# That Godamn Wilhelm Scream **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159 "2012-12-26T06:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/1 "2012-12-26T06:25:05Z")
Why O why do movie makers keep using that stupid, overused, mood ruining, sound effect? I’m fecking sick to death of hearing it. The latest one is now a bloody goblin Wihelm screaming his way into an abyss in The Hobbit. I can be totally immersed in a movie, and then they trot this goddamn abortion out and Riiiippp, I’m out of the movie. Do they think they’re being clever or something? Surely I’m far from alone in being annoyed by this? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/2 "2012-12-26T06:44:37Z")
I heard it too. It failed to bother me. What is it that makes it so hard for you to bear? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/3 "2012-12-26T07:00:37Z")
It’s a stupid in-joke, a call back to another, inferior time of cinema. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/4 "2012-12-26T07:27:24Z")
It’s a really old and stupid joke and I’m very tired of hearing it too. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/5 "2012-12-26T08:02:17Z")
wow, this is the first time I heard a name attached to it. Excceeeeellllleeeeent. (insert Mr Burn’s voice here) I’m already poised to hate the hobbit movie for a number of other reasons starting with the fact they are making it into 3 movies. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/6 "2012-12-26T10:41:33Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I heard it too. It failed to bother me. What is it that makes it so hard for you to bear? As other posters have now said, it’s some sort of stupid ‘in joke’, and I know that, and it annoys me, from a ‘meta’ perspective - taking me out of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/7 "2012-12-26T12:38:47Z")
I giggle when I hear it. It never occurred to me before, but you’re certainly right that it does break the tension of whatever is happening onscreen. It doesn’t bother me though. I suppose the Foley artist assumes that anyone who can recognize it will giggle like I do and move on. I tried to find a good youtube compilation to offer you some immersion therapy - and the search revealed that “Wilhelm Scream” is, in fact, a band name. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/8 "2012-12-26T13:01:15Z")
I think Star Wars probably deserves a lot of the credit/blame for popularizing it and ensuring its use in many, many other movies. It doesn’t ruin movies for me but I understand what the OP is saying: if you’re aware of its status as a meta-joke it can be distracting and can take you out of the moment. But according to Wikipedia it’s appeared in all of the Lord of the Rings movies, so if the OP didn’t notice it the other times I guess that’s a victory. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/9 "2012-12-26T14:22:44Z")
[A compilation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbYsoEasio) for those who are unfamiliar with it. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/10 "2012-12-26T14:56:04Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Do they think they’re being clever or something? Surely I’m far from alone in being annoyed by this? No, you’re not the only one. When I first learned of it, I thought it was cool (I’d instinctively remembered the sound from watching Star Wars a million times as a kid), but now it’s in every movie ever. The joke loses all effectiveness when it reaches the level of saturation that it has. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/11 "2012-12-26T15:25:24Z")
This one’s dying out, though, isn’t it? Other than the Hobbit (and since it was in all three LORT movies, I’m betting it will be in the other two Hobbit movies as well), I haven’t heard a Wilhelm scream in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/12 "2012-12-26T15:33:29Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > This one’s dying out, though, isn’t it? Other than the Hobbit (and since it was in all three LORT movies, I’m betting it will be in the other two Hobbit movies as well), I haven’t heard a Wilhelm scream in a while. [If anything I’d say it’s becoming more common.](http://www.imdb.com/keyword/wilhelm-scream/?sort=release_date) In the last few years it’s appeared in the Lord of the Rings series, the Madagascar franchise, and a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies. That sounds less like dying out and more like an apex of popularity. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/13 "2012-12-26T15:45:59Z")
Hate it. Every time I notice it, it just reminds me that I’m watching a movie, and totally pulls me out of the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/14 "2012-12-26T15:50:44Z")
Yeah, it’s starting to pull me out of the scene when I hear it now. Mostly because it seems like that particular scream doesn’t necessarily fit why the guy is screaming. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/15 "2012-12-26T16:43:38Z")
> [@FlyingDragonFan](#): > > Hate it. Every time I notice it, it just reminds me that I’m watching a movie, and totally pulls me out of the moment. Yup. For those that it doesn’t bother, imagine the following scenario: You’re watching a big drama, full-on Oscar bait. Hell, let’s just say it’s Les Miserables. Some is talking to Jean Valjean (played by Hugh Jackman,) and then, for no reason, says something stupid like, “Jean, you’re no better than a Wolverine.” At which point Hugh Jackman then looks into the camera and gives a “:rolleyes:” kind of look. That would take you out of the movie VERY fast, you’d say it’s a stupid reference, and why put a silly, light-hearted meta-joke in a serious movie?! Well, that’s how I feel about the Wilhelm Scream. Yeah, most of the times it’s used it’s not a SUPER SERIOUS movie, but it’s usually at least a somewhat serious action movie, and it pulls me out because it’s the sound FX/foley guys doing a little wink-wink, nudge-nudge to you. It’s stupid, and every film director on the planet should demand their sound guys stop doing it, except in the most silliest, light-hearted, meta-humor of movies. ---
**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 26, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/16 "2012-12-26T17:26:14Z")
It’s a trope. And it’s very effective. That’s why it’s used. For those who dissect movies I can see where it gets annoying, but the general audience isn’t paying that much attention to the detail and it effectively communicates a painful injury. It’s no different than a gunshot or any other simple sound effect meant to be unobtrusive. But all in all, it’s boring, they should stop using it so much. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/17 "2012-12-26T17:57:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s a trope. And it’s very effective. There are lots of movie screams and it’d be easy to record new ones. The Wilhelm Scream continues to be used as a reference, not because it’s particularly effective. As other posters have noted, it’s often kind of jarring and out of context. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/18 "2012-12-26T18:01:17Z")
It doesn’t bother me in the least, mostly because I never catch it. I’ve heard the compilation so I know what it sounds like, but I can never remember. ---
**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 26, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/19 "2012-12-26T18:51:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > There are lots of movie screams and it’d be easy to record new ones. The Wilhelm Scream continues to be used as a reference, not because it’s particularly effective. As other posters have noted, it’s often kind of jarring and out of context. I agree it would be easy to use other screams. I don’t think it’s jarring to the general audience. They’ve heard it so often it’s innocuous. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159/20 "2012-12-26T19:35:35Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > It doesn’t bother me in the least, mostly because I never catch it. Same here. According to tvtropes, the last movie I saw that used it was _Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull_. Never would have known if I didn’t look it up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-godamn-wilhelm-scream/645159.md?page=2)