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30 Mistakes Movies Make When Portraying Various Professions, As Shared By Folks In This Online Thread
The drama, the action, the explosions—movies have always been slightly, or even wildly different from reality in some ways or others. But even though a lot of popular movies do not provide an exact representation of what’s truly real, we still get a kick out of them, because of how we, as an audience, relate to the plot, the characters, and the various scenarios that occur. The distance between the audience’s perception of reality and the point of the film is usually big enough for us to escape that reality for the duration of the running time, if not longer, or it is smaller—in which case we do heavily relate to what’s on the screen.
On the other hand, there are scenarios where, on an individual or group basis, we will be annoyingly detached from the fictional narrative at hand, because we know that it is a bit too far from our reality. One such example would be people with a certain job or profession watching a movie and thinking that it’s not how their job is done at all. A user on Reddit asked a question that very much relates to this—what movies get wrong about different kinds of jobs that real people do. Here at Bored Panda, we have collected 30 of some of the more interesting responses. Scroll down to view the whole list, upvote the posts you perhaps relate to and leave a comment!
More info: Reddit
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#1
Taxi driver for 2 and a half years. No one has ever asked me to follow that car :(
It could be argued that, a lot of the time, the professions we do not have much direct contact with will not be well understood, and that counts for movie makers as well. People behind movies aren't always going to have deep knowledge about doctors, engineers or lawyers, and even if they have access to people from those professions that can consult them, the end result will still likely be changed for the cinematic or dramatic effect. So it could be said that it's not the movie maker's intention to deceive us when it comes to what people really do with their professions, but that's rather the by-product of trying to make the movie as concise and interesting as possible.
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#2
I work with horses. Movie horses are always snorting, neighing, grunting, nickering, or otherwise making noise practically every time they move. In reality, horses aren’t that noisy. They don’t snort or squeal every time they change gaits. I can count on one hand the number of times my own horse has neighed, and he was just screaming for his friends who he couldn’t see over the hill and who wouldn’t answer him.
Jaguarundi 2 years ago
Most prey animals don't tend to be very chatty. If they are, they become an entrée very quickly.
#3
I.T. I don’t know everything. I can’t hack. If I don’t know the answer from experience I use google. But I do wear cargo shorts every day so they got that right.
It could be said, though, that some movies don't even try to be realistic with their portrayals of various jobs, to the point where even people unrelated to the profession might cringe a little. For example, the way software development or hacking in movies is shown brings out not fascination, but rather a laugh, as the "hackers" or "programmers" on the screen assemble 3D shapes, smash their keyboards and type out gibberish.
#4
In sci-fi movies when they rig up a massive, complex experiment and it works the first time.
#5
If you stop CPR to pound on the patients shoulders, yell at them to "come back goddammit", and give 'em a kiss, they'll probably die.
I'd say that one big drawback of inaccurate portrayal of jobs in movies is that it gives a skewed perspective on those professions to people that might actually be interested in working in those fields. From kids to adults, movies will commonly show either the most exciting or the dullest parts of a certain job, when in reality, elements of both can be found in pretty much any line of work. Police officers have to do paperwork, lawyers don't scream at the top of their lungs in the courtroom, and builders aren't just background characters who just walk around pretending to build stuff.
#6
Mental Health Technician here. We do NOT like giving injections unless absolutely necessary. Too much paperwork. Also, most of us aren't complete controlling a******s that ignore or abuse patients. Everyone I work with is kind, patient, and respectful of our patients.
#7
I’m a bomb tech, we will blow up 20 robots before we send the most junior guy down to cut the red wire.
All in all, as with some things, movies probably aren't the best resource for helping you pick out the job of your dreams. That being said, it doesn't mean they don't entertain and bring us laughter and joy, even if some things are portrayed completely wrong.
#8
Being a lawyer is 3 months of paperwork and research and one day of trial... and we don’t yell at or intimidate witnesses - if I did what you see in movies I’d be disbarred pretty quickly.
#9
You are definitely not, ever, going to roam around the building through the ductwork.
