This obvious of a props mistake in a major motion film?

December 11, 2008 10:45 PM

Doubt (2008) I loved this play when it first came out, and the movie looks amazing. However, watching the video on the site, I'm a bit confused. In the trailer the nun catches a boy listening to something that looks like an ipod from what I can tell, but the play and movie take place in 1964. Maybe I'm wrong, but if that's an ipod that is the most ridiculous prop mistake ever. On another note: I think this play is written incredibly well. I think the commentary about race is fascinating. Has anyone else seen it?
posted by metricfan (35 comments total)

I don't think so.
posted by iamkimiam at 10:47 PM on December 11, 2008

This post might qualify as an AskMe post, but might be considered chatfilter even there.
posted by ericb at 10:50 PM on December 11, 2008

Uh, they called them transistor radios.
Steve Jobs didn't invent the earphone.
And this is one of the silliest FPP's I've seen in a long time.
posted by 2sheets at 10:50 PM on December 11, 2008

It's clearly a radio with a single earpiece.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:50 PM on December 11, 2008

In the trailer the nun catches a boy listening to something that looks like an ipod from what I can tell...

FWIW ... it appears to me to be a single headphone to a transistor radio or a crystal radio.
posted by ericb at 10:53 PM on December 11, 2008

Last post.
posted by LarryC at 10:53 PM on December 11, 2008

Or, what 2sheets said!
posted by ericb at 10:53 PM on December 11, 2008

Not an iPod: that's Philip Seymour Hoffman.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:54 PM on December 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Meryl Streep invented the time machine.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 10:55 PM on December 11, 2008

I would like to see this movie, but I don't think there is any Doubt as to the fate of this post.

What I did there. You see it?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:56 PM on December 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

*or a crystal radio.*

On review ... likely not such, but indeed a portable transistor radio.
posted by ericb at 10:56 PM on December 11, 2008

Yes, it's a transistor radio. The rectangular shiny patch on the front that could be taken for a screen is presumably a piece of transparent plastic covering the little mechanism which marks which radio station you are listening to.

Yes, this movie looks great and this post will inevitably be deleted.
posted by ShameSpiral at 10:57 PM on December 11, 2008

Pffft! They didn't have transistors back then!! Pretty sure electricity wasn't even invented until sometime in the '70s.
posted by LordSludge at 11:00 PM on December 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

I thought part of metafilter was sharing interesting web content, which I would think the video from this film would qualify on its own. I just had the side comment. Does everyone really think watching the trailer is a waste of time or silly? It's not like I linked to cats that misuse the word has.
posted by metricfan at 11:00 PM on December 11, 2008

Transistor radios were the iPods of their era.
posted by zippy at 11:01 PM on December 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

Probably a Sony too. They popularized the pocket transistor radio in the early 60's and never looked back.
posted by Brian B. at 11:02 PM on December 11, 2008

Kid, ya got moxie.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:04 PM on December 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I thought part of metafilter was sharing interesting web content, which I would think the video from this film would qualify on its own.

Just so you're not left wondering after your post gets deleted, it has at least the following two problems:

• Pepsi Blue (appears to be promoting a commercial product);
• Editorializing on the front page.

Also, I think the canonical standard is "best of the web," not "interesting." MeFi is not Digg. Don't quit trying, though.
posted by rkent at 11:05 PM on December 11, 2008

I once had a dream where a nun discovered that a Catholic schoolboy had a tranny hidden under his desk, and it was a lot more interesting than that trailer.
posted by ShameSpiral at 11:10 PM on December 11, 2008

Nice try.

And yes I've seen it - i'd recommend it if you're a fan of travel videos as you get to journey along with Meryl Streep's accent all over the globe.
posted by jettloe at 11:10 PM on December 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

The play won the pulitzer prize, I feel like there is some credibility here. If you think about how few get to enjoy the art of plays in New York, turning the play into a film is actually great for the rest of the country. I respect the promotion thing, but I can promise I'm not from a motion picture company.

And what do you mean by editorializing? Isn't filtering content an editorial process in the first place?

I respect the desire to maintain a certain board, but why are some so reactionary when considering such subjective restrictions?

Here is a link to an interview on Charlie Rose (PBS is acceptable right?) with the author and play cast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBYIReuLh9E&feature=related
posted by metricfan at 11:14 PM on December 11, 2008

Pepsi Blue (appears to be promoting a commercial product);


What? The non-existant iPod? I hear Apple's really hurting for the portable music player market share these days.
posted by niles at 11:15 PM on December 11, 2008

Oh! It looks like I'm advertising an iPod? haha iPods are cooler than I am, I'd just hurt its brand image.
posted by metricfan at 11:17 PM on December 11, 2008

I'm watching PSH on The Daily Show right now! He has eccentric facial hair.

About the movie: Nice bonnets!
posted by mr_roboto at 11:23 PM on December 11, 2008

The play won the pulitzer prize, I feel like there is some credibility here. If you think about how few get to enjoy the art of plays in New York, turning the play into a film is actually great for the rest of the country. I respect the promotion thing, but I can promise I'm not from a motion picture company.

So post some articles explaining all that, rather than providing a single link to the movie's website.


And what do you mean by editorializing? Isn't filtering content an editorial process in the first place?


Write posts like articles in a paper. Look at your post, and think about how it differs from a professionally written article. It's short on facts and big on "hey you guys I think this, what do you think."
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:25 PM on December 11, 2008

I live for these moments.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:28 PM on December 11, 2008

You mean you died for them.. right?
posted by pyrex at 11:33 PM on December 11, 2008

I think the best thing about this post is the deletion reason.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:35 PM on December 11, 2008

It's not like I linked to cats that misuse the word has.

It'd be a lot cooler if you did.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:37 PM on December 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh! It looks like I'm advertising an iPod?

No, it looks like you are advertising elderly nuns. You want us all to rush out and buy an elderly nun, wrap her up and put her under the tree as a present for that special someone who, under the influence of the Church's constant media barrage, has been brainwashed into thinking that receiving an aged religious functionary as a gift is an indispensable part of the Christmas tradition. You are a shill for 'Big Nun', and I, for one, see right through your tactics!

Those bonnets are to die for, though.
posted by ShameSpiral at 11:38 PM on December 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

Damn, I missed the trailer getting popcorn. When does the feature film start?
posted by tula at 11:42 PM on December 11, 2008

I like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. How about you guys?
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 11:46 PM on December 11, 2008

Is there really a Coca-Cola bottle visible in one scene of Gone With the Wind?
posted by LarryC at 11:46 PM on December 11, 2008

Your FPP's solo link is to a film's website. You then posit that there might be a technological anachronism ("...the play and movie take place in 1964. Maybe I'm wrong, but if that's an ipod that is the most ridiculous prop mistake ever.") in the film followed by "Has anyone else seen it?"

By the standards of MetaFilter (particularly, "the blue") ... many would consider this to be a poorly constructed FPP. It is a two-part question: (1) Have I spotted a film blooper? (2) Have you seen the film? Waada think of it? Probably more suited to "the green" (AskMe).
posted by ericb at 11:47 PM on December 11, 2008

This post is probably going to get deleted.

Have a hug. From me.
posted by every_one_needs_a_hug_sometimes at 11:51 PM on December 11, 2008 [1 favorite]