# Where does your ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ stop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746 "2021-07-05T14:46:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 17
**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:** [December 9, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/322 "2021-12-09T14:41:54Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > A lot of folks will accept unrealistic physics and science in fiction but draw the line at literal magic, which effectively means their willing suspension of disbelief is undermined by entire genres. Yep, this describes me exactly. I gave an example of that in my OP where I used Marvel movie examples: I can deal with the make-believe physics of Iron Man, but all the Asgardian magic in ‘Thor 2’ I could not do. Game of Thrones was a bit of an exception: I could just tolerate it because the magic and sorcery aspects were a relatively small part of the plotlines. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/323 "2021-12-09T15:06:19Z")
Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person on Earth who breaks out into improvisational song, lol. I was on a date once and we couldn’t agree on where to eat, so I started singing > [@](#): > > I can’t stand this indecision > Dating with a lack of vision > Let’s just drive and see what we can find… No? Y’all don’t do this? ---
**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:** [December 9, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/324 "2021-12-09T15:19:51Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person on Earth who breaks out into improvisational song, lol. I was on a date once and we couldn’t agree on where to eat, so I started singing… But…did an invisible orchestra start accompanying you the moment you started singing? Did you start dancing as well? And did your date immediately start singing and dancing in perfect synchronization with you? If you experience two or more of those, you might be living in a musical. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/325 "2021-12-09T18:04:56Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The only musical I actually, honestly enjoy is the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because there’s actually an in-universe reason for all the musical numbers, There’s similar acknowledgement of “what? why is everyone singing and dancing?” in the Apple TV+ show [Schmigadoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKG0RodrzVo), which my wife and I enjoyed a lot. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/326 "2021-12-10T02:33:36Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But…did an invisible orchestra start accompanying you the moment you started singing? Did you start dancing as well? And did your date immediately start singing and dancing in perfect synchronization with you? If you refuse to see an entire genre, can you really claim to have genre-specific scenes ‘take you out’ of films you are not viewing? ‘Genres we don’t like’ is a different discussion, imho. That’s all. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/327 "2021-12-10T02:53:52Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > If you refuse to see an entire genre, can you really claim to have genre-specific scenes ‘take you out’ of films you are not viewing? ‘Genres we don’t like’ is a different discussion, imho. That’s all. I was just joshing on what you said, I wasn’t the one who cited musicals in the thread to begin with. I mean, I do think musicals are silly, but I wouldn’t use a musical number as an example of something that ‘took me out’ of a movie, because you’re right-- if I’m watching a musical I expect to see song and dance breaking out at any moment. It doesn’t catch me by surprise and make me think “now this film has lost all credibility for me” because it would have had none to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/328 "2021-12-14T19:16:14Z")
Financial Nonsense… Ok, so you are a successful Lawyer, Doctor, Investment Banker, etc…presumably making high 6, maybe 7 figures…but also spending it on Upper East Side/SoHo 4000 sq ft Co-op/Beach House and driving MBz, BMW, etc. and wearing 20 different $1000 outfits during the 2 hour movie. And you want to give it all up…to write/paint/interior design/event & wedding plan/save puppies and kitties… …and are in your 40’s …and are single …and want to do this in Aspen/Vail/Jackson/Big Sur/Maui/Tahiti/Belize So, “splain Lucy”–where is the money coming from? For the next **45 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE?** ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/329 "2021-12-14T19:20:19Z")
Shit, Diane Keaton showed the pathway to this in _Baby Boom_ by (checks notes) creating an organic line of baby food and developing a marketing and production plan which you pitch to your executive friends in NYC, resulting in your becoming the Martha Stewart of the late 80s. Duh! You make it sound so… _difficult_! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/330 "2021-12-14T19:42:51Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person on Earth who breaks out into improvisational song, lol. I was on a date once and we couldn’t agree on where to eat, so I started singing > > > [@](#): > > > > I can’t stand this indecision > > > > > Dating with a lack of vision > > > Let’s just drive and see what we can find… > > No? Y’all don’t do this? Only once. I went to a shopping mall where all the parking areas were named after different animals. After I parked and was walking toward the mall, I broke out in song. > [@](#): > > A law was made a distant moon ago here: > July and August cannot be too hot. > And there’s a legal limit to the snow here > In camel lot. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/331 "2021-12-14T20:52:23Z")
Your agonizer, Mr. **Arm**. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/332 "2021-12-15T16:07:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Shit, Diane Keaton showed the pathway to this in _Baby Boom_ by (checks notes) creating an organic line of baby food and developing a marketing and production plan which you pitch to your executive friends in NYC, resulting in your becoming the Martha Stewart of the late 80s. > > Duh! You make it sound so… _difficult_ ! Don’t tell Jessica Alba about how unrealistic this is. > **[The Honest Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honest_Company)** > > The Honest Company, Inc. is an American digital-first consumer goods company, based in Los Angeles and founded by actress Jessica Alba, Christopher Gavigan, and Brian Lee. The company had $319 million in 2021 sales, and was valued at roughly $550 million as of February 2022. Chief Executive Officer Carla Vernón is one of the first Afro-Latina CEO of a U.S. publicly traded company. The Honest Company has raised multiple rounds of venture capital, and went public via initial public offerin Company ... ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/333 "2021-12-15T16:30:34Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Don’t tell Jessica Alba about how unrealistic this is. See? All one has to do is (checks notes) parlay the synergies created by your 20-year effort to promote yourself as one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet by (checks notes) creating an organic line of baby food and developing a marketing and production plan which you pitch to your executive friends in NYC, resulting in your becoming the (non-incarcerated) Martha Stewart of the late 00s. Pshaw! Give me a _real_ challenge! ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/334 "2021-12-15T20:32:48Z")
fine, show me the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow. Because Kraft Foods, which presumably knows something about this line of products makes \< 9% profit. So our dear little Diane, to make $100,000/yr BEFORE TAXES needs to sell about $1 mil. of product. At $2 each, that is 500,000 units. Given a 3 year linear ramp up, you are talking about not enough income to support yourself for at least 3 years. Q. f’n. E. D. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/335 "2021-12-15T21:10:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Your agonizer, Mr. **Arm**. I give you my word, that is a true story. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/336 "2021-12-15T21:25:51Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > fine, show me the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow. > > Because Kraft Foods, which presumably knows something about this line of products makes \< 9% profit. > > So our dear little Diane, to make $100,000/yr BEFORE TAXES needs to sell about $1 mil. of product. > > At $2 each, that is 500,000 units. Given a 3 year linear ramp up, you are talking about not enough income to support yourself for at least 3 years. > > Q. f’n. E. D. Young man, this is a Nancy Meyer production. I’m sure it’s fully researched with the intellectual rigor we have come to depend on from Hollywood. If Diane Keaton did it, anyone can do it! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/337 "2021-12-16T07:03:44Z")
Which was one of the refreshing things about the movie _Fargo_. Marge shows up at the car lot, and you see her and Shep Proudfoot in a private office having a conversation about whether he received a phone call in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/338 "2021-12-20T16:54:01Z")
ah, yes…Nancy Meyer, she of the huuuuuuge kitchen fetish. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746/339 "2021-12-20T17:05:00Z")
Yup, even featured in _Town & Country_: > **[Nancy Meyers's Movies Set the Gold Standard for Kitchen Goals](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/home-decor/g32320624/nancy-meyers-best-kitchens-photos/)** > > With massive islands and a chilled bottle of wine, director Nancy Meyers's kitchens hold the promise of a perfectly designed life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-stop/945746.md?page=16)