# The mundane unrealistic details that take you out of the batshit fantastically unrealistic setting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755 "2015-03-23T02:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/221 "2015-05-17T14:22:55Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Agreement. (And it’s often followed by the “Ow! Antiseptic spray stings!” farce. A guy can get pounded to meatloaf, but when his sweetie gently cleans his wounds, he winces and hisses.) Would that be Indiana Jones (in “Raiders”) you’re referring to, me hearty? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/222 "2015-05-17T18:20:32Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > This bugs me about ANY movie: someone gets conked on the noggin (gun-butt, frying pan, what have you) and just goes unconscious for a short while, when s/he wakes up, they scratch their head and go merrily on their way–no concussion, no swelling, no blood running off the back of the head, no staggering, no crushed cheek-bones, no bashed-in noses, no skull fractures; occasionally, someone will acknowledge a boo-boo on the back of the head. The Chevy Chase movie _Funny Farm_ does an inversion of this trope. Chevy tries to knock someone unconscious by punching them in the head, but all he manages to do is beat the living tar out of him. Someone gets a call from a friend saying, “Quick! Turn on Channel Six!” And when the person turns on the TV, it’s always _right at the beginning_ of the news report. One of the most annoying tropes involves any group of people on the run from the law, they get to a motel or other place of safety and discover there’s a news report about their crime spree on television. Every single time, one of the characters will very dramatically grab the remote and SWITCH THE TELEVISION OFF. Wouldn’t it be smarter for them to watch the report, to discover how much the police know, where the roadblocks are, and so forth? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/223 "2015-05-17T18:23:28Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > Do you have an example that ruins a batshit fantastically unrealistic setting? I’m sure there are lots, I just can’t think of any right now, and I’m wondering what you have in mind. That happens in a lot of movies that are unfortunately trying for realism. Wow, missed this the first time around. Sorry about that. _Underworld_ comes to mind. Selene (Kate Beckinsdale) has a pair of automatic pistols with extended clips that can fire scores upon scores of bullets. The scene that really bothered me was her shooting out the floor underneath her in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/224 "2015-05-17T19:13:21Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Someone gets a call from a friend saying, “Quick! Turn on Channel Six!” And when the person turns on the TV, it’s always _right at the beginning_ of the news report. This problem should actually be just about ready for retirement now. These days, you can say to a friend, “Quick! Go to [channelsix.com](http://channelsix.com) and clink the video link on their front page!” Although it remains to be seen whether TV shows and movies catch on. [Although, BTW, I saw someone (on the internet) point out that we still don’t have a good way of representing the internet in TV and movies (even though people are now figuring out how to show texting in an interesting way).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFfq2zblGXw) So, fame and fortune to be had for the director who figures that one out. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/225 "2015-05-17T19:14:55Z")
_Hawk the Slayer_ is a really bad ripoff of J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, filmed on a painfully low budget. That didn’t bother me. Then I noticed that the elf was wearing penny loafers. That bothered me a lot. From Peter Jackson’s version of _King Kong_: You are on an uncharted island populated by dinosaurs, giant spiders, and giant apes? No problem. You get caught in a sauropod stampede and don’t get trampled? I don’t believe it. You get kidnapped by a 40-foot tall ape? No problem. You run around in New York in December wearing only a flimsy silk dress, and don’t freeze? I don’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/226 "2015-05-17T19:38:51Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > . Selene (Kate Beckinsdale) has a pair of automatic pistols with extended clips that can fire scores upon scores of bullets. The scene that really bothered me was her shooting out the floor underneath her in the hospital. That film bugged the hell out of me, since we had kate running around in hot skin tight outfits- in 90% darkness. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/227 "2015-05-17T22:00:06Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Wow, missed this the first time around. Sorry about that. _Underworld_ comes to mind. Selene (Kate Beckinsdale) has a pair of automatic pistols with extended clips that can fire scores upon scores of bullets. The scene that really bothered me was her shooting out the floor underneath her in the hospital. I see what you mean…but I loved that bit, as it was a clever and different way to get out of the situation. It wouldn’t have worked without super high-power armor piercing bullets, but it was a cute schtick. Thinking outside the box. (Thinking outside the box doesn’t work very often. The box is there for a darn good reason.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/228 "2015-05-17T22:38:23Z")
