Least Favorite Plot Device Ever

[Michael Carr]

I understand why people use snakes in books and movies. They elicit a primal fear learned from our ancestors and their ancestors before. You don't have to walk upright and use tools to know better than to pick up strange slithering things. Still, can you at least get the science right?



Movies are the worst. The anaconda, normally a creeping thing that almost never emerges from the water in its adult form, becomes a lightning-fast hunter. Boas and king snakes--favorites of hobbyists and thus, available for directors--become deadly, poisonous things that live in Egypt, Thailand, or wherever they're needed. Because real snakes don't look threatening enough, the newest movies digitize them so they can hiss, snarl, and fly through the air to attack unsuspecting tourists.

Read the rest on my blog.

[Michael Carr]

LOL. I can remember seeing Raiders when I was a kid and thinking, "What are all those snakes doing down there? Why are they so aggressive in the cold air? THAT snake doesn't live in Egypt."

So I guess it started a long time ago.

[Michael C. Jacobs]

Indiana Jones excepted I assume.