Question: How on earth could it take as long five years for a possessive and controlling abuser like Mitch to first show his true nature? I get that with some abusers it can take a bit of time, but five years seems a bit of a stretch. Also, did Mitch really believe himself to be in love with Slim? It seemed to me that he was far more arrogant and greedy, rather than lusting.
Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Answer: In addition to the other answer here: Abusers often *do* believe that they love their victims. They have a distorted idea of how to behave and treat someone who they love. Mitch can certainly be arrogant and greedy, while also "loving" Slim in his own sick way. There are even non-abusive people who are arrogant and greedy, but love their partners and families.
Question: How come at the end, in the department of mysteries, there was blood at the end of Luna's mouth?
Answer: After the kids use the Stupefying Spell in unison on Lucius and the other Death Eaters, a few shots later Lucius apparates and holds out his hand. Three shots later (01:51:00) there's a closeup of Luna as she turns to face the masked Death Eater, then at the start of the next shot Luna is hit in the face and she falls backward onto the floor. It's here we see the bit of blood at the corner of Luna's mouth.
Question: Closely connected questions relating to Kong's massive size and weight: How did the crew "lift" him from the raft into the ship? Where did they keep him in the ship? (there doesn't seem to be a hold big enough) How did they feed him for the several weeks it took to get to New York? And lastly, how did they get him from the ship to the theater?
Question: Kramer never seems to work, how does he pay for an apartment in NYC, even in the 90s they were still expensive, is his means of income ever revealed?
Answer: In the episode where Kramer goes to baseball fantasy camp, George says Kramer's life is a fantasy camp and that he "fell ass-backwards into money." It's never explained where this money comes from or what Kramer did to get it, but that's how he's able to afford the lifestyle he leads. Although the episode where Jerry buys his dad a Cadillac, Kramer sees the check Jerry earned for his comedy gig and didn't realise Jerry made so much money that he felt uncomfortable about knowing the amount, so it's not like Kramer is sitting on a ton of money, which is why he does all his schemes and side jobs.
Answer: This is gleaned from the Internet, though it seems a bit far-fetched that it would provide enough for all his living expenses: Kramer has a variety of ways of making a living, including gambling, working in various theater projects, acting out illnesses at a medical school, getting a spot on the show "Murphy Brown", and pitching ideas for inventions like his "Coffee Table Book."
Question: Despite it being pretty clear Penny had an illegal abortion the word is never said in the whole film. Was that still taboo in the 80s? Or is it more indicative of how people in the 60s didn't want to use the word directly?
Answer: I think it's both reasons. Abortion has always been a controversial topic, so the movie apparently preferred to avoid the word. In that time period, abortion was still strictly illegal, so the people around Penny would likely not say the exact word out loud to protect her and keep it as quiet as possible. It was typical to allude to something like that in a more colloquial manner, such as "getting rid of it." It's similar to how people would rarely even say "pregnant." It was always terms like "expecting," "in a delicate condition," "in a family way" etc.
Question: When they go back in time, how come Hermione couldn't figure out Dumbledore also wanted them to save Buckbeak until Harry said it, since they were sent back to before he was executed?
Answer: Because Dumbledore is having the students do an illegal act (helping Sirius escape), he has to be careful of what and how he says it to protect himself and them. He deliberately "implies" what should be done so he can have "plausible deniability." If Harry and Hermione were later interrogated, they cannot say, "Dumbledore told us to do a specific thing." Dumbledore, in turn, can rightfully claim he never told them something and/or they misinterpreted what he did say.
Question: I'm not from the USA so excuse the lack of knowledge, would pleading insanity really get you off a rape charge?
Answer: 1) McMurphy didn't exactly "get off" by reason of insanity; he was still incarcerated for an indefinite amount of time, just in a psychiatric facility rather than a traditional prison. 2) He was originally sent to a normal prison for the statutory rape charge, but is then transferred to the mental hospital due to repeated acts of aggression that suggested some form of psychosis (or, as the doctor suspects, faking it to get out of hard labor). 3) No, it wouldn't. The insanity defense is a) very rare and b) very hard to prove, and it would be difficult to apply to rape, statutory or otherwise.
Answer: Insanity, legally, is defined as not knowing right from wrong. It can also be "temporary." It can only be diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist, and it is rarely determined as such. Laws vary from state to state, but if a person was guilty of a serious crime and was found to be insane, they'd be confined to a mental hospital, either long-term, permanently, or, if they sufficiently improve, they'd be either be released after a certain amount of time or transferred to a general prison to complete their sentence or remain there indefinitely.
