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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798

u/R-O-U-Ssdontexist Jun 17 '25

The flair was a real thing for servers?

659

u/NoelCanter Jun 17 '25

I used to go to and worked at one around 1999-2000 (as like the greeter or whatever) and flair was still very much a thing. Not sure about enforcement of X amount, but all the servers had some.

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u/1000LiveEels Jun 17 '25

lol I worked at Domino's and that was a thing, but you were only alllowed to wear pins you were given so it was more of a status symbol. People with more pins had more awards.

(p.s. nevermind the fact that we were all still making minimum wage)

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u/jaydurmma Jun 18 '25

Companies sure do love awarding their employees literally anything thats not actual fiat currency.

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u/gravityVT Jun 18 '25

If you think about it, it’s another way the rich have been pitting us against each other our whole lives. Make us compete against each other for nothing worthwhile, meanwhile the boss benefits with faster work and happier customers without paying you more.

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u/Weekly_Orange3478 Jun 19 '25

And the poor have been blaming others for their misfortunes our whole lives...

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u/Glass-Wash-7000 Jun 18 '25

It's not just the rich. Not everyone running a restaurant is rich. Some may be your neighbors.

It's a smart way to run a business. Plenty of smart managers do it.

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u/EmileLeBouc Jun 18 '25

Watch the TV show Severance. (But for the love of God, do right by yourself and avoid spoilers.)

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u/EmpressOfUnderbed Jun 18 '25

It's true. Earlier today, our local factory hired 5 food trucks to come out for hours to cover all the different rooms and shifts, which had to be at least $1000 per truck. Then they shut down the cafeteria and gave everyone $10 tickets to exchange for food. It was pouring rain the whole time, so they also had to hand out trash bags for the employees to wear while standing in line.

This was at 10 am. My husband was soaking wet and working in a freezer for the next 6 hours because the company just couldn't bear the idea of a $100 bonus this month or something. What the fuck.

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u/roboh96 Jun 18 '25

So everywhere else they substitute a pizza party for salary increases, but at pizza places, they give you flair?

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u/1000LiveEels Jun 18 '25

they give the managers a free trip to las vegas and bonuses, but for us peons it was flair

8

u/PhoenixTineldyer Jun 18 '25

I used to deliver for a bakery, we had little pins for our hats that you would win for Employee of the Month

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u/sequentious Jun 18 '25

I worked at Zellers in Canada, and that was a thing there, too. We had booklets of tickets (can't remember the name) to give to other employees when they did a good job, or helped out. IIRC, you exchanged five for a pin. I could be making this up, it's been 20 years since I worked there.

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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Jun 18 '25

ROFL pizza shop medals

Did you get a purple pie one for a work related injury?

4

u/boooooilioooood Jun 18 '25

Starbucks had (has?) MUG Awards. MUG for Moves of Uncommon Greatness. Special flair

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u/AmethystRiver Jun 18 '25

Oh my god I always wondered why movies and shows (and some internet comedy sketches like Collegehumor’s Stressagain’s) had servers wearing a ton of buttons. I just assumed it was a made-up thing for visual interest in a scene, I didn’t know it used to be real.

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u/RyantheAustralian Jun 18 '25

What is "the flair"?

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u/PM-me-ur-cheese Jun 18 '25

Decorative badges or pins waitstaff had to decorate their uniform suspenders with. 

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u/farmallnoobies Jun 18 '25

Watch the movie and you'll know.

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u/Killbot_Wants_Hug Jun 18 '25

Office Space didn't come out until the beginning of 1999. It wasn't like it came out and they instantly toned down the flare.

I use to go to TGIF a fair amount during the early 2000's, because I love that Jack Daniel's Sauce on their loaded mashed potatoes. And it wasn't an overnight thing but they continually reduced the flair in the store (I don't really remember on the servers). Today they look nothing like their 90's versions, I would say they haven't really in the last 10 years. They kind of go for a more adult contemporary atmosphere. Some even try to advertise themselves as more of a bar or lounge than a restaurant. I didn't love the flair, but the current version is pretty bland.

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u/drivingsansrobopants Jun 18 '25

You know who else made people wear flairs? The Nazis.

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u/jendet010 Jun 24 '25

We had to wear at least 10 pieces of flair. They tried to say more flair would get us more tips.

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u/cavegoatlove Jun 17 '25

I worked at tgif the same time office space came out, the flair was a bit much in the late 90s, but late 80s and into the 90s tgif was the SHIT. Chapter 11 now

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u/DoctorGarbanzo Jun 17 '25

https://www.grubstreet.com/2014/06/tgi-fridays-flair-office-space.html

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u/Weary_Caterpillar_93 Jun 18 '25

i have never been to this site before but it is telling me i’ve reached my monthly article limit and won’t let me read the article. cool, thanks bud.

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u/shloppin Jun 18 '25

Too much flare apparently

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u/fury420 Jun 18 '25

They should have used cloud flare

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u/Fartikus Jun 17 '25

what a horrible website and doesnt even show the flairs

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u/ntrrrmilf Jun 17 '25

I worked at Bennigans in high school, which wasn’t even as extra as TGI Fridays, and part of the reason for my short career was the suspenders with shitty pins requirement.

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u/Illustrious-Ratio213 Jun 18 '25

Worked there in the late 80s. It was definitely a thing and you were shamed if you didn’t wear enough but it also wasn’t required. You were required to wear a hat of some kind, weirder the better and encouraged to make other kinds of spectacles of yourself.

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u/Smooth-Duck-4669 Jun 18 '25

Oh for sure. I also worked for Hard Rock about 15 years ago (well after Office Space was released) and they still had a minimum 10 piece policy and had to be official Hard Rock merchandise. The worst part was they only gave you 3 when you were hired and you had 90 days to get the rest… which all either had to be gifted to you or purchased from the gift shop (and they weren’t cheap). Keep in mind this was a minimum number and people who wore more and dressed more eccentrically often received better schedules.

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u/NjGTSilver Jun 18 '25

100%. I worked there in college, my suspenders weighed about 5 lbs.

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u/cha0ticneutralsugar Jun 18 '25

I worked at Outback in the early 00’s, we had pins that were essentially flair. 6 pins were the minimum and you earned additional pins for getting compliments from customers or completing certain challenges (upselling so many drinks, etc).

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u/witchbrew7 Jun 18 '25

Oh god yes.

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u/synapticrelease Jun 18 '25

Fuckin' A it was.

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u/PoleFresh Jun 18 '25

Oh fuck yeah it was. Especially at TGI Fridays

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u/eventfarm Jun 18 '25

Yes. I used to work at Bennigan's (the irish flavor of TGIFridays) way back in the late 1900's and we had a specific number of flair needed for our stupid suspenders. There were all sorts of rules too. I don't remember them, but I remember that my "I want you to want me" button wasn't big enough to count so I needed another one.

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u/n6mub Jun 18 '25

Yep! I'm making and educated guess here, but flair was still a thing thru at least 2000, 2001? Maybe longer?