Movie tropes mocked spectacularly as social media users highlight glaring inaccuracies
A writer who can afford a massive New York apartment while writing one column a week and a whisky-swilling cop are just two of the movie depictions being called out on Twitter for being absolutely ridiculous.
It all started when Professor Rory Turnbull tweeted: “Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I only reach the main point of my lecture right as class is ending. Then I yell at students about the reading / homework as they leave.” The tweet spread like wildfire, racking up more than 160,000 likes, and other people soon clamoured in to point out equally tired and inaccurate movie tropes.
Hello, I'm a writer in a movie. I write one piece a week and live in a two bedroom New York apartment with a walk-in wardrobe. Also I never actually pitch anywhere, the jobs just come to me. https://t.co/YyuPjYgEyP
— Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) January 3, 2019
Hello, I'm a reporter in a movie. I have three months in which to file a story and it's about the person I'm falling in love with. My editor is as much a mentor as a boss.
— KP Jordan (@failingjordan) January 3, 2019
Also, my writer’s block is exemplified by my little metal trash can full of crumpled up paper, even though I write on a laptop.
— Hail Paimon! (@arachnophiliac) January 3, 2019
While much of the mockery came from writers and those in the media industry, whose realities are miles from the laidback and secure lifestyle shown in movies, people from across all industries and cultures took aim at how they are depicted, with many mocking the stupidity shown by their fictional professional counterparts.
Hello, my character is a detective chief inspector in a murder squad in London and when I'm at a murder scene and everyone is wearing disposable suits and shoes I just bimble in wearing my normal shoes and a old woollen coat and start picking up stuff with a biro.
— Rick Bean (@Fenmonkey) January 3, 2019
Hello, I’m a teacher in a movie. By the end of the year I have inspired every single one of my students to achieve what nobody thought was possible. The administrators who kept putting up roadblocks were exposed as the frauds they are.
— DK (@Deadfeat) January 3, 2019
Hello, I'm a cop in a movie and I never ever turn on the lights in the house I'm always investigating at night.
— Chrysalid (@BirchandMaple) January 3, 2019
Hello, I’m a bartender in a movie who never cuts limes, scoops ice, or stocks beer, and every customer orders drinks as if they’ve been to a bar before.
— Layla Says (@fabalasays) January 3, 2019
Hello, I'm a doctor in a movie. I use defib on a flatlined patient instead of adrenaline, despite knowing that a flatline is the goal of defibrillation. I also do CPR compressions wrong. I use my position of authority to pressure an underling into a romantic relationship. https://t.co/5dPwFiZifJ
— Be More Kind (@ChrisMartinPr) January 3, 2019
The man in his late 50s who is married to a 26-year-old, and the sassy gay best friend who we never see in a relationship were also singled out as ridiculous.
Hello, I work in a gas station in a movie. I walk out of the garage as the protagonist’s car drives in & I’m always wiping my hands with an oily rag and squinting
— Toby Earle (@TobyonTV) January 4, 2019
Hello, I’m a gay friend in a movie. You’ll know because I’m always speaking salaciously about hot guys but I never seem to have any sex. Also if you’re having a bad day, you can rock up at my place uninvited regardless of the time and I’ll set you straight.
— Nicholas Verso (@NickVerso) January 3, 2019
Hello, I'm a 55-year-old man in a movie. I am married to someone my own age, Michelle Williams.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) January 4, 2019
Hello, I'm a redhead in movie or TV and I'm always passionate and temperamental. I'm often the wacky, zany, quirky best friend of the protagonist - or just wacky, zany & quirky. Period.
— Hark! The redhead angels sing (@RedFiddler) January 4, 2019
A number of people highlighted the stereotypical roles for people of color in movies, like the black friend who barely gets any lines, the brown IT guy who can hack anything, and the Arab ‘baddy’ who kills everyone before going home and being an oppressive husband and father.
Hello, I’m an artist in a movie. I live in a huge loft. I hold a paint brush while pushing a stray curl from my forehead. I’ve sold nothing, but a gallery just saw my doodle on a napkin and is giving me my own show where all my work will sell for lots of $.
— Gob Smacked (@smacked_gob) January 3, 2019
Hello, I’m a surgeon in a movie. I speak with a deliberate Indian accent though my actual one is impeccable pukka English. I usually say ‘Sorry we tried everything’ and sadly wobble my head. I then walk away nonchalantly as the next of kin collapses weeping.
— Anil Sharma (@LaughAnil) January 4, 2019
Even the depiction of inanimate objects like newspapers, computers and usb sticks were slammed.
Hello, I'm a computer in a movie. My screen fonts are 150pt and I can hook into any other computer on the planet in two seconds flat.
— Martin Palmer 🐝 (@_martinpalmer_) January 3, 2019
Hello. I’m a thumb-drive in a movie. The screen tells me I’m always 98% downloaded when the suspect arrives back at the house, leaving just enough time for me to finish. And the hero NEVER puts me the wrong way in the USB port.
— 🏴✒️ Linda Semple 🇪🇺 📚 (@LindaFSemple) January 4, 2019
Hello, I am a newspaper copy in a movie. I'm always snatched from the newsstand by a surprised/furious/incredulous protagonist and they never pay for me.
— Mehmet Ali Bahıt (@biragobee) January 4, 2019
Hello, I'm a small character during a montage in a film about this tweet. I read the hilarious comments and, amazed by the wit of everyone, I slowly look up towards the sky pondering how great we all are as humans.
— Jim Czadzeck (@jimczad) January 4, 2019
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