Basically, what the title says. What’s something you think is overused, or weird, or just plain dumb in books, movies, shows, etc?
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Not really a trope, but Shaky Cam in action movies (or any movie, but action movies tend to overuse it.) It doesn't add to the action, all it does is make the scene confusing and unwatchable. I'd like to watch a movie without taking dramamine.
Or having 14 different camera cuts within 15 seconds of screentime (Looking at you "Taken")
I don't usually have an issue but As Above So Below jumped around so much it made me sick
Done for a few scenes during an epic battle emphasizes the chaos, and can be a brilliant "viewpoint" prospective ... ... but it has definitely been overused in some -- thus making some movies virtually unwatchable. 😐🤷♂️
translation for peeps (took me a second too, not calling u dumb) - seasickness medicine
Anything having to do with a fight scene. Ex: That's not how you punch. That's not what would happen if you got hit there. Why is blood coming out of your mouth no matter where you got stabbed? Why did such a shallow wound leave you on the ground? Why do you talk sooo much to someone you're trying to kill?
Being trained in combat really has the downside of making a lot of movies less exciting unfortunately
As someone who writes/reads a lot, and also takes taekwondo, fighting scenes are almost never done right. You don't stop fighting for a monologue, you will be hit.
Forced romance, totally unnecessary. I also hate the "tall, dark and handsome" trope.
I hate forced romance! I really want a show/book/movie to have plot and maybe no romance at all if it is completely unnecessary! I am trying to live by these words as I write my own books — forced romance is not necessary. Also the second thing. What about a cute, lovable dork? That’d be more my type
Same! I am myself writing and drawing a long graphic novel / comic story (since 2012), and my main protagonist is aromantic. There is a scene coming where she is going on a journey with a male protagonist of same age: nothing even slightly romantic happens between them.
Load More Replies...I do love a good romcom with the tall dark and handsome love interest, but honestly if he's a well-written character I do not care, i support it
I can't stand high school movies where the characters pretty much do everything except go to school. In most of them, the "smart one" of the group is still just a slacker that occasionally studies for a test. Like did any of the people working on the show/movie ever go to school?
Useless teen with super-powers overthrows villain's whole system. The only story who did the "teen hero" thing right was the Hunger Games. All the interesting guys falling for boring girl with 0 personality. Divergent and the Twilight saga come to mind...Sophie from KOTLS barely avoided this trope. Dead parents as the backstory. No, give us villain parents or hurt parents, or even parents that are involved in the plot. You don't need to be alone to have character arc.
Villain parents are interesting. But does the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson fit under the teens with superpowers who always seem to lose and then suddenly win and overthrows a bunch of evil emperors? They’re great
I would definitely put Percy in that category. I love those books though, even if some of the stuff is a little cliche.
Load More Replies...heres a secret: i absolutely hate the first Hunger games movie, so much that i dont wanna watch the others. gotta read the books though
Read the books first. I liked them, but I thought the movies were better.🤷♀️ Apparently that is an unpopular opinion.
Load More Replies...Was there an insult to KOTLC???? Tho i do get it and stuff but... was it???????
Well not really a trope, but I watched this one movie where someone instantly dies from being shot in the arm. They didn't bleed out or anything just *gunshot* *character dies*
Yes. Or persons getting shot in the leg or the stomach and it "hurts a little", and then same person starts to walk away. I hurt my back this morning while putting on my socks. I'm not running anywhere today, can't imagine how that would - could - should work with a gunshot wound?
The whole "getting shot in the leg is fine" trope is very flawed - many big blood vessels packed in a very small space isn't a good combination for surviving a shot
Load More Replies...Always! Either that or they are shot in the heart and they simply brush it off
Rebellious female characters written to be uninterested in romance ending up in a heterosexual relationship/crush. Catherine called Birdy and Little Women do this -_-
Ugh it’s the WORST! Just let me have a book that doesn’t have romance… that’s not for little kids
When a character "snaps" or gives up all of their ideals for no apparent reason. If you want a character to slowly go insane, fine. But do your goddamn research to make it accurate, and figure out a logical reason for the insanity, such as a childhood trauma that gets brought back up. Not "omg i just killed someone lets become a complete pyschopath".
