This could be considered the refrain of a computer geek upon seeing a computer-oriented movie such as The Net. What they don't often seem to realize is that Hollywood seems to have a perverse tendency to get it wrong everywhere else, too. Medical shows like ER feature doctors rattling off jargon that would kill their patient. People slash their wrists the wrong way.

Of course, the area they are most famous about getting it wrong is religion. Find your friendly neighborhood practitioner of Wicca and ask them about The Craft, but be ready to run away. Even Christianity does not escape unscarred; a recent television production of Noah's Ark managed to get it wrong.

Why does this happen? I think it's because someone, whether a studio boss or the director decides changes are needed to make the movie "more entertaining". The scriptwriter seems to be often instructed to make it exciting, even if it means bending the original story or the facts of the situation. Advisors are called in to make suggestions, and then apparently followed or ignored at a whim. After all, the actors, actresses, the director, and the producers are all professionals, and know what they are doing. They are there to entertain, not educate, despite sometimes winding up doing both to people who don't know any better.

As a rebuttal, though, ask any Highlander fan what those in power did to Highlander 2. What they think is entertaining isn't necessarily so.

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