shooting the monitor

[Ostap]

Hello, I heard this sentence in a video listing fake things that happen in movies: "shooting the monitor as a way of stopping the computer."

Is "to shoot" really another way of saying "to turn off"?

 

[5jj]

No. In some action films people do actually shoot a bullet through the screen in the misguided belief that this will destroy the computer.

 

[Tarheel]

I find it a bit odd to talk about fake things that happen in movies. They are, after all, all about make believe.

 

[Skrej]

Movies rarely accurately portray reality, especially in regards to firearms or how things work in general.

How many times have you seen someone hack into a government computer in mere seconds, enlarge and zoom in on a surveillance video endlessly with no loss of resolution, shoot a revolver 15 times without reloading, or get the results from some DNA test in mere hours?

The same gun that simultaneously just knocked some person 20 feet backwards through the air will then hit someone in the shoulder only to have that person use that same arm minutes later.

As for the original question, I suppose 'shoot' could be synonymous with 'disable' in this context, but as previously mentioned, one would have to shoot the computer elsewhere than in the monitor. Shooting the radio to disable it is somewhat more feasible since the actual critical components are in the same general space as the controls.

Edit: This made me think of this great song - Bubba Shot the Jukebox . It has some great lyrics (Reckless, hell!? I hit just where I was aiming!)

 

[probus]

I find it a bit odd to talk about fake things that happen in movies. They are, after all, all about make believe.

I absolutely agree. Hollywood has created many false and dsngerous myths. Here are a few examples, ranging from very dangerous to trivial:

1. Throwing water in the face of someone who has fainted or been knocked out will revive them.

2. A person knocked out by a blow to the head will be perfectly okay when they recover. The scientific fact is that such a period of unconsciousness lasting more than a few monents always results in at least some brain damage.

3. Mexicans say "adios" for goodbye. In all my lengthy sojourns in Mexico I've only heard "adios" once and the speaker was using it to say "good morning" or "hello".

 

[Tarheel]

I didn't know that about adios. I've been saying to mean "Bye!' and nobody has ever corrected me.

 

[emsr2d2]

I didn't know that about adios. I've been saying to mean "Bye!' and nobody has ever corrected me.

Probus gave that as an example of myths that have been created by the movie industry.

 

[probus]

Two things.

First, the Mexican Revolution of 1911 was fiercely anti-Catholic and anti-clerical. (To this day priests and nuns are fobidden by law to wear their religious garb ourside the precincts of churches and convents.) But every revolution generates reactionary forces. Adios, of course, is a reference to God, and as such is used today only by the elderly and the most conservative.

Secondly, courtesy is extremely important to Mexicans, and Mexico is one of the world's most visited countries. I butcher their language every day, but my Mexican friends never correct me unless I ask them to.

Trust me on this, amigo. "Adios" nay have meant goodbye long ago, but not today. Mexicans simply don't use it.

 

[probus]

Probus gave that as an example of myths that have been created by the movie industry.

And what are we, Tarheel, but ignorant gringos? Nothing better can be expected of us.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, I didn't know that historical tidbit. Anyhow, I asked somebody today about that. (Guess what she said.) Certainly, not all Hispanics are Mexican.

I didn't know that about Dios.

 

[probus]

Well, I didn't know that historical tidbit. Anyhow, I asked somebody today about that. (Guess what she said.) Certainly, not all Hispanics are Mexican.

I didn't know that about Dios.

@emsr2d2. You've spent time in Spain. Do the Spaniards use adios, and if so, how?

 

[emsr2d2]

@emsr2d2. You've spent time in Spain. Do the Spaniards use adios, and if so, how?

Yes. It's perhaps a little formal but as far as I recall, it means only "Goodbye". Most of the people I hung out with used "Ciao" (yes, I know that's Italian) or "Hasta luego" ("See you soon"), but "Adios" was certainly alive and well when I lived in Madrid. Locals in the area of the south-east of Spain that I visit most these days use "Hasta luego" and "Adio" (the local dialect drops the final "s" from all words - very confusing when it comes to tenses!)

 

[SoothingDave]

I absolutely agree. Hollywood has created many false and dsngerous myths. Here are a few examples, ranging from very dangerous to trivial:

1. Throwing water in the face of someone who has fainted or been knocked out will revive them.

2. A person knocked out by a blow to the head will be perfectly okay when they recover. The scientific fact is that such a period of unconsciousness lasting more than a few monents always results in at least some brain damage.

3. Mexicans say "adios" for goodbye. In all my lengthy sojourns in Mexico I've only heard "adios" once and the speaker was using it to say "good morning" or "hello".

I learned from TV that if someone gets bonked on the head and suffers amnesia, the cure is to bonk them on the head again in the same spot in order to restore their memories.

 

[Tarheel]

No. Don't hit them in the head again. And don't believe everything you see onbTV.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. Don't hit them in the head again. And don't believe everything you see on TV.

That's exactly the point of most of this thread. People are giving examples of ridiculous myths learnt from TV and films. I think you might be missing the sarcastic/humorous aspect of several of the last few posts.

 

[Tarheel]

Maybe. But it bothers me that anybody would take that seriously, and unfortunately, that's quite possible.

 

[Tdol]

A clever hacker can work out your password in three attempts by looking around your study...