Newton’s
Third Law of motion states that: For every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction. So when two objects interact with each other if one object
inflicts a certain amount of force onto an object it will react with the same
amount of force back to the first object. This law gets broken in countless
amounts of forms of entertainment. From video games to film and television from
animation to live action, there are countless examples of misuse of Newton’s
Third Law.
A double
jump mechanic has been implemented in video games for a very long time. Most
commonly found in platformer games, where you are a character who gets from
point A to point B by solving jumping puzzles. A lot of old 16 bit video games
used this mechanic, double jump, by being able to access higher platforms to
create more difficult and challenging puzzles. In the examples below from Mega
Man Revolution and super Mario Bros. 2 we see the characters performing a
double jump.
The first
jump is obviously viable however at about the apex of the first jump the
characters would jump again on thin air. Now according to Newton’s Law every
action follows an equal opposite reaction. There is no way to push air because
it isn’t a solid platform for us to exert force on. There are however some
video games that give an explanation for the double, for example a “magical”
platform builds around your foot for you to exert energy for a second jump. This
is just a fictional reason for the double jump but there is no real world way
anyone can jump twice in the air. Classical uses of floating on air have been
used in games as well as live action films.
“Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was a film released in 2000 and directed by Ang Lee. A
good example of old mystical martial arts and a lot of old martial arts story
has shown a lot of floating in the air and jumping on air. A lot of the
reasoning behind this comes from “training” and their clothing creates air for
the fighters to propel themselves. This gives the illusion of flight and
control over their surroundings, which speaks metaphorically and spiritually. Through
out the film there are clear examples of this but in the clip below it is the
most prominent.
The
constant jumping, “flying”, and balancing on bamboo branches all go against
Newton’s third law. Similar to double jumping these characters from the film
seem like they are doggie paddling through the air to stay afloat. Again with
the same sense of double jumping for them to propel into the air they would
definitely need to be waving about 100x faster than they are in the film.
Other than
flying around and “jumping” on air, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” has loads
of fight scenes involving various types of weapons. The main weapon, the Green
Dragon, is extremely powerful. In this fight scene below there are good
examples of action/reaction when the green dragon gets hit with a lot of force
the force is being exerted on the wielder. There are some parts where I believe
the sword should have been shattered or at least get dull. Of course part of
the story is that it is an ancient sword and in the film they make it out to be
extremely flexible. Regardless, the force exerted seems too strong for the
reactions in this particular fight scene.
Fight
scenes are a good example for any misuse of Newton’s Third Law. It is common to
find the rules being broken in these particular scenes because it makes it more
entertaining. My next medium is Anime, Japanese animation, because of the
enormous amounts of exaggerated fight scenes. As creative as it is, there are
many digressions from real world physics. The example below is from a fairly
new anime called “One Punch Man” where as the title says, is about a superhero
that can kill things in one punch. The example below, however not a fight
sequence shows an example of the force behind a single punch. The delayed
reaction to the force of the punch is nonexistent. Along with that if the force
of the hero’s punch was able to blow up the monster that force should have been
exerted back to him probably pushing the ground below him. Lots of anime show a
delayed reaction to punches and kicks and sometimes they show the reaction,
much like in old television shows that can be forgiven with slow motion.
Using slow motion and other visual techniques help with suspending disbelief with physics. These effects hinder all the information needed to make a real assumption about what is going on. If the punch or kick seems slower it seems like there is much more force behind it. With more force behind it the action and reaction seem to be more believable in the eyes of the viewer. It also is a method used to push the entertainment factor and sometimes serves to help tell the story metaphorically.
Newton’s
third law does get broken all the time through out all entertainment mediums.
Along with visual techniques to help make things more believable, this gives
the audience a better form of entertainment. Sometimes the explanation for
certain events help with telling the story or backstory; there may be some
history between the powers given to some characters. Video games, Film, and
Anime all exploit these real world rules because they are not real worlds.
Those rules were meant to be broken for the purpose of entertainment. Even if
there are moments where it is completely unbelievable understanding the physics
behind it is also important to help create an explanation so that the audience is
not removed from the experience as well.
