Outline for the Second Term Paper

Second Term Paper: Newton's 3rd Law

I. Introduction
a. Action reaction principle - for every action there is an equal reaction in the opposite direction
b. Directors often purposely break this rule to enhance plot points or the feeling of drama/ struggle in many films
c. Films/Shows: Firefly, The Matrix, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

II. Firefly
a. Classic western shootout scene
b. man with a rifle on a horse fires and Zoey is knocked back several feet and lands flat on her back, but the man isn't force back
c. If the bullet knocked her back that far, the man should have been forced of his horse
d. while on her back, she fires her Mare's Leg one handed with no signs of recoil at all
e. My friend owns that gun. I've fired it, and with both hands the nose still flew up. It has a very powerful recoil. Unless she is made of metal she should not have been able to fire it that way with any accuracy

III. Scott Pilgrim
a. Todd the Vegan strummes his guitar, and the sound wave throws Scott backwards, breaking through a bench and 3 walls before finally coming to a halt.
b. If the sound wave was actually that powerful, it would have broken the guitar and thrown Todd back as well

IV.The Matrix
a. Fight scene between Neo and Morpheus in the "training program"
b. Neo jumps forward, kicking Morpheus several times. His forward momentum does not slow and Morpheus does not react to the kicks.
c. Morpheus should be forced back from the action of Neo kicking. Also, Neo's jump trajectory should be altered from the reaction force from Morpheus
d. Morpheus kicks Neo and he flys backward about 10 feet, but Morpheus doesn't move. If his kick was that strong he should have been thrown back as well

V. Conclusion
a. movies often exaggerate the action reaction principle by having the "action" be too powerful, and the "reaction" very under-powered
b. it takes a lot of effort (via special effects or stunt doubles) to create this effect, so they aren't doing it on accident. I believe many directors choose this style to make the heroes feel more heroic or to enhance the drama of a given scene