# What is the best movie about your profession? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787 "2002-12-24T23:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/42 "2002-12-26T05:26:05Z")
I would say “Contact” had some real moments in it depicting astronomers: the guys manning the radio dishes making dumb jokes to fill the time was pretty accurate compared to some observing runs I’ve done. Radio astronomers don’t use headphones though… Astronomers are in lots of movies, but hardly ever portrayed accurately. Suprisingly, I’ve met funny ones, stodgy ones, clueless ones, attractive ones, not-so-attractive ones, egotisitical ones, self-effacing ones… pretty much like most humans. I guess most humans don’t make good characters in Hollywood movies. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/43 "2002-12-26T05:37:19Z")
Bad Astronomer: Have you seen “The Dish”? I loved that movie. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/44 "2002-12-26T05:43:55Z")
Boogie Nights. Actually, I’ve never seen it, and probably is nothing like my life at all, but it’s the closest I can think of for now. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/45 "2002-12-26T05:50:06Z")
Punchline ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/46 "2002-12-26T06:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*Bad Astronomer: Have you seen “The Dish”? I loved that movie. \*\* I was about to say that–great movie! Not as good, but _The Arrival_ also deals with radio astronomy. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/47 "2002-12-26T15:12:13Z")
It’s kind of like **Eraserhead** with a touch of **Blood Sucking Freaks** thrown in for good measure. ---
**Author:** ![Zanshin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e274bd/32.png) [@Zanshin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanshin)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/48 "2002-12-26T15:55:09Z")
Probably **A Civil Action** – while most of the movie focuses on the attorney played by John Travolta, the references that the movie (and the book) make to environmental engineering and investigation are pretty accurate. (i.e., it ain’t an exact science, there’s plenty of guesswork, site investigation and cleanup can be VERY expensive, and multiple iterations of work can frequently be required.) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/49 "2002-12-26T18:05:16Z")
**Sampiro** , you want a depiction of a hotel clerk’s life? Try _Four Rooms_. The first room is a beginning clerk’s fantasy. The second and third rooms capture the flavor of the job. (Okay, slightly exaggerated, but they sure _feel_ like my life!). The fourth room is an experienced clerk’s fantasy. (He takes a hatchet and . . . . I love that movie . . . . . ) ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/50 "2002-12-26T18:40:30Z")
Office Space ---
**Author:** ![Manach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Manach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manach)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/51 "2002-12-26T19:00:01Z")
Bridget Jone’s Diary meets Office Space ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/52 "2002-12-26T20:42:05Z")
I have never, ever seen a movie that came close to a doctor’s actual life. The closest representation would be St. Elsewhere’s initial season for residency. I was watching a rerun of the premiere where a resident “loses” a patient who wanders away and thought “damn-that happened to me!” ---
**Author:** ![BrettheRevelator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@BrettheRevelator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrettheRevelator)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/53 "2002-12-26T22:44:05Z")
Nuns on the run ---
**Author:** ![Sagasumono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Sagasumono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sagasumono)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/54 "2002-12-27T02:10:13Z")
Tellme more about this Four Rooms movie. Sounds somewhat worth checking into. I am a hotel clerk (front desk & night auditior) nd the closestmovie to me was Office Space,ESPICALLY the stuff with the Printer (PC Load Letter?? What the hell does that mean?!) and the memo (Didn’t you get that memo???) Other than that nothing else really matches it. My hotel is an espically weird case. I’d like to make a movie about it and our everyday Japanese/English expirencs ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/55 "2002-12-27T02:39:30Z")
The only movie I know of that’s about videogame programmers is _Tron_. I’m sure there were others in the 80’s-early 90’s, but I’ll bet they weren’t any more accurate. To be fair, though, I would never ever want to _watch_ a movie about videogame developers. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/56 "2002-12-27T03:35:08Z")
Never seen one. Hospital lab techs are usually in movies as buffoons who apparently can’t read in order to advance some inane plot. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/57 "2002-12-27T04:37:15Z")
Some times I feel like I am trapped in a world that is one half \*Office Space \* and one half _Best in Show_ and I am not even a computer person or dog show trainer. Throw in a little \*\*Tommy Boy \*\* and I think you got it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/58 "2002-12-27T07:02:57Z")
I have not seen “The Dish”, though I want to. I’ve heard it’s really good though. ---
**Author:** ![AgentofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@AgentofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AgentofEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/59 "2002-12-27T10:43:27Z")
Hmmm. Probably Donnie Darko. Or prehaps Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/60 "2002-12-27T16:37:09Z")
I’d probably have to say that \*\*[All the President’s Men\*\*](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0074119)is probably the best and most accurate depiction of my profession. Dated, yes, but accurate for the time in which it was set. Obviously, there’s no typewriters in newsrooms any more. That said, my favorite scene, from a not-so-great movie, would be in \*\*[The Paper\*\*](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0110771) (with Michael Keaton, Robert Duval, Marisa Tomei, Glenn Close, etc.). It’s the scene in which the rookie photog finally makes it back to the dark room with her sheet of proofs and her loupe. She’s desperately looking for that one perfect shot, which will be her first cover shot on the paper. Finally, she’s sees a tiny corner of one shot that can be cropped to fit and she’s got it. She proclaims, to everyone and no one in particular, with all the joy and elation of a rookie who’s finally done good, “I’ve got it!!!” I so know that feeling. Been there. Felt that. Oh yeah. I teared up the first time I saw that. ---
**Author:** ![peanut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5e925/32.png) [@peanut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peanut)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787/61 "2002-12-27T19:36:04Z")
Office Space. There have been so many times I’d like to take the fax machine out to an open field and smash it into smithereens with a baseball bat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-movie-about-your-profession/144787.md?page=4)