19 old film tropes that simply don’t work in the modern world

Don’t get us wrong – we love old films. There’s a comforting familiarity that washes over us when we settle down with an old favourite, like a hug from a lifelong friend.

But we can’t deny that some of them have slightly jarring moments as we watch from the 21st century, and not just the outdated attitudes. We asked you about it.

You can picture the scene, can’t you? The potential victim dashing towards the car, fumbling the keys – they fall to the floor, only to be snatched up in desperation , and then …

The modern version is trying to open the door when the fob battery is on its way out and the actor desperately presses it on their forehead to amplify the signal – or is that just us?

You gave us some great examples of those jarring moments, and a lot of them involved phones.

These were our favourites.

1.

Kirsty Chapman
Via

2.

In an escaping group, a young lady stumbling to the ground to add to the tension whilst a brave chap rushes to her aid.
Toby Conant

3.

Getting from the police station to the crime scene in a major city in a matter of moments.
Brian Reeves

4.

Arriving at the airport and always have a free parking slot at the departure curb right in front of my departure check in.
Peder Damm

5.

Getting into a car with no key and reaching under the dashboard to pull out a bunch of wires in the loom and bridging a couple of those at random and bingo the car starts.
Keith Thompson

6.

Letters put into the wrong envelopes and sent to the wrong person- (always thought that was kinda far fetched even back in the day)
Joe Foster

7.

Trying to use a landline then finding the cable has been cut.
Rosie Lawrence

8.

Chris Twinam
Via

9.

Using a pay phone. Who the heck uses these anymore? Do they even still exist? Utter germ units.
Emma Copson

10.

The entire cast Speaking in polished English.
Steve Russell

11.

Going into a pub and say “One beer” and they give you a beer without asking “What the kind of fu… beer do you want?”
Peder Damm

12.

Paul Evans
Via

13.

Funny little whistling/beeping noises as computer screens bring up long lists of data.
Julian Ichabod Harris

14.

Driving down a perfectly straight road but turning the steering wheel 45 degrees left and right continuously 🥴🙄
Pete Cowdry

15.

Free parking spaces in front of any building someone is going to
Lynn Rickard

16.

Someone trying to download a 3 and a half inch floppy disc before the baddies turn up!
Bob Elsden

17.

An original story? that would never work today. Its only a go, if its a sequel, a prequel, or a remake.
Dieter Michaels

18.

That moment of realisation when a photo gets developed in a dark room.
Ian McIntosh

19.

Mark Gillan
Via

Barrie Jarman got to the point.

Kevin Spacey

READ MORE

32 examples of real infrastructure that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi film

Source The Poke Image Screengrab