Life on the screen differs greatly from reality even though characters often say things like “this isn’t the movies, it’s real life.” There are the obvious things like giant apartments despite the characters having low-paying jobs, spending all day in a coffee shop with just one mug and a small muffin, and being around an ex long after a breakup. These are all from just one show, but it’s not just Friends that perpetuates a host of unrealistic tropes that viewers have simply gotten used to and no longer question.
There is a reason for most of these. Shooting in a cramped apartment would be difficult and not particularly dynamic to watch. A scene of someone paying bills or booking their dental check-up isn’t riveting TV either. And, despite the movie Phone Booth, only seeing characters text and call each other would probably wear thin after a while. There are some realistic films and shows, but more often than not, audiences have to suspend their disbelief and accept that it’s possible to walk away from an explosion in slow motion with no side effects whatsoever.
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Characters Rarely Stop To Lock Their Door When Leaving The House
Fictional Characters Show Little Concern For Their Belongings
This mundane phenomenon is extremely important in real life. The feeling of not being sure if that door was locked on the way to work can worry a person all day long. Best case scenario, it is locked, and the panic was unnecessary. The worst case is returning to a ransacked home. Yet characters in film and TV very rarely have to worry about this. They’ll simply slam the door shut and be on their merry way, despite it being highly unlikely that they own an advanced lock that doesn’t require an additional turn of the key.
Horror movies are notorious for this, as Ghost Face and Michael Myers can sneak into many places with ease, and most of the Hawkins residents on Stranger Things fail to secure the doors despite all the danger that is lurking outside. Despite being set in New York, the characters in Seinfeld and Friends roam the hallways with no keys to speak of. Though it might seem like a small issue, it’s just something that’s ignored for the sake of convenience, and viewers have stopped caring.
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People Coming Round Instead Of Calling
Friends Constantly Show Up At Places Where They Do Not Live
It would be hard to imagine a friend or family member showing up on one’s doorstep without so much a text or a phone call. However, in the world of cinema, anything is possible. There are many issues with this trope. For one, the topics many of the characters discuss upon their visits are trivial and would most likely have lasted one text thread or a brief FaceTime conversation. Additionally, whenever anybody shows up unannounced, the other person is so perfectly put together. Not a stained hoodie or greasy hair in sight.
Granted, this trope was more prevalent in older projects and Gossip Girl was at the forefront of it. Since then, many shows have relied more on texting in recent times, with some clever ways of showing the conversations, very notably in Ms. Marvel. Yet there are still so many instances of this happening in modern times. When Paxton shows up outside Devi’s window in Never Have I Ever, he probably should have checked if it was okay first.
8
Wearing Shoes At Home
TV Characters Must Have Very Dirty Carpets
Despite the many non-hygienic reasons why this is a bad idea, on-screen characters are often seen wearing outdoor footwear, indoors. It’s not just quick scenes where they rush back from somewhere, get home, and something happens, nor is it the moment before leaving the home after getting ready. There will be full scenes of someone going about their house business in a pair of high heels or heavy boots. Surely it’s much more comfortable to change into slippers.
Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother have all been prolific at perpetuating this trope. The number of times Sheldon and the gang sit around eating Thai food whilst still wearing their outdoor shoes is too much to count. Lily and Robin constantly walk around their apartments in a pair of stiletto boots, even if they are relaxing on the couch. Even beds aren’t safe from this trope, as exemplified by Margot in To All the Boys I Loved Before, getting into her sister’s bed in a pair of shoes.
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Henchmen Attacking The Hero Individually, Not All At Once
These Extras Aren’t Allowed To Kill The Main Character
This trope is one of the oldest and has existed ever since action films have been around. The hero of the film is naturally the most skilled, cunning, and brave, so it should stand to reason that they can take on a whole group all at once and come out the victor. Films like John Wick and Skyfall have shown that an entire flock of henchmen has nothing on the heroic protagonist. But if they regrouped slightly, they could easily win. Instead of approaching The Bride one at a time, a sneak attack from the back could do the trick.
While the idea is to showcase that the henchmen are merely disposable drones that can easily be wiped out, it’s such a popular trope that viewers have stopped questioning its unbelievability. Daredevil’s hallway fights are iconic, but it doesn’t seem realistic that opponents would just line up one after another as if they were levels in a computer game. This, coupled with the fact that no henchman can accurately shoot a hero with any type of firearm, can sometimes feel grating and like it needs to be addressed a bit more.
6
The Effects Of Rain And Water
Nothing Interrupts A Dramatic Kiss In The Rain
Movies and TV shows have used rain to their advantage for decades. The romance and the drama add to any scene, whether it’s a heartfelt moment or a climactic fight. However, the laws of physics do not seem to apply the same way they do in real life. While most people who get soaked need multiple towels, a dryer of sorts, and a very quick change of clothes to function, movie characters seem to do just fine without any of that. They also get inexplicably more attractive when drenched.
