I’ve noticed something that often comes up online when discussing movies or shows that involve magic, aliens, the supernatural, etc. If someone criticizes a certain plot point as hard to believe, someone else will retort that if you don’t find the supernatural elements unrealistic, then you can’t say anything else about it is unrealistic.
As an example, I once saw a Reddit discussion of “Bird Box.” Someone commented about how Sandra Bullock, who was/is in her 50s, was playing a character who was pregnant at the beginning of the movie, which they found a little strange. Someone else replied, “Oh, so you have no problem believing in aliens that cause people to commit suicide when you look at them, but a woman being pregnant in her 50s is what you find hard to believe???” (Maybe that’s not the best example because women can indeed get pregnant in their 50s although it’s not super common, but you get the idea.)
I always think this is a silly argument. You have to accept the supernatural elements as part of the premise, otherwise there’s no story. But apart from the supernatural premise, if the story still takes place in the more-or-less “real world” it is fine to criticize other parts of it. For example, say I’m watching a movie where people are being chased by ghosts, and the dialogue is clunky or the characters are making decisions that don’t make sense. I accept the fact that ghosts exist as part of the premise. But since the story takes place on present-day Earth, it should be fine to say that I think the characters aren’t behaving in a way that real people act, and that the movie suffers for it. (If the story takes place in a parallel universe, or the future, or on another planet, then I would say that you can’t necessarily criticize the characters’ behavior, because it’s part of the premise that you have to buy into.)
I’d generally agree with you. You have to accept some things, otherwise there wouldn’t be a story to tell in the first place. But other plot points can still be debated.
An example is the movie The Road. I can accept the unexplained cause of an apocalypse that left most people dead and the environment destroyed, because otherwise there’s no movie. But then, there’s a scene where the protagonists find a fully-stocked survival shelter, except that there are no guns or ammunition in the shelter. The filmmakers added that detail so that the protagonists would still be at a disadvantage in confronting other survivors, but come on, this is completely unbelievable. There’s no way that an American survivalist stocks such a shelter, and doesn’t have some kind of weapon and/or ammunition stocked as well.
And it wouldn’t even be that hard to fix. Have there be lots of bullets, but make them the wrong caliber for the protagonist’s weapon. You get to the exact same story point, but without me rolling my eyes hard enough to sprain them.
In your first example, I presume the speaker knows that the critic also watches movies with supernatural or magic elements in them, and has no problem suspending disbelief in order to enjoy them.
In which case, the critic would be making an “in universe” criticism; that is, in a world pretty much like our own, a 50+ woman would normally not be able to be pregnant (and the few exceptions are generally cause for comment). But if the 50+ actress was playing a 40-year-old woman character, then they are not responding to the in-universe character but to the real-world actress, and that would not be valid, except possibly as a criticism of the casting. In a fantasy-based movie, it is tougher to make a valid criticism that some aspect of a character’s behavior doesn’t make sense, but it can be done.
Actors often play characters younger or older than their real age.
It’s amazing how many people don’t realize that the age of a character in the movie does not have to be the age of the actor. If there’s a difference, it’s not automatically a flaw; it’s just lack of imagination.
I agree with this as well. Although there are certain situations that can stretch credibility, such as when two people are interacting that are supposed to be the same age and it very obvious they are not.
In roleplaying games, this is sometimes referred to as verisimilitude, the appearance of being real. Sure, you have a game with dragons and elves and fireballs but players will still be taken out of the moment when they have to ask why ice doesn’t melt when exposed to fire or how someone could survive in an abandoned jail cell for ten years. And maybe you can craft an answer for it using supernatural explanations but the point is that “Well, there’s dragons so…” isn’t going to satisfy anyone.
Because people need a hook to hang their understanding on, they’re usually going to assume a fictional world acts like our world unless some part is explicitly pointed out as different. “But there’s aliens/magic/vampires/etc” doesn’t make water flow uphill or a kid able to carry a cow around unless you make a point of explaining that it does.
Edit: This isn’t about the pregnancy example in the OP, just a general bit about people who respond to criticism with “Pffttt… sure there’s zombies but you’re gonna ask about…”
When it comes to science fiction, horror, fantasy, or other works of fiction with fantastical elements it requires the audience to buy into the premise that makes the work possible. i.e. If you simply cannot accept faster than light travel for any reason then Star Trek is not for you. Just because I accept a fantastical element doesn’t mean I have to accept them all.
I like zombie fiction. I understand the utter impossibility of a corpse not only remaining ambulatory but somehow possessing the drive and coordination to feast upon the flesh of the living. I accept this fantastical element because it would be impossible to enjoy a show like the Walking Dead otherwise.
But that didn’t mean I had to accept everything else on the show. It was ridiculous how easily our living heroes would use knives to stab through the skulls of zombies. Maybe zombie skulls soften to a pumpkin like state after a period of time? I could accept the walking dead but I found the soft skulls silly.
