6 Mind-Blowing Things In TV and Movies That People Believed Really Happened
Good TV and movies have the power of shocking us to our core, especially when they mimic reality (remember how you felt after watching "The Blair Witch Project"?). With more and more real-life stories bombarding pop culture (i.e. "Making a Murderer", "Orange Is the New Black", etc.), it's no surprise people mistake things that happen in fiction for real life occurrences.
Did you fall for any of these buzzworthy stories?
People lost it over Ridley Scott's "The Martian", a film about an astronaut (played by Matt Damon) stranded on Mars after he was presumed dead in a storm. The space flick was praised for its accurate scientific depiction, which critics called one of the most realistic space movies ever made. So naturally, people believed it was based on a true story.
Now this is just embarrassing. In 2009, the world covered the tragic story of the Air France flight that crashed over the Atlantic Ocean. Well, this Bolivian news channel had a bit of a mishap when they mistook the crash for none other than Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 from the popular TV drama, "Lost". They even showed crash footage from the series' pilot episode...oops.
Nathan Fielder broke many hearts after revealing he staged this viral video of a pig rescuing a drowning baby goat. (Sob). It's actually hilarious how he pulled it off: he built an underwater track that pushed the animals safely to shore. Well played, Nathan, well played.
Hate to break it to you, but megalodons are not still roaming the oceans. The two-hour mockumentary, "Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives", made waves when Discovery Channel aired it during 2013's "Shark Week". Naturally, people freaked out because, well, giant sharks with equally giant teeth are downright terrifying. Alas, these creatures have been extinct for at least 2.6 million years.
It still doesn't make the clip any less funny, but as it turns out, Jimmy Kimmel staged this hilarious video of a girl whose pants light on fire after she fall onto lit candles while trying to twerk. Her hysterical freak-out just makes the video that much more believable.
Premiering Jan. 26, WGN's new drama "Outsiders" stars "Sons of Anarchy" actor Ryan Hurst and follows an off-the-grid family as they struggle for power and control in the Appalachian Mountains. Soundless footage of the gang crashing through a store is so incredibly realistic, it's no wonder people thought it was ripped from actual security cameras. Plus, the show is loosely parallels the Oregon Occupiers, so there's a chilling reality to this fictional footage.