This is a really good point I haven’t really thought about
yeah its an issue, like you can have them snap but you need to see the strain and see the signs that nobody ever notices if they arent paying attention (often why it happens in real life) but the viewers are paying attention and the suspense is building (from other sources for example)... but what they do now.... rarely happens.... like for someone to randomly snap something had to be triggered in the past, or went extremely wrong (like unimaginably wrong which i doubt those who are doing these "cliche snaps" could do_
Load More Replies...1. "They" have 90+/- min to present a movie that has the best chance of making money. (Back stories take time) 2. Very few comments here have any inkling of understanding why they do these things ... with some even saying something to the effect of 'interesting but I don't know, cuz i haven't bothered to think about it before commenting. (Rather than simply up-voting they just send out words rather than looking into it). Seriously BPandas ... try to do better. 🤦🙄
Getting insane is a decline, not a sudden fall - to quote a psychology professor I know
Exactly, I'm writing a character who's slowly losing her sanity, and I don't understand how it would be so sudden, even from someone fairly uneducated in this field.
Load More Replies...Movie/tv show news commentators: the female commentator’s job is to ask questions from the male commentator so that he can explain things to her. M: Breaking news! A moose has been spotted in New York. F: Did you say a moose? M: Indeed. [goes on with the story] F: That’s fantastic! What would we do without [whatever], Frank? M: Well, Jeanie, [explains options] and so on.
Let's reverse it. Or just females who know what they're talking about without male interference.
Forced inclusion. I don't mean including characters from marginalized groups, but when the author tries to "fill a quote" of certain representation. This usually means a shallow representation, or based entirely on harmful stereotypes or characters that we only know they're gay or something like that. Humans are much more complex than just being part of the opressed.
True. I think Rick Riordian (Percy Jackson author) does inclusion nicely, in more of his later books.
Token from South Park! What a brilliant flip on that very subject!
This is literally the reason for the current downfall of Hollywood, especially Disney made that their whole deal and continue to go down like the Hindenburg.
Yeah people don't realise that it's not that we need diverse characters written by the members of the majority--we need more minorities in the writing room, behind the camera as directors, etc. We need the story to be TOLD by a person of colour, a woman, a queer person, a disabled person, etc. etc. it doesn't matter if the character on screen is a minority if they're not being written by one.
LOUD MUSIC. talking. LOUD GUNFIRE. whisper. LOUD MUSIC. GUNFIRE. EXPLOSIONS. EXCITEMENT? Not a trope in a strict plot device way, and thankfully not a problem in books, but damn I hate it.
ABSOLUTELY. We have to sit with remote in hand to turn volume down, then up, then down... We finally just got into the habit of putting the damn subtitles on.
Oh this is because productions are very rushed and the directors all think bad sound and lighting can be fixed 'in post' so they don't let the tech people do their jobs. Directors are very stupid a lot of the time, particularly since we've started subscribing to the 'director as auteur' (i.e. the director is more important than anybody on set)
A couple of them. 1. Actor is "playing" an instrument/singing, but it is cringey-fake. 2. Car tires somehow squeal...in the dirt. 3. Character falls from an unreasonable height, gets up and keeps on going. 4. Characters stand around *just long enough* for the relatively small fire to get out of control when snuffing it out with the blanket right next to them would have worked fine. Tropes to see more of: 1. White slave owners getting obliterated by former slaves/allies. 2. Women pwning their fields of expertise.
The characters falling one really gets me. The only movie I excused it on was The Hobbit, because dwarves are practically made out of rock anyway.
Well, it can depend on what the character lands on. Or in.
Load More Replies...Oh, yes indeed! As Dave Chapelle once said (I paraphrase), "If there's one thing I could watch every single day, it is a white slave owner being shot!"
Load More Replies...adult situations, I don't see people doing dishes or paying bills or working their a*s off.
Well, yeah, they don't have time when living alone in two bedroom NYC apartment while working part time as a barista and eating takeout every night.
One thing that I will definitely include in my novels. Adults doing real jobs. I feel like this is especially lacking in fantasy.
Movies and books used to be an escape; not a re-enactment of "everyday events".
It's just a lighthearted observation, friendo. I don't want to watch an overwhelmed parent deal with two small children unless there's a magic nanny involved ha
Load More Replies...When a likeable character unnecessarily reveals something personal about their life -- e.g., they just got engaged, their wife is expecting, they just got accepted at a prestigious school like Juilliard -- you know they are doomed. They will die (probably heroically) before the end of the film.
I’m trying to get into Tianjin Julliard pre-college. Does that mean I’m doomed O_O
After learning from fashion historians, the whole historic costume designing. Corsets, particularly, always having to be shown being tight-laced by default, each time, and no chemise or anything between the skin and corset. A man and woman always having to be attracted to each other just because they meet, no matter the circumstance. (Dante's Peak, The Mountain Between Us (I can't say that with a straight-face XD. There was a "mountain" between them alright ) An unconventional looking girl/boy needs a makeover to be socially acceptable. (Although I do relate to Amelia in The Princess Diaries when her makeover led to more teasing, cos that's what usually happens, and didn't really make her more popular.)
the corset thing is so irritating, as someone who has worn a corset. especially in shows like bridgerton, which take place during a time of SHORT and UNBONED corsets that were more like bras???
