# You understand why they do it but it takes you out of the movie anyway **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928 "2015-10-17T19:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/21 "2015-10-17T21:09:52Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > The clarity of the water bothers you? Really? Are you Jacques Cousteau? It totally ruined **The Perfect Storm** for me. > [@](#): > > When the plot rests on unbelievable premises it ruins it, even though I know it is pretend. Now, that I can handle. Sure, I’d like a more believable background, but as long as everything follows logically from that first premise, I’m fine with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/22 "2015-10-17T21:23:47Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Did you really need to spend time typing that out? To basically come in and do a dump on what is obviously intended to be a light-hearted thread? That’s his raison d’être. He’s threadshit for years in movie topics, especially when it concerns suspension of disbelief, has done it to me and has been pitted for it by another. I don’t think he can help himself. Try to gnore it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/23 "2015-10-17T21:29:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Chase scenes with ridiculous twists and turns that are navigated faster than anyone could possibly react to. Pod racing nonsense in one of the Star Wars prequels, for example - in fact, chases through caves/tunnels are the worst - the protagonist is unerringly lucky in not happening to choose a tunnel that is too narrow, or a dead end. Not to defend _Phantom Menace_, but that was explained - Qui-Gon noted that young Anakin Skywalker had some access to The Force and was able to instinctively predict the future, which is what gave him the apparently superhuman reflexes necessary to compete at pod-racing. Besides, since it _is_ a racecourse, the path will be more-or-less clearly laid out, and not in a maze that frequently has dead ends. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/24 "2015-10-17T21:35:24Z")
> [@Scribble](#): > > If the setting of a movie is, say, North Carolina, but the soundtrack is full of bird calls from South America, it’s hard to suspend my disbelief. Usually it’s the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/25 "2015-10-17T21:37:21Z")
Every motorcycle in the movies sounds like a Harley. Honda XL’s , Yamaha DT’s, whatever. They all sound like a push-rod V-twin. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Screeching tires/brakes. > On gravel or grass/dirt. > At slow speeds. Yes, its stupid. However, I will assure you, if properly motivated, tires will indeed screech on dirt. 😉 > [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Woman screams in labor. Newborn infant lets out its first thin cry. Husband weeps a silent tear. > > Doctor hands mom a clean, dry, three month old baby. Too funny! I was there for my kid’s birth and it sure didn’t look like anything out of the movies! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/26 "2015-10-17T21:39:19Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Not to defend _Phantom Menace_, but that was explained - Qui-Gon noted that young Anakin Skywalker had some access to The Force and was able to instinctively predict the future, which is what gave him the apparently superhuman reflexes necessary to compete at pod-racing. Sure, but he wasn’t the only participant in the race, and for the most part, the other competitors were zipping about without crashing either - except when the movie needed a crash in it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/27 "2015-10-17T21:41:25Z")
> [@j666](#): > > It totally ruined **The Perfect Storm** for me. > Now, that I can handle. Sure, I’d like a more believable background, but as long as everything follows logically from that first premise, I’m fine with it. How can something unbelievable “follow logically”? I am talking about internally inconsistent plot. The “expert” has to act like an idiot for 5 minutes so that the plot works. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/28 "2015-10-17T21:41:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sure, but he wasn’t the only participant in the race, and for the most part, the other competitors were zipping about without crashing either - except when the movie needed a crash in it. Yes, but they weren’t human and, it is implied, aliens have an edge in that sort of thing. It’s not really explained why the Empire isn’t run by aliens if they’re so superior, but whatever. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/29 "2015-10-17T21:44:25Z")
