15 People Share Examples Of Inaccurate Portrayals Of Their Jobs In Movies And TV Show

"I work in archaeology, and Indiana Jones is an absolutely crap archeologist."

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• June 10, 2022

We all have our own visions of other people's jobs. For instance, most people would describe a writer as a person who is sitting comfortably in their chair, smoking a pipe, and calmly thinking about their next sentence while gently sipping tea.

But, in reality, most of the work revolves around research. It is a creative job, but it mostly revolves around research.

And when we cant find some info, or can't find a way to verify it, you can throw calmness out of the window. We turn into angry beasts, cursing the books and the internet.

Every job has its good and bad sides. But somehow, movies and TV shows show neither but decide to make stuff up.

Why? Because it looks good on the screen and it is good for the plots.

You can't really make a plot out of lawyers' ordinary day. The same goes for doctors, police officers, etc.

Have you seen a movie or TV show where the characters do the same job as you but have you misunderstood the details about the nature of the work? People share examples of how movies and TV shows accurately describe their careers, and after reading these comments, Hollywood certainly has some explanations.

We have selected 15 of the most interesting posts. Take a look:

1. Bakery

"Any movie that involves a bakery. It’s always so romantic and has a woman with perfect hair and make-up, elegantly stirring a bowl of something. In reality, it’s 4 a.m. starts, the ovens make it hot and uncomfortable, you have your hair up in a bun (sometimes a hairnet), and you’re lifting 20kg bags of flour, sugar, etc. — usually all while being yelled at by a small business owner who is under stress to make a profit. It’s a satisfying job but no way near as glamorous as people think."

— Jstsamjake2020

2. Archeology

I work in archaeology, and I’ve argued for years that Indiana Jones is an absolutely crap archeologist. You never see him measure or map anything.

I’ve never seen him put in a unit. He’s not out there submitting site forms to the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office).

I’ve never even seen him photograph an artifact in situ (before it's been moved from its original location). It’s all just grab and run, which in modern archaeology makes you a looter, not an archaeologist."

— OMGitsaClaire

3. Law

"Being a lawyer for many is legit looking at papers all day. Combing through documents is a huge part of the job.

The courtroom is a very tiny part of the job and many lawyers who work on cases never go to court."

— Shermy1

"Legally Blonde does not accurately portray law school. There is a lot less time for fun and personal growth, and a lot more sitting in the library for all hours of the night reading hundreds of pages of material.

Similarly, no movie or TV show about lawyers accurately portrays our jobs. They’re a lot more boring. No one would ever want to watch a tv show about my job as a corporate lawyer."

—megz

"Every time someone is like “I want to be [a] partner by 30," I’m like me too, girl. If only." 

—kombuche

4. Journalism

"I worked in local news (I was a producer) for a number of years. [The] media, ironically enough, likes to portray journalists as slimy people who are looking for ways to deliberately take things out of context to make a story more interesting or to screw people over, when that's not the case.

There are so many laws, not to mention ethical guidelines, in regards to journalism. To get my bachelor's degree in journalism, everyone in that major had to take a 400-level class that was just about media law and ethics.

In the station I worked at, we always were sure to give equal exposure to all sides of any issue we were reporting on, especially if it was political. Journalists are genuinely trying to give the audience/readers the most factual and unbiased information they can.

Any opinions mentioned in the story must come from the people being interviewed, not the reporter. and they can't just take things out of context either.

Any journalist who did that would have a bunch of legal repercussions. That's why libel rules exist."

—andirants

5. Labs

"I work in a lab. The lack of safety shown in TV shows is astounding. I work with toxic chemicals and I literally always wear gloves and safety glasses at a minimum."

— Shauna Braun

6. Nurses

"Don’t get me started on nurses. The only show that got it kinda right was Scrubs.

Doctors don’t ambulate our patients. We work our butts off taking care of multiple patients, knowing everything about them, their diagnoses, meds, vitals, and assessments.

