To ask what's the least realistic depiction of your job in a film, tv show or book?

[ZoinksRun]

I'm always watching things and thinking 'I bet that job isn't like that.' People in my job on tv are always dim, well dressed (immaculate hair, nails, shoes) and never look stressed which is very unrealistic! They do all seem to have 'ie' or 'y' ending names which to be honest is pretty accurate

I work in education (wellbeing/mental health support, not teaching) but was previously a teacher and work with a lot of teachers. Teachers are portrayed really badly in tv and film, in one of only two ways:

1. young and trendy, full of energy and of course drop dead gorgeous, flirting playfully with another young gorgeous teacher who probably cares deeply about every student and does all sorts of inappropriate things like taking the poor disadvantaged student off to an art gallery on their own in their car at the weekend
2. the tired and jaded old hag teacher who is aggressive and unfair (but whose heart probably melts one day after someone plays a trick on her - either that or she dies of a heart attack)

Both types of fantasy teacher stupidly call each other Mr Johnson and Miss Smith in the staff room and never use real names, and talk about the 'headmaster' because the writers haven't set foot in a school or college since about 1978.

The one that made me laugh the most was that terrible thing on telly recently about the young teacher (dressed far too tarty for a classroom in a school anyway) who gives her teenage pupil lifts everywhere and chats him up in bars before starting an affair with him in public and then being shocked when people found out.

Therapist fucking clients (many happenings in tv/film Wanderlust/In Treatment/loads more)

Just couldn't imagine anything more abusive if I were to do it

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

DH is Army. They are always depicted running around fields with rifles or in trucks etc. Always dirty and with cam cream.

Reality... he rarely leaves the office. If it does, its to go to meetings in other offices.

That's interesting. My dh is ex army and your first paragraph is actually pretty spot on for what he did 😂

Depends on rank/ role I think ..

Most hospital based medical dramas are awful. Nurse Jackie was the best of them for accuracy.

The cliche of the average-looking admin person suddenly becoming stunningly beautiful when she takes her bun down and removes her glasses. She then spends the rest of the film running around with the hero without her glasses on. I’m average looking with my hair up or down and if I ran about without my glasses on I’d be forever falling over as I wouldn’t be able to see!

@Thelnebriati

Every woman doing my old job is large, enthusiastic, dressed in tweed or outdoor clothing, lacks people skills, and has a booming jolly hockey sticks voice. Its not that wrong tbh.

Are you a head teacher from an Enid Blyton book

Structural Engineers are always old, over caution men who over design and are unbending and boring and not dynamic in any way.

Border Force officer. Have often seen us portrayed as racist morons who get all excited when we find a brown person crossing the border and try to find a way to keep them out.
And that Ian Foot had his own office!

I read a book where a girl got a job as a dental receptionist then kept covering the dental nurses. They clearly did zero research it's quite insulting 😂

@DoubleHelix79 never mind scientist, you should be a writer. Your opening paragraph made me snort with laughter!

All the time!
Cafe work is made to look so easy and all customers are nice! Bah! So not true!

Also scientist here and agree with DoubleHelix79

I also get very wound up by forensics shows where they wave a tiny bit of dna at a machine and it instantly tells them whose it is. DH is fed up with me shouting, 'It doesnt work like that!'

And as a sloppy housekeeper, i also get annoyed by them saying, oh we found this tiny grain of sand in the carpet that can only come from X beach.... if you hoovered my hall you could keep a whole forensic lab busy for a year

I sell antiques online and have been associated with the antiques trade since the 1980s. TV programs like "Lovejoy" often portray dealers as underhand scammers who are out to cheat everyone and sell them a load of old tat. My experience is that most dealers are honest. Business is (still) often done on a handshake or a promise. If you stiff a fellow dealer word soon gets around. The more recent TV series "Salvage Hunters" is more true to life.

@GoddamnCars

If anyone has ever portrayed an occupational therapist in a film outside of the basket-weaving type circa WW2, I have yet to see it.

There was actually a film called Downsizing where Matt Damon plays an OT. It’s not hugely realistic but he is the only OT I have ever seen on film!

@updownroundandround

Casualty. As if anywhere has that many 'major incidents/ disasters' or colleague affairs, lol.

And if I worked there I would definitely worry about how it seems to be a certainty that I would end up on a trolley being treated by my colleagues after some disaster.

Ministers of religion who allow drama to ensue and fights to break out or wholly inappropriate eulogies Nope never not when I'm in charge You get 20 mins in the Crem "ain't nobody got time for that"

I’ll tell you, there’s no booming techno soundtrack or amazing graphics flitting around my screen. It’s just... typing.

Everyone on tv live in massive houses disproportionate to occupation and income.

Or else incredibly glamorous penthouse flats, probably overlooking the Thames or whatever other big river flows through the relevant town.

As a librarian I can assure you that I don't wear my hair in a bun, wear glasses or tell people to shush. I do not stamp books or even issue books. I also don't get to sit around reading all day. Some days I don't actually see any books at all!

Indiana fecking Jones 😂

I’m a paediatric dentist - Willy Wonkas Dad in Charlie and Chocolate factory portrayed as terrifying dentist (and usually any other film for that matter too).

I know it’s probably a lot of people childhood experience of the dentist - but couldn’t be further from what we actually do nowadays!

Ugly Betty. I was an editorial assistant on a magazine at the time.

Faulty Towers comes pretty close to some of the hotels i have worked in. Also Extras, I’ve been told by „actors“ working as Extras on films that it is exactly like that

For my DH, Fr Ted is probably the least accurate, but Rev is scarily close to reality 😂

Had to stop watching that Faith programme as the solicitor lived her whole life in extremely high heels. Don’t know any solicitor that does that you would be in agony after one week.