In this thread, I'd like us to share things we've noticed in films and literature that we've found to be stupid/not exemplary of goodness.
I have two to share, a film and a book. The film is Speed and the book is the Harry Potter series.
I was watching Speed today (starring Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock), and I noticed a few things that I didn't like.
1) When the LAPD arrives at the building with the bomb in elevator at the start, and they're discussing how to keep the elevator from falling:
Captain McMahon: Anything else that'll keep this elevator from falling?
Jack (Keanu Reeves): The basement.
I hate that line. I think it's stupid that the character who we're supposed to like would say something really crass and in a way, nonsensical. It's not very witty and it does nothing to help the situation along, and I felt it cast him in a bad light at the moment. Later, obviously, he's all cool and we like him.
2) When the first bus explodes right in front of Jack and he answers the phone and gets all the info from the bomber (Hopper) about the next bus and where it's going to be and how the bomb will be armed (goes above 50mph) and how it will explode (drops below 50mph), Jack decides to chase after the bus with his SUV. I hated this decision and thought him extremely irresponsible for it because he could have just called the department and had them get in touch with the Metro Transit System (I think that's what they're called) and they could have radioed the bus driver for the bus and told him to stop. All of this could have been handled in less than ten minutes. Now, I know the movie requires that Jack be a hero and that the crisis continue for our entertainment, but Jack's idiocy was really unacceptable here.
3) So he gets near enough to the bus on the freeway and hops out of his SUV because it got stuck in a blocked off lane, and he's on foot and he's running up to the front door of the bus and shouting for them to stop and he's gotten pretty much everyone's attention, including the driver's. At this time the bus isn't going 50mph and the bomb hasn't been armed. He's yelling at the bus driver to stop the bus but the bus driver thinks he's crazy and speeds up. Problem? Jack had a badge and a gun on him, two things he could have pulled out while running to get the bus driver to stop. He did neither of these things. What's so stupid his that he after he commandeers a vehicle and drives up near the bus, he pulls out his badge. At this point the bus has exceeded the 50mph mark and the bomb is armed so Jack now has to spend another hour and a half maneuvering this goddamn thing past city streets and incomplete freeways. If he had just pulled his badge out while running the bus driver would have stopped the bus before it was armed and the entire crisis would have been averted.
The film is still excellent but I was disappointed that the writers made Keanu Reeves's character so stupid.
Harry Potter Books
I just want to point out the overarching theme of adult stupidity in these novels.
In The Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone U.S.), Harry Potter and his friends learn about the Philosopher's stone and the fact that it's being stored at Hogwart's. During the part of the book where they believe Snape is going to try to steal the stone, Harry and his friends try to inform Professor McGonnagal about it. Here is the exchange that takes place.
Why is Professor McGonnagal dismissing the idea that someone might be trying to steal the stone? The reason why the stone is there in the first place is because someone was trying to steal it from Gringott's and would have done it, too, if Hagrid hadn't withdrawn it first. Not only that, why is McGonnagal so quick to recover from her surprise that an eleven year old boy is aware that the stone is in the castle? If an eleven year old boy knows then obviously someone else may know and if the boy is telling you that someone is trying to steal it, then you shouldn't dismiss the notion so easily, should you?
The worst thing is that later on in the series, after Harry Potter has proven himself time and again that he's not just cooking up fantasies, adults still dismiss him and treat him like a child. Now I know that at the end of book five Harry blows up in a fit of rage as a result of being kept in the dark and shit, but it's downright inexcusable on the part of the Hogwarts professors and Hagrid to dismiss Harry's claims so easily. I understand that it helps move the story along and places Harry in the position of the hero - the one who has to do things himself - but it feels a little cheap.
So what stupid things have Gaffers noticed in books and films that they'd like to share?
I have two to share, a film and a book. The film is Speed and the book is the Harry Potter series.
I was watching Speed today (starring Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock), and I noticed a few things that I didn't like.
1) When the LAPD arrives at the building with the bomb in elevator at the start, and they're discussing how to keep the elevator from falling:
Captain McMahon: Anything else that'll keep this elevator from falling?
Jack (Keanu Reeves): The basement.
I hate that line. I think it's stupid that the character who we're supposed to like would say something really crass and in a way, nonsensical. It's not very witty and it does nothing to help the situation along, and I felt it cast him in a bad light at the moment. Later, obviously, he's all cool and we like him.
2) When the first bus explodes right in front of Jack and he answers the phone and gets all the info from the bomber (Hopper) about the next bus and where it's going to be and how the bomb will be armed (goes above 50mph) and how it will explode (drops below 50mph), Jack decides to chase after the bus with his SUV. I hated this decision and thought him extremely irresponsible for it because he could have just called the department and had them get in touch with the Metro Transit System (I think that's what they're called) and they could have radioed the bus driver for the bus and told him to stop. All of this could have been handled in less than ten minutes. Now, I know the movie requires that Jack be a hero and that the crisis continue for our entertainment, but Jack's idiocy was really unacceptable here.
3) So he gets near enough to the bus on the freeway and hops out of his SUV because it got stuck in a blocked off lane, and he's on foot and he's running up to the front door of the bus and shouting for them to stop and he's gotten pretty much everyone's attention, including the driver's. At this time the bus isn't going 50mph and the bomb hasn't been armed. He's yelling at the bus driver to stop the bus but the bus driver thinks he's crazy and speeds up. Problem? Jack had a badge and a gun on him, two things he could have pulled out while running to get the bus driver to stop. He did neither of these things. What's so stupid his that he after he commandeers a vehicle and drives up near the bus, he pulls out his badge. At this point the bus has exceeded the 50mph mark and the bomb is armed so Jack now has to spend another hour and a half maneuvering this goddamn thing past city streets and incomplete freeways. If he had just pulled his badge out while running the bus driver would have stopped the bus before it was armed and the entire crisis would have been averted.
The film is still excellent but I was disappointed that the writers made Keanu Reeves's character so stupid.
Harry Potter Books
I just want to point out the overarching theme of adult stupidity in these novels.
In The Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone U.S.), Harry Potter and his friends learn about the Philosopher's stone and the fact that it's being stored at Hogwart's. During the part of the book where they believe Snape is going to try to steal the stone, Harry and his friends try to inform Professor McGonnagal about it. Here is the exchange that takes place.
Why is Professor McGonnagal dismissing the idea that someone might be trying to steal the stone? The reason why the stone is there in the first place is because someone was trying to steal it from Gringott's and would have done it, too, if Hagrid hadn't withdrawn it first. Not only that, why is McGonnagal so quick to recover from her surprise that an eleven year old boy is aware that the stone is in the castle? If an eleven year old boy knows then obviously someone else may know and if the boy is telling you that someone is trying to steal it, then you shouldn't dismiss the notion so easily, should you?
The worst thing is that later on in the series, after Harry Potter has proven himself time and again that he's not just cooking up fantasies, adults still dismiss him and treat him like a child. Now I know that at the end of book five Harry blows up in a fit of rage as a result of being kept in the dark and shit, but it's downright inexcusable on the part of the Hogwarts professors and Hagrid to dismiss Harry's claims so easily. I understand that it helps move the story along and places Harry in the position of the hero - the one who has to do things himself - but it feels a little cheap.
So what stupid things have Gaffers noticed in books and films that they'd like to share?