We are highly skilled and trained, and no one ever shows that."

— Megan

"Especially on Grey's Anatomy. Yes, the doctors do the surgery, but everything they show them doing is a lot of nursing work.

Doctors don't do any of that. It's like the nurses don't exist in their world."

—Fortuneandglory

7. First responders

"I work in disaster relief and response. Any time a show wants to portray the aftermath of a fire, the hallways are clear of debris, and there are chunks of stuff neatly placed around.

In a real home fire, there's debris, broken glass, and standing water everywhere."

—elinumber2

8. Low paid jobs

"Working a job that pays just a little over minimum wage. I barely have any money to spare, or time and energy.

This is directed at literally all rom-coms or movies where the main character works a low wage job and still lives a lavish lifestyle."

—greenes13

"I worked two low-wage jobs while living in California. I couldn't make ends meet with two jobs.

I hate movies that show characters living well on one low wage job, it is a lie that allows kids to think that is real life."

—palmerd45

9. Early childhood educator

"Being an early childhood educator is not the same as a babysitter. Shows like How I Met Your Mother spit in the face of how difficult and necessary our job is."

—rach_g_l

"Any movie that involves child care and any kind of adventurous plotline (Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee) or movies like Daddy Day Care where it depicts the children trashing the place. I can tell you as an Early Childhood Educator, as fun as it would be to dance around on top of roofs and whatnot, that's definitely unsafe and could get us in a lot of trouble.

Also, we would never allow classrooms to get 'trashed,' as it is a safety hazard."

—aries97

10. Car mechanics

"Production cars have been predominantly fuel-injected, NOT carbureted, since the early '90s. You couldn't even buy ANY carbureted consumer vehicle in America after a 1995 model year, because they literally didn't make them anymore.

And yet, whenever someone is poking at a (generally late-model) misbehaving car or truck on a TV show or movie, they frequently end up saying, 'Ah, just like I thought: it's the carburetor.'

Buddy, if there's a carburetor on your 2016 car, you've got bigger problems than you think."

—melissan40168c557

11. Social workers

"Social workers, counselors, [and] therapists don’t sleep with our patients or get super intertwined in their lives. Every time this is portrayed, it’s incredibly frustrating! 99.99% of us are ethical people who know how to set boundaries and remain professional."

—Thisissterling

12. Teachers

"I’m a high school teacher. I get that there’s a need for drama to make good TV, but I HATE that plot lines surrounding student/teacher dynamics so often portray inappropriate, predatory, or just really fucking weird behavior on the part of the fictional teacher.

I do not want to sleep with my students. They are kids!

I also don’t want to be their best friend or be overly involved in their lives. Again, they are kids!

I have friends my own age! At the end of a long day, the very last thing I want to do is see a student in my free time.

I hide from them if I spot them at the store, you know? I love my students, and that’s why healthy boundaries are absolutely nonnegotiable!

I wish Hollywood wasn’t so fond of making teachers look like perverts or people whose social/personal life revolves around a bunch of teenagers."

—Hannah27

13. Secretaries

"Secretaries are not all blonde bombshells who sleep with the boss. We're also not just there so the business has someone pretty to charm the clients."

—SpikeyBlue

14. In-home caregivers

"I am an in-home caregiver. In the movies, they show all caregivers always caring for bed-ridden patients or patients in a vegetative or catatonic state.

None of the people I care for are like that. They are pretty lively most of the time, even feisty at times."

—palmerd45

15. Bartenders

"I’m a bartender. You don’t shake a damn martini. For the love of all that is holy, stir it."

—mattywes101

Well, what do you think? Do these posts oppose your views about these jobs?

We can say that none of the real jobs is romantic or dynamic as portrayed on screen. But, as we said, you can’t really make a plot out of everyday stuff.

You have to spice it up a bit. Unfortunately, movie and TV show makers often go overboard.

Damjan