Sean Connery’s accent in Hunt for Red October initially seems to be one of those unrealistic details, but later on you realise it was a clue to him not being Russian. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/229 "2015-05-17T22:54:22Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I see what you mean…but I loved that bit, as it was a clever and different way to get out of the situation. It wouldn’t have worked without super high-power armor piercing bullets, but it was a cute schtick. Thinking outside the box. > > (Thinking outside the box doesn’t work very often. The box is there for a darn good reason.) Why I’ll Never Be a Screenwriter, Reason #697: I would have written the scene so that Selene tries the trick, and quickly realizes she’s out of bullets. She jumps up and down on the floor, but she doesn’t have enough mass to budge it. She must now find another way out, that does not use magic bullet guns. For whatever reason, that bothered me far more than…say…_Van Helsing_’s pneumatic automagic crossbow. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/230 "2015-05-18T01:57:41Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > . . . I would have written the scene so that Selene tries the trick, and quickly realizes she’s out of bullets. She jumps up and down on the floor, but she doesn’t have enough mass to budge it. She must now find another way out, that does not use magic bullet guns. . . . That would be doubly funny the second time, just like when Indiana Jones smirks and reaches for his gun…and it isn’t in his holster. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/231 "2015-05-18T11:50:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I guess we can all be thankful that Tolkien didn’t see fit to let them use nuclear or thermonuclear devices. Or antimatter bombs. Gandalf had promised all the residents of the Shire\*, that this Fireworks display would be _unforgettable_. \*Now better known as ‘The Crater’ ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/232 "2015-05-19T16:36:46Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > From Peter Jackson’s version of _King Kong_: > > You are on an uncharted island populated by dinosaurs, giant spiders, and giant apes? No problem. > You get caught in a sauropod stampede and don’t get trampled? I don’t believe it. > > You get kidnapped by a 40-foot tall ape? No problem. > You run around in New York in December wearing only a flimsy silk dress, and don’t freeze? I don’t believe it. None of that bothered me. What did bother me, and pulled me out of the movie, was: _How did they get Kong off the island?_ He’s as big as the freakin boat, so even if they could somehow muster the manpower to lift him (maybe with the villagers help?) the boat would immediately sink like a rock. It annoyed me to no end that the movie glossed over this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/233 "2015-05-19T17:15:03Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > What really bothered me was the airplane lavatory zombie. If they turn in under 30 seconds, how the hell did he get bit, board an airplane, stow his luggage in the overhead bin, then go to the bathroom without anyone noticing? No, the unrealistic part is that we have a gigantic anti-zombie concrete wall that surrounds Israel. OK, that’s actually fine. Perfectly plausible to build hundreds of miles of 100 foot concrete walls around an entire country in a few days, just on the off-chance the rumors about zombies turn out to be true. No problem, that’s the can-do spirit Israelis are known for. But that there are no army guys patrolling the top of the wall? No towers with heavy weapons? No snipers on the wall taking out zaks one headshot after another? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/234 "2015-05-19T17:28:11Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > The one that always breaks suspension of disbelief for me is the behavior of predators. > > Hero is trudging through the jungle, oblivious. Suddenly he hears a loud roar. He turns around slowly, and there’s a lion/thanator/grizzly/killbot. The predator does another threat display. The hero turns and runs, the predator waits for a second and then takes off chasing the hero. > > Why did the lion roar? In real life, if a lion was behind you and about to pounce, it wouldn’t roar. It would pounce on you from behind. Lions don’t believe in fair fights. Neither do killbots or Denebian Slime Devils. Or patrolling soldiers. I don’t know how many soldiers sneak up just behind the hero, have their gun pointed at the hero’s head, yell “Freeze!”, at which the hero whips around, pulls out his gun, and shoots the soldier dead. > > For some reason they always shoot human minions who do this, but always run away from predators who do this. Spot on. If a predator roars, he’s telling you “Get the hell out of my territory.” If he wants to kill you, he doesn’t roar- he just attacks. Why give your prey a heads up? ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/235 "2015-05-19T18:10:38Z")
