The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Do authors intentionally insert mistakes?

HiBC · July 27, 2018, 01:21 AM

I think directors,authors,etc make technical compromises with a shrug for the sake of tension or drama.
"Glock" is trendy,technical,and paints a picture. The author may have never fired a handgun and has no clue how its different than a 1911 or a Luger.

All of the safety clicking,slide racking,lever jacking,hammer cocking that we recognize (hopefully) as silly has been a Hollywood formula for escalating drama for so long some folks actually believe the sound of racking a shotgun is some level of tactical response.

"Saving Private Ryan" ,I'm sure,had WW2 technical experts to get the details right. If "getting it right" was the priority,then our US Army sniper character would have used the little Weaver 330 3/4 in tube scope for every shot.It was not a quick detach setup. There would be no swapping to the Marine version of the sniper scope.(The long tube Lyman or Unertl)
It just does not work that way.

I'm sure the director knew it. But there is more drama in swapping to the big scope.

So,a compromise was made.

I sometimes wonder,among politicians and news media,if conscious bumbling of firearms knowledge or terminology is a pose to be politically correct.
Its "cool" to be a non-gun person,and to be able to technically correct about firearms creates suspicion that (gasp) might out the person as one of "them",the politically incorrect gun culture.

"He had a high caliber powerfulAR-15 magazine clip" says " I'm cool,can I come to your party?"

July 27, 2018, 01:21 AM	#35
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,289	I think directors,authors,etc make technical compromises with a shrug for the sake of tension or drama. "Glock" is trendy,technical,and paints a picture. The author may have never fired a handgun and has no clue how its different than a 1911 or a Luger. All of the safety clicking,slide racking,lever jacking,hammer cocking that we recognize (hopefully) as silly has been a Hollywood formula for escalating drama for so long some folks actually believe the sound of racking a shotgun is some level of tactical response. "Saving Private Ryan" ,I'm sure,had WW2 technical experts to get the details right. If "getting it right" was the priority,then our US Army sniper character would have used the little Weaver 330 3/4 in tube scope for every shot.It was not a quick detach setup. There would be no swapping to the Marine version of the sniper scope.(The long tube Lyman or Unertl) It just does not work that way. I'm sure the director knew it. But there is more drama in swapping to the big scope. So,a compromise was made. I sometimes wonder,among politicians and news media,if conscious bumbling of firearms knowledge or terminology is a pose to be politically correct. Its "cool" to be a non-gun person,and to be able to technically correct about firearms creates suspicion that (gasp) might out the person as one of "them",the politically incorrect gun culture. "He had a high caliber powerfulAR-15 magazine clip" says " I'm cool,can I come to your party?"