I think those short things were more commonly called 'stays'.
Load More Replies...The boy of prophecy
True! If I see one more "Chosen One" I'm going to choose someone to throw out of a window
And that is just one of the many reasons why lotr is better than Harry Potter
Characters do stupid stuff they don’t actually have to do, and the movie could have been resolved in like 20 mins if they just got right to the point. (No specific examples, but I’ve seen this type of thing so many times.)
I've seen this many times as well. Just communicate and fix the stupid problem, guys.
Indeed, but a slew of 20 minute movies in which they solve everything that fast would not sell very well.
Horror movies where a doll comes to life and kills people. How many movies can possibly be based on this stupid trope? It's a f*****g doll - f*****g step on its head.
Reminds me of "If Veterans Were In Horror Movies" on YT - Evil doll rides on tricycle, guy kicks it over with the words" It's a kid's toy, it's f*****g ridiculous! Who the hell is afraid of that?"
"Sir you robbed a bank" "I used to go to church" "What?" "My child was bullied!" "Ok but that doesn't explain why you robbed a bank" "MY WIFE WAS KILLED IN A HIT AND RUN! BY A DOG!" "JUST TELL ME WHERE THE MONEY IS" "It all changed when the fire nation attacked" "For God's S- Fine. Just keep the damned money" For context: Bringing in unnecessary plot points to the story that make no sense and do absolutely nothing to explain the motives for actions protrayed by not only the villain but literally the entire cast. Throwing Money at the problem does not solve it. Write your films better
"It all changed when the fire nation attacked" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Bury Your Gays, the Gay Best Friend, etc Also autistic characters always as cishet white guys who are obsessed with trains.
the only difference is i like space 😭 but yeah i get what you mean
Autistic and LGBT representation in media now in one unique type: White Guys.
slow motion action scenes
Yes, but The Matrix is iconic and incredible and it always will be.
you right an exception for the matrix
Load More Replies...The main character is a white man. His best friend is a man of color. Best Friend is tortured at length because of some crime situation. Main Character rescues Best Friend, learns something important. I've seen this one twice recently. I won't watch it again.
I think you're right! I saw it as a variation on the one where the white male main character's wife or girlfriend is a rape victim and it's character-building for him. Maybe it's both
Load More Replies...Action movies where everyone has the ability to outrun fiery explosions.
Also fiery explosions - most explosives don't explode with a fireball
Good point! And cars almost never explode in a real crash, but in the movies there is always always that fireball again.
Load More Replies...There are no ‘popular mean girl clique’ in a college or high school. We’re all just a bunch of young human beings trying to get through the day without passing out from exhaustion. Also, books where the parents and families of teens are never around. Also, movies where the hero never gets killed/injured with sheer luck, but all the minor characters die by being slapped across the face. So annoying. And why tf canthe villain/hero just kill each other without all the dramatic dialogue
I wrote that in an another article already, but the worst case of "Plot Armour" can be found in "Fury" with Brad Pitt - he would have died so many times if it wasn't for the writers displaying the Wehrmacht and SS as complete idiots or his tank as indestructable
Character has: Dead parent(s) undiscovered magical powers Character: Goes into a magical world (usually by accident) HP and Land of Stories did it well, but the rest? Ugh
KOTLC avoided this by not killing off Sophie's parents and I am so thankful.
What do these initials mean? All these things seem to be far younger than I am, and I don't understand. Also I mostly read non-fiction, so I'm not exposed to them.
Load More Replies...HP, Land of Stories, and KOTLC are the best versions of this usually terrible trope.
I just started kotlc im on book 4, i agree completely
Load More Replies...How press photographers act, or the amateur cameras they use. Have none of the directors ever seen the news ?
1 Shootings with firearms, when by now it is known that they mostly have poor range and accuracy of fire. (Western movies) 2 Car explotions. Really? 3 Too many bullets in the pistols magazine. 4 Jumping through glass, unharmed.
Hawkeye jumping through glass in the Avengers, and he lands on the floor like he is in a ton of pain...perfection.😂
not that i hate it, but it's definitely overused. Disney ALWAYS kills off the parents of the main character or if not, childhood trauma, and that forms our inspirational hero.
