# What is extremely common in TV or movies but almost never happens in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311 "2021-02-06T04:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 250
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5009 "2025-06-09T20:02:57Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Was there a time when fine dining establishments in the US had menus written in French? > > I could imagine at one time maybe educated upper class people were expected to know French, and I could see fancy restaurants writing their menus in French as a way of keeping out the unwashed masses. But was it actually a thing, or a creation of Hollywood? Exactly once in my life I encountered a cafe like that in the US. About 50 years ago, now. I’ll note it was an established that advertised itself as “French” and made a big deal about being French. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5010 "2025-06-09T20:12:13Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Not only do extremely shadowy black ops government organizations exist they also have massive firefights in public spaces quite frequently and yet somehow the public isn’t the wiser. Oh yeah, and bad guys often use fully automatic weapons- which is super rare. > **[Fully automatic weapons used to shoot Madison County deputies called...](https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/09/11/canton-ms-shooting-fully-automatic-rifles-brad-sullivan-edgar-egbert/2262741001/)** > > Madison County District Attorney John Bramlett said its a "miracle" more people weren't injured or killed considering the shooter's firepower. _It is extremely unusual for a fully automatic weapon to be used in a crime, especially one involving a shootout with law enforcement, according to both state and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials._ _While no statistics detailing automatic vs. semiautomatic weapons used in crimes exist, since 1934 there are only four known instances of automatic weapons used in crimes where someone was killed. In three of those instances the weapons were legally obtained, with two of them illegally used by law enforcement officers._ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5011 "2025-06-10T03:07:21Z")
(Never read “War and Peace”) Do you know if modern editions have been translated, into English or other languages? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5012 "2025-06-10T09:08:15Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Not only do extremely shadowy black ops government organizations exist they also have massive firefights in public spaces quite frequently and yet somehow the public isn’t the wiser. To say nothing of the local police. A ten minute gun battle and they don’t show up. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2025, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5013 "2025-06-10T11:24:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > (Never read “War and Peace”) Do you know if modern editions have been translated, into English or other languages? My edition of War and Peace (The Penguin edition) had all the Russian and French translated into English. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an English translation that didn’t render all languages as English. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5014 "2025-06-10T12:13:36Z")
Most English translations of _War and Peace_ have translated the French as well, integrating it into the text. The 2007 translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky retains the French dialogue as part of the main text, and provides translations of the French in footnotes. This translation attempts to be a very literal rendering of Tolstoy, which may be what led to the decision to have the reader suddenly confronted with French dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5015 "2025-06-11T00:08:21Z")
even today most “fine-dining” places have menu in French, at least here in Midwest ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5016 "2025-06-11T06:44:28Z")
I watched the Steven Seagal “classic” Hard To Kill and there was a bunch of examples for this topic - Professional Hitmen who kill literally everybody on the way to their target, in a hospital no less! - After said hitman attack, the police decide not to give police protection on the lone surviving witness, resorting in them dying - Said person was killed in a “random mugging” which is clearly not the most suspicious thing - Mobsters who have about a dozen LAPD cops on their payroll to apparently just openly shoot at people in public. You think police shootings today are bad? Imagine the LAPD having to explain why 3 different groups of “off-the-clock” officers decided to open fire on a single guy in 3 different public locations! ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5017 "2025-06-11T19:26:53Z")
This one might have been covered already, but I was watching an episode of Law and Order SVU. They were doing an undercover surveillance op, and every time one cop would talk to the other over coms, they would touch a finger to their ear. Seems like that would be a dead giveaway to what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5018 "2025-06-11T19:33:07Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > They were doing an undercover surveillance op, and every > time one cop would talk to the other over coms, they would touch a finger to their ear. MOE: Hey, how did they finger Charlie? Somebody must’ve ratted him out! HOMER: Oh, that’s ridiculous, Moe. [_sotto voce_] End transmission. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5019 "2025-06-11T20:18:14Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I watched the Steven Seagal “classic” Hard To Kill and there was a bunch of examples for this topic Or in one of the John Wick films, where something like every tenth New Yorker gets the message Wick is now a target, showing that it is one of the most common occupations. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5020 "2025-06-11T21:13:56Z")
I love how ridiculous those films are. The assassin lore just gets more and more complicated and it’s utterly impossible to suspend disbelief, but I think they are in on the joke, so it’s great fun. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5021 "2025-06-11T21:46:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > I watched the Steven Seagal “classic” Hard To Kill and there was a bunch of examples for this topic > > Or in one of the John Wick films, where something like every tenth New Yorker gets the message Wick is now a target, showing that it is one of the most common occupations. That’s kind of the point. The movies built a world that looks like ours but isn’t. I don’t see that as the same thing at all. You either buy into the mythology or you don’t. It’s no different than suspending disbelief that aliens are invading Earth. The first movie just barely touched on it. The following ones built a world with a shadow society that couldn’t possibly be in our world. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5022 "2025-06-11T22:07:37Z")
Heck, anime and manga love to depict a world in which at a minimum “dead or alive” bounties are still legal, or at a maximum professional assassination is the foundation of government and society. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2025, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5023 "2025-06-12T05:58:13Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > This one might have been covered already, but I was watching an episode of > Law and Order SVU. They were doing an undercover surveillance op, and every > time one cop would talk to the other over coms, they would touch a finger to their ear. Seems like that would be a dead giveaway to what was going on. _Casino Royale_ made a thing of this. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5024 "2025-06-12T14:23:20Z")
An unassuming looking older guy is sitting in a cafe booth by himself. It’s late at night. A couple of big guys a few booths down are harassing a lone woman. When he tells them to stop, they come swaggering over to him with sneers. He beats the shit out of them. I’ve seen too many variations of this idiotic scene. I’d like to see one where, after the old guy is encountered, they cut to him lying on the floor in his blood saying, “what was I thinking”? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5025 "2025-06-12T20:09:20Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’d like to see one where, after the old guy is encountered, they cut to him lying on the floor in his blood saying, “what was I thinking”? Superman 2, Clark tires this and the bully whups him, as Clark has given up his powers so he can marry Lois. Then Clark realizes Superman is needed, regains his powers and teaches the bully a lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5026 "2025-06-12T23:39:07Z")
The more modern semi-subversion as seen in Nobody or Joker is the hero intervenes, gets the absolute shit kicked out of him, but still wins. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5027 "2025-06-12T23:59:37Z")
Further proof that **marriage is EVIL!** 👹 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5028 "2025-06-13T22:56:33Z")
My husband will still throw an absolute shit-fit if you remind him that Spiderman gave up his marriage to save Aunt May. I mean, I get it, that executive decision is such a deeply cynical take on Marvel’s view of the average reader. But he gets really mad about it, and I think it’s because secretly, he loves me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=249) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=251)