The word “rookie” likely derives from “recruit.”

A Wookiee, like Chewbacca, likely derives from “wecruit.”

The Liberty Bell isn’t all that American.  In fact, it was cast in England.

Like the Harry Potter movies.

The MPAA (the Motion Picture Association of America) is the organization in charge of giving movies their ratings in the US.  G- and R-ratings have been in use since 1968, PG since 1972, PG-13 since 1984, and NC-17 since 1990.  Over time X-rated movies became synonymous with pornography, even though that wasn’t always the case.  For this reason, the MPAA adopted the NC-17 rating so it wouldn’t unjustly associate films with pornography.  Though nowadays, X-rated pretty much means pornography. 

I remember back in elementary school, when kids used to brag about their parents allowing them to watch PG-13 movies or even R-rated movies.  This one girl took things a little further by bragging that her dad let her watch X-rated movies.  She may have been cool in 4th grade.  But now I just feel creeped out.

From 1968 to 2000, Alan Smithee was the official pseudonym used by film directors who didn’t want their real names attached to a film (perhaps due to disagreeable editing, a loss of creative control, censorship for TV or airplane broadcasts, etc.).  If your name is Alan Smithee, it probably means your parents didn’t want to take credit for you.

Harsh.

The monster Godzilla first appeared in a 1954 Japanese film called “Gojira.”  The name Godzilla is the anglicized form of Gojira, which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (gorilla) and kujira (whale).  This is fitting because, in the early stages of the film’s production, Godzilla was described as “a cross between a gorilla and a whale.”

A cross between a gorilla and a whale?  What an odd and useless creature. I can imagine the script:

Man 1: Watch out for Godzilla!

Man 2: Why?

Man 1: Because it’s a mix between a gorilla and a whale!

Man 2: So…It’s a super endangered species?

Man 1: No, it’s a mix between two giant things.

Man 2: Yeah.  But it’s probably extremely awkward and worthless on land and water…Sounds kinda hilarious actually.  Let’s go poke it with a stick.

“Schizophrenia” comes from the Greek roots, skhizein (split) and phren- (mind).  Although the literal translation seems to be “split mind,” schizophrenia is not the same as dissociative identity disorder (AKA multiple personality or split personality disorder).  I just watched A Beautiful Mind, that movie with Russell Crowe playing the brilliant, schizophrenic John Nash.  The story is based off the life of the actual innovative economist and mathematician, however many of the details in the film weren’t entirely true. The one that really jumped out at me was the fact that the real John Nash claims to have never had visual hallucinations, only auditory ones.  If the film chose to go with only auditory hallucinations, I suppose a few of the actors wouldn’t have had jobs.  The brilliant economist strikes again.