MovieChat Forums > Reality Bites (1994) Discussion > Confused by the Title?

Confused by the Title?

posted 15 years ago by dcavalli
5 replies | jump to latest

I was college-age when this film came out. I, too, was uncertain about what to do with my future. So... I just went to grad school.

I vaguely remember there was some debate over the meaning of the title.

Was "Bites" an adjective, a noun, or a verb?

Was it "Reality Bites" (an adjective, meaning reality is bad thing), (a noun, where bites are little snippets of real life), or even (a verb, meaning that reality will actively affect you--you can be "bit" in a negative or positive way)?

[–] Gwasgray 15 years ago

I think the title is probably the sharpest thing about the film, it's part of what attracted me to it in the first place (and then I discovered Winona Ryder). I always read "Bites" in the Bart Simpson sense, ie. it sucks, but it has a double meaning as well.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Bree_33 15 years ago

Better than "Generation X"

There's no secret handshake. There's an IQ prerequisite, but there's no secret handshake.

[–] Reefmonkey 14 years ago

It's both. It's a deliberate double-entendre.

Ryder's character's documentary was called "Reality Bites", in the sense of "soundbites", little bits of reality here and there strung together.

Playing off of that, it also expressed the feeling "it really bites having to deal with reality - jobs, money, relationships - now that we are out of college and expected to be grownups. Reality bites, man."

[–] 14 years ago

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