Complex Numbers

Ghost in the Machine

Ever watch a movie or show and something happens to break you out of suspension of disbelief?

I'm sure it happens a lot. It used to bug me when you saw an explosion in space with an accompanying kaboom - when sound doesn't happen in a vacuum. I got over that, and started considering it no different from a soundtrack where the music isn't actually playing in the scene.

Still bugs me when you see, say, a nuclear explosion from miles away, and the kaboom happens at the same time as the light, instead of lagging behind as sound does. I know why they do it, but it's still a violation of physics. Hell, they even do it with lightning and thunder.

But the thing that never fails to annoy me is when there's a ghost. Everyone knows ghosts can walk through walls, right? I mean, usually, they don't have a choice in the matter. Ghost gets to a wall, strides right through without even thinking about it.

But when you think about it, it doesn't make sense. Why is the wall transpirital (I just made that word up) but not the floor? I just said the ghost "walks." Why would a ghost have to walk, and even if there's a reason for that, what is the material difference (pun intended) between a wall and a floor?

I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does. Floors? Solid. Walls? Might as well be air. Usually you can even hear the spirit's footsteps.

About the only time I've seen this done right was in old X-Men comics, where Kitty Pride / Shadowcat phased through every solid thing. But she wasn't a ghost; that was her mutant power.

And yeah, I get that you have real actors playing the ghosts and there are limits to what you can do with SFX if your budget is small, but that just breaks suspension even more for me.

Maybe there's a good, story-consistent reason for it. I don't know. If so, I'd feel better about it if they'd at least mention it.

Or, you know, I could quit binge-watching Supernatural.

...nah.