacket/sweater at the end, but has at least one other scene where the guys are ribbing him for becoming a jock and he tells them off. I agree that the movie glosses this over a bit, doing it all together and quick right before Slutty Sandy shows up, and the first thing he does is toss the letter sweater away so they can tart it up together. It bugs me, it does. _The Little Mermaid_ (which, don’t get me wrong, I adore) bothers me a bit with its “I’m 16 years old, I’m not a CHILD anymore!” theme. Sorry, but 16 years old _is_ a child, and maybe, just maybe, your father really loves you and is concerned for your safety. Yeah, she kinda sorta learns her lesson, but she just pouts and bats her eyes and Daddy makes it all better and gives her what she wanted all along - a man she’s “in love with” who tossed her off for a black haired version of her, and whom she’s never had so much as a conversation with. ETA: Worse, her own attempts at taking her life into her own hands fail miserably, and so a man is required to empower her. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/67 "2010-06-23T19:41:58Z")
**Slasher movies** - sex is always a death sentence. ``` - when trapped in a spooky house with a murderer, the best course of action is to split up and investigate individually. ``` **Independence Day** - alien technology apparently runs on Windows. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/68 "2010-06-23T19:55:46Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Forrest Gump: All that matters is athletic ability, anything above the shoulders is unnecessary and perhaps harmful. That’s the message sent by every high school in America . . . ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/69 "2010-06-23T20:01:05Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Thelma and Louise. Sorry, but the message “commit a violent act in a fit of rage, then flee with your friend across the country while robbing stores because society won’t understand and you assume you can’t get a fair trial so why not add on a few more crimes…” > > And then literally go off the deep end into the canyon–good sell for radical feminism. A lot of so-called “feminism” (and I used to use this film as Exhibit #1) seemed designed to make men wonder if _Maybe they really are inferior_. Talk about the wrong message. . . . ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/70 "2010-06-23T20:30:12Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Armageddon: Oil Platform people are really good at stopping major catastrophes. Oh my god that one is great! **Flashdance** : The only way to realize your true dreams is to have sex with your boss… ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/71 "2010-06-23T21:19:41Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Mulan: Pretending to be a boy and fighting for your country is just a way to get yourself hurt. The real goal for a young independent girl is to just find a rich man to marry. How do you figure? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/72 "2010-06-23T21:32:41Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > A lot of so-called “feminism” (and I used to use this film as Exhibit #1) seemed designed to make men wonder if _Maybe they really are inferior_. > Talk about the wrong message. . . . Of course, that presumes that the film is meant to have a feminist message at all. To me it’s far more of a nihilist message, that all choices are ultimately futile and life is ultimately pointless, whether you’re trapped in a bad relationship or on a multi-state crime spree. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/73 "2010-06-24T00:11:26Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > **Independence Day** - alien technology apparently runs on Windows. I think that was Mac OS 7.5.1 _Imagine the number of geeks who would say “Oh, no, if they were superior enough to master interstellar travel, they’d be using open source software, just like me and my friends! … well, my online gamer friends…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/74 "2010-06-24T00:29:55Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Thelma and Louise. Sorry, but the message “commit a violent act in a fit of rage, then flee with your friend across the country while robbing stores because society won’t understand and you assume you can’t get a fair trial so why not add on a few more crimes…” > > And then literally go off the deep end into the canyon–good sell for radical feminism. Like **tumbleddown** , I don’t believe _Thelma & Louise_ was intended to “sell” radical feminism. I’ve heard the pitch was literally “Butch and Sundance, only they’re women.” There’s a feminist message in that rape and sexism are portrayed as being Very Bad, but I certainly never had the impression that the audience was being encouraged to emulate the behavior of the heroines, especially since things obviously don’t work out very well for them in the end. The police are also depicted in a fairly favorable light – they’re at worst just doing their jobs, and the Harvey Keitel character is openly sympathetic to Thelma and Louise’s plight – which isn’t very “radical”. Louise’s beliefs about how things would go at trial were probably pretty accurate. It would have been difficult to persuade a jury that Thelma was unwilling, and in any event the man wasn’t an immediate threat when Louise shot him. A good case could be made for manslaughter rather than murder, but Louise did in fact kill someone in a situation where it was not necessary for self-defense or the defense of another. She was likely going to prison even with the fairest trial in the world. And they don’t rob stores just for kicks, they rob IIRC _one_ store because they’re desperate for money after Louise’s life savings are stolen from them. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/75 "2010-06-24T00:55:28Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > **Double Jeopardy** : If you’ve been convicted of killing your husband, but he isn’t really dead, you may legally kill him again later wherever you may find him. I thought it’s message was twofold—Namely that Ashley Judd is to acting what Taco Bell is to authentic Mexican cuisine and that apparently Tommy Lee Jones would be glad to reprise his role from The Fugitive in any old piece of shit movie, just as long as the paycheck clears the bank… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/76 "2010-06-24T01:05:33Z")
> [@jrepka](#): > > Oh my god that one is great! > > **Flashdance** : The only way to realize your true dreams is to have sex with your boss… Also: If you’re good enough at what you do, you can get a job in that general field, even if it involves a stylistically different application for which you have demonstrated absolutely no aptitude. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/77 "2010-06-24T19:21:23Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > How do you figure? Because…that’s exactly what happens. Mulan is injured in battle and kicked out of the army when her true sex is discovered. She does successfully kill Shan Yu using fireworks. She is then offered a high-ranking political office, which she refuses in order to go home and marry Li Shang, which has become more important to her than her country. The first time she is truly comfortable with her self-image is when she sees her reflection as a more confident but feminine, traditional woman upon returning home. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/78 "2010-06-24T19:39:26Z")
M_A_S\*H (TV series) - If you’ve got great talent, you can be as self-righteous, sanctimonious, mean and petty as you want to be. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/79 "2010-06-24T19:48:08Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > M_A_S\*H (TV series) - If you’ve got great talent, you can be as self-righteous, sanctimonious, mean and petty as you want to be. See Also: House, Gregory. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065/80 "2010-06-24T20:07:20Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > M_A_S\*H (TV series) - If you’ve got great talent, you can be as self-righteous, sanctimonious, mean and petty as you want to be. I assume you’re referring to Winchester as Frank Burns was NOT a great surgeon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sending-the-wrong-message/544065.md?page=5)