What misconceptions do you still have that you learned from TV/film as a child?
in charlie and the chocolate factory (2005) (the best version imo b/c i saw it as a kid and the magic only works around then) a lady said that chocolate is an aphrodisiac and i've completely internalized that as true.
i hope it is, it sort of makes sense. people buy chocolates on valentines day
It's not exactly a misconception that I've ever really held, but I absolutely hate the lazy writing trope in TV/film where hitting someone over the head and knocking them out is used so commonly and casually and there are never any repercussions.
In reality, if you get hit on the head hard enough that you lose consciousness for any length of time, you're almost certainly going to suffer very serious brain damage. If you wake up at all - yes, it's quite possible you'd die from this - then you're going to have a major concussion, a huge headache, and probably a fracture in your skull and your brain will be swelling up inside your skull. It's a VERY serious injury, and yet it's just played off as this casual thing on TV and I think it's incredibly dangerous how casually it's depicted.
I also hate the use of this lazy plot device. Up to my later teenage years I did hold this misconception and I'd say a lot of children nowadays probably do as well.
I think the problem for me now as an adult is that the misconception is subconscious. Tv/film typically treats all wounds as black and white - you either die from them or its a full recovery at some point. They don't address the many different awful and lingering residual effects that can happen. I'm so conditioned by this Hollywood effect that when I hear news of an event involving an accident or act of violence my mind downplays anything where no one dies. Six people get into an accident on the highway resulting in serious injury? Oh well no one died, so they're "fine."
This is what bothers me too, like physical trauma is supposed to leave no trace once the doctor says your fine or whatever. My husband has vestibular dysfunction after a couple nasty concussions and it can seriously impact his ability to even get out of bed and makes him vomit a lot, and that's a pretty mild post concussion ailment.
My granddad died because he slipped on some ice on the way to work one day, and bumped his head. It happened before I was born, but knowing this always reminded me how serious head injuries can be
Same thing with breaking a glass over someone's head. They tested it out on Mythbusters and using a full beer bottle is like hitting someone with a baseball bat, using an empty bottle isn't as brutal, but still really damaging.
Heh, yeah I've been playing one of the Batman games (Arkham Origins) and the hero "knocks out" every single enemy with either a chokehold or a blow to the head. I sigh and think "Yep, Batman doesn't kill 🙄" whenever he walks away from a pile of 18 unconscious henchmen all with grievous and urgent injuries.
My favourite, definitely not a kill in Arkham City is hit someone in the back off the head with the fores of a small car and send them falling of a 8 story building. They totally survived and made a full recovery.