# What silly things can't you suspend your disbelief about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340 "2009-05-22T21:43:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/41 "2009-05-24T14:50:21Z")
What you wrote: > [@GuanoLad](#): > > The reason it crashed was because it had no pilot. The lack of fuel didn’t help, but it wasn’t the cause. What I read at first: > [@GuanoLad](#): > > The reason it crashed was because of plot ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/42 "2009-05-24T15:05:55Z")
Several of my pet peeves have already been mentioned, like “Enhance the image!” scenes and characters who have jobs that would require graduate degrees and years of experience being played by early-to-mid 20s fashion models. Another one that hasn’t been mentioned yet is characters who apparently don’t need food. It’s not that I expect to have scenes showing people eating. If a big dinner scene isn’t important to the plot then I’m happy to assume the characters took their meals offscreen. But sometimes its clearly impossible for the characters to have found time to eat, and if none of them even mentions being hungry then it gets on my nerves. In _Dr. No_ James Bond ALMOST gets to eat several times, but either refuses or is interrupted. Although with Bond I can manage to suspend my belief enough to accept that maybe he can run on martinis alone. 🙂 In _The Da Vinci Code_ (the book at least, I didn’t see the movie) most of the action takes place within roughly a 24 hour period. Our Heroes are running all over the place to get clues, and neither sleep nor eat or drink anything aside from some crackers and Coke on the plane. _I_ probably would have fainted before getting to the bottom of the mystery, but okay, they were both in a hurry and in danger and didn’t want to stop for a McDonald’s run. But at the end of the book when they’re out of danger and have solved most of the mystery, they continue on to the final location immediately. I don’t buy it. This is far from the only or worst thing wrong with _The Da Vinci Code_, but it would have taken just one phrase to fix this. Something like “After a brief stop at a fish and chip stand, they were on to…” ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/43 "2009-05-24T15:25:32Z")
Violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) make me crazy. The way professors and doctors will just start babbling about whatever thoughts pop into their heads when approached by parents, spouses, or law enforcement … it is maddening. I did like a scene in _The Wire_ where a cop pulls a combo of charming/bullying an aide at a college to get some FERPA-protected information, it was obvious that both the cop and the aide knew the law. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/44 "2009-05-24T18:35:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s very uncommon. Why would you want a weapon for which you are not trained, your side doesn’t have ammunition, and which willi dentify you by the sound (weapons have distinctive sounds) as an enemy to your own compatriots? Andy Rooney has an interesting essay called “Sound and Noise”, in which he grumpily tells us the difference between the two. It ends with a little story: > [@Andy Rooney](#): > > Sounds are important in a war. In 1944 the 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One, was our most warwise fighting force… At one point in the move across France, a green infantry division was moved in on the 1st Division’s flank. One company of that division ran across an arsenal of German weapons. When the 1st Division found German weapons, they destroyed them. These inexperienced soldiers were intrigued with the handy little German Schmeisser machine guns and, during a brief fire fight in the middle of the night, started using them against their former owners. Hearing that familiar sound on their flank and assuming the presence there of the enemy, a mortar unit from the 1st Division calmly turned its weapons in that direction and dropped shells until there was silence. Tragedy of war. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/45 "2009-05-24T18:56:31Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Military stuff in general. Usually when it’s blatantly obvious that none of the writers have ever been in the military(nothing wrong with that), but apparently didn’t bother to research it either(such as hiring a technical/military adviser who did that job in that branch). > > Or maybe something as simple as a quick read through of _The Art of War_. > > Though my personal pet peeve is the fact most movies/shows fail to acknowledge the existance of enlisted people or NCO’s(unless as background extras), focusing only on officers. Which feeds back into my first point of not doing the research. There’s always the contrasting _G.I. Joe_ cartoon approach, in which America’s daring, highly-trained special mission force, tasked to defend human freedom against the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization, has, apparently, one officer: a two-star general whose second-in-command is a _sergeant_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/46 "2009-05-24T19:02:37Z")
That’s because, according to Hollywood, any officer under the rank of Lt. Colonel is a complete and utter incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/47 "2009-05-24T19:05:50Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > It’s not that I expect to have scenes showing people eating. If a big dinner scene isn’t important to the plot then I’m happy to assume the characters took their meals offscreen. But sometimes its clearly impossible for the characters to have found time to eat, and if none of them even mentions being hungry then it gets on my nerves. Eating is usually boring, and dramatic productions omit that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/48 "2009-05-24T19:59:36Z")
Any time an actor uses a pistol in each hand, or worse yet, a machine gun in each hand. Stop that. Please. The only exception to this is if its set in the 1800s or so, when pistols were single shot muzzleloaders. I’ve tried this, just messing around… you can’t hit anything, and it takes 5x longer to change a magazine. Also, any time hollywood deals with radiation or nuclear power, it is an utter failure. I’ve stopped cringing, but seriously… can you guys just once hire a consultant? ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/49 "2009-05-24T20:24:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > “Zoom in!” > > Keyboard sfx, and no mouse pointer motion, as somehow exactly the correct area of the image is chosen, zoomed to fill the screen with unnecessary animation. > > “Enhance the image!” > > The image is instantly sharpened to an absurdly clear level; clearer than a real security camera at full scale, let alone zoomed. > > “Run his face through the magic computer face matching software mainframe CPU firewall IP USB RAM hard drive database!” > > Two words: Fuck off! Came in here to mention this scenario. Almost as annoying; when the FBI agent or whoever has to ASK the computer tech if they can “enhance the image.” Of course they can! The question is, why didn’t they just do that to begin with? They need an agent to give them the order? Still, WTF, you’re on a TV show, they could probably extract DNA from a blurry image by now if tech has advanced at the same rate in TV land as the real world. But something about other shows that bugs me sometimes is when there is just a glaring inconsistency. Case in point; _Supernatural_ is one of my favorite shows, and they usually get most of the folklore/legends right, but in one episode around Halloween the brothers Winchester were called upon to stop the summoning of Samhain. And yes, they pronounced it “SAM-HANE”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/50 "2009-05-24T21:43:05Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Psychics. Enough people get ripped off by them every day, I’m sick of seeing movies and TV pandering to folks by pretending they’re real. Most of the time, I agree with you. Psychics are often poorly done and boring and I often Groan when I hear the word(One of the things I hated about FEAR was that all the bad guys were “Psychic Supersoldier Clones” which for me was three massive:rolleyes:'s in one) OTOH, if it’s done really well, I don’t mind. The only thing that comes immediatly to mind is River Tam in Serenity/Firefly, but I think that’s because she’s also really messed up by it. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/51 "2009-05-24T21:46:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s very uncommon. Why would you want a weapon for which you are not trained, your side doesn’t have ammunition, and which willi dentify you by the sound (weapons have distinctive sounds) as an enemy to your own compatriots? Maybe he was talking about guerrilla warriors who pretty much get all their supplies from stealing from the enemy? That’s the only way that sounds really plausible. Of course, a lot of guerrillas are supplied by some major power anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/52 "2009-05-24T22:08:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Eating is usually boring, and dramatic productions omit that sort of thing. Yes, I know that. That’s why I said I don’t expect to see actual scenes of people eating. I just find it annoying when the storyline makes it impossible for the characters to have eaten offscreen either. ---
**Author:** ![Capcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/53 "2009-05-24T22:20:08Z")
It really gets under my skin when they show running sequences. The actor playing the bad guy runs fast enough, the good guy actor is always running in sissy strides. I know it is hard to film the actor up close and have him run as fast as he should be. Casino Royal [clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTYwDTRv0XI). 13 seconds in you see a real effort to run as fast as you can in real life. There are countless running shots where the actors are doing a half-hearted run with really bad imitation of pumping arms. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/54 "2009-05-24T22:20:54Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > Also, any time hollywood deals with radiation or nuclear power, it is an utter failure. I’ve stopped cringing, but seriously.. can you guys just once hire a consultant? Reminds me of the 4th season of 24 where the bad guy’s first scheme was to melt down all the nuclear power plants in the US at the same time using an internet universal remote. Yeah…I don’t know where to begin. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/55 "2009-05-24T23:59:50Z")
1. When people in hospital shows especially are told there’s no hope and nothing that can be done and then they’re all, “please save him! he’s my only husband!” or the adorable little daughter comes up and is adorable or whatever and suddenly it turns out that there IS a cure after all and they just didn’t cure him before because… they save all their hard work for people with adorable families? 2. This is just something that bugs me- when someone says something and then the scene changes and someone else reacts to it in the new scene, which would be some time later. Like someone in the lab says, “she was pregnant!” and then they cut to the detectives getting out of the car at a crime scene after, presumably, being together in the car for a while on the way there. And as they get out of the car, one of them is like, “pregnant?! she must have been so scared!” and they have the entire conversation like they must have just stopped talking entirely between the last scene and this one. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/56 "2009-05-25T00:54:49Z")
> [@](#): > > On Batman: His magic grappling line has ‘deceleration cord’. It’s stretchy! (yeah, someone thought of that a long time ago.) No it isn’t. Look at the background of the Gotham Cathedral behind them – they jerk to a sudden stop. No excuse – they’re goners > [@](#): > > On Indy’s plane: Fuel vapor in the gas tank. Gasoline doesn’t explode, but fuel vapor does. yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/57 "2009-05-25T02:23:57Z")
For me, I can’t get my inner physicist to shut up. No matter how many times I try to convince it that maybe the Star Wars universe has some kind of sufficiently advanced anti-gravity, it screams at me: “Hovercrafts Don’t Work Like That And Neither Do Spaceships!” In Star Trek, it gets worse because they try to explain it with the hand-wavey technobabble that has no internal consistency. You may as well have just said: “And lo, because the plot said so, they fixed the negative space wedgy and all was well.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/58 "2009-05-25T18:25:50Z")
> [@Capcha](#): > > It really gets under my skin when they show running sequences. The actor playing the bad guy runs fast enough, the good guy actor is always running in sissy strides. I know it is hard to film the actor up close and have him run as fast as he should be. Those don’t bother me as much as chases that don’t make sense. I refer specifically to fantasy series in which a character has enhanced physical abilities having to chase a normal person and not catching them in seconds. I can recall a few times on Angel, for instance, in which the title character and his son – both of whom had superhuman speed and were known to freak people out by moving from one spot to another impossibly fast – suddenly forgot that when chasing someone. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/59 "2009-05-26T00:39:53Z")
I was talking books with a friend, and she said that she had to put down a novel in the middle because the author used “irregardless”. Because it’s not a real word, and it’s bad grammar, and a writer should know something like that. Meanwhile, I sat there and pretended that I’d never ever made such a gross lexiconical mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340/60 "2009-05-26T00:42:25Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I was talking books with a friend, and she said that she had to put down a novel in the middle because the author used “irregardless”. Because it’s not a real word, and it’s bad grammar, and a writer should know something like that. Meanwhile, I sat there and pretended that I’d never ever made such a gross lexiconical mistake. _Irregardless_ use would only bother me in certain contexts. It makes my skin crawl when I hear it in the real world, but in dialogue, say, it’s more than reasonable to have a character use it. Likewise, if the story is being told in the first person, it’s reasonble to use in narration. Does your friend insist that all characters in a story speak the Queen’s English? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-things-cant-you-suspend-your-disbelief-about/497340.md?page=4)