# things movies get wrong about your industry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181 "2009-06-18T15:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/1 "2009-06-18T15:31:21Z")
As an “insider”, what’s most often misplayed, mischaracterized, etc. in interests of “dramatic license” in movies and TV shows when they touch on your industry? For example… I work in public & media relations… I always cringe when someone says “I’m going to take this to the press”, and invariably the press leaps at whatever their story is, and of course moves _en masse_. It can be the most inconsequential of news… “I’m going to tell the world why you laid me off from this company.”, and by the time they come out the lobby door a podium has mysteriously appeared, cameras from the 15 tv stations that somehow have local reporters are waiting, as well as every manner of microphone. Right, umm… the President can call a press conference and everyone will show up. John Q. Citizen saying he has something to get out to the media might have to do a little more than mail a brown paper package to the editor of the local newspaper. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/2 "2009-06-18T15:57:29Z")
I’m a programmer so what Hollywood gets wrong about my industry can be summarized by the word, “Yes.” The only thing they get right is that computers are involved. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/3 "2009-06-18T16:12:42Z")
I’m not in the architectural field but do have a degree in it and spent some time around architectural firms. The way they depict Ted from _How I Met Your Mother_ as an architect always makes me laugh. In one episode he talks about how much time and work he put into designing his dream building however all he has to show for it is a one sheet rendering of a skyscraper. Cause that’s all architects do is draw pretty pictures of buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/4 "2009-06-18T16:38:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m a programmer so what Hollywood gets wrong about my industry can be summarized by the word, “Yes.” > > The only thing they get right is that computers are involved. I work on an oil rig, so my answer is also “Yes” The only thing moveis get right is that, um, er, hang on … sorry, drawing a complete blank here. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/5 "2009-06-18T16:50:39Z")
I work in software QA for the video game industry. There’s only one movie in existence that depicts that: _Grandma’s Boy_. My favorite part of the movie is when the QA Manager is in a meeting with the CEO, talking about their latest sequel to their blockbuster video-gaming franchise. She hands him a folder about the thickness of a sixth grade book report, and says, “We found all the bugs!” Two things about that: you never find “all” the bugs, for the simple reason that you don’t know a bug exists until you find it. Secondly, if all the bugs you found fit in a hardcopy that small, you haven’t finished testing the UI, let alone the entire game. The movie also featured the main character creating his own video game for the XBox at home in his spare time. He’s a forty year old loser who lives with his grandmother, but he can drop the $10,000+ dollars for an XBox developer kit? Seems unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/6 "2009-06-18T16:54:39Z")
I’m a chemical engineer, and just about every “chemical disaster” scenario I’ve seen depicted is ludicrously wrong. Also, no one ever wears proper personal protective equipment – don’t want to mess up the actress’ hair or muffle the actor’s lines by putting them in respirators or SCBA gear, I suppose. My latest doubletake was in the recent Star Trek movie, of all places. The engine room was shot in a Budweiser brewery _that I recognized_, AND had pipes labeled “inert reactant” (WTF?), AND those pipes were clear and transporting a clear fluid… which makes sense for the film, but would be a silly choice in life. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/7 "2009-06-18T17:00:19Z")
As others have said, in software, damn-near everything. I just try to remind myself that they are trying to tell a story, not do a documentary. ---
**Author:** ![mj\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mj\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mj_2)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/8 "2009-06-18T17:02:31Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m a programmer so what Hollywood gets wrong about my industry can be summarized by the word, “Yes.” > > The only thing they get right is that computers are involved. I think it was Independance Day when the humans took control of the alien computer operating system by connecting to it with another computer. Why didn’t they just go ahead and claim the aliens were running a Windows operating system. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/9 "2009-06-18T17:07:48Z")
Don’t be silly Jeff Golblum was using an Apple ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/10 "2009-06-18T17:09:25Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I work on an oil rig, so my answer is also “Yes” > > The only thing moveis get right is that, um, er, hang on … sorry, drawing a complete blank here. Oh, come on they use mud in the movies. But beyond that ya their pretty stupid, I still enjoy Armageddon though. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/11 "2009-06-18T17:09:37Z")
_Employee of the Month_ bore almost no resemblance to discount retail. The boss’s car that was sold because it was on a shelf (and the explanation that store policy required anything with a price and on the floor to be saleable)? Couldn’t happen, since the car wouldn’t exist in the item database. Separate breakrooms for cashiers and floor staff? Wouldn’t be done-- there are enough rivalries between positions and shifts in a sdiscount store, corporate wouldn’t exacerbate that by treating the employees as separate classes. Access to Jessica Simpson’s character’s personnel file, as well as an entry in the file detailing the personal reason for her transfer? No and no. If I rewatch the film, I could probably nitpick it minute by minute. (That said, the secret poker room hidden in the backroom steel was an enjoyable fantasy, and I’ve heard of plenty of stores in my company with such bad backroom inventory practices that an undiscovered alcove could probably exist in plenty of locations. The employee meeting was pretty true to form, too.) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/12 "2009-06-18T17:16:13Z")