#10
Coding takes a really f*****g long time. I don't care how much of a genius you are. Whacking out 10k lines of code, debugging, testing, setting up environments to make sure it all works the way you want it takes ages.
Paula Hurt 2 years ago
I love the fictional databases on cop shows, "give me a list of everyone in the city who is an accountant, with a 16 year old son that plays soccer and has debt problems!" 2 seconds later "we have 3 people that fit that profile!"
#11
Bookshop manager. I haven’t actually read all the books in my shop, nor do I know the personal history of every single author. However, there’s a decent chance I can find you that book you want that you don’t remember the name of but it’s blue.
Lousha 2 years ago
I used to know this awesome guy who ran a used books' store. The place was TINY and absolutely everything was crammed with books, shelves had rows of books in front of books in front of books so you only saw a fraction of them. If you asked the guy if he had this obscure ancient greek grammar text book he wouldn't even look up from what he was reading and tell you it's in this row, that shelf, behind this and that book. He also managed to call me one day to tell me he tracked down the book I was looking for. I never gave him my last name, my number, and I'm not listed... He was either a wizard or a spy. One day he told me about this woman who was looking for "3 meters of red books" . She just had a fireplace installed and it would look so "smart" to have a row of red books above it... Guy sold her an insanely expensive encyclopedia series. It was red.
#12
I am a cameraman, and yeah, I got the shot, so don't keep asking me if I got the shot because it is my job to get the shot and I got the goddamned shot.
#13
Truck driver here. When an air line gets cut or broken, the truck loses air and the brakes f*****g engage. The truck will stop. It will not lose its brakes like you see in the movies.
Jaguarundi 2 years ago
I have seen that smoke show. The truck may simply disappear for a second while the brakes engage.
#14
Whenever I see someone welding in a movie I always notice how they aren’t wearing anything to cover the skin on their arms or body. That’s how you get serious arc burn that’s like a super bad sunburn. Hurts like hell.
#15
Bar musician. We're not all depressed and hoping some big talent scout from a label shows up. Some us enjoy playing in bars.
Jaguarundi 2 years ago
As a friend of mine once said, "The song ended, the crowd went nuts! They LOVED it! Oh, the team on the TV just scored..."
#16
Fun fact, archivists do not wear white gloves all the time like the movies show, especially not when handling paper documents since they can do more harm than good. I'm looking at you, National Treasure.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
I'm an archivist. Can confirm the gloves are usually 100% unnecessary as long as your hands are clean and dry.
#17
Car mechanics usually don't lie on a little board beneath the car. They lift the car over their head using hydraulic elevators.
#18
As a restaurant cook/food handler. I have never done nasty stuff to someone's food, no one does. Even real a*****e customers that everyone doesn't like, their food is just food. Your server might let it sit around while they ignore you for treating them like a dog. But no one is spitting in your food in a real kitchen.
#19
That blackjack dealers have no personality. We live off tips. Even if you lose, we still try to entertain. Every famous casino movie show the dealer on the casinos side. We don’t want the house to win, we make money when you make money.
#20
I'm a wildlife biologist. "Tranquilizers" (which is an incorrect term for the immobilizing agents we use) do NOT work immediately like movies make people believe. If drugged for the correct dose and depending on the drug you use, an animal can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to be completely immobilized if administered IM. Simply darting an animal and expecting them to drop right then and there just simply does not happen.
Emilie 2 years ago
Hah! Read that all the people outraged over Harambe not being tranquilized!!! (Yes it was horrific and yes the parent should have been arrested, yes it was a terrible waste of a beautiful animal but it wouldn't have been done that way unless it was absolutely necessary! And yes I also hate children apart from my own)
#21
Almost everything about forensic science is sped up/made up technology in the movies. Gives a jury a really unrealistic set of expectations.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
I was on a jury just after the OJ murder trial. They mentioned blood evidence and we all groaned.
#22
EMTs never run into the Emergency Room. When we do visit the ER, we usually slowly walk in with a 450lb dialysis patient or intoxicated college student on the stretcher.
