Arbitrary Skepticism in Live-Action Films.
Works with their own pages:
- Generally, this trope tends to crop up rather frequently in moves where Santa Claus is real. Adults won't believe in Santa Claus, even though there should be tons of evidence of his existence in the form of presents that nobody bought.
- In Alien, Ripley wants to get rid of the Facehugger carcass, because they already know that the alien creature bleeds acid and have no clue what will happen after it's dead. Ash counters this by snarking at Ripley that it probably isn't a zombie.
- Blood Machines: While Lago believes that the birth of the woman from the Mima was a miracle and starts viewing things through a religious lens, Vascan scoffs at the idea, calling her a "parasite with pretty legs."
- The Cube film series:
- In the first movie, Holloway and Quentin both commit this during their discussion of each other's pet theories on the origins of the Cube. She believes that the military-industrial complex created the place, which he dismisses because he believes government organizations are just composed of people like him, whose goals in life are to "buy big boats", not conspire. Quentin believes that the structure is a rich psychopath's entertainment, comparing it to The Man with the Golden Gun, to which Holloway reacts as if he just said that the moon is made of cheese. Granted that Quentin's theory is more outlandish than hers (and his citing of a stereotypical Bond villain doesn't really help his argument), but she didn't need to start acting like a Jerkass by ridiculing him for it. (Not that it makes his murder of her partly in retribution for this any more justified.)
- In the sequel Cube 2: Hypercube, Max calls the rest of the group crazy for even considering that space and time could be distorted in the cube (despite repeatedly witnessing things that are physically impossible, such as the rooms instantaneously moving around) and argues that there has to be a logical explanation, such as an optical illusion. At the same time he berates the others for not believing in his conspiracy theories, and is convinced that the cube is operated by a mysterious superhacker called Alex Trusk.
- In The Dark Knight Rises, the GCPD are awfully dismissive of Gordon's account of his encounter with Bane and his men in the sewers that he narrowly escaped from. And they still seem dismissive of Gordon's story about a masked man and an army living in the sewers even after Bane and his men attack the Stock Exchange, an attack in which Bane is clearly seen leading them, mask and all. Considering that, in the previous two films in the series, Gotham fell under terrorist attack by an army of ninjas and a man dressed as a clown, it's not particularly outlandish. On the other hand, those events occurred in the span of two years, at which time a vigilante who dressed as a bat was also active. Since the last 8 years have been peaceful and Batman has retired, it's possible that the GCPD came to consider those attacks to be isolated incidents.
- DC Extended Universe:
- Wonder Woman (2017): When Steve tells the others about Diana's belief that Ares is behind WWI, Charlie scoffs at the idea. Sameer points out how silly it is that Charlie finds it hard to believe when they had just witnessed Diana conquer No Man's Land, throw a tank into a building with her bare hands, and demolish the top of a church by just jumping into it.
- In Aquaman (2018), Dr. Stephen Shin is dismissed by most as a conspiratorial loon for claiming that Atlantis exists. This of course ignores the fact that Earth has experienced two alien invasions already and has an Amazonian goddess living among humanity. Shin also repeatedly points out Aquaman's existence, to no avail.
- Likewise, SHAZAM! (2019) takes place next in the same continuity, so aliens, demigods, cyborgs, and Atlantis are all established parts of reality. But when Dr. Sivana tries to research the wizard who summoned him as a child, the only way he's able to do so is by disguising it as a study into mass delusions, since no credible scientist is willing to take him seriously. Even after witnessing video evidence of strange symbols appearing on a woman's alarm clock and learning that they correspond exactly to Dr. Sivana's own childhood experience, the head researcher refuses to consider a supernatural explanation until she's affected by the magic and is killed almost immediately afterward.
- SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods: Eugene doesn't believe in Unicorns, despite the fact the he can summon the powers of actual gods with just a single word, and has seen/fought creatures of myth before. He later renounces this disbelieve after watching a chimera breath fire all over a car, realizing that maybe a horse with a horns isn't the craziest idea.
