You're being lied to. All the time, as a matter of fact. Every time you drop a few bucks on a movie ticket, pop in a Blu-ray disc, or fire up Netflix, chances are the movie you're about to watch will take more than a few liberties with reality. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, of course. An entertaining movie is one that privileges escapism - and sometimes that requires the suspension of our collective disbelief. But some Hollywood tropes have been recycled so frequently people have begun to take them as truth, even if they are nothing more than the products of a little movie magic. Here are 10 myths everyone believes thanks to movies. Any of these situations sound familiar?
10. Explosions In Space
Remember when the Death Star blew up? The explosion of the space station turning to hunks of metallic debris was a brilliant display of light and sound in all directions, dazzling audiences the world over. From our vantage point in the darkness, the scene looked great, sounded great, and became a legendary part of Star Wars lore. It also informed popular notions of what an explosion would look like away from Earth, with countless movies since showing off booming blasts and rings of fire whenever something explodes amongst the stars. Of course, our collective consciousness is completely wrong. Since most of us will never actually leave the planet, Hollywood takes more than a few liberties with the behaviour of the universe. This may seem like common sense, but its worth repeating: space is a vacuum. Without gases like those found in Earths atmosphere, sound cannot travel. So that thunderous boom could never happen. The same goes for that cinematic ring of fire, since fire needs oxygen to burn. Though chemical explosions can occur in space, theyd be silent and stifled without anything to fuel them.