3 ms·

How sure are we that these so-called title drops are what this article purports them to be rather than the name of the film coming from the content and/or dialo

How sure are we that these so-called title drops are what this article purports them to be rather than the name of the film coming from the content and/or dialogue that is contained within it? An analogy: when someone writes a song and then they need to name it, they will frequently choose a word or phrase that appears in the lyrics. When Leonard Cohen sings “hallelujah” in the song of the same name, is that a “title drop”? I assume not.

latexr 2y ago
> How sure are we that these so-called title drops are what this article purports them to be What does the article purport them to be? Right at the top I see: > A title drop is when a character in a movie says the title of the movie they're in. That makes no distinction if the title or the script came first. The article does call out movies who do that in a cringe or obvious way (like Suicide Squad, which had prior art) but also includes movies where that is unavoidable, such as Barbie. More importantly, it doesn’t matter which came first. As soon as you make a line and a title the same, the line becomes a title drop. The audience sees the final product, not the process. > An analogy That analogy doesn’t work. Songs are typically repetitive and a few minutes long. Everyone expects them to name the title. A movie, on the other hand, is an experience that asks suspension of disbelief from you, it tries to engross you in its world over the course of multiple hours. When a character title drops, in a second you’re suddenly and forcefully pulled back from the illusion and reminded you’re watching a movie.
- nkozyra 2y ago
  > What does the article purport them to be? Right at the top I see: It seems to imply a concerted effort to mention the title of the movie in the script in a meta, fourth wall breaking sort of way. In some cases that's obviously true - Hot Tub Time Machine, Suicide Squad from their examples - but other times an untitled script just needs a title and it's plucked from the script. I think there's a distinction there, because the latter is less of an Easter Egg sort of thing and more "ok now we need a title."
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - latexr 2y ago
    > It seems to imply a concerted effort to mention the title of the movie in the script in a meta, fourth wall breaking sort of way. It makes zero difference to the movie watching experience if the script line came from the script or the other way around. While you’re watching the movie, the effect is exactly the same. So even if you took a line of dialog to make your title, it becomes a title drop nonetheless because the audience doesn’t know (nor should they care) which came first.
    - metabagel 2y ago
      I don’t think anyone would regard using Barbie’s name in the movie as a title drop.
      - latexr 2y ago
        The article does: > Unsurprisingly, movies named after one of their characters have an average of 24.7 title drops, more than twice as much as the usual 10.3. And this thread started exactly with the point of what the article considers title drops. The article also highlights the interesting case of “movies named after a character with single title drops”. I’m willing to bet that in those movies, if the name is proffered late enough in the runtime, it may feel like a title drop because the the audience suddenly becomes aware the name had never been said before. When the name is said all the time or once but too early (so you’ll be primed to expect it more often) then the effect is bound to be lessened.
    - nkozyra 2y ago
      > It makes zero difference to the movie watching experience if the script line came from the script or the other way around. I disagree; if it's a quote that serves the narrative and isn't jammed in as a reference it doesn't have the same effect as the meta examples. Less of a fourth wall break.
- jsbg 2y ago
  > it doesn’t matter which came first imo it does matter and is the difference between cringe (sometimes intentional) and not
  - latexr 2y ago
    It’s not the order of the writing that determines that, but the quality. Yes, the order can influence it, but it’s not the determining factor. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42062800 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42062800
throw4847285 2y ago
My favorite "title drop" in a song is in How Soon is Now by the Smiths. After an instrumental break, Morrissey sings, "You say it's gonna happen now? What exactly do you mean..." You can almost hear the next line should be "How soon is now" but there's a pause and then he sings, "See I've already waited too long..." The title captures the mood of the song but is never actually said. It feels intentionally left out. On the movie front, No Country for Old Men does something similar.
- partomniscient 2y ago
  "What exactly do you mean.." -> "When exactly do you mean...?"
  - throw4847285 2y ago
    Oops. I just dashed it out without looking it up. What you said.

latexr 2y ago

> How sure are we that these so-called title drops are what this article purports them to be What does the article purport them to be? Right at the top I see: > A title drop is when a character in a movie says the title of the movie they're in. That makes no distinction if the title or the script came first. The article does call out movies who do that in a cringe or obvious way (like Suicide Squad, which had prior art) but also includes movies where that is unavoidable, such as Barbie. More importantly, it doesn’t matter which came first. As soon as you make a line and a title the same, the line becomes a title drop. The audience sees the final product, not the process. > An analogy That analogy doesn’t work. Songs are typically repetitive and a few minutes long. Everyone expects them to name the title. A movie, on the other hand, is an experience that asks suspension of disbelief from you, it tries to engross you in its world over the course of multiple hours. When a character title drops, in a second you’re suddenly and forcefully pulled back from the illusion and reminded you’re watching a movie.

nkozyra 2y ago
> What does the article purport them to be? Right at the top I see: It seems to imply a concerted effort to mention the title of the movie in the script in a meta, fourth wall breaking sort of way. In some cases that's obviously true - Hot Tub Time Machine, Suicide Squad from their examples - but other times an untitled script just needs a title and it's plucked from the script. I think there's a distinction there, because the latter is less of an Easter Egg sort of thing and more "ok now we need a title."
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- latexr 2y ago
  > It seems to imply a concerted effort to mention the title of the movie in the script in a meta, fourth wall breaking sort of way. It makes zero difference to the movie watching experience if the script line came from the script or the other way around. While you’re watching the movie, the effect is exactly the same. So even if you took a line of dialog to make your title, it becomes a title drop nonetheless because the audience doesn’t know (nor should they care) which came first.
  - metabagel 2y ago
    I don’t think anyone would regard using Barbie’s name in the movie as a title drop.
    - latexr 2y ago
      The article does: > Unsurprisingly, movies named after one of their characters have an average of 24.7 title drops, more than twice as much as the usual 10.3. And this thread started exactly with the point of what the article considers title drops. The article also highlights the interesting case of “movies named after a character with single title drops”. I’m willing to bet that in those movies, if the name is proffered late enough in the runtime, it may feel like a title drop because the the audience suddenly becomes aware the name had never been said before. When the name is said all the time or once but too early (so you’ll be primed to expect it more often) then the effect is bound to be lessened.
  - nkozyra 2y ago
    > It makes zero difference to the movie watching experience if the script line came from the script or the other way around. I disagree; if it's a quote that serves the narrative and isn't jammed in as a reference it doesn't have the same effect as the meta examples. Less of a fourth wall break.
jsbg 2y ago
> it doesn’t matter which came first imo it does matter and is the difference between cringe (sometimes intentional) and not
- latexr 2y ago
  It’s not the order of the writing that determines that, but the quality. Yes, the order can influence it, but it’s not the determining factor. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42062800 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42062800

throw4847285 2y ago

My favorite "title drop" in a song is in How Soon is Now by the Smiths. After an instrumental break, Morrissey sings, "You say it's gonna happen now? What exactly do you mean..." You can almost hear the next line should be "How soon is now" but there's a pause and then he sings, "See I've already waited too long..." The title captures the mood of the song but is never actually said. It feels intentionally left out. On the movie front, No Country for Old Men does something similar.

partomniscient 2y ago
"What exactly do you mean.." -> "When exactly do you mean...?"
- throw4847285 2y ago
  Oops. I just dashed it out without looking it up. What you said.