# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/61 "2015-10-18T04:36:40Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (In Star Trek: the Next Generation, wasn’t Picard’s brother played by Patrick Stewart’s real-life brother? Or am I misremembering dreadfully?) Apparently not, but I think I know the thing you’re thinking of. [checking…] Ah, yes, In the episode “[The Inner Light](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Inner_Light_(episode)),” Picard’s dream-world son is played by Patrick Stewart’s real life son. Probably that’s it? Also by coincidence, this is [my second post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=771721) is the last 10 or so in which “The Inner Light” has come up… ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/62 "2015-10-18T04:39:57Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The dry mountainous geography of Long Island during the training scenes in the film **Pearl Harbor** made me laugh. Right, it’s another one of those things that you don’t notice until you do: apparently most places in the world look _a lot_ like southern California… ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/63 "2015-10-18T04:41:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > At one point in _ **The McKenzie Break** _, Brian Keith (the camp’s commanding officer) tells an orderly behind a desk to check on something that’s aroused his suspicions. The orderly just nods his head and proceeds to straighten the papers on his desk. > > This earned a strong snort of derision from my brother, who had just gotten out of the Air Force. He said something to the effect that the orderly would have had his ass handed to him if he didn’t even bother to say “Yes, sir.” The wrong haircuts for military members, not to mention _horrible_ salutes. Even senior officers in movies give half-assed, and _wrong_ salutes. And now that I’m on the subject, wrong haircuts for the time period. I just saw the movie **Crimson Peak** and was confused that American society (even if it was Buffalo, New York), having the waltz introduced to them in the early 1900s. I’m not sure when Americans started dancing the waltz, but it surely wasn’t 80 years after it was first being danced in the United Kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/64 "2015-10-18T05:04:28Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Apparently not, but I think I know the thing you’re thinking of. [checking…] Ah, yes, In the episode “[The Inner Light](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Inner_Light_(episode)),” Picard’s dream-world son is played by Patrick Stewart’s real life son. Probably that’s it? > > Also by coincidence, this is [my second post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=771721) is the last 10 or so in which “The Inner Light” has come up… I always thought it odd that they used Patrick Stewart’s real life son, since the character he played wouldn’t be Picard’s son, but the son of the guy whose life Picard was experiencing. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/65 "2015-10-18T05:17:57Z")
This is more of a general lament but what ruins many an otherwise quality movie for me is the gratuitous, awkward insertion of an unfolding love story, occuring side by side the actual plot of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/66 "2015-10-18T06:20:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > 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! The vast majority of them are humanoid. The word refers to a bodyplan that matches humans - 1 head on top, 2 legs, 2 arms, sensory organs on the head. It’s easiest to use in-universe terminology, really, where the aliens being referred to would be non-human - some humanoid (also an in-universe term), some not - whereas most of the main characters would be human. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/67 "2015-10-18T06:32:14Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > 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. Characters at a firing range, not wearing any hearing protection at all. I mean, seriously… ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/68 "2015-10-18T08:24:27Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > 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. Ah, I see, thanks, I was kind of taken aback by that post as it was so needlessly rude. > [@Randolph](#): > > Prometheus. So very Prometheus. I think the android David was the most human and believable character in that entire movie. > [@VarlosZ](#): > > Right, it’s another one of those things that you don’t notice until you do: apparently most places in the world look _a lot_ like southern California… Austin Powers spoofed this by having the characters driving through ‘England’ when it was quite obviously somewhere like southern California. 🙂 Thanks for the answers everyone, lots of interesting examples _(and more things that are going to take me out of the movie when I noticed them now dammit)_. And another one, people have mentioned incorrect animal sounds above, but there is also the trope that any time an animal is shown on-screen it has to be making some sort of identifying noise even if its obvious from body language etc its not doing anything of the sort, a dog is shown onscreen and there’s snuffling, whining, barking noises as if to confirm that the dog on screen is in fact a dog. I guess the producers just don’t like having silence on-screen so have to fill it up with something. ---
**Author:** ![IDtenT\_Error](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@IDtenT\_Error](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IDtenT_Error)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/69 "2015-10-18T13:20:30Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > I guess the producers just don’t like having silence on-screen so have to fill it up with something. That’s actually the case. In the movie 2001, the scene where Bowman is trying to rescue Poole was originally done silent, because there’s no sound in space, but in the original screenings the audience all thought the sound system had gone out and complained about it, so they went back and put music in the soundtrack for the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/70 "2015-10-18T14:03:43Z")
It’s interesting what does and doesn’t take you out of a scene. Gun handling has a couple for me - I can’t stand it when you have people that are supposed to be professionals running around with their finger on the trigger. It’s a little thing but very noticeable to me, and wouldn’t be hard to fix - I’m sure they tell the extras ‘hold the gun this way’ as part of coreographing action scenes. A lot of movies have started doing this right. Also, people who shove guns into their waistband or just carry long guns for an extended period of time irritates me, because that’s actually dangerous and uncomfortable, especially if you’re walking long distances. Walking dead went through a couple of seasons of this, where only Rick had a holster despite them walking miles - they would have had some serious abrasions in the back or belly. People racking the slide for emphasis falls into the category of ‘movie language’ for me, it’s like the talking on phones stuff people have mentioned. In the real world, if you rack the slide or pump a shotgun, either your gun wasn’t ready to fire before, or you eject a bullet/shell when you do it, it’s a dumb thing to do. But it doesn’t bother me in movies. The unlimited capacity magazines don’t bother me either, especially since doing reasonable reloads would feel very clunky in a lot of fight scenes. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/71 "2015-10-18T14:22:57Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > I really couldn’t think of a more elegant title for this thread. > > Inspired by my suspension of disbelief being shattered yet again by a minor aspect of a movie, I was watching a movie a couple of days ago which had a character who wore glasses. Except the actor obviously doesn’t wear glasses in real life because when the light caught the lens it was obvious that they were merely frames containing flat glass. There really isn’t any reason for this. Think sun glasses. They certainly aren’t flat. Just the same thickness everywhere in the lens. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/72 "2015-10-18T14:54:59Z")
I can’t stand it when there’s a horse in a scene and they fill the background sound with whinnies. It’s rare for a horse to do a full throated whinny or neigh, unless they have gotten separated for their friend and are calling for them, or are REALLY wound up. Some horses will nicker quietly when they see their person or another horse, but it’s usually a brief thing. Movies would have you believe that horses neigh like bored dogs bark. Drives me batty. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/73 "2015-10-18T15:12:07Z")
I couldn’t think of one, as I’m usually a little too gullible with my suspension of disbelief. But I did think of one. I hadn’t noticed until it was pointed out, but people rarely say “bye” in phone calls, and just hang up. I know they do it to avoid constantly saying the same word over and over, but it has taken me out a couple of times. And while I was writing that, I thought of another one. “Mr. Worf, hail them.” Less than a second later “No response, sir.” I know starships aren’t real, but surely people need time to respond. It’s obviously not automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/74 "2015-10-18T16:19:10Z")
- “Here come the German Tiger tanks!!!” And they’re really Sherman tanks. - Leaving the house without LOCKING the door. - Just once, I’d like to hear “Hey, somebody stole the rearview mirror!!”. ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/75 "2015-10-18T16:35:17Z")
Sound effects often get me. I hate it when someone brandishes a sword or knife and it has to make that squealing / scraping noise. Unless you actually scraped the knife against a piece of metal, it should not be making that noise. People who cock their guns for no apparent reason. In real life, a person chambers the round before they need it. Usually this is a generic “gun” sound effect. Someone shoulders their weapon and it makes that “chick-chack” noise, even if they didn’t operate the mechanism. Other times it actually shows the character pumping the shotgun or racking the slide of their handgun, implying that up until this point the weapon was unloaded. People who operate a weapon incorrectly. People who point a weapon at a friend for no apparent reason (because it’s a prop, not a real gun) even when the character should know better. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/76 "2015-10-18T16:52:01Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Under white blouses? > > Under _everything_? > > Black bras are not the default. I have seen black bras being worn underneath anything and everything. Whether it’s a _default_ is a different question, but there’s nothing implausible about it. ---
**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 18, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/77 "2015-10-18T17:02:14Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > The vast majority of them are humanoid. The word refers to a bodyplan that matches humans - 1 head on top, 2 legs, 2 arms, sensory organs on the head. Duhhhh … gee, Mr Whoopee. Can we see the 3-D BB? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/78 "2015-10-18T17:02:18Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > It’s a strange line for me. Everyone walking around with coffee cups that are clearly empty - no problem. Super hackers typing code faster than I can type plain text without using the mouse - mildly irritated. Characters that are getting cell reception underground in a parking garage or in the middle of nowhere - more irritated. “Zoom in and enhance!” - c’mon. Regarding the cell reception thing - I work at a place with underground parking that gets pretty good cell reception. In fact, my office is underground! ---
**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 18, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/79 "2015-10-18T17:42:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > You know what else NBNW depicts that doesn’t actually exist? A private home and airstrip on top of Mount Rushmore. This is by far the easiest of Hitchcock’s movies to pick apart. _ **Frenzy** _ is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-understand-why-they-do-it-but-it-takes-you-out-of-the-movie-anyway/734928/80 "2015-10-18T18:03:35Z")
It bothers me when one of a main character rushes in, saying, “Quick! We have to get out of here right now!” And then they spend the next five minutes standing around and talking. And the scenes where the protagonist is driving and the bad guy suddenly pops up in the back seat and starts strangling him. The good guy never once thinks of putting his foot on the brakes because struggling with the bad guy and swerving all over the road makes better movie sense. P.S. Oh, and thanks for the reality check, Reality Chuck. [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=3) [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=5)