I'm not alone

Finally, I learn that I'm not alone in my rant about incongruent bird sounds in movies. I am in a darkened theatre, engrossed in the story and the reality on the screen in front of me, and suddenly, there's a bird sound that has absolutely no place in the scene. I am jolted out of the artistry, and I am mad. For an industry that takes such care at getting period details right in Jane Austin re-creations, why do they overlook, say, eastern Blue Jay calls in a scene that takes place in the California redwoods (Kinsey), or the cry of a Red-tailed Hawk whenever a Bald Eagle flies by? Don't they care?

Here is a Washington Post article that let me know that I have a lot of company in this regard. It begins:

"In James Mangold's new blockbuster Western "3:10 to Yuma," the first time we meet Ben Wade, played by tough-guy actor Russell Crowe, he is making a natural history sketch of a bird just minutes before carrying out yet another murderous stagecoach robbery. The scene establishes Wade not only as a complex character, but as a savvy birder who takes the time to document what is surely the first and only sighting in the United States of Africa's augur buzzard."

Comments

[Jeff Henderson]

Doug, It's not just bird sounds that Hollywood doesn't have a clue about. I am a Mechanical Engineer and I am constantly noticing how inept Hollywood is when it comes to properly portraying physical, technical and scientific topics in movies. Nothing bothers me more than to sit through an otherwise great film, and then have them defy the laws of nature or physics. I'm not referring to 'Dukes of Hazard' type movies where one would expect all of the stunts to be outrageous , I'm referring to serious drama, action, & adventure films. Even some Science Fiction films, which by definition are supposed to vier from reality, are hard for me to watch when they grossly defy the laws of physics.

[stephen connor]

An entomologist friend of mine went to see "Jurassic Park" when it first came out. Big scene near the beginning - the "scientist" holds up a piece of amber with a mosquito in it. Extreme close-up on the insect. It, after all, contains dinosaur blood! Dinosaur DNA could be extracted from it, leading to the possibility of cloning dinosaurs. At least a dozen nearby people have the entire premise of the movie ruined when my friend blurts out, "But that's not a blood-sucking species!"

Oops.

[Eric Hancock]

I'm just happy to see that geeks aren't limited to the computer industry!

(spoken by a true geek)

[Doug Plummer]

I proudly rank myself a fellow traveler in the geek contingent.