- Eight Legged Freaks: The conspiracy-believing radio host is unwilling to believe the others' tales of giant killer spiders. This may have been as much him suspecting they were making fun of him, as him actually finding the idea itself unbelievable.
- The Exorcist: Invoked, and actually a major plot point. Chris thinks Father Karras and the doctors treating Regan are absurdly resistant to consider that Regan really is possessed, especially after various medical tests uncover no obvious illness. But as Karras points out, the modern Catholic Church has such high standards for performing an exorcism that they have to exhaust every rational explanation before they can assume the victim is actually a victim of demonic possession. The book goes into extensive detail about just what has to be studied and ruled out.
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: After hearing about the Silver Surfer, a shiny man who flies on a surfboard, The Thing sarcastically asks "So, did you follow the shiny man to Lollipop Land or to Rainbow Junction?" However, The Thing was hit by cosmic radiation, causing him to gain superpowers such as his skin turning into rock, so he should have no trouble believing in the Silver Surfer.
- Shows up to varying degrees in the Ghostbusters series.
- In the first one, people are skeptical of the idea of ghosts even after the protagonists start doing regular business. Then there's a full-scale ghost attack on the city, followed by the conjuring of a 100-foot tall anthropomorphic marshmallow. Somehow, this manages to convince everyone that the Ghostbusters are frauds, despite the entire city having witnessed these events.
- A second near-apocalypse in the second film finally casts away any doubt, likely because the Ghostbusters animated the Statue of Liberty to save the day and the RMS Titanic sailed into port during the ruckus. Notably averted by the mayor in Ghostbusters II: when the Ghostbusters come to him proclaiming that the subway system is filled with anger-fueled ghost slime, his dismissal of them is not because he does not believe them, but because they aren't offering any realistic solutions (even within the context of their usual antics). Likewise, he only waits as long as he does to finally call on their services because he really would rather not have to.
- Special mention should be made of the psychiatrist in the second film who interviews the Ghostbusters after they are committed. Not only is he dismissive of their claims about Vigo's painting after the balance of two films' worth of ghostly mayhem, he seems to not even recognize the Ghostbusters despite the copious publicity they receive over the course of both films.
- In The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Molly's dad simply refuses to believe that a Satanic cult is coming for his daughter, even though he made a Deal with the Devil to save her. And how did he not notice that Molly's guidance counselor at school was the exact same person who acted as the Devil's agent in the deal?
- Independence Day:
- Even though the White House had just been destroyed by an alien death ray, the president laughs off Julius' belief in Roswell and Area 51, saying it's all a myth. As the President he probably assumed this is the kind of thing someone would have told him, only to find out he was left out to create Plausible Deniability.
- Many people consider Russell Casse to be insane due to his drunken ranting about being kidnapped by aliens. Fair enough, but when an alien invasion actually does happen, by aliens who have been confirmed to have been studying mankind in detail for years prior to their invasion, you'd think that'd give his story a little more credibility, but everyone continues to act like he's insane. (It's never made explicitly clear whether or not Russell is telling the truth, or if his ranting is just paranoid delusion that happens to match up to the circumstances. Russell certainly believes the invaders are the same aliens, though. The comic book adaptation, at the least, explicitly showed his abduction and that yes, it was the same aliens.)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, in which Indy encounters magical artifacts, comes before Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indy at one point dismisses all superstition involving the Ark of the Covenant. After all he has gone through, you'd think Indy would at least be a bit more open-minded in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Despite previously encountering magic rocks, a Nazi-killing golden box, a healing cup and an Atlantean god-making machine, he still sneers at the prospect of telepathic skulls, calling it a "bedtime story", just as he did with the Holy Grail. He also dismissively tells Mutt that the Akator legend is "just a story", even though he'd surely have realized by then that in the Indiana Jones universe nothing is ever "just a story". There are of course explanations for this stubbornness, such as that he knows Mutt is young and reckless and doesn't want to give him ideas, or he's trying to will himself into believing it's false precisely because he's seen how dangerous the supernatural can be, but the most likely reason is it just makes it more dramatic when he's inevitably proven wrong. It's adressed again in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny when he states to his goddaughter Helena that while he generally doesn't believe in magic in and of itself, he has "seen some things" in his life he can't explain, obviously referencing the supernatural phenomena he encountered in the previous movies.