In Crazy, Stupid, Love, Emma Stone rushes through a downpour into a bar and kisses Ryan Gosling with perfectly tousled hair, no smudged makeup, and only a minimal amount of moisture on her face. Gosling is no stranger to such scenes, as in The Notebook, he and Rachel McAdams get soaked in a storm, but when the scene moves indoors, the amount of dripping water does not correlate to the weather outside. Jurassic Park was also guilty of a far too quick dry-off, despite getting drenched.
5
Parking Everywhere
Perfect Parking Spots Magically Exist In Cinematic Universes
Image via Paramount+
Most people can recall an instance when they had to go to the center of town and spent ages looking for a parking spot. This simply does not happen in the movies. Not only is there usually a perfect spot right outside the intended destination, but there are rarely any questions about leaving early to factor in finding a space; or whether those high heels are a good idea because there is a 15-minute walk from the parking lot to the venue.
Additionally, scenes that happen in parking lots tend to feature very few cars, which also seems strange. One of the most jarring examples of this is when Anastasia pulls up outside Christian’s skyscraper office building in Fifty Shades of Grey and proceeds to park right outside. This is meant to be in the middle of Seattle, in a busy financial district. The scene where her car is being towed, or flagged as a security threat, are both ostensibly missing from the movie.
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Falling Through Glass Without a Scratch
Most Of These Falls Would Hospitalize A Person
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Sharp shards glistening during a slow-motion scene add a lot of beauty to a shot, which is probably why breaking glass is used so often in films and shows. That being said, there is no reason for so many characters to escape with no more than a small scratch in a strategically placed spot that evades any major arteries or delicate organs. Die Hard is famous for its use of glass, so much so that some of the film’s translated versions even reference it in the title. However, the rules of its effects on people are somewhat inconsistent.
While John McClane painstakingly pulls out tiny pieces of glass from his feet after some cubicles are shot up by the terrorists, he then proceeds to go feet first through an outside window without any discernible additional damage. In Bridget Jones’ Diary, Daniel and Mark go through a glass pane of a restaurant as they fight over Bridget, and not only do they have very minimal bleeding, but apparently walk away without even speaking to the owner about the damage caused.
3
Endless Wardrobes
The Carrie Bradshaw Effect
Many film and TV characters have been known to set trends over the years with their covetable style and enviable closets. But, despite being a very necessary marketing trick, there is little reality in what beloved characters wear on screen. Most TV series will only feature an outfit once, despite that being financially impossible and awful for the environment. Shows like Emily in Paris and Sex and the City are notorious for it, even though there is no way Carrie or Emily could afford all the designer gear they sport.
In The Devil Wears Prada, the audience is led to believe Andy is able to take a full outfit a day from the Runway closet, despite that seeming very unlikely and borderline criminal. Action films are guilty of this too. The amount of clothes heroes have torn off, cut off, and charred is unimaginable, and the financial toll of this must impact them dearly. It’s hard to imagine how many items of clothing Bruce Banner or Jacob from Twilight go through due to their transformations.
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Eating Habits
Fictional Characters Have Unlimited Metabolism
Eating on screen is very tricky. If an actor chooses to actually ingest something during a scene, they will no doubt have to do it over and over again, during every take. While there are spit buckets available, the whole process seems tedious and wasteful. Many actors have confessed to ruining their favorite food items during eating scenes as they had the same thing so many times. This is probably the reason why a lot of the time, characters either move their food around the plate or have the tiniest bite once per scene.
This is extremely noticeable in Gilmore Girls. Lorelei and Rory’s eating habits are a big part of the show, as they’re known for their love of junk food, but neither is seen eating much on-screen. In fact, they’ll often leave an entire plate of food and run off somewhere, or just hold a fork throughout an entire dinner scene. Another issue with food is when a character makes a huge, elaborate breakfast, only to have one single blueberry end up being consumed before everyone rushes off.
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Conflicts That Could Be Solved With One Simple Conversation
Especially In The Digital Age
Communication between characters is often the source of unnecessary drama and a lot of misunderstandings. The number of times breakups could have been avoided if the couple had just communicated, and wars could have been prevented if the rivaling parties had just had a longer conversation. Of course, this would then render entire seasons of a show or whole movie franchises pointless, so audiences embrace the chaos, and shout at the screen instead.
In Normal People, Connell and Marianne break up due to a complete misunderstanding that could have saved them years of heartache. In House of the Dragon, the misunderstood rambling of a dying man causes irrevocable damage to a ruling family that could have been avoided with a prolonged discussion. Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking examples of this is in Atonement, where one misconstrued moment changes the trajectory of multiple lives. This trope is a clear example of why it’s important to communicate clearly, and the writing elements people will accept for the sake of the plot.
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Category: Entertainment