More movie gun misimformation...

[Axman]

I was watching a movie titled "Mind the Gap" yesterday. The movie relates stories of various people from around the country and their stories all come together in NYC at the end of the film. One scene is about a guy who is suicidal (he never follows through with his plans) and enters a department store gun sales area. He asks the salesman about a handgun and the salesman tells him, "In Arizona there is a three day waiting period." WRONG! The suicidal man then asks, "Is there anyway I could get a gun today?" The salesman suggests a rifle or shotgun and asks what he is getting it for. The man says, "Home defense." The salesman tells him, "Well, you can't beat a shotgun, this alone (he works the pump) will scare away any burglar." I don't remember the exact dialog used but you get the picture. They sure do love the sound of the pump shotgun line!

Why don't screenplay writers do a little research?

 

[Reddbecca]

Because research and facts don't sell. It doesn't make for good entertainment.

 

[Justin]

Why don't screenplay writers do a little research?

Given the number of people who are members HERE who continue to parrot the "shotgun sound scares everybody" meme, the same criticism could certainly be leveled against a lot of posters on teh intartron.

 

[Mumbles_45]

Actually the shotgun sound quote is apparently something your likely to hear the clerk say:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=266067

As for the quote itself, I think in a fair number of cases, the sound of a round being chambered in a shotgun would be enough to scare off the intruder, but I don't intend to find out, because I think it is much more important to have the weapon ready to fire before you get within earshot of the intruder. And it's probably not a good idea to give your position away by loudly cycling the action before you know exactly whats going on.

 

[General Geoff]

The demoralizing sound of a pump shotgun being cycled is not, and cannot be quantified with fact; Someone expecting/prepared to encounter lethal force in the form of a firearm will not be frightened by it. Someone who is NOT prepared or expecting to encounter a firearm, most likely will be frightened by it, though chances are that any gun is equally as likely to scare said person.

 

[Hoppy590]

and movies themselves further the shotgun's reputation

the hero always gets shot by a pistol and lives.
the bad guy always gets shot by a shotgun and flys 30 feet
shotguns are seen as taking out lines of men with one blast.

as stated above.

The demoralizing sound of a pump shotgun being cycled is not, and cannot be quantified with fact; Someone expecting/prepared to encounter lethal force in the form of a firearm will not be frightened by it. Someone who is NOT prepared or expecting to encounter a firearm, most likely will be frightened by it, though chances are that any gun is equally as likely to scare said person.

not only that, but like ANY situation fear is fueled by ignorance of the facts

if some one whos main exposure to a SG is via the media. they will naturaly fear it more, as they believe it to be the be all, end all of weapons. and that if they get shot, they will die a horrible death

its not the compression of air molocules that make up the sound. but its all the misconceptions fueled by the media that are attached to that sound. assured death, immense power, simple use, wide spread. that make people fear it.

these fears are removed when one learns the facts. so the more hardened criminal is not as likely to run as a inexperianced criminal

though, as said by ryder

The sound of shot sweeping through the air toward you is impressive though. I'll give you that. It's like being swatted with the broom of god

 

[Mumbles_45]

the hero always gets shot by a pistol and lives.
the bad guy always gets shot by a shotgun and flys 30 feet

The reverse is also true of the pistol, when used by the hero. How many times have you seen the hero take out increadible numbers of enemies armed with rifles, shotguns, machine guns, etc. with nothing but a pistol. James Bond with his PPK, Charles Bronson with his Automag in the Deathwish movies, Christian Bale with his funny looking Berettas in Equilibrium, Harrison Ford in Clear and Present Danger, etc. The heros always use pistols, the red shirts and bad guys always have the long guns. The TV series Lost is one of the worst offenders. They find a bunker full of Rifles: AKs, SKSs, G-3s, some bolt guns, some autoloading remchesterwhatevers, but whenever they set out into the jungle, the main characters rarely take anything but pistols, and the lesser characters are usually the ones with the rifles.

 

[default]

Charles Bronson with his Automag in the Deathwish movies

Ugh. Speaking of which, Death Wish III had one of the most paralyzingly stupid gun moments in movie history. The villain has Bronson covered with (I believe) a BHP, a single-action pistol with a light trigger. Bronson manages to reach behind himself, grab an antitank rocket, and blow the guy out the window. Now, I've never fired a LAWS, but I expect even a poorly-trained shooter (such as one might find in a crazy urban gang/cult in a second-rate '80s action flick) would be able to insert a mag, rack the slide, and do a press check before their target was able to grab a rocket launcher from behind them, bring it to bear, arm it, aim, and then finally fire it.

The above said with all due respect to the late Charles Bronson, taciturn but charismatic star of the greatest Western of all, Once Upon A Time In The West, which in addition to being a monumental work of art, also has a couple of the most stylish, dramatic, and reasonably plausible shootouts ever committed to film.

 

[Neocode]

Only comment I have is that I have heard the "the sound of a pump shotgun being racked will scare anyone off" line many many times in real life from many different people.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Pump Shotgunz

Oh Noez!

I'm scared of the pump shotgun noise!

That thing would blow me clear through the wall and ten feet out the other side!

 

[wooderson]

Why don't screenplay writers do a little research?

Because there's no reason to? You'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you don't expect every movie to illustrate every niche interest with exacting verisimilitude.

Filmmakers don't get gun laws right, or cameras right, or cars right, or comfortable sexual positions right or... etc. - because all those things are incidental. Not just to the plot but the movie itself.

Did hearing that Arizona had a three-day waiting period detract from the movie in any meaningful way?
Did repeating a 'cool' shotgun line (used often in real-life and in movies) detract from it?
Would the movie have been better with a quick lecture on gun safety and discussion of the proper shotgun load for home defense?

