Doing some research and need a little information

[hunterjwizzard]

I actually applaud the effort to make things as realistic as possible. I don’t know how many movies that I start and don’t finish because the writers either have no idea what they’re talking about or don’t care enough to research. I know it’s just entertainment but my brain can’t ignore something that it knows is stupid

That's why I start threads like this.

I also find that realism informing set design makes for more interesting settings. In this specific example I've come away with more and better ideas based on some simple thought extrapolations, the scene is being very fun to write.

 

[boulderjohn]

I actually applaud the effort to make things as realistic as possible. I don’t know how many movies that I start and don’t finish because the writers either have no idea what they’re talking about or don’t care enough to research. I know it’s just entertainment but my brain can’t ignore something that it knows is stupid

The tricky thing is when the writer is intending the lack of realism. For example, in Apocalypse Now, there is a scene in which the attacking Americans start surfing off the Vietnam beach while the battle is going on. Someone I knew, who was in Vietnam, groused that nothing like that would ever happen. What he didn't realize was that the scene was absurdly symbolic of our attempt to turn Vietnam into America. Their leader spits out his contempt for the Vietnamese with the line "Charlie don't surf."

 

[hunterjwizzard]

The tricky thing is when the writer is intending the lack of realism. For example, in Apocalypse Now, there is a scene in which the attacking Americans start surfing off the Vietnam beach while the battle is going on. Someone I knew, who was in Vietnam, groused that nothing like that would ever happen. What he didn't realize was that the scene was absurdly symbolic of our attempt to turn Vietnam into America. Their leader spits out his contempt for the Vietnamese with the line "Charlie don't surf."

This is a fine example of an acceptable break from reality. It wouldn't happen but it could, and it makes for good symbolism. A lot of similarly ridiculous things did happen in other wars. No one has a huge problem with a scene like that because it "works" in the film and helps tell the story.

Compare to that scene in Fury where Brad Pitt's character forces a subordinate to shoot a lawfully-surrendered Nazi POW in the head. I suppose its technically plausible that an American tank commander would knowingly and willingly commit multiple war crimes for sake of traumatizing a random army clerk, but its much harder to believe than a few soldiers going noping out of a battle to catch some waves.

 

[lowwall]

I actually applaud the effort to make things as realistic as possible. I don’t know how many movies that I start and don’t finish because the writers either have no idea what they’re talking about or don’t care enough to research. I know it’s just entertainment but my brain can’t ignore something that it knows is stupid

I almost quit The Martians after the first few pages because of this "So it did the only thing it could to keep me alive. It started backfilling with pure oxygen. I now risked dying from oxygen toxicity, as the excessively high amount of oxygen threatened to burn up my nervous system, lungs, and eyes. An ironic death for someone with a leaky space suit: too much oxygen."

Except O2 toxicity is only a problem at elevated pressures. 100% O2 would get annoying after a couple of hours at 1 atmosphere, but it's not a health risk.

I'm glad I kept going though. Fun book despite the occasional technical miss.

OTOH, the BS diving stuff in the science fiction series Wool (aka Silo) did cause me to abandon the books. It was especially annoying because the author (who responds in the Reddit thread linked below) was a former commercial diver and knew what he was writing was crap, but needed a gimmick and decided people wouldn't care.




I also quit reading the Reacher novels because of the firearms howlers. Minor mistakes don't bother me, but in the two books I read the entire ending revolved around technical aspects of guns that the author got completely wrong.

 

[hunterjwizzard]

Except O2 toxicity is only a problem at elevated pressures. 100% O2 would get annoying after a couple of hours at 1 atmosphere, but it's not a health risk.

Add in that the Apollo astronauts flew to the moon and back on 30% of sea level atmospheric pressure while breathing pure oxygen and that scene from The Martian gets even worse. Mark Whatney could have survived even longer on pure oxygen due to lower pressures.

I also quit reading the Reacher novels because of the firearms howlers. Minor mistakes don't bother me, but in the two books I read the entire ending revolved around technical aspects of guns that the author got completely wrong.

And this is why I've littered The Internet with threads like this. I don't let reality get in the way of the plot but when things get technical I ask for help.

 

[happy-diver]

You sound like a dude dude
Get certified and come diving