Suspension of disbelief

[dalekboy]

Films and tv shows usually rely on suspension of disbelief.

To me, if one is going to maintain the suspension of disbelief, you have to obey all the ordinary everyday rules that people know and understand. One can believe an massive alien invasion with giant biomechanoid floating death cannons, so long as the world rules beyond that are consistent. But if a human character, in avoiding one of these cannons, jumps off a ten storey building without any sort of aid, or interruptions to their fall, and land unharmed and run off - that's the deal breaker. One knows that's not possible, and suddenly one is left questioning that moment, and by default, the rest of the film.

I mentioned in a post yesterday that I hate it in films and tv when medics use the defibrillator paddles on a woman to try and restart her heart, and they are using them through material - bras, tank tops, etc. - rather than on bare skin. It pulls me right out of the moment, because I know it's not right.

I also mentioned hating when people can just break passwords when they have no information on the person, which has become really common in shows. Any computer whizz can break any password, within a relatively short time.

Another one I hate is when someone who is driving spends time looking at the their passenger rather than paying attention to the road. Quick glances are fine, but when they're maintaining eye contact for whole big chunks of conversation it annoys me. If you regularly did it in real life there's no way you wouldn't crash.

king_espresso mentioned that he hates when people don't wear ear protection on board military helicopters, which is a great one. Well, except now I'll be looking for it and getting annoyed by it.

kaths brought up the way people type madly on computer keyboards to do things that the rest of us would do with a mouse. We're in the internet age, everyone uses computers, we know they don't work this way.

kaths also mentioned the way they can zoom in on a small section of a photo, blow up that section, sharpen/clean it up, and suddenly have a incredibly clear and detailed picture. It's the equivalent of being able to blow up my icon for this post to read all the book titles.

So what about you? What regularly used, unrealistic film and tv conceits pull you out of the moment?

Comments

[sootysmudge.livejournal.com]

People who are constantly using their mobile phone, but never seem to recharge it.

Also, people never go to the toilet in movies.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Actually, occasionally they do, but either for a site comic gag, or because there's some reason for action in there.

I can think of at least three off the top of my head.

[sootysmudge.livejournal.com]

Yes, but they don't show this as normal everyday occurrences.. unless, as you rightly say, there's a reason for 'writing in' these actions.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

As dalekboy said, from what I gather, if it doesn't advance the plot, or contribute to character development, it's good to end up on the cutting room floor, or even better, not to waste film at all.

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Actually, the first Tremors has a toilet break just out of realism. The three characters have been stuck on a huge rock for a few hours, one mentions needing a leak, the other two say 'so do I,' and they all head to different sections of the rock. No one get grabbed or anything, it just fades out as they head off.

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Mobile phone is a good one.

Toilet one I'm a little more likely to forgive for the same reasons I'll forgive not showing the whole walk from one side of a room to the other. It's not needed.

That said, when films do the toilet break well, I like it.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

24 is famous for showing 24 straight hours in the lives of the protagonists, where no one eats, sleeps or takes a dump.

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

I always end up feeling busting for the toilet cause of that!

[angriest.livejournal.com]

About Season 3 Keifer Sutherland made them shoot a scene where he walked out of the toilet eating a sandwich, but the producers cut it out.

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

Ha!

[narrelle.livejournal.com]

Probably because the implication he'd been eating a sandwich in the toilet is too gross for television.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

*laffing hugely* Yeah, fair enough! :D

[fuschia17.livejournal.com]

It's the same when an author is writing a novel - we don't need them to spell everything out, it is just assumed that the characters take care of business.

I guess it's a careful lack of reference at all to the fact that people go that annoys everyone.
People mention 24 below and the fact that they don't - if you are following a character's every move like that, then you just don't buy it.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Maybe they wait till the action is on another person and then nip to the loo?

Or do they do the multi-frame stuff all the time? I have to say I never got into it.

[fuschia17.livejournal.com]

Hee, I never really watched it either. All I can say is that would be one rollercoaster 24 hours if you can't go to the loo - and that's without the action!

But could you imagine if the manly heroes in action films are in the middle of saving the world, and say - Stop, everyone stop - I have to go to the toilet!

[sjl.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember that the 24 hours is based upon the time you spend watching the show, assuming there are commercial breaks.

So, obviously, they go to the toilet during the commercial breaks, just like everybody else.

[fuschia17.livejournal.com]

How do they know when there's a commercial break?

[sjl.livejournal.com]

They ask the guys that are filming them, of course! :P