As a high school teacher, I’ve always wanted to clear up the following points. - The students that I teach are ages 14-18, not 21-25. - Student spend their spare time chatting, playing sports, going to the mall and so forth. They do not spend their spare time running businesses, racing cars, or doing anything else grandiose. - Teachers are not sexually attracted to students and students are not sexually attracted to teachers. Members of either group would flee from any possibility of a liaison. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/13 "2009-06-18T17:18:43Z")
You might think that writers would get writing correct, but there are zillions of television shows in which someone writes a book, gets it published, and has it in his hand, all in the same episode! In real life this is a process that takes at least a year and maybe two. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/14 "2009-06-18T17:45:10Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m a programmer so what Hollywood gets wrong about my industry can be summarized by the word, “Yes.” > > The only thing they get right is that computers are involved. But you DO have a habit of saying out loud everything you are typing, even when in a room alone, right? Because Hollywood has taught me no one ever types quietly. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/15 "2009-06-18T17:49:17Z")
> [@mj\_2](#): > > I think it was Independance Day when the humans took control of the alien computer operating system by connecting to it with another computer. > Why didn’t they just go ahead and claim the aliens were running a Windows operating system. I feel like ID gets a bad rap for this. This is clearly an advanced alien species…Is it that crazy to think their computers were smart enough to automatically link up with an Earth computer. It’s the aliens systems doing all the work making itself backwards compatible. ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/16 "2009-06-18T17:54:48Z")
One thing that springs to mind (me being a musician and songwriter) is the final scenes of Prince’s Purple Rain. His father shoots himself after a particularly bad domestic disturbance with his mother. Then Prince goes down to the basement and puts in the rough tape of a song the girls in his band were working on and starts to perfect it on the piano. It’s a very rough tape mind you - just a few licks on the guitar and a keyboard line… Then the next night he decides “Hey, let’s play this song that nobody in the band has practiced - hell, some members of the band probably haven’t even heard it before - and hope for the best.” And of course, everybody plays their (supposedly improvised?) part perfectly and knocks it out of the park… Rediculous… Also, I have friends who contend that the last two musical numbers, “Purple Rain” and “Baby, You’re A Star” were actually recorded live as they filmed the movie. They think that the performance you see in the movie is the performance on the soundtrack. I call BS. I know Prince is good live an all, but the recordings were just too “produced” sounding to be live… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/17 "2009-06-18T17:55:33Z")
Librarians are generally neither really hot or old ladies. Generally speaking, you can’t find all the information in the world in a fake search engine on your office computer. You may have to go to the microfilm for those unsolved murders in the early 40’s. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/18 "2009-06-18T17:59:19Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Generally speaking, you can’t find all the information in the world in a fake search engine on your office computer. You may have to go to the microfilm for those unsolved murders in the early 40’s. This is false? I tried finding information about a friend’s death a few years ago online and couldn’t find anything. Unless it particularly newsworthy and has had other media cover it.. yeah you probably would have to go to the archives to find information that old. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/19 "2009-06-18T18:03:07Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > As a high school teacher, I’ve always wanted to clear up the following points. > > … > > - Teachers are not sexually attracted to students and students are not sexually attracted to teachers. Members of either group would flee from any possibility of a liaison. Um…you’re joking, right? [Teacher jailed for sex with pupil](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/5125186.stm) [A woman teacher seduced three of her pupils and on one occasion had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy in an alleyway as he waited for his mother after school, a court was told yesterday.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1382273/Teacher-had-sex-with-pupil-15-in-alley-after-school.html) [Probation for pupil sex teacher](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7839734.stm) [Second teacher jailed for pupil sex](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2193659.html?menu=) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181/20 "2009-06-18T18:06:46Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I feel like ID gets a bad rap for this. > > This is clearly an advanced alien species…Is it that crazy to think their computers were smart enough to automatically link up with an Earth computer. It’s the aliens systems doing all the work making itself backwards compatible. What “backwards compatible”? It’s not like the Apple whatever’s specifications are some intrinsic rung on the ladder of computer development, such that the aliens themselves must have once used the same networking protocols and so on. It’s a mish-mash of thousands upon thousands of arbitrary choices and capricious historical contingencies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-movies-get-wrong-about-your-industry/500181.md?page=2)