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Book/TV/Movie tropes you just can't stand anymore

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  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,371
    abacus said:

    Why does nobody in horror/thriller movies ever lock their car?
    Why do they go inside for an hour and leave the windows down?

    Is it a cultural (most instances are in American movies) thing? Or just plot-stupidity so the killer can get a nice shock moment...

    In a rural, small town environment it's not unusual to leave your car or even your house unlocked. City folks would never do that however, unless they were in a hurry or something...
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    @Anduin Sure... something smaller or bigger than the Moon?
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited July 2017
    abacus said:

    Why does nobody in horror/thriller movies ever lock their car?
    Why do they go inside for an hour and leave the windows down?

    Is it a cultural (most instances are in American movies) thing? Or just plot-stupidity so the killer can get a nice shock moment...

    What I think is even worse is why do they always ignore all weapons they have at hand? They will never grab a knife, scissors or even a chair to defend themselves...
    Post edited by mlnevese on
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,371
    edited July 2017
    If they're female they're too busy screaming. Sometimes I wonder if the victims are hoping they'll shatter the villain's eardrums and force them to run away or something.

    It never ceases to amaze me that between 'fight or flight' they always seem to choose 'freeze in place and scream' instead...
  • BillyYankBillyYank Member Posts: 2,768
    mlnevese said:

    abacus said:

    Why does nobody in horror/thriller movies ever lock their car?
    Why do they go inside for an hour and leave the windows down?

    Is it a cultural (most instances are in American movies) thing? Or just plot-stupidity so the killer can get a nice shock moment...

    What I think is even worse is why do they always ignore all weapons they have at hand? They will never grab a knife, scissors or even a chair to defend themselves...
    I loved the mother in Gremlins.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Perhaps we should stick to media tropes in this thread, and save the real life tropes for the "Topic for unhappiness" thread.
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857

    Perhaps we should stick to media tropes in this thread, and save the real life tropes for the "Topic for unhappiness" thread.

    Well, technically I could conclude by saying that I can't stand the trope that the West is meritocratic and leave it at that then.
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938

    Perhaps we should stick to media tropes in this thread, and save the real life tropes for the "Topic for unhappiness" thread.

    Probably, I got a couple of real doozies at the moment. :*B)
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    I once saw a horror movie that was just awfully bad. I would still be willing to give it a decent rating because of how the main character grabbed a projector and threw in the murderer's face. Later on she was fighting with an anchor. Improvisation - it will save your life!
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    I think this is pretty obviously off topic, so I'll be brief and if you want to continue this we can ho in the aforementioned thread.

    Obvious point: We aren't chimps. Stick to our species please.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    I think I'll just split the real life tropes discussion into a new topic... it's quite interesting actually. Unless people do not want to discuss the topic any further then I'll leave it as it is now...
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    And now for something ontopic for a change:

    Gag and comic relief characters never die!

    You can shoot them to the moon, drown them in the ocean, blow them up with bombs, or use them as meatshield against dragon breathes. They survive everything and don't even get broken bones from it! Not even Kagain with his Constitution of 20 could pull that off.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    If this tangent continues any further, I will move it to a separate thread. I've seen how long these kinds of discussions tend to drag on.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I have moved off-topic comments to a new thread.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511

    And now for something ontopic for a change:

    Gag and comic relief characters never die!

    You can shoot them to the moon, drown them in the ocean, blow them up with bombs, or use them as meatshield against dragon breathes. They survive everything and don't even get broken bones from it! Not even Kagain with his Constitution of 20 could pull that off.
    I was sure I could think of some exceptions to this if I thought hard enough, and I've just been reminded of one - Reepicheep (Voyage of the Dawn Treader).
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214

    Let's just forget we have this technology/magic, okay?