A few people have mentioned being annoyed by animals on tv not behaving naturally. I work with mice and rats on a daily basis, so I get annoyed that whenever a rodent is featured onscreen, it’s always squeaking. Mice (and rats) rarely squeak- at least not in the range of human hearing. The only time they usually make any vocalizations is if you’re injecting them and even then, not always. On tv the mice and rats are constantly making sounds like squeaky toys. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/236 "2015-05-19T18:16:12Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > The Fly. > > OK, so both organisms get equal genetic vote regardless of relative biomass. Cool. I can deal with that. > > But what about genetically distinct microbes living within and without Brundle and especially the fly? (Also aren’t mitochondrions genetically distinct, too?) > > Shouldn’t they have become Brundlegerm, the 185-pound single-celled organism? > > Actually that might be scarier, especially if he could divide via fission and consume via osmosis. I’m ok with this one because I tell myself “well, maybe only eukaryotes can be teleported…” That would work unless Brundle has intestinal parasites or something. Oh wait- he most certainly must have some fungal cultures on his skin, we all do. He’d be a creepshow giant mushroom fly-man- like a Mario enemy. ::shrug::- I guess it only works with organisms of kingdom animalia. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/237 "2015-05-19T18:35:43Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > This bugs me about ANY movie: someone gets conked on the noggin (gun-butt, frying pan, what have you) and just goes unconscious for a short while, when s/he wakes up, they scratch their head and go merrily on their way–no concussion, no swelling, no blood running off the back of the head, no staggering, no crushed cheek-bones, no bashed-in noses, no skull fractures; occasionally, someone will acknowledge a boo-boo on the back of the head. I’ve had a near fatal concussion, so this probably makes me cringe worse than other people might. This bothers me a lot lately. Sometimes in comedies people get conked on the head three or four times! > [@mbh](#): > > You get kidnapped by a 40-foot tall ape? No problem. > You run around in New York in December wearing only a flimsy silk dress, and don’t freeze? I don’t believe it. And she would never have run outside in just her slip in those days! She would have been appalled to be in her underwear. Kate Beckinsale’s scene with the guns and the floor may have been cool but real guns don’t have unlimited ammo, and that is what bothers me about that scene. She used an awful lot of bullets! Unlimited ammo in general bothers me. Also another thing that has been bothering me is when a whole lot of people somehow manage to sneak up on the hero. Like, he turns around, and the villain has brought his noisy ass army up. It was in Hobbit:Battle of the Five armies when the elves showed up at the door without anyone noticing. Um, elves might be quiet. 200+ elves showing up in full battle armor are not quiet. But, then, there was an awful lot that bothered me about that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/238 "2015-05-19T22:57:29Z")
One thing that bothers me oddly is when the “non-player characters” (i.e. everybody who is not actually in the script) are assumed to be desperately uninterested in what’s going on. For example, in “Smallville” Lois Lane publicly dates Oliver Queen, the famous billionaire playboy, but even after Oliver’s secret identity as Green Arrow is revealed, Lois can wander around in public without be swarmed by the press (or the simply curious). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/239 "2015-05-20T15:47:36Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > A few people have mentioned being annoyed by animals on tv not behaving naturally. I work with mice and rats on a daily basis, so I get annoyed that whenever a rodent is featured onscreen, it’s always squeaking. > > Mice (and rats) rarely squeak- at least not in the range of human hearing. The only time they usually make any vocalizations is if you’re injecting them and even then, not always. > > On tv the mice and rats are constantly making sounds like squeaky toys. Horses do the same thing. Always whinnying. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755/240 "2015-05-20T16:54:47Z")
> [@Gerald\_II](#): > > These are mostly from x Reasons to Hate the Star Wars prequels but the actual examples bothered when I first saw them in the films as well: > > In The Phantom Menace > When Obi-Wan first encounters Darth Maul. He asks Qui Gon Jinn “What was it?” as if it were something totally strange when clearly “it” was a man. In a universe where they refer to a giant slug as a “he” why would a guy dressed in traditional male clothing, with male features, be referred to as “it”? > > Then there’s a two headed announcer that talks like a modern day American sports commentator: “I don’t care what galaxy you’re from, that had ta hurt!” Star Wars takes place _a long time ago_…not in the future. So why talk like American sports commentators? > > All it takes is one senator to say “I vote no confidence” and they pick a new chancellor. I was like, “wait, what? That’s all they have to do to kick out the chancellor?” > > Why do so many of the starships look brand new in Ep I, but in the OT they all have that used technology look? I’m guessing that since it took place before the OT the rational is that things were new. But that doesn’t make any sense unless they just started making starships when Ep I happened, and they stopped making new starships after Ep III ended. And let’s not forget that horrible diner with Irish-American owner and dotty waitress cliché. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundane-unrealistic-details-that-take-you-out-of-the-batshit-fantastically-unrealistic-setting/715755.md?page=13)