6. A Shot Of The Eiffel Tower In A Film Set In Paris
Notable Offenders: Team America, The Da Vinci Code It is not enough that the accordion is performing under the opening title of the movie. It is not enough that the streets are dainty and people are drinking wine outside at 11am. It is not enough they are all wearing berets and saying things like "Oui" or "Bonjour". How do we know exactly where we are right now? This could be anywhere damn it. Where are... oh look, the Eiffel Tower! We MUST be in Paris. God why couldn't they have made it more obvious sooner? Our brains are complex machines, evolved over tens of thousands of years to do extremely difficult things. But when it comes to movies, if we don't see a defining landmark in the opening credits, we're screwed. Especially if it involves scenes set in foreign countries. Unfortunately, we don't deal so well with the unknown. So anything to help us is a God-send. Which is why if a movie is set in Seattle, it will always show the Space Needle. London will always be represented by Big Ben. And Paris will always be known as That Place With That Tower Thing.