Chick 1 says:
Because most spaceships have rickety walkways over their nuclear core.
Welcome back to Trope of the Week or as it shall henceforth be called, Troperiffic Tuesday!
Ever seen a movie where the cap is knocked off a pipe joint with very little effort and blinding hot steam comes spraying out? Or someone has to cross a narrow walkway high above some flesh-grinding machinery with no guardrails? Or a character falls into an easily accessible vat of acid? Then you, my friend, are familiar with this week’s trope, No OSHA Compliance. As always, SPOILERS FOLLOW.
OSHA, in case you don’t know, stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It’s run by the US Department of Labor and handles all regulations and enforcement concerning workplace safety. Most first world countries have some form of this organization looking out for workers. But in movies, they sometimes seem rather…incompetent or even nonexistent.
In dramas, this trope can be played straight; like a story dealing with unsafe working conditions in coal mines or maybe an evil corporation that doesn’t care about the lives of its lowly workers. The most frequent use of this trope is to up the tension in a story by making the setting more dangerous. It’s common in action movies with settings like a “steam and flame factory”. (Thank you, Roger Ebert) But the mother of all regulation violaters is the scifi genre.
In a movie like the most recent Star Trek, there is at least some sort of logic. It makes sense that the Federation which probably evolved from today’s nations still has safety standards. So the Enterprise has guardrails on engineering walkways and even a handy emergency release switch on the clear water pipes that opens a hatch before the water gets to the big sharp whirring fan. Ya know, just in case, your future engineer gets beamed aboard the ship while it’s moving at warp speed using the formula that future engineer hasn’t developed yet but you got from Spock who came back from the future and accidentally beamed him inside the pipe. (Those OSHA guys really plan ahead.) In contrast, the Romulan ship has these massively high walkways with no railings which also makes sense because the Romulan culture is much more brutal and they probably think workplace safety is for pussy earthlings.
Star Wars, however, leaves logic in a galaxy far, far away. Take the Death Star. They have narrow walkways over death-inducing plummets and not a guardrail in sight. Heck, the entire planet of Corusant is almost nothing but floating platforms. They dress their stormtroopers in armor that limits their vision and in no way protects them from laser fire. If, for some reason, you need to turn off the tractor beam, you have to scoot out on this little ledge; not a very practical way to deal with tractor beam emergencies. And why are there bottomless chasms everywhere, even in the emperor’s throne room? At least the emperor gets a guardrail but it didn’t really help him in the end, did it?
Galaxy Quest, the movie that calls out pretty much every scifi trope in existence, conveniently demonstrates this concept with the “choppy crushy things” that serve no other purpose but to make the scene more dangerous.
So for your viewing pleasure, I present the choppy crushy things: (Sorry for the video quality; twas the best I could find.)
And now, the Star Wars safety issues from a janitor’s perspective:
Very good postings, Thanks a lot!
online casino pay with check online usa casinos resorts online casino customer service
You made your point extremely well!.
casino online bono de $400 casino online play free virtual online casino
Helpful material. Appreciate it!
best connecticut online casinos casino usa online kraken online casino
You actually explained this fantastically!
gta 5 online casino glitch xbox one best online casinos usa online casino free chip
Many thanks, Plenty of stuff!
spinzwin casino – online slots & casino casino online no deposit bonus rsweeps online casino 777 download for android
Nicely put. With thanks.
casinos online dinero gratis sin deposito online casino with no deposit bonus gameroom online casino
This is nicely put! !
www online casino games free best paying online casino jackpot city online casino download
Great tips. Regards.
gta online diamond casino heist all scope out social casino online top online casino poland
Superb info. Thanks a lot.
tiger casino online online casino top rated play igt casino games online
Info well used..
are there online casinos new online casino no deposit bonus agen casino online bonus new member
Appreciate it, A good amount of forum posts.
juwa 777 online casino login download for android ios new online casino usa ok hollywood casino free games online
Very well voiced really! .
yabo online casino new online usa casinos casino poker online
Thanks a lot, I enjoy it!
ballys online casino pa best usa online casinos online casino sperren
Tips certainly applied..
online casino american express deposit american casino online hard rock casino online phone number
Nicely put, Regards!
online casino mmo online live casinos casino blackjack online
Cheers, Excellent information!
royal vegas online flash casino popular online casinos danske casinoer online
Thanks a lot! A good amount of content!
hot shot casino games free online slots 777 online casinos usa online casino slot malaysia
With thanks! Helpful information.
coushatta casino online online casino in usa best online casino with free signup bonus real money usa
Reliable postings. Thank you.
safest online casino for us players online casino free bonus no deposit neue online casinos 2022
This is nicely expressed! !
online casino nepal best paying online casino winpalace casino online
Really lots of wonderful material.
bally wulff online casino 2018 online casino no deposit bonus harrahs casino online nj
Thanks a lot, Plenty of content.
ballys casino ac online gambling top 10 online casino champion online casino
Cheers. Numerous facts!
anguilla online casinos brand new online casinos usa no deposit bonus real casino online for real money no deposit
Wonderful write ups. Thanks.
gta online diamond casino heist all scope out online casinos usa online casino viel geld verdienen
Whoa loads of very good tips!
danish online casino sites free online casino games slots yggdrasil online casino
Thank you. Quite a lot of content!
hard rock pa online casino online casino bonus codes deposit online casino
Amazing plenty of fantastic information.
nieuwe online casino 2021 best online casino no deposit bonus online casino paypal canada
Appreciate it. A lot of content.
top casinos online uk online slot casinos super bet casino online
Kudos. Terrific information!
real casinos online online casino slot queen vegas online casino
This is nicely said! !
echeck deposit online casino usa online casino no deposit gta online casino not available for you
Excellent data. Thanks a lot.
mejores casinos online teleingreso espaГ±a real money online casinos can you play online casino in illinois
Cheers! I value it!
real online casino michigan casino online slot online casino top 100
You’ve made your point quite clearly.!
top online casinos that accept neosurf free online casino las vegas casino online betting
You made your stand extremely clearly.!
beat the boss online casino online casinos canada free bonus online casinos
Seriously loads of excellent facts!
which states allow online casinos best online casinos that payout usa firekeepers online casino bonus
With thanks. I enjoy this!
internet casino online jackpotcity casino canada top online casino japan
Lovely material. Kudos!
online-casinos ohne deutsche lizenz real casino online for real money online casino bookie franchise
With thanks. A good amount of data.
real money online casino bonus codes best online casinos usa bonos sin deposito casinos online
You actually stated that perfectly!
casino tiger club online casino online slots sugarhouse online casino promo code
Regards, I like it.
online casino with the most slots casino slots free online caribbean online casino
Good forum posts, Thanks!
riverboat casino online casino gambling online casino apuestas online
Whoa loads of awesome facts.
buy cialis online prescription https://northwestpharmacylabs.com/ oxfordhealth com online pharmacy
Cheers, Useful stuff!
apex8 online casino brand new online casinos usa no deposit bonus online casino real money az
You actually suggested that effectively!
online casino mit eu lizenz online casino games play casino online for real money
Cheers! Ample knowledge.