#23
Probably one of the last things you will do in a library as a librarian is read books.
#24
Helicopters do not blow up as often as portrayed. Shocking I know.
#25
The Army. It isn't always about shooting and blowing stuff up in the Middle East. We actually garden (Get off SgtMaj's grass!), sweep the motorpool, and do janitorial services around our work area.
Judy Reynolds 2 years ago
I am heartbroken that all of the myths have been exploded! You are just regular people...
#26
When I worked at the jail people would be a******s and they wouldn’t be given a phone call. They would argue about how we legally have to do it and we would have to explain to them that we actually don’t.
#27
All fire/ems calls are not major incidents. Usually it’s the call because Grandma fell again. Also most of the calls on those shows would actually deplete an entire county’s (or more) resources.
#28
A wedding planner. I don’t walk around with a headset 24/7, nor do I “cue” violins to play at a precise moment. That’s things that have already been determined prior to the big day. I trust my staff knows what they should and need to be doing. That includes my “contracted” staff.
#29
Movies always act like police officers never have to do paperwork and aren’t reprehensible for the damage they cause.
Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago
Police officers are totally reprehensible for the damage they cause.
#30
That fashion designers make money. Better income to work for someone else and have them slap their name on it. My friends call me a “ghost designer” because I described it as “ghost writing, but with clothes”.
MarmotArchivist 2 years ago
I love ghost designer, because it could also be understood as 'You design clothes for ghosts?'
What do you think ?
Susie Elle 2 years ago
Lab technician: experiments using cells or tissues take days and getting results isn't a "press-this-button-to-get-your-answer" procedure. You design and perform an experiment and get numbers from that experiment, the analysis of which will let you draw a conclusion. More often than not, the conclusion isn't or is only partly what you were looking for, and that scientific paper you're reading took people months or years to put together.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Amen, hallelujah, and 1000 upvotes. MD, did research mostly (Covid shifted things), and you aren't hopping puddles. You're plodding a loooooonnng trail. Which, alas, will sometimes end in a dead end.
Load More Replies...
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
We don't crack open chests in the ER every other minute. And it doesn't take 10 seconds. It's horrible, messy, awful. TV/books never show the *blood*. Or the smell. It's just.... Not that clean. Also, in medical research, we don't just go diving into a topic and find a solution alone. It's *always* a team effort. And it takes time. Shout it out to the grad students, the techs, the people who didn't get their name on the articles/headlines.
Fried Mermaid 2 years ago
Graphic designer: No, Photoshop will not "enhance" the photo of a reflection in a rusty doorknob to ID the face of the killer
ZAPanda 2 years ago
https://hackaday.com/2020/11/25/enhance-is-now-a-thing-but-dont-believe-what-you-see/
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 2 years ago
Lab technician: experiments using cells or tissues take days and getting results isn't a "press-this-button-to-get-your-answer" procedure. You design and perform an experiment and get numbers from that experiment, the analysis of which will let you draw a conclusion. More often than not, the conclusion isn't or is only partly what you were looking for, and that scientific paper you're reading took people months or years to put together.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Amen, hallelujah, and 1000 upvotes. MD, did research mostly (Covid shifted things), and you aren't hopping puddles. You're plodding a loooooonnng trail. Which, alas, will sometimes end in a dead end.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
We don't crack open chests in the ER every other minute. And it doesn't take 10 seconds. It's horrible, messy, awful. TV/books never show the *blood*. Or the smell. It's just.... Not that clean. Also, in medical research, we don't just go diving into a topic and find a solution alone. It's *always* a team effort. And it takes time. Shout it out to the grad students, the techs, the people who didn't get their name on the articles/headlines.
Fried Mermaid 2 years ago
Graphic designer: No, Photoshop will not "enhance" the photo of a reflection in a rusty doorknob to ID the face of the killer
ZAPanda 2 years ago
https://hackaday.com/2020/11/25/enhance-is-now-a-thing-but-dont-believe-what-you-see/
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