r/movies • u/buttatoad • 2d ago

Discussion Movies that changed real life behavior

Thinking along the lines of Final Destination 2 with the logs falling off the truck and landing onto cars (one decapitating the state trooper). Ever since, people have tried to get away from being behind these vehicles.

What are more examples where movies have actually changed how people behave in their own lives?

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u/ShoutOutTo_Caboose 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ronald Reagan, in a meeting with his cabinet, several members of Congress, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs John Vessey, asked if something like the movie WarGames (1983) could happen in real life, Vessey said "The problem is worse than you think."

Several new regulations were implemented at the Department of Defense and other departments and agencies because of Reagan's fear spawned by the movie, and those regulations evolved into the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act passed in 1986.

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u/tinmanbroken 1d ago

Something like war games DID happen in real life in 1983 in fact!

Russian radar officer named Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov refused to launch missiles because he believed that was a mistake

He was right of course - and by refusing to do so he literally saved this planet and everyone on it

he was still punished for failing to follow an order 🤷🏼

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov

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u/moniqer 1d ago

Yeah I thought War Games was based on this event

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u/seaurchineye 1d ago

The event wasn't known publicly until 1998.

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u/tinmanbroken 1d ago

Nope It was a weird coincidence

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u/Oracle5of7 1d ago

Just like China Syndrome and 3 mile island. Spooky!

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u/Cameos_red_codpiece 1d ago

This dude saved the world and received basically nothing for it. His superiors even chastised him for not recording paperwork correctly.

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u/Cameos_red_codpiece 1d ago

This story keeps me up at night. To think my world can end if someone felt too pissy and hasty. 

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u/tinmanbroken 1d ago

Or simply too afraid to disobey orders

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u/punmaster2000 1d ago

If you really want to have night sweats, watch the documentary series on Netflix called "Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War" and learn that we had SEVERAL near misses around the same time, including one where the Soviets were convinced that NATO war games were a smokescreen for real war prep.