It kind of bugs me when you watch someone order a coffee or food on TV and then it just sits there, uneaten. Next thing they all leave and the food they said they wanted is pretty much untouched. This happens a lot on soap operas. In one, General Hospital, people go to Kelly’s Diner, sometimes they just get coffee but other times it is a whole meal put down in front of them. Maybe they take one sip, a pretend sip? Next thing they leave and it is all just left sitting there.
In romance novels women never get their period. It is never a problem for them to have sex on any given day, as long as they can find a condom. Even the condom is a recent addition to the ‘rules’. But, when did you last read a romance where the woman had to pass on sex because she was OTR, as my brother calls it.
In movies, TV and books seldom does anyone go into the bathroom to actually use the bathroom. They may chat in there, as if the bathroom’s real function is a place for discreet conversation. How would you feel, being an ordinary mortal, if you were in the stall peeing when a whole gang of women walk in and start talking about their issues? Would you just keep right on peeing or would you be frozen, feeling like an eavesdropper and wishing they would all hurry up and leave? I think TV people are all some kind of remote controlled cyborgs who don’t need or have any human functions. Just toss them a can of lube so they don’t squeak and they’re good to go.
What have you noticed about TV, books or movies that bugs you? What do TV people never do? Have you ever written basic bodily functions into a story you wrote? Is it important or better just glossed over as who really wants to know that the leading lady can’t hop into bed right now cause she needs to change her tampon?