MISCONCEPTIONS HOLLYWOOD HAS TAUGHT US

THE BAD RUSSIAN

We have seen again and again crooked Russian officials

(A Good Day to Die Hard), merciless Russian gangsters

(Eastern Promises), inhumane ex-KGB agents (The Avengers)

and of course, cold-hearted robotic boxers (Ivan Drago in

Rocky IV), but in reality all this nonsense was nothing

more than the result of the blatant political

propaganda of Hollywood during the Cold War.

COMPUTER HACKERS ARE AS SMART OR

SMARTER THAN GOD

The abilities of hackers are greatly exaggerated or just

plain wrong in most films. Hackers, starring Jonny Lee Miller

and Angelina Jolie, is an odd relic from the ‘90’s that imagines

computer hackers as a cross between Zeus and Odin.

Take it easy, guys; they are just geeks with some

talent in programming and computers.

ORGANIZED CRIMINALS LOVE TO ADVERTISE

THEIR “PROFESSION”

In real life, most people who are members of the Mafia and

other organized crime organizations are reticent about what

they actually do, while in films most of them show off to

everybody, even in front of the cops without suffering

any consequences.

THE BAD GUY IS USUALLY BAD AT SHOOTING

(ESPECIALLY AT THE END OF THE FILM)

The crazy thing in most films is that the bad guy is as

deadly as it gets at the beginning; even his mean look can

kill you. However, at the end of the movie when he confronts

the good guy, he can’t find the target even if he shoots

from a short distance away. What happened to him?

Only the filmmakers know!

YOU CAN BEAT SOMEONE FOR “HOURS,”

AND THEY WON’T EVEN GET DIZZY

If you are into martial arts and action movies, it’s certain you’ve

seen fight scenes that last for an eternity and both guys take

more punishment than Jake LaMotta did during his whole

career. The craziest part is that they won’t go down even

once. Anyone who has been punched in the face clean

knows that all it takes is one good shot to knock

your lights out.

THE PROTAGONIST NEVER HAS ANY BACKUP

OR HELP DURING THE FINAL CONFRONTATION

Even though in most real life cases the authorities prevent the

victim from taking revenge on the perp, things are a little

different in film. The victim, who also happens to be the

protagonist, not only seeks revenge but also usually takes

it since the police reach the crime scene ten minutes after

everything happens just to collect the “bad” guy’s body.

EVERYBODY THINKS FRANKENSTEIN IS THE MONSTER

For some reason the vast majority of people think that

Frankenstein is the monster, when in reality the nameless

monster is Dr. Frankenstein’s creature.

THE PROTAGONIST GETS AWAY WITH ANY KIND

OF CRIME BECAUSE HE’S DEFENDING HIMSELF

We have all seen tons of films where in order to protect himself

or his family, the protagonist usually kills an army of men,

destroys public and private property and so on and

doesn’t get arrested in the end as would happen in real life.

SOUND AND LIGHT OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY

In film, sound and light always occur simultaneously and there

is no delay like in real life. However, sound travels slower

than light, so you are more likely to see an explosion first

before hearing it. The same goes for thunder and lightning,

which is the most characteristic example of this principle.