You should do some research regarding serial killers. Childhood trauma causes an encyclopedia of problems that the U.S. is finally beginning to come to grips with. Childhood trauma is more prevalent than most people want to believe.
ok but you realise 'death of a parent' is not the most common childhood trauma right? Like you're really reaching here. You're not wrong about trauma but the connection between these two bits of information is wrong. Childhood trauma is not synonymous with death of a parent.
Load More Replies...i cant stand harry potter
Why? I'm genuinely confused and not trying to be rude
Load More Replies...Rly? Why? Hmm... let's see... - Chosen one - Prophecies - Author is transphobic - Orphaned Protagonist - Protagonist beats villain way too easily - Every girl likes the Protagonist - Very basic characters - Not much villain backstory I could go on and on...
bro you can't always hate a book JUST for the author. like i loved the martian as a book but i don't always agree with weir's political views. other than that i agree
Load More Replies...The author sucks, no point in denying. but the books are great. the movies are ok.
The books are great. The movies are ok but they deleted stuff. The author… not so much
"Didn't put in much effort" isn't true at all. JK went through a lot to get these books out there. Its okay to have opinions, but I think it would really suck for you to work so hard for something and then get bashed just because you share an opinion (which she was pressured into btw). She has her own beliefs and we should just leave that part alone. But she wrote the book how she wanted and it's not gonna change. So everyone calm down and be nice to each other. Ya'll dramatic and its making me chuckle.
The overly zealous description of some one or something. I’ve read books that took several paragraphs if not pages to fully depict the character or scene. That makes me lose interest in a story quickly.
I write for myself, but I generally like to introduce a character with a basic description of how they look interspersed with them doing something. Scenery is introduced the same way.
If someone coughs they will be dead soon!
He will also most likely die, when he / she is a new character introduced in a series.
Child/Teenage chosen one.
This may come from all the people who are more concerned about Jesus as a Child, than Christ as the Man.
Characters that are autistic being depicted as white, cis males that are socially awkward, only have a special interest in trains, and being shown as a savant at math. All characters in movies that wear glasses or braces that become instantly beautiful after they are removed (usually in a transformation sequence or montage)
I suddenly want a movie where the character with glasses simply gets (drumroll) a pair of glasses that are cute and frame their face nicely
Protagonists that can only shine because everybody around them is close to being brain dead or if they are meant to be likeable by displaying everybody around them as absolute worst.
THIS is why Encanto was a good movie. No matter how much Mirabel longed to fit in, she always wanted her family to be the best they could.
Unpopular opinion: the ending where Mirabel didn't get any power? if that were me, it would have made me end my existence.
Load More Replies...the fact that most of us deities are potraied as either good or evil, some of us are netral you know!
If I remember correctly the deities in Shintō are neither clearly definied as good or evil, they just act according to their personalities in different situations with the definition of good and bad being based on the result. (It was a long time ago that I heard of that, so it may not be that accurate). It's quite visible in japanese content compared to US/European media creations when it comes to deities
Everything the Hallmark Channel makes ;p
In high school movies: The smart guy - nerd, glasses, bullied, the whole shebang The hot guy - an athlete of some sort, not really that smart but has the whole school fawning over him. The popular social media girl - basically same as the hot guy, minus the athlete and constantly on phone, documenting everything, checking her stats. Bonus points if she's rich. The popular cheerleader girl - bffs with the social media girl, usually has a fight with her by the end of the movie. Either is in a relationship or has a crush on the hot one. The ugly girl - glasses, pimples, "bad" hairstyle. Good at studying, so her and nerd become good friends. Also has a crush on hot guy. Ends in one of two ways: either hot guy breaks up with one of the popular girls to choose her or she realizes the nerd is who she loves. Takes of glasses and changes her hair for *instant glow up* Just once I'd like to see an attractive, athletic guy who can also top the class. And a girl who doesn't need a glow up to be happy.
Is the 'take off her glasses and wins a beauty contest' still around? I take off my glasses all the time and never transform into anything. LOL.
Did you remember to shake your lovely hair loose too?
Load More Replies...dystopian movies The Hunger Games was horrible, stupid and made no sense. People let the capitol basically kill their kids for 74 years until someone volunteers for their sister? The president who killed everyone of the victors or their families or sent them into sexual servititude couldn't do the same to katniss? Stupid, stupid, stupid
Makes more sense if you've read the books. But a lot of people see the film based on a book, never read the book, and talk like they know everything about the book anyway. Even the best film adaptations leave out a good third of the book info, or make pointless changes that "make more sense cinematically" or save money, but compromise the integrity of the story. Always read the book first, if you can.
