# What is extremely common in real life but almost never happens in TV or movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441 "2022-09-12T14:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/21 "2022-09-12T19:52:36Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > hardly anyone goes to church unless they are rural Southern or black Or Catholic. > **[Christianity is Catholic - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChristianityIsCatholic)** > > Any time you see Christianity displayed onscreen, there's a strong chance it'll feature exclusively or almost-exclusively Catholic trappings, such as rosaries, the Sign of the Cross, confessional booths, nuns, clerics referred to as "Father", and … Weather. Specifically snow, or just cold enough that you need to wear a coat to go outside. If it’s snowing and/or cold on TV, either it’s Christmas, or it’s going to be significant to the plot. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/22 "2022-09-12T21:26:16Z")
Having a spousal tiff and resolving it quickly and without drama. Reading for awhile and then going to sleep. Walking the dog and picking up its poop. ---
**Author:** ![Mislav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/23 "2022-09-12T21:33:59Z")
“Pulp Fiction” also featured a pooping scene. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/24 "2022-09-12T22:11:03Z")
A person with a bandage, or coughs, sneezes and it’s not mentioned, or mean something important. People that use um, uh, you know, or other filler words. Or minor stuttering. People lounging around the house with hair or makeup that isn’t perfect. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/25 "2022-09-12T22:46:09Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > A person with a bandage, or coughs, sneezes and it’s not mentioned, or mean something important. Similarly, a woman throws up but does not later find out she’s pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/26 "2022-09-12T23:48:40Z")
Serious injuries from fights, even if you win a fight you are unlikely to come out without some injuries ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/27 "2022-09-13T11:37:38Z")
Seen on Law and Order all the time: the team goes in with SWAT. SWAT guys are all wearing all the gear - including helmet - and the stars don’t have helmets and they go in first! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/28 "2022-09-13T14:27:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Weather. Specifically snow, or just cold enough that you need to wear a coat to go outside. If it’s snowing and/or cold on TV, either it’s Christmas, or it’s going to be significant to the plot. Watch Chicago PD or Fire (not so much on Med). Since they film it in Chicago, there is a lot of cold, crummy weather shown that has nothing to do with the plot. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/29 "2022-09-13T17:41:12Z")
Yes, and when those things do happen it is almost always a male doing the business. Exception: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/30 "2022-09-13T17:44:58Z")
I think the only place on tv or movies where a woman is shown wearing a pad or dangling a tampon string is in the animated show “Big Mouth”. There seems to be a taboo against such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/31 "2022-09-13T18:12:18Z")
Maybe I’m just missing something - but while it’s really common for a woman to be _wearing_ a pad or a tampon in real life, I’m not sure it’s at all common for others to be able to _see_ that she’s wearing a pad or tampon. Unless you’re talking about tv/movies showing them actually being changed, which is certainly related to the rarity of seeing someone use the toilet. Might be related to a taboo - might just be that there is no plot-related reason to show it. After all, if a movie or TV episode is supposed to even show a single day, it can’t show everything that happened in those 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/32 "2022-09-13T18:25:33Z")
Rear view mirrors. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/33 "2022-09-13T20:43:14Z")
_Trainspotting_ had a pretty famous pooing scene too. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/34 "2022-09-14T10:49:45Z")
Yesterday I was thinking about this topic and thought of pets. If a person/family has a pet the pet is only around when it’s an important part of the scene, Then yesterday evening I was watching an episode of Frasier. Martin Crane (owner of a dog) comes home and the dog greets him and the owner gives a little greeting back. But, this was behind the chair and easily missed by the viewer. That is common with dogs and owners, but I don’t remember seeing it before on a TV show. Maybe I noticed it because I had just been thinking about it not happening. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/35 "2022-09-16T10:26:40Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Walking the dog and picking up its poop. You never see people cleaning a litter box either. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/36 "2022-09-16T10:57:00Z")
Cutting yourself to ribbons if you break a glass or go through a window. Having a gun in the home or at least access to one or understand it’s no great mystery to getting one. How many movies are there where home owners are being robbed or terrorized and they have no guns, not even hunting guns, and no clue on how to access a gun. When they decide to get one they go to some creepy guy selling them out of his seedy apartment instead of just going to a sporting goods store and buying one. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/37 "2022-09-16T13:32:20Z")
Eh… That last bit (somehow not being able to just go buy one) could be a result of what has been called the “Everywhere’s LA (or NY)” trope. Though right afterward you’ll have a show where you can buy a machine gun at the Dollar Store… ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/38 "2022-09-16T14:04:43Z")
It doesn’t even have to be the the “Everywhere is NY ( or LA)” trope - the prevalence of households with firearms differs depending on a whole lot of factors , and what’s extremely common in a rural area in the South is not necessarily extremely common in a city in the North. The same is probably true of “just being able to go buy one”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/39 "2022-09-16T17:50:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How many movies are there where home owners are being robbed or terrorized and they have no guns, not even hunting guns, and no clue on how to access a gun We have no gun, nor do any of our close friends or relatives. (I can’t speak for everyone of course, but the only guy I _know_ owns guns is a retired cop we’re friends with) However, I would have no problem buying one if I wished. I think it’s common knowledge that the sporting goods stores sell guns. Maybe the seedy guy doesn’t do background checks or have a waiting period. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441/40 "2022-09-16T17:57:27Z")
The not saying goodbye on the phone thing is just weird to me. I tried it IRL - doesn’t work well. When my wife and I are watching and that happens I always yell, BYE. > [@Velocity](#): > > pooping is essentially nonexistent in cinema. True, but there is a pooping scene in the Shaft re-make (great film!) where Jefferey Wright poops, replete with water blooping when it drops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-real-life-but-almost-never-happens-in-tv-or-movies/971441.md?page=1)