# X movie/TV show is a perfect representation of Y **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720 "2015-05-24T13:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/1 "2015-05-24T13:30:38Z")
What do you guys think? Things like Office Space is a perfect representation of office life, etc etc ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/2 "2015-05-25T18:15:19Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > What do you guys think? Things like > > Office Space is a perfect representation of office life, etc etc I think personally that _Barney Miller_ is a perfect representation of police life. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/3 "2015-05-26T13:22:14Z")
[What’s Up Doc?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069495/) is a perfect representation of musicologists. [Hard Core Logo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116488/) is a perfect representation of being a moderately successful bar band. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/4 "2015-05-26T13:47:51Z")
**The Last Detail** , a 1973 movie with Jack Nicholson, was a pretty accurate depiction of Navy life. ---
**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 26, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/5 "2015-05-26T14:15:38Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > I think personally that _Barney Miller_ is a perfect representation of police life. Sidney Kingsley’s 1949 play **Detective Story** did much the same thing, showing activity in a police station in all its banal, tragicomic glory. One episode of _Barney Miller_ even has a Broadway producer calling the people there “you _Detective Story_ rejects…” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/6 "2015-05-26T14:41:20Z")
Das Boot seems to me to be a fairly accurate representation of what it was like to serve on a German U Boat in WWII. Just an educated guess on my part though. I’ll spoiler it a bit. It sucked donkey balls. PS. Don’t watch this movie if you are depressed. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-movie-tv-show-is-a-perfect-representation-of-y/720720/7 "2015-05-27T21:30:14Z")
_Birdman_ is an excellent representation of what it’s like to be in a live theater production (except, of course, for the fantasy stuff). Everything backstage is dusty and cluttered, actors are either wildly insecure or egocentric, stage managers are forever yelling FIVE MINUTES, etc. _The Competition_ is the only movie I’ve seen that accurately depicts the way classical musicians think and behave. Some plot details are unrealistic (like Amy Irving switching her competition piece from Mozart to Prokofiev at the last minute), but for the most part they got it right. _King of the Hill_ is a very apt depiction of life in Texas suburbia (allowing for some comedic exaggeration).