I'd personally just say "Read the book" ideally first would be great but even if you've watched the movie/TV show whatever it is I'd still highly recommend people read the book cos then things usually make much more sense
Load More Replies...For once, i actually agree but not exactly how you put it. Yea, its stupid that it even happened in the first place.. personally, i find the movies SP SO SO slow paced, it hurts my brain trying to fogure out whats even going on. Along with me being half blind (figuratively) its ahrd to see things lol
Movies where people are held hostage, tortured and die anyway. Why? and sometimes I feel like it gives someone with warped mind ideas, as in copycat
The pronouns that could solve a mystery. Not... him.you know... HIM. No we don't, why don't you use this opportunity to tell the heros, who are established as not being from here. It can usually solve like 20 minutes of movie
As per CinemaSins, it's called playing the pronoun game. Instead of saying, for example, "Bob is a traitor", they say "He is a traitor", so that everyone can remain oblivious and the rest of the movie can happen. (She loves you, rather than Jessica loves you etc etc)
Load More Replies...wings of fire and warrior cats. im sorry to those who like it.
its not like we're furries (not like that's bad) we enjoy reading it. also this is TROPES not just books you dont like!
Younger me decided to stop reading wof, because it was too violent. anddd deciding to read warrior cats. Not much of a difference there hon lol. But even though i disagree, maybe we can find a book series that we both enjoy! What are your favorites?
Heyy! This is completely random but wanted to ask. How would i use the pronouns your using atm? brain isnt working lol. Would it be likee, uh, "Ze went to the market because zer pantry was empty"? sorry if that was confusing
Load More Replies...I like the Warrior Cats books. But then again, I was BORN loving felines...
A monkey. Whenever a monkey is in a movie you know it's going to steal important keys, or someone's toupee, or get lost in the city and cause havoc in the upscale shops. I hate monkeys but I hate monkeys in movies more.
Unreliable Narrators, specifically mentally ill unreliable narrators. Unreliable Narrators isn't a bad trope, I just like to know what's going on, and it feels like a cheap way to build suspense, like everything is going wrong, but AHA this was the plan all along. Second, mentally ill unreliable narrators just kinda feels like, "look at this character, they can't even comprehend the world around them properly, isn't it so sad?" And it feels forced and poorly written.
People in hospitals. After being treated, they get worse while in the hospital and get saved, most of the time. In the real world, you probably get worse when being back at home.
These are more of a pair of specific tropes in zombie movies, but not searching for bite marks after escaping from a horde/being ambushed, or taking way too long to do something about infected/sick people. The only instances this would fly would be in source material where the concept of zombies isn't a thing (like The Walking Dead), the early going of an outbreak where people are still learning about the infection, or sources where a zombie cure exists.
I've not seen a single insightful comment (above or below) that show even the slightest understanding of the movie industry (why they're made that way and what makes a profit). They've failed to realize what "bread and circuses" truly means, and how many dupes just eat it up and spend vast amounts of money on the entirely predictable and formulaic BS. Do you need another example? ... trumpsters. (Gullible, tribalism, and easy marks for old con-men).
A monkey. Whenever a monkey is in a movie you know it's going to steal important keys, or someone's toupee, or get lost in the city and cause havoc in the upscale shops. I hate monkeys but I hate monkeys in movies more.
Unreliable Narrators, specifically mentally ill unreliable narrators. Unreliable Narrators isn't a bad trope, I just like to know what's going on, and it feels like a cheap way to build suspense, like everything is going wrong, but AHA this was the plan all along. Second, mentally ill unreliable narrators just kinda feels like, "look at this character, they can't even comprehend the world around them properly, isn't it so sad?" And it feels forced and poorly written.
People in hospitals. After being treated, they get worse while in the hospital and get saved, most of the time. In the real world, you probably get worse when being back at home.
These are more of a pair of specific tropes in zombie movies, but not searching for bite marks after escaping from a horde/being ambushed, or taking way too long to do something about infected/sick people. The only instances this would fly would be in source material where the concept of zombies isn't a thing (like The Walking Dead), the early going of an outbreak where people are still learning about the infection, or sources where a zombie cure exists.
I've not seen a single insightful comment (above or below) that show even the slightest understanding of the movie industry (why they're made that way and what makes a profit). They've failed to realize what "bread and circuses" truly means, and how many dupes just eat it up and spend vast amounts of money on the entirely predictable and formulaic BS. Do you need another example? ... trumpsters. (Gullible, tribalism, and easy marks for old con-men).
