# Things Movies Almost Always Get Wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2011, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494 "2011-02-07T06:45:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/241 "2011-02-09T22:17:52Z")
Sharks swim at their prey with their fins sticking out of the water. IRL, they attack their prey from below. ---
**Author:** ![MovieCriticNextDoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@MovieCriticNextDoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieCriticNextDoor)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/242 "2011-02-10T00:36:27Z")
When I was little, I went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark with my father, who was a civil and structural engineer and had done a good deal of surveying. During the scene where Indiana Jones, disguised as a native digger at the archaeological site, is looking through a surveyor’s transit, checking out the lay of the land, the transit is actually upside down. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/243 "2011-02-10T01:00:37Z")
> [@MovieCriticNextDoor](#): > > During the scene where Indiana Jones, disguised as a native digger at the archaeological site, is looking through a surveyor’s transit, checking out the lay of the land, the transit is actually upside down. 😃 You mean the legs are sticking up in the air? ---
**Author:** ![MovieCriticNextDoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@MovieCriticNextDoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieCriticNextDoor)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/244 "2011-02-10T01:21:32Z")
No, the unit that sits on top of the tripod is upside down – at least, in the shots where you’re seeing what the character is seeing, looking through it. There are various markings used as levels and guidelines, and those are upside down. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/245 "2011-02-10T02:44:09Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I think it’s the intro sequence to _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_ where James Bond manages to get his tires to squeal on _sand_. Or every episode if The Rockford Files ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/246 "2011-02-10T11:23:12Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > People looking through binoculars with the black thingy around the outside. When you look through binocs, you just see a magnified image not black round edges. That came up in family conversation once. Turns out that some of us do see the black thingy and some don’t - there appeared to be a direct relationship to angle of vision, but our sample wasn’t large enough to be statistically significant. I’m both one of the wide-angle people and one of the people who do see a black “framing area” when looking through binoculars. It’s fuzzy-edged rather than the clean-cut figure-eight they often use in movies, but it’s there. > [@Zsofia](#): > > Edges. Edges! Sharp little metal engines would also be a problem, though, I imagine. Which also do tend to crop up occasionally, and not be large enough to drive a 4WD through (mid-conduct fans). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/247 "2011-02-10T11:33:41Z")
> [@](#): > > That came up in family conversation once. Turns out that some of us do see the black thingy and some don’t - there appeared to be a direct relationship to angle of vision, but our sample wasn’t large enough to be statistically significant. I’m both one of the wide-angle people and one of the people who do see a black “framing area” when looking through binoculars. It’s fuzzy-edged rather than the clean-cut figure-eight they often use in movies, but it’s there. I see a fuzzy-edged “frame”, but it’s circular, not figure-eight-shaped. Everyone I’ve talked to agrees about this. The figure eight shape seems to be one of those unrealistic conventions the movies have developed that everyone uses as a sort of “shorthand” to suggest an idea. If you see the figure-eight outline, you know someone’s looking through binoculars. If you were to see a circular frame (which is what you really _do_ see), people will assume that someone is looking through a telescope. Unless there’s a crosshair or other targeting indicator. Then they’re looking through a sniperscope, and somebody’s probably going to get shot at. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/248 "2011-02-10T12:30:11Z")
It’s meant to be a single circle (out of focus) so that what you are looking at is a single image in 3D. If you see the figure 8 outline, you’re not using the binoculars to their optimum. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/249 "2011-02-10T12:51:37Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Sharks swim at their prey with their fins sticking out of the water. > > IRL, they attack their prey from below. There may be something to the strategy of circling prey with fins sticking out of the water- we probably taste better once the crap is scared out of us. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/250 "2011-02-10T17:21:51Z")
“Hey, man! You watching TV? Turn it on now!” TV sets always warm up right away, and it’s ALWAYS on the same channel as the TV of the person calling. And the newscaster ALWAYS start the story at the very beginning, just in time for the hero to see it in its entirety. Despite the fact that, if someone calls the hero and tells them to turn the TV on (which implies that there’s a story about the hero), the newscaster should be halfway through the story. Pisses me off to no end. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/251 "2011-02-10T18:24:27Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Despite the fact that, if someone calls the hero and tells them to turn the TV on (which implies that there’s a story about the hero), the newscaster should be halfway through the story. Doesn’t your local news do “Coming up in two minutes” alerts before the actual story starts? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/252 "2011-02-10T19:23:14Z")
Around here, they tend to mention that the story is coming up, but they never specify a time frame. I notice this pet peeve tends to show up a lot in cop shows/movies, typically after a plan or car chase fails to nab the crook. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/253 "2011-02-10T19:28:47Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I hope this isn’t a whoosh - everyone knows that elevators aren’t connected to the floor pointer - that was the point of the visual joke! I remember a similar idea in a Li’l Roquefort cartoon- the mouse smashed the glass of a car’s speedometer and twisted to speedometer needle, resulting in the car leaping ahead to the speed indicated. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/254 "2011-02-11T02:52:19Z")
Has the “snicker-snack” been mentioned yet? That’s the term that’s been applied to a sword whose steel rings like a bell from doing nothing more than being pulled out of the scabbard or even just waved through the air. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/255 "2011-02-11T04:45:35Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > If you’re talking about the scene where William H. Macy comes out to his car after the meeting with his father-in-law where he finds out he’s not getting the money for the parking lot, then I’d be willing to give them a pass. You have to remember that he had been under the impression earlier that day that he was finally free and clear and would even be able to call off the kidnapping. Well now he’s not getting the investment money from his FIL and his wife ended up getting kidnapped anyway, so he just wasn’t thinking straight. I am willing to suspend my disbelief that far. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/256 "2011-02-11T07:38:56Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s meant to be a single circle (out of focus) so that what you are looking at is a single image in 3D. > > If you see the figure 8 outline, you’re not using the binoculars to their optimum. Mom, her sister and I have angles of vision over 180º; we’d need binoculars which started behind our ears, to avoid seeing a frame - and our field of vision is not circular, so a frame that’s all around it and on the edge isn’t circular either. I’ve never used supergood binoculars, but the home-use ones I’ve looked through all gave me a frame all around my field of vision, with a dip in the middle (not a closed figure eight either). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/257 "2011-02-11T12:27:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve never used supergood binoculars, but the home-use ones I’ve looked through all gave me a frame all around my field of vision, with a dip in the middle (not a closed figure eight either). This is interesting. Every pair of binoculars I’ve used – good quality or bad – gave me a circular field of vision. Everyone I’ve discussed it with reported the same thing. Yours is the first data point I’ve encountered for a “binocular-shaped” field. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/258 "2011-02-11T12:29:37Z")
Hey, I never said I was normal. The doctor who first measured my field of vision was completely freaked out until one of my teachers pointed out hers was as wide; another one went the same way until Mom got him to measure hers. We call it “teacher’s eyesight”; it’s both overlarge and wider than it’s tall. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/259 "2011-02-11T15:41:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Has the “snicker-snack” been mentioned yet? That’s the term that’s been applied to a sword whose steel rings like a bell from doing nothing more than being pulled out of the scabbard or even just waved through the air. I thought Snicker Snacks was the cereal that Charlie Brown ate. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494/260 "2011-02-11T15:55:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Has the “snicker-snack” been mentioned yet? That’s the term that’s been applied to a sword whose steel rings like a bell from doing nothing more than being pulled out of the scabbard or even just waved through the air. “snicker snack” is the sound Vorpal Blades make when swung. Especially at Jabberwocks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-almost-always-get-wrong/570494.md?page=14)