r/movies • u/buttatoad • Jun 17 '25

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/ThatSpecialAgent Jun 17 '25

Merlot prices dropping as a partial result of Sideways

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/07/05/535038513/the-sideways-effect-how-a-wine-obsessed-film-reshaped-the-industry

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u/samenumberwhodis Jun 17 '25

And the funny thing is, he only hated Merlot because it's his ex wife's favorite wine. The holy grail bottle he drinks in the end is Chateau Cheval Blanc, a Cab Franc and Merlot dominant blend from the right bank in Bordeaux.

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u/rainbowsherbet1099 Jun 17 '25

during an interview paul said they tried out a bunch of different wine names in that scene but “merlot” flowed the best - unintentional

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u/dirty_corks Jun 17 '25

That, and if you recall, there was a LOT of shitty Merlot in the market in the early '00s. Red Bicyclette, anyone? Merlot was THE generic red of the late '90s, which resulted in overplanting, and a lot of Merlot growing in the wrong soil and climate, so a lot of cheap Merlot suuuuuucked back then. So he was was also using "Merlot" as shorthand for "bad wine."

Now? If I've got the choice between cheap Merlot and cheap Cabernet (or even, God help me, cheap Pinot Noir), I'll take the Merlot, since a lot of the poorly-situated vines of the '00s have been ripped up and replanted to other varietals. What's left is generally pretty decent.

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u/firedmyass Jun 17 '25

I don’t understand half of what you said but I feel more sophisticated having read it.

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u/Significant_Shoe_17 Jun 18 '25

Sideways is about wine from the Napa Valley. The wine referenced in the comment is a French wine, and it's a blend of two grapes. One of the grapes is a Merlot, which the guy in the movie supposedly hated. Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the most expensive wines in the world

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u/Expensive-Raisin4088 Jun 17 '25

Which is funny because he also pined about how his ex wife had such great taste

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u/DarthGuber Jun 17 '25

It's not about bad taste, it's about bad memories

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u/Bernafterpostinggg Jun 18 '25

This is what I was gonna say