    I just love it when a technology/magical power, that could solve a problem in seconds, is shown earlier in a story and then quickly forgotten when drama is needed. Why should I interrogate anyone if I have the technology to copy someone's mind and memories to a computer? Just copy the prisoner's mind and search it for the information you need. I will not even mention all the situations where invisibility or teleportation could transform a 600 pages book in a short story with a few paragraphs :)
  • ArdanisArdanis Member Posts: 1,736
    mlnevese said:

    I will not even mention all the situations where invisibility or teleportation could transform a 600 pages book in a short story with a few paragraphs :)

    What about a catapult? (caution, language inside)
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    Not really a trope, just an annoying thing...

    What I call "Scumbag Cuts"... this is when a movie/show is being played on tv, and they drop an ad-break in at the worst possible time... typically mid-sentence, or *right after* a cut-to-black so you get a flash of the next scene before the ads kick in.

    Makes me growl.
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    abacus said:

    Not really a trope, just an annoying thing...

    What I call "Scumbag Cuts"... this is when a movie/show is being played on tv, and they drop an ad-break in at the worst possible time... typically mid-sentence, or *right after* a cut-to-black so you get a flash of the next scene before the ads kick in.

    Makes me growl.

    There actually was a case here in Sweden where a TV channel had to pay a fine for cutting to commercial mid-sentence.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited August 2017

    Sentai Syndrome

    Lots of hot blooded wannabe heroes clad in every colour of the rainbow. But the only female team member is damned to wear pink. Always. And their themes... *ugh*... we saw fruit knights, seafood rangers, insect sentinels, vehicle riders and pasta soldiers, amongst many others. Do I *really* need to commend on that? Anyway, they'll win against all odds every single time for no particular reason. All thanks to the powah of friendship! And shouting silly attack names of course. Like, always. The louder they are, the flashier it gets. Oh, and defeated enemies will explode in huge, meaningless colourful explosions. Always.
  • BillyYankBillyYank Member Posts: 2,768
    edited August 2017

    Lethal Weapons +0: Nobody gets hurt

    I'm looking at you, A-Team. Automatic weapons, explosions, car crashes, all without even a minor injury. This is more common in kids' shows, where they want to show danger, but they can't actually hurt anyone on screen.
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,042

    And shouting silly attack names of course. Like, always. The louder they are, the flashier it gets.

    You can blame Huang Feihong for that. Apparently he had the habit of naming techniques as he used them, both in demonstrations and in actual combat. That may or may not be historically accurate but at this point in time so much of his life has been overshadowed and clouded by the myths of countless TV shows and movies that getting to the truth of his life is sometimes difficult.

  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    mlnevese said:

    The full body armor +0 vulnerable to everything

    Star Wars is particularly guilty of this one. The villains troops wear full high tech body armor that protects them against nothing. Handguns will take them down even small stones will kill them. Although they are using a futurist helmet it does not even grant night vision. Meanwhile in the real world you have body armor that make handguns ineffective against you and will easily deflect knives and night vision googles are becoming basic equipment.
    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArmorIsUseless
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235

    Sentai Syndrome

    Lots of hot blooded wannabe heroes clad in every colour of the rainbow. But the only female team member is damned to wear pink. Always. And their themes... *ugh*... we saw fruit knights, seafood rangers, insect sentinels, vehicle riders and pasta soldiers, amongst many others. Do I *really* need to commend on that? Anyway, they'll win against all odds every single time for no particular reason. All thanks to the powah of friendship! And shouting silly attack names of course. Like, always. The louder they are, the flashier it gets. Oh, and defeated enemies will explode in huge, meaningless colourful explosions. Always.
    What does it say about me that this is probably my favorite trope of all time? What can I say, I love me some enthusiastic cheese.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=3v30HToswDs
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    ThacoBell said:

    What does it say about me that this is probably my favorite trope of all time?

    Nothing good, I can assure you. :p
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    What happens if you hit someone with full body armor +0 of vulnerability to everything with a lethal weapon +0 of not harming?
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    edited August 2017
    mlnevese said:

    What happens if you hit someone with full body armor +0 of vulnerability to everything with a lethal weapon +0 of not harming?

    Both parties take what SHOULD be fight ending damage, but get up and continue fighting like nothing happened anyway?

    @Kamigoroshi What can I say? The more ridiculous or over the top the movie/show/comic is, the more fun I have with it.
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