# 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:** 55
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1081 "2021-04-01T04:54:12Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve seen it. It’s a very annoying form of harassment/bullying. I haven’t seen it very often, but it does happen. I had a kid in my class about four years ago, who was really annoying. He practically came in every day with a sign around his neck that said “Harass me.” Now, I’m not saying that anyone deserves to be bullied, but he dished it out, then couldn’t take it, if that makes sense. I reined in anyone who was giving him a hard time, and I reined him in as well, and half of every class was spent on behavior management. When he was absent, I had an entirely different class. Anyway, his name was Jacob, and he hated, with the heat of 1,000 suns, being called “Jake.” Naturally, everyone called him Jake. I docked them chips for doing it (a reward system we had), but they still did it, because it got such a rise out of him it was more fun than anything I could give them in exchange for the tokens. So yeah, it does happen. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1082 "2021-04-01T16:34:51Z")
Another one is calling people by their last name. Sure a few prefer it, and sometimes if you got too many “Bobs” you have to adapt, but in general it is a way of telling people you think are superior to them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1083 "2021-04-01T16:38:32Z")
Ever get Mar-it-ta? Because if that wasnt a name, that is how I’d say it. But I would say Mar-EE-ta, not Muh-REE-ta. If it is phonetic, why is “mar”= “muh”? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1084 "2021-04-01T17:10:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Another one is calling people by their last name. Sure a few prefer it, and sometimes if you got too many “Bobs” you have to adapt, but in general it is a way of telling people you think are superior to them. I remember a phase in late grade school, maybe into Junior High, where we all called each other by last names because it was the ‘cool’ thing to do. It seemed more grown up or something than using first names. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1085 "2021-04-01T17:57:30Z")
I was once featured in an article in my company’s newsletter, which repeatedly referred to me by my last name. Sort of like this “Smith said…Smith did…Smith responded.” I complained about it and was referred to some standard for news articles that stated it was OK. Professor Henry Petroski’s autobiography mentions a teacher who kept calling him “Herman Peterson”. According to the book, **Mr. Petroski** figured out the teacher was just trying to get under his skin. * * * Of course, “offbeat school teachers” would be a different subject: "Common in TV or movies and common in real life. " ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1086 "2021-04-01T18:12:21Z")
We’re all familiar with the wall of newspaper clippings used to show an obsession, but was that ever a thing people did outside of TV and movies? I don’t mean a scrapbook with some clippings from those times your kid was mentioned in the paper, or even a wall mounted magazine photo or two of the current celebrity hearthtrob, but the full on wall (or bulletin board) covered in articles all about the same thing. More recent shows would probably just reference the suspect’s search history, which is a thing. (“He must be the killer, he had a Gooble alert setup on her.”) ---
**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:** [April 1, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1087 "2021-04-01T19:56:03Z")
This one has bothered me for quite a while. I’ve NEVER seen anyone do it in real life. I strongly suspect it’s just a nifty visual that they use because it looks neat on-camera. For all I know, someone actually does this in the world of moviemaking – like an over-complicated storyboard – but I doubt it. And if they do, it hasn’t carried through to anywhere else. It really bothered me to see them doing this in the movie **John Carter** , which I otherwise love, because it shown someone in the later 19th/early 20th century using what is a very recent in the Real world) trope long before it would have been used, if it even ever was used outside a Hollywood pitch meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1088 "2021-04-01T20:54:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Another one is calling people by their last name. Sure a few prefer it, and sometimes if you got too many “Bobs” you have to adapt, but in general it is a way of telling people you think are superior to them. Unless it’s not an American movie. Any of my high school friends would still call me by my last name. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1089 "2021-04-01T22:23:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Ever get Mar-it-ta? > > Because if that wasnt a name, that is how I’d say it. But I would say Mar-EE-ta, not Muh-REE-ta. > > If it is phonetic, why is “mar”= “muh”? Yes. The Chinese TA for a class in college called me Maritta. I didn’t mind as he was clearly trying and it’s just a hard name for him to pronounce. It’s Muh rather than Mar because that’s how the syllable break is. Muh ree ta. In Finnish it’s MAR it ah. I answer to both. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1090 "2021-04-01T23:03:03Z")
I once worked at a place where we had “Good Mike” and “Bad Mike.” It was totally all in fun, and they actually called each other that. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1091 "2021-04-01T23:04:14Z")
Poor kid. Do you know what happened to him? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1092 "2021-04-01T23:43:55Z")
That’s kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1093 "2021-04-01T23:44:12Z")
That’s interesting! Nifty! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1094 "2021-04-02T00:11:13Z")
That depends on what field you’re talking about. The officers at my job ( a law enforcement agency) are almost always called or referred to by their last names regardless of rank - the only people who are normally called and referred to by their first names are support staff. But that’s in large part because we don’t want the people we serve to know our first names. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1095 "2021-04-02T00:45:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This one has bothered me for quite a while. What has? > [@](#): > > I’ve NEVER seen anyone do it in real life. Do what? > [@](#): > > It really bothered me to see them doing this in the movie **John Carter** Doing what? I literally can’t work out what action you are referring to. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1096 "2021-04-02T00:57:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I literally can’t work out what action you are referring to. Yeah, and looking back at the previous post didn’t help. Let’s just make something up: He’s clearly referring to the “duck latches onto your dick and won’t let go” scene from John Carter. In fact, Disney wanted to title it “John Carter, Ducklord of Mars” but the Burroughs estate threatened to sue. And Netflix, who are working on a gritty live-action version of Darkwing Duck, filed a cease-and-desist because they’re planning on using a villain named Ducklord. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1097 "2021-04-02T01:05:47Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > This one has bothered me for quite a while. > > What has? > > > [@](#): > > > > I’ve NEVER seen anyone do it in real life. > > Do what? > > > [@](#): > > > > It really bothered me to see them doing this in the movie **John Carter** > > Doing what? > > I literally can’t work out what action you are referring to. I’m guessing @CalMeacham was referring to the previous post (“We’re all familiar with the wall of newspaper clippings used to show an obsession…”) **CalMeacham** ’s post has that little orange pencil to show where Discourse helpfully did its little “Oh, let me automatically edit your post so other people won’t know what the fuck you’re talking about” thing. I admit I don’t recall any “wall of clippings” scene from _John Carter_, but I only saw the movie the one time and it didn’t really make a very deep impression on me. (And sure enough, [TV Tropes has an entry for that movie for that trope](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StringTheory).) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1098 "2021-04-02T01:15:38Z")
Sorry, I couldn’t let the duck explanation go (I blame cabin fever)… > [@CalMeacham](#): > > This one has bothered me for quite a while. What has? . . . **Cal had a duck that used to latch onto his dick and wouldn’t let go.** > [@](#): > > I’ve NEVER seen anyone do it in real life. Do what? . . . **Walking around with a duck hanging off their dick.** > [@](#): > > It really bothered me to see them doing this in the movie **John Carter** Doing what? . . . **That scene with that Martian duck on John’s dick and he canNOT get it off without disintegrating the dick as well. And the Princess gets the giggles which gets all the Martians laughing. And John’s embarrassed and yells “Well, then I’m going home. But NOT WITH THIS DUCK!”** I literally can’t work out what action you are referring to. . . . **I hope this cleared things up.** ---
**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:** [April 2, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1099 "2021-04-02T02:43:39Z")
…what is even happening right now? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1100 "2021-04-02T02:47:46Z")
Ummm, I’ve been remodeling a tiny bathroom and breathing adhesives and paint fumes all day, that’s what’s happening. I’ll stop now… [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=54) [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=56)