Question: Anastasia basically lost most of her memories from hitting her head, as well as the possible trauma of what happened to her the night her family was killed. Could someone really lose most of their memories that way?
Answer: Amnesia exists, but it is a temporary condition. It does not last for the long-term and people usually regain their memory in a day or two, sometimes up to a week. Extreme cases can last longer, but not in the way it is depicted in movies. Some people may lose memories due to severe brain damage from a traumatic injury, but that is permanent.
Question: When Elizabeth and her crew are crawling the ropes back to their ship, why does Norrington care about Bootstrap shouting "Prisoners escaping" and ask him to belay that? I thought the EITC are in control of the Dutchman so even if the rest of Davy Jones' crew are alerted they can't really do much since Norrington is EITC.
Question: I'm really confused by Eddie's behaviour. Why did he suddenly decide to abandon Vincent and Carmen. And why couldn't he just take the money at the end (and maybe give it to charity if he didn't want it as Carmen suggested). Why did he unnecessarily have to turn it into an issue with Vincent?
Answer: Because it wasn't about the money or a personal issue with Vincent. Eddie had a sudden realization about his own integrity and what he was doing (helping to rig games' outcome to skew betting odds). He wanted to win legitimately against Vincent. Earlier, he had become rather fed up with Vincent's egotistical nature and arrogance, which led to them parting ways.
Question: When they run out of fuel in the plane, he says "there's nowhere to land." Why not land on the perfectly flat and smooth road they subsequently drive off on, which would have been obvious?
Answer: Posted as a mistake and corrected, answering this question: Corrected entry: After the plane runs out of fuel, Bond says "there's no place to put down." They then get into the jeep and out of the plane in a complex move, ending up on a huge flat desert, right next to a long straight road... Correction: A road like that would probably not support the plane's weight, and a sandy desert is NOT a good place to put down, as the wheels would sink quickly in the sand, probably causing the plane to cartwheel. Planes of that size take a very long taxi when landing, and even if the road could support the weight, it would need an uninterrupted length of smooth pavement to make a landing. It's one reason even pilots in small aircraft rarely land on a road, but in a field or something nearby a road. Most roads also have wires, poles, etc along the sides, which a plane could very well be destroyed from. Wires are not visible at altitude, thus roads are not necessarily the best place to try to land in an emergency.
Question: How does Richie know that Samantha sees visions of her dead father? (01:36:00)
Answer: As far as I can tell, It's never stated in the movie how he found out about that. Maybe Sam told him off screen when he "learned " that Billy Loomis was Sam's biological father.
Question: What would've happened if they were caught at the end?
Answer: The likely responses of the Nazis would have been either to execute them all, or hold Captain von Trapp's family hostage while he served in the Kriegsmarine.
Question: Wouldn't Max and the nuns have been tortured and executed for helping them escape?
Answer: Quite possibly yes.
Question: At the finale of The Wicker Man Howie/Edward Woodward is placed in a wooden cage high above the ground. The cage is set alight. When the cage began to burn and disintegrate, wouldn't he have fallen out of it onto the ground? As the cage burns, the wood must become brittle, so why can't he just force his way out? (Yes, he is surrounded by the islanders, but if anybody was being burnt alive, and they could get out of the flames, wouldn't the self-preservation instinct kick in?).
Answer: He would likely die from the heat or smoke inhalation long before the wood would deteriorate enough for him to fall out. The film also makes a point to show that Howie has given up trying to fight the villagers and has accepted his fate, so even if he could have forced his way out he no longer had the will to do so.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Terrifyingly, it absolutely is not a stretch; abusers can lay the groundwork for a very long time, including years, before "revealing" themselves. The better to manipulate not only the victim, but the people around them, who will say "Oh, I've known him for years and he wouldn't do that" if the victim discloses abuse. As to your second question, you have to decide for yourself; abusers will often explain their actions as being motivated by love, but whether they believe it themselves or simply use it as a controlling tactic is a vexed question.
I believe that Slim was not abused at first because everything was going fine for Mitch. Slim was - as she later points out - taking care of his house and his child. She had not yet realised his deception. He was able to work, engage in affairs, then return to his nice home, with a beautiful wife and child. When Slim finally caught him and refused to tolerate his behavior, he was ready to "openly" abuse and control her.