Always-entertaining nerdblogger MightyGodKing wants Hollywood to stop sticking the Wilhelm Scream into their movies. (For a brief history of the Wilhelm Scream, this very-low-resolution video will explain all you need to know.) MGK writes:

…the problem is this: whenever I hear a Wilhelm Scream I am taken out of the movie experience. My suspense of disbelief ends and I am just a guy sitting in a movie theatre who realized he just heard the same damn scream for the umpteenth time, because I recognize it. Every time.

I get his point, and the movie that inspired his post—The Avengers—does have an especially noticeable Wilhelm Scream in it. But I like the Wilhelm Scream. I think it’s an endearing part of moviemaking. It’s a split-second salute to all the people who work behind the cameras, and it’s a tradition that has stretched through decades of filmmaking. Sometimes, a good Wilhelm Scream can be the only refreshing organic moment in an otherwise-stultifying CGI death march. I agree that it’s a shame that the in-joke has gone public in such a huge way, but it’s more than an in-joke now. The Wilhelm Scream is that one shared moment where we all, filmmakers and filmgoers, come together to recognize that we’re watching a movie, and movies are fun, dammit.

But which side are you on?

5 replies on “Is It Time to Retire the Wilhelm Scream?”

  1. There’s lots of things that take me out of the movie watching experience but Foley jokes aren’t one of them.

    I mean, FUCK MITT ROMNEY.

    Read the whole thing here. Hit the jump for more. Click the link for OMG MITT ROMNEY.

  2. Can’t it be both? I love a good Wilhelm, but it definitely pulls me out of the movie.

    For me, it’s jumped the shark or nuked the fridge or screamed the Wilhelm. It’s not an inside joke anymore. It’s too widely used and it’s in the public consciousness now. Hell, they’re even talking about it in the Portland Mercury for god’s sake.

    Filmmakers should use it like they use breaking the fourth wall — for a specific reason. Knowing it might break the narrative flow of the film for just a second, but if it’s used for a purpose, then it just adds more to the overall film.

  4. I was pleased to note that there was a scene where the scream would’ve fit right in on The Avengers, then was annoyed that I actually noticed that.
    I guess it’s just that every time I hear it, it’s yet another, even subtler reminder of how unimaginative film makers have become.

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