The Wilhelm Scream

If you've never personally had one of those moments where you realize you're an absolute, total dork, this might give you an idea of how it happens. I was watching sportscenter, surprise, and during the commercial break i saw an ad for this new reality/feces show where a guy rides a raft off a big waterfall wearing a harness or something. Now, to every other human being on earth as far as i know, his scream sounds totally, authentically, believably normal. He's riding a raft off a huge waterfall, and i'd scream like i was naked in a snake pit too. But here's where it gets bad.

I recognized the scream as a sound clip that's been used in one particular video game, the original "command and conquer" as the go-to sound for when a guy gets set on fire by something. I know this was the exact same scream because i used to flamethrow everybody around me (yes, including members of my own team) and the clip would get played a hundred million times as i laughed my twelve year old head off.

Now, i realize fully well that this outs me as an inexcusable dork, but seeing as the only person who might actually comment on this confession i'm making is an exponentially larger dork than i am (you, turner) i feel okay, almost borderline empowered for my recognition of that extremely bad scream clip that they flew in to make it seem like homeboy's raft plunge made him brown his dockers. Then i got to thinking, didn't i overhear some pretentious film student or drunk girl once say something about an infamous scream that was used regularly in hollywood, that had appeared in a million different flicks for fifty years? I did a little research, and sure enough, turned up the "wilhelm scream."



This video starts with the original, as the unfortunate cowboy "Wilhelm" learns the universal lesson for wanting to "fill his pipe" during a secret indian ambush/raid. This also brings up another topic altogether, because for some reason, for longer than i remember, i've thought that being shot by an arrow in the chest would be among my top three least favorite ways to die, and i think i still stand by that. I can say, almost without hesitance, that i'd like to die just about any other way than being shot in the chest by an old fashioned, rock-sharpened Indian arrow, pulled alllllll the way back on some Indian's bow. Regardless, look how many times ol' Wilhelm's scream has been used, to the point that its really become an inside joke for film nerds and sad/pathetic sportscenter-obsessed sound nerds such as myself. Really, all nerds. I hate to exclude anyone.

Read more about the scream here.