Author: David E Thompson
This series comprises 4 individual blogs addressing the central theme that Hollywood is grossly inaccurate in its portrayal of armed confrontations. Understanding that Hollywood Gets It Wrong… may save your life!
The Unbelievable
1. “Don’t kill the hero when you have the chance!”
I just completed watching another film where the hero has killed multiple bad guys, and now our hero has been overpowered by multiple bad guys, and he is essentially helpless to defend himself. He could have been easily dispatched by any one of a number of bad guys with guns. But for some reason, the bad guys did not kill him. Of course, our hero escapes, is nursed back to health, and he returns to take revenge on the evildoers. This is so common that it has become a cliché.
Problems: In real life, bad guys are not that stupid! If someone has killed their friends, then they tend to kill their adversary by whatever means are immediately available. They do not dream up complicated schemes, as in James Bond movies, or let someone go free so that they can be haunted by their memories. I have seen cases where the bad guys mistakenly thought that the adversary was dead, and I have seen sadistic perpetrators who tortured their victims. But I have never seen murderers plan some complicated scenario when all they had to do was shoot the victim.
2. “Unbelievable Tactics/Storylines”
Hollywood constantly seeks new ways to entertain the public, and audiences consistently pay top dollar to watch violence. However, the audience will get bored watching the same old scenarios, so the violence has become more graphic and more disturbing over time. Clearly, some of the films/shows are not bound by reality. Their purpose is to entertain and to earn money.
This week, I watched a western show with multiple "robbers" riding their horses and shooting at one man who was driving a wagon. The men were shooting their pistols, repeatedly, at the driver. The driver eventually shot and killed two of the robbers with a double-barrel shotgun. The driver then stopped his wagon, got down from the wagon, and retrieved a rifle that was in a case. The driver then ran out into a grass field and took the rifle, with a scope, out of the case. The robbers then rode their horses toward the driver, and he shot them with his rifle.
Problems: In the original pursuit, the robbers were shooting at the driver of the wagon, but the wagon had a large cover on the rear that prevented the robbers from being able to see the driver. I doubt the robbers would have wasted so much ammunition if they were unable to see their target/driver. And of course, they shot many rounds, and magically, none of the bullets hit their target. It is also worth noting that once the driver had fired two rounds, the shotgun was basically empty, and the driver would have been an easy target if the bad guys had simply ridden up and shot him.
There is no explanation as to why the robbers allowed the driver to pull over and stop the wagon, and then exit the wagon, and take firearms into a grass field nearby. It would seem to me that when the driver pulled over, the robbers would have shot him full of holes. But for some reason, they did not confront the driver, and they allowed him to stop, arm himself, and move to another location where he was partially obscured by the high grass. Once the driver had his rifle and scope out, the robbers decided to ride at him where he was able to shoot them one at a time. Just because they are bad guys does not mean they are idiots.
3. Ricochets
In Hollywood, apparently bullets behave like billiard balls when they hit a hard surface, or the bullets simply disintegrate into dust. I have watched numerous films and shows where bad guys are shooting at the hero, and the hero drops to the ground, often sliding under a door, to avoid getting shot. Bullets are hitting the ground in front of our hero, but the bullets do not strike him!
Problem: Bullets are not billiard balls. When a bullet strikes a hard object at an angle, the bullet tends to ricochet and continue in the same general direction but at a flatter trajectory. In the scenario above, the bullets would travel along the floor and strike our hero.
Overall Summary: Hollywood is not a training ground for armed encounters, and they must show our heroes overcoming insurmountable odds to emerge victorious and/or exact revenge. Many people enjoy a good revenge movie! I understand that the Hollywood mission is to entertain and make a lot of money in the process. To be successful, they take artistic license with their actors and special effects to make movies and television shows that appeal to the viewing public. Their mission is not to represent reality or even common sense.
When people with no actual training or experience in armed encounters watch situations and scenarios played out repeatedly with successful results, they are prone to start believing that it bears some semblance to reality. As a result, when faced with "real-life" situations, they may apply some of these Hollywood tactics and strategies in an attempt to survive and overcome an armed threat. The results could be disastrous.
If you have a genuine interest in learning about armed encounters, then you need to find a course/instructor that covers basic firearms safety, legal issues relative to the use of force to defend yourself and/or others, and some basic strategies relative to surviving armed encounters. This may significantly reduce your enjoyment of movies and television but understanding that Hollywood is not real may save your life!
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