> [@Scribble](#): > > The characters are sitting around drinking coffee, but you can tell from the way they hold their cups that there’s nothing in them. Anecdote: Back when I was eight or nine, my older brother, my mother, and I were watching _ **Dick van Dyke** _ in our living room. On the screen, Rob and Laura were at home, drinking coffee. My mother says, “You know, there’s no coffee in those cups.” My brother says, “Yes there is.” My mother: “No, there isn’t!” My brother: “Yes, there is. I saw it. It came up to about _here_!” [_Indicates with his thumb and forefinger on the screen_.] My mother: “No, there isn’t!” My brother: “Yes, there is!” At this point, the argument became rather heated. I presume they could have gone on like that all night! (My brother was right, BTW. I saw the coffee in the cup too.) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/30 "2015-10-17T21:45:36Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Related to that: all the goddamn beautiful people in American television. Seriously - when I watch British shows, the first thing that strikes me is that not everyone could be a model. It’s amazing how much having a few ugly (or even just average!) actors increases the realism. This Hollywood requirement screwed up the 2004 movie **Troy** (well, besides the smallpox vaccine scab on Brad Pitt’s shoulder). The story is based on Paris being so stupefied by Hellen’s beauty that he triggers a war. But _every_ female role was filled by an actress of stupefying beauty. All they could have done is not show her face like they didn’t show Jesus’ in old Bible movies, and when people looked at her go “ouch! Fuck, ow!” > [@northporlarbear](#): > > I didn’t know Venice had dirty water. Neither did Katherine Hepburn. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/31 "2015-10-17T21:53:29Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > 555 phone numbers, though this seems to come up less often these days. This. And poker games where “being better at poker” is portrayed as “magically always getting dealt better cards”. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/32 "2015-10-17T21:57:08Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Recently, black bras. In movies, women seem to wear black bras under everything, including white business blouses. I’m okay with that.😛 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/33 "2015-10-17T22:00:13Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I am talking about internally inconsistent plot. Were you? I didn’t notice. I was responding to you comment about “unbelievable premises”, which, you might notice, I quoted in my post. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/34 "2015-10-17T22:09:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Usually it’s the other way around. Uh, yeah. That’s what I meant. I’m not sure how I switched the two. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/35 "2015-10-17T22:23:02Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yes, but they weren’t human and, it is implied, aliens have an edge in that sort of thing. > It’s not really explained why the Empire isn’t run by aliens if they’re so superior, but whatever. OK, but it’s only one example of the trope of implausibly rapid choice of route through labyrinthine tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/36 "2015-10-17T22:32:17Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Putting the “PTWEEEEERIMT” film advance sound on a modern digital camera. Actually, some modern digital cameras have this feature. I don’t know if it’s \*all \*or \*most \*or just a few, but certainly some do. Users need a sound that tells them that the camera actuall;y captured the im,age, and is ready for the next one. They sometimes give you a menu of sounds to choose from, with click-whirrr being one option you can choose. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/37 "2015-10-17T22:34:59Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > This. > > And poker games where “being better at poker” is portrayed as “magically always getting dealt better cards”. God, that annoys me. _Casino Royale_ is only one relatively recent example. We never see Bond bluffing - his move persona won’t allow it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/38 "2015-10-17T22:36:56Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Putting the “PTWEEEEERIMT” film advance sound on a modern digital camera. Heck, the buzz-clatter of a dot matrix or daisy wheel… on a laser printer. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/39 "2015-10-17T22:37:41Z")
Fake glasses momentarily break the illusion for me, too. Like the OP, I get why they do it, of course. But I often notice it. I wear pretty strong glasses, and my eyes look _tiny_ behind the lenses. When I see someone wearing fake glasses, I always think, “Hey, your eyes aren’t all distorted!” Silly thing to be knocked out of the experience by, but so it goes. I know very little about guns, but when I did shoot shotguns years ago, I noticed that they _kick_. I guess blanks don’t kick much if at all, and I’m sure you don’t want to crack off live rounds on a movie set. But when I see a kid or a small adult on screen blasting away with a BFG that has as much recoil as a squirt gun, I drop out of the scene for a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/40 "2015-10-17T22:38:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s not really explained why the Empire isn’t run by aliens if they’re so superior, but whatever. Uhhhh … I think you mean “non-humanoids” here. If everything takes place in a galaxy far, far away, _everybody_ in the Empire is a freakin’ alien! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928.md?page=3)