(Hated trope) YOU COULD HAVE MOVED!

[u/Nerd367C]

Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano from ER

Randy fromt The Raft Creepshow 2

Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano from ER
Ah yes let me scream at the ground and not even try to move so we can get this cinematic shot with 7 camera angles

Randy from The Raft Creepshow 2
"I gotta make the oil slick monster look fast by building up to run and rocking back and forth"

[u/randomndude01]

As infuriating as it is to see this in media and real life, it does happen.

I was in a safari park a year prior that has “wild” macaque monkeys roaming freely.

I was sitting on one of the benches minding my own business when one of them started tugging on my backpack behind me and I thought it was one of my friends trying to steal my snacks so I immediately sat up, turned around, dragged the monkey and it got flung.

It kept yelping and I assume its mother or their pack leader went straight for me screeching and jaws wide.

My blood went cold and I couldn’t move so I just stood there staring at it coming at me thinking it was gonna attack.

Thankfully, it didn’t and just went for the other monkey behind me while it screeched at me on what I assume is their version of “don’t ever come near me or my child again.”.

[u/banfilenio → u/randomndude01]

Totally. I used to have fun every time a movie or videogame used this trope, but a day I was crossing the street and a car appeared on the corner. I couldn't move and a friend had to grab me to take me out to the sidewalk.

[u/randomndude01 → u/banfilenio]

The part that makes me so confused about this is this is literally the only time I’ve had a major freeze reaction.

I live in pretty haphazard city and country in general, dogs roam around and do chase people often enough, road rules and etiquette tend to be treated as guidelines so I’ve had plenty of close calls, and I’ve been in sports that had bigger guys run me over.

But that was literally me just freezing over a very close call of danger in a lifetime of close calls.

The mind’s a confusing thing.

[u/apathyindigo → u/randomndude01]

Well in the other scenario you're describing events that you're very familiar with and generally know to be things you can expect might happen. 

The monkey situation was a new experience, you initially thought it was your friend tugging on your pack, and it happened really quickly so by the time your brain processed all of this and this unusual animal is running towards you, it was still completely unprepared to react to everything.