 

[Logan5]

For a while a friend of mine was in the editor's guild and worked post production on some fairly big ticket Hollywood movies. He had a story about one of them where they were editing in the sound of gunshots; the hero was firing a revolver. His boss wanted to put in a heck of a lot more shots than were actually possible.
He was the only one there who knew that a revolver typically holds six rounds, and spoke up. No one was wierded out or anything, they were just like "Oh. Why? Okay... Did not know that. Thanks." I think the flick was Rush Hour II, but it might have been a different one.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

The single most irritating TV/movie mistake to me is the sound of the hammer being cocked each and every time someone points a handgun at someone and/or something. Doesn't matter what gun, Glocks included, or how many times the person moves around the room pointing a gun, or the fact the gun on screen is never shown cocked, each target gets its own cocking sound.

Grrrr!

 

[applesanity]

The movies tell me that the only gun worth buying is a Desert Eagle, chrome, with gold trim. Possibly a picture of the Virgin Mary on the grips. And that I should hold it sideways. Repeating, "So what's it gonna be, fool?" before I cap a #%*@$.

My hands can't even grip a Desert Eagle appropriately. But that's okay.

If you want accurate depictions of guns and gun tactics, I suggest HEAT. It inspired that famous Bank of America robbery. But the guys in real life were taking really, really bad notes by look of things.

 

[cwmcgu2]

Only comment I have is that I have heard the "the sound of a pump shotgun being racked will scare anyone off" line many many times in real life from many different people.

Ditto, and from personal experience it worked well for me in discouraging a thug from making any more attempts to jimmy the locked door of my girlfriend's apartment. I racked my Benelli Supernova and then peeked out the peephole to see the guy running down the steps and down the street.

What bothers me is that people keep the guns unloaded without any ammo nearby thinking that the sound of the shotgun being racked is all they'll ever need. Once you rack that pump, an intruder infers that you are prepared to fire, so if he has a gun the situation may escalate. Moral of the story is that you should be ready to fire if you are going to give a bad guy the impression that you are.

 

[Axman]

Woody, it's more than just gun mis-information. It's even for non-gun stuff too. Ever see "The Fast and the Furious"? I could go on all day about the automotive mistakes in that snoozer of a film but this is a gun forum!

 

[Hoppy590]

Woody, it's more than just gun mis-information. It's even for non-gun stuff too. Ever see "The Fast and the Furious"? I could go on all day about the automotive mistakes in that snoozer of a film but this is a gun forum!

you mean yelling "NAWSSS" doesnt make your car go faster and real cars dont have 20+ gears to constantly shift into? and nitros injection DOESNT make your floor plate ( which is held on with heavy bolts for some reason) fall out?

 

[General Geoff]

Ditto, and from personal experience it worked well for me in discouraging a thug from making any more attempts to jimmy the locked door of my girlfriend's apartment. I racked my Benelli Supernova and then peeked out the peephole to see the guy running down the steps and down the street.

That's a pretty good anecdote.


For what it's worth, I keep my Mossberg 590 leaned against the wall near my bed, with 8 in the tube, empty chamber. Yes, that means I must make the "omg dreaded shotgun racking sound of DEATH" if I wish to make it ready to fire. Sure, it might not make the bad guy reconsider his options, but hey; then again, it might. And if the simple racking of a pump shotgun can buy a misguided kid his life back, then it was worth it.

 

[RNB65]

Why don't screenplay writers do a little research?

How do you know that in the world depicted in the film there isn't a three day waiting period in AZ? Movies aren't about facts, they're about fiction. Even movies that are based on real world events are mostly dramatized fiction with minimal factual content.

 

[Cosmoline]

It's lazy writing by two bit hacks. That same basic dialog can be found in dozens of movies, with the clerk saying there's a three day waiting period but not for the long guns. I think it started in "Terminator" and has been copied from there. Ditto the business of racking the slide.

 

[SWModel19]

Movies aren't about facts, they're about fiction.

Yea, just ask Michael Moore! His movies are full of great fiction.

 

[Axman]

I thought Michael Moore's films were about fictional facts! That way he has both of them covered.

 

[HKUSP45C]

As much as I hate the cliche' "shotgun racking will be allll you need" line... I must say, it's a good litmus test for what you may be facing. I've always said:

"If I rack the slide on my 88 and the bad guy is still there, he absolutely needs to be shot. He's either totally out of his mind crazy or hellbent on my destruction, either way he needs to be put down."

I know it sounds a bit silly, but the thought process seems pretty strong to me. People who ignore clues to leave, especially clues as deadly and final as "that" sound, have no place in the gene pool. That is either the hardest criminal you've ever met in deep resolve or the looney-est outhouse rat ... either way, that's deadly trouble out there.

FWIW, I don't think the sound is enough to do the job. I have 00 shot to back it up if they think I'm pulling thier leg.

 

[toivo]

Slightly off-topic, but somebody mentioned automotive mistakes, so... Motorcycles are another thing Hollywood can't seem to get right. How many movies have the hero or heroine tooling around Manhattan with eyes squinted toughly and hair flowing in the breeze? Um... helmet law? New York State has had one since 1967. And how about those gangs of biker bad guys who are mounted on non-street-legal dirt bikes in order to enable cool stunts during chase scenes? OK, they don't have plates because they're bad guys and they don't care, but do they do away with the headlights because they only cruise during the daytime? Seems pretty limiting to me. And then there are multiple scenarios like the old "Then Came Bronson" TV show, where his Harley magically turned from a Sportster to a Sprint (350cc "scrambler") in mid-air whenever the script called for him to jump his bike over something.

Oh well, it's only the movies...

 

[Sniper X]

We discused that very thing in another thread about bad gun shop emplyees. I relayed almost your saying to the letter, but this was twoweeks ago. I have heard that stuff ad infinitum since the 80s.