Tired hacking tropes in TV shows and movies: Time to reboot the cliches

TV shows and movies often take creative liberties when portraying various professions and activities. This is especially true when it comes to hacking.

While some films and series try to stay close to reality, others veer far from it, creating a world where computer experts can break into any system with a few keystrokes.

Hacking in media has become its own genre, complete with common tropes and clichés. These often-repeated elements range from slightly unrealistic to completely far-fetched.

As audiences, we’ve come to expect certain things when a hacker character appears on screen, even if those expectations don’t match up with real-world computer security practices.

1. Eye-Catching but Unrealistic Computer Screens

Movies and TV shows often show hackers using flashy computer screens. These screens have cool graphics and 3D images. But they’re not real at all.

Real hacking is pretty boring to watch. It’s mostly just typing commands into a plain black screen. Not very exciting for viewers! That’s why TV and movies jazz it up.

Some shows go way overboard though. They show:

  • 3D code floating in space
  • Colorful animations
  • Random pictures that make no sense

These crazy visuals have nothing to do with actual hacking. They’re just there to look cool.

One famous movie scene shows a hacker working with spinning 3D shapes. In real life, that would be like turning bank numbers into a picture of a giraffe. It makes no sense!

Another show had a character yell about an amazing “GUI” (graphical user interface). But the screen just showed random images. That’s like going to an art museum and calling the paintings “GUIs”.

Why do shows do this? A few reasons:

  1. Real hacking looks dull on screen
  2. Viewers expect fancy graphics
  3. It adds excitement to boring tech stuff

So next time you see wild hacking visuals in a movie, just remember – real hacking is way less exciting to watch. But it gets the job done without all the special effects!

2. Rapid-Fire Keyboard Wizardry

TV shows and movies often portray hacking as a high-speed, adrenaline-pumping activity. Characters frantically smash keyboards, screens flash with cryptic code, and data streams by at lightning speed. It’s exciting to watch, but far from realistic.

In the real world, hacking usually takes time and patience. Even skilled hackers can’t break into secure systems in seconds. Pop culture depictions often show:

• Multiple people typing on one keyboard

• Screens filled with meaningless popups and scrolling text

• Hackers loudly announcing their presence

These tropes make for dramatic scenes, but miss the mark on actual hacking methods.

Real hackers prioritize stealth over speed. They want to stay hidden in a system as long as possible. This lets them gather more data or set up long-term access. It’s more like a game of hide-and-seek than a digital shootout.

Some shows try to look impressive by having characters type super fast. But speed isn’t the key to good hacking. Knowledge, creativity, and careful planning matter much more than typing skills.

TV hackers also tend to use fake, gibberish code that looks complex to non-techies. Here’s an example of what not to do:

Sdfkl8;a'opwearkdvkl,zfm;WLP:>{"5?RESdlskdgflk2dsfghmkml,ertg789234jklmfjiklsdf9op3q2490dbfjklm

Real code is much more structured and logical, even if it’s not always easy to read.

While some hacking tools can speed things up, they don’t work like magic. Breaking into a well-protected system takes time and effort. Quick hacks in movies often suggest weak security rather than amazing skills.

3. Fake Loading Screens

Movies and TV shows love to show hacking progress with fancy loading bars. But this doesn’t match real life at all.

Hacking isn’t something you can measure with a percentage. You’re either in or you’re not. It’s like being pregnant – there’s no 50% hacked state.

These fake progress bars also don’t make sense from a practical standpoint:

• Why would hackers need them? They don’t give any useful info.

• If the target system made them, that’s a weird feature to have.

• Showing the victim how close you are to hacking them is just silly.

Let’s look at some examples of silly hacking progress bars in pop culture:

Movie/Show Ridiculous Hacking Scene
Castle Flashing loading bar with percentage
Mission Impossible 3D graphics of “hack in progress”

Real hacking is much less visual and exciting. It involves a lot of:

• Reading code

• Running scripts

• Waiting for programs to finish

• Troubleshooting errors

No flashy graphics or loading bars in sight!

4. Silly Computer Talk in Movies

TV shows and films often get computer lingo wrong. Hackers spout nonsense words that sound techy but mean nothing. It’s like they grabbed random terms from a computer dictionary and mixed them up.

Here’s a made-up example of movie hacker talk:

“I’m bypassing the mainframe’s encryption to access the neural network!”

This sounds fancy but makes no sense to real tech experts. It’s just a bunch of buzzwords thrown together.

Why do shows do this? A few reasons:

• It sounds exciting to viewers who don’t know better

• Writing real tech talk is hard

• Visual hacking scenes look cooler than realistic ones

Some say TV writers use fake tech talk on purpose to annoy real experts. If true, it works!

Movies could easily use basic real tech terms instead. Even simple stuff like “sending data packets over the internet” would be more accurate. But many prefer flashy fake jargon.

Next time you watch a hacking scene, see how many silly tech words you can spot. It can be a fun game to play while enjoying the show.

5. Weird Ways to Hack in Movies

Movies and TV shows love to get creative with hacking. They often come up with wild ideas that don’t make much sense in real life.

One famous scene shows a guy hacking an alien spaceship with a regular computer. It’s like the aliens made sure their tech worked with Earth computers before invading. Talk about considerate invaders!

But the prize for strangest hacking goes to a TV show about solving crimes. In one episode, they scan bones into a fancy computer. Suddenly, the machine catches fire! The reason? Someone carved a virus into a human bone. Apparently, this bone virus shut off the computer’s fans. And we all know computers burst into flames the second their fans stop, right?

Here are some other weird hacking ideas from movies and TV:

  • Hacking traffic lights with a laptop
  • Breaking into secure systems by furiously typing random keys
  • Cracking passwords by guessing a person’s favorite food or pet’s name

How Some Shows and Movies Portray Hacking More Realistically

While many TV shows and movies get hacking wrong, a few stand out for their more accurate portrayals.

“Mr. Robot” is often praised for its realistic hacking scenes. The show avoids common clichés and uses plausible scenarios.

In one episode, the main character easily hacks into hospital records. This might seem far-fetched, but it’s based on real-life weaknesses in older hospital systems.

Such breaches have actually happened.

Some movies present hacking scenarios that, while not 100% accurate, are at least possible.

“The Italian Job” features a hacker who takes control of traffic lights. This isn’t pure fantasy – many traffic systems use older tech that has been hacked before.

“Sneakers,” a 1992 film, was ahead of its time. It highlighted how important computer data would become in running the world.

As tech has grown, this idea has proven more and more true.

Here’s a quick look at some movies and shows that get parts of hacking right:

Show/Movie What They Get Right
Mr. Robot Realistic methods, plausible scenarios
The Italian Job Possible (if unlikely) targets
Sneakers The growing importance of data

These more accurate portrayals help raise awareness about real hacking risks. They show that while not all movie hacking is realistic, some comes closer to the truth than you might think.