- This tradition is continued in expanded media. In Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, Indy describes the MacGuffin as "a mythological artifact, like Excalibur or the Holy Grail", both of which are treasures that canonically he would later discover himself.
- Kazaam is a genie who disbelieves in fairy tales.
- In Kong: Skull Island, Randa has been desperately trying to prove Kaiju exist for years. When a critic compares him to those people who believe in aliens, Randa dismissively says those people are nuts.
- In The Last Mimzy, the brother has already found a strange cube that deposited several mysterious items, including a strange crystal that makes noise that only he and his sister can see (adults think it looks like a flat rock), a crystalline conch shell that enhances his hearing and teaches him how to command spiders through sound, and a set of stone "spinners" that his sister can spin to create a strange portal that causes her hand to split harmlessly into a million particles. Yet he still refuses to believe that her stuffed rabbit, which also came through the cube, speaks to her, despite it being the one that taught her how to spin the spinners. It takes the mimzy predicting their father's arrival to convince him.
- In The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, Goobie refuses to believe that the balloons are magical and can talk, stating that it is scientifically impossible. This despite the fact they live in a house with a magic talking window, a talking pillow, and a talking vacuum cleaner.
- Gibbs from Pirates of the Caribbean is highly superstitious. However, he is skeptical of the existence of Davy Jones' Kraken (which is, in fact, real).
- The trailer for the last installment, there is a character that deems herself a scientist and says "I choose not to believe in ghosts." Yep. You just can't help but wonder....
- William Turner, serving as captain of the Flying Dutchman, doesn't believe in old myths about the Trident of Poseidon. Likewise, the Royal Navy, who a decade before was ordering around Davy Jones to kill his kraken shortly before declaring war on Calypso the sea goddess, takes no stock in sailor's tales such as the Devils' Triangle.
- In Plan 9 from Outer Space, people encounter flying saucers and a zombie that melts into a skeleton, yet have trouble believing that someone could have risen from the dead to break out of his own grave.
- Sabrina Down Under: A merman, sitting in a bathtub next to a talking cat, refuses to believe in witches. One spell later:Sabrina: You know, for a guy with a tail, you're extremely narrow-minded.
- In 6 Souls Cara does a good job of avoiding this, approaching her doubts realistically and scientifically. But her father believes she has succumbed to it all the same.
- Dr. Koven, in The Skeptic, is a parapsychological researcher who believes in psychics and in chi, but not in ghosts.
- Son of Godzilla: A bunch of giant, mutant preying mantises are treated as nothing special, yet Goro's reports of a mystery woman sneaking around the camp are treated with skepticism bordering on hostility.
- In Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Rachel, Maddie's sister, faints at the sight of the unconscious Sonic, then later tries to convince Maddie that Tom has gone crazy because he's talking about aliens, despite the obvious alien in her house.
- Theresa & Allison: Theresa expresses incredulity after she's been made into a vampire on being told werewolves, demons and other supernatural creatures also exist. She's being oriented into her new life by another vampire, who dryly answers "Yes, said the vampire to the other vampire", about them. None however appear in the film.
- In Time Bandits, Kevin insists that the "Time of Legends" isn't real, to a time traveller who just recovered him from Ancient Greece, where he helped kill a minotaur.
- In the film version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Caspian and Edmund scoff at Drinian and the other sailors for being afraid of sea serpents, in spite of living in the original Fantasy Kitchen Sink and being personally acquainted with a wide variety of mythological creatures, as well as well-versed in the lore of many others - including dragons. When Eustace mistakes a seagull for a sentient being and tries to talk to it, a minotaur laughs at him.
- In The Wizard of Oz, the Tin Man, who is accompanying a talking lion and an animated scarecrow to kill a witch on the orders of a wizard, does not believe in "spooks" (ghosts).
