Unpopular Geek Media Opinions

[Willie the Duck]

It wasn't but you're not the only one who remembers seeing it. I swear I saw UHF while living in Colorado, but it came out in 1989, the same year as Batman, and I was living in Texas. Even though I know I couldn't have seen it in Colorado, my memory tells me I did. Memory is fickle sometimes.

My memories of the Challenger disaster are demonstrably not mine -- I was in class and did not see the events unfold live. My friend Mike was home sick and did so, and I have integrated his telling of his experience into my memories.

I will now attempt to offset this negativity with a positive unpopular opinion: Starship Troopers is actually really good if you can get past the fact that it has practically nothing to do with the novel.

How is that unpopular? Starship Troopers is not just a good movie, it's a great movie.
Moreover, it's a much better movie than the original source material is a good novel.

Pretty sure it isn't unpopular. An anecdotal measure, but at least half the time I see the film get mentioned it is someone stating (often framed as 'I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion, but...') how much they like it.

 

[billd91]

My memories of the Challenger disaster are demonstrably not mine -- I was in class and did not see the events unfold live. My friend Mike was home sick and did so, and I have integrated his telling of his experience into my memories.

The Challenger explosion issue is a clouded one, though. Many people who thought they saw it live didn't do so... because they were able to watch it again, multiple times. And when they saw it, it sure may have looked live even if it were a few hours later. I remember that because we watched CNN's coverage in a class later that day and, while it was interspersed with footage of debris as well and discussions about the search and rescue efforts, it could easily have been mistaken for being live, particularly for a younger school kid because the explosion was so vividly searing into our brains compared to the talking heads and discussion about recovery.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The Challenger explosion issue is a clouded one, though. Many people who thought they saw it live didn't do so... because they were able to watch it again, multiple times. And when they saw it, it sure may have looked live even if it were a few hours later. I remember that because we watched CNN's coverage in a class later that day and, while it was interspersed with footage of debris as well and discussions about the search and rescue efforts, it could easily have been mistaken for being live, particularly for a younger school kid because the explosion was so vividly searing into our brains compared to the talking heads and discussion about recovery.

I know!

I still can't believe that they sent Nelson Mandela up in the Challenger. Truly a sad day.

 

[Willie the Duck]

The Challenger explosion issue is a clouded one, though. Many people who thought they saw it live didn't do so... because they were able to watch it again, multiple times. And when they saw it, it sure may have looked live even if it were a few hours later. I remember that because we watched CNN's coverage in a class later that day and, while it was interspersed with footage of debris as well and discussions about the search and rescue efforts, it could easily have been mistaken for being live, particularly for a younger school kid because the explosion was so vividly searing into our brains compared to the talking heads and discussion about recovery.

I mean, yes, but isn't that pretty much the same situation as MGibster? They watched the movie later, but remembered seeing it in a context from earlier. The movie would have looked the same in whichever city.

Regarding the specifics of the Challenger -- the big thing for me (and why I use it as my go-to example of flawed memories) is that this Mike friend was home alone. They had no one to turn to to ask questions or get help processing what he just saw, and felt wildly agitated and confused and even vulnerable because of it. I was in school, heard about it before I saw it, had teachers there to help explain what happened, give context (/compare it to whichever Kennedy assassination they'd lived through as school children), and so on -- and then yes saw it repeatedly on the evening news for the next two weeks like everyone else. Thing is, I remember Mike's experience, which is emotionally wildly different from my own. To me that's wild.

 

[Horwath]

Startrek: Enterprise is a good show!

 

[Ryujin]

I know!

I still can't believe that they sent Nelson Mandela up in the Challenger. Truly a sad day.

Oh, so it's that effect thingie.

(I was home that day and watched Challenger blow up, live, then for the next 8 hours or so in repeat.)

 

[Deset Gled]

Oh, so it's that effect thingie.

Opinion that is unpopular in some places but hopefully not here: The Mandela Effect is actually the concept that many people will literally make up supernatural phenomena just to avoid admitting they once had a thought that might be a little bit racist.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Opinion that is unpopular in some places but hopefully not here: The Mandela Effect is actually the concept that many people will literally make up supernatural phenomena just to avoid admitting they once had a thought that might be a little bit racist.

Is being confused about when Nelson Mandela died racist?

 

[Deset Gled]

Is being confused about when Nelson Mandela died racist?

Per se, no. However, there is an old stereotype that all black people look alike to white people. As a result, some people are highly uncomfortable with the idea that they got Nelson Mandela confused with a different black person.

Another oft-used example of the "effect" is the belief that Sinbad was in the movie Kazaam (instead of Shaq), which is another example of the same issue.

So, to be fair, the broader complaint here is that people would rather invent a supernatural phenomenon rather than admit their memory is a little faulty. But some of the defining examples of it happen to be tied to this unfortunate history.

 

[Mannahnin]

So, to be fair, the broader complaint here is that people would rather invent a supernatural phenomenon rather than admit their memory is a little faulty. But some of the defining examples of it happen to be tied to this unfortunate history.

There's also the Berenstain Bears thing, where lots of people remember it as being BerenstEin.

I think they're good illustrations of how memories are constructed and reconstructed over time, and sometimes our brains get a detail wrong and get really stuck on that detail.