Tropes that movies, etc. use that you hate.
- Thread starter valkyrie013
- Start date
Along similar lines are the private conversations that are said quite loudly for everyone to hear instead of being whispered. "Oh, we're saying something that shouldn't be repeated? Let's talk as loudly as we can then!"
Is this a trope? I was channel surfing and came across a scene from Chicago Fire where a firefighter is going undercover to help the cops bring down another firefighter, and he's meeting with the cops in broad daylight with the crooked firefighter watching the entire thing from across the street in his vehicle, and no one notices him.
No, that's just bad writing.
In the early episodes of Monk this is especially the case, I find. Captain Stottlemeyer was more often than not unkind to Monk in the first couple seasons, barely tolerating him but for his talents and services. That being said, over time, and after the addition of Natalie, I found it to be much more capable of demonstrating real empathy, and not conditional acceptance, with several instances of the Captain, Randy and Natalie standing by Monk when he was going through a crisis, and supporting him as a friend instead of as coworkers or an employee.
Monk’s something that is flawed and imperfect for sure, but I have a lot of affection for as well. I relate to Adrian a lot, discovering the show as I was first diagnosed with OCD myself, and even though he’s quite often a broad caricature to the extreme, for the times that he’s a more fully realized character, I sort of long to see another character with OCD in such a prominent place in a series I enjoy. And it was nice to have a representation of someone who didn’t hide their OCD, and promoted therapy to make progress and not feel shame.
Watched a bunch of movies over the weekend and this kept coming up...
When an otherwise quiet, anxious, or shy character suddenly becomes a NASCAR champion when they have to outrun the cops or the Bad Guys, usually saying something like "Oh, my dad used to fix up old cars and he taught me to drive like this..."
Same scenario with "Oh, my dad/brother/whatever..." was a sniper in the army, nuclear physicist, pilot, safe cracker, jewel thief, stuntman, etc.
Boo, hiss - just stop.
When an otherwise quiet, anxious, or shy character suddenly becomes a NASCAR champion when they have to outrun the cops or the Bad Guys, usually saying something like "Oh, my dad used to fix up old cars and he taught me to drive like this..."
Same scenario with "Oh, my dad/brother/whatever..." was a sniper in the army, nuclear physicist, pilot, safe cracker, jewel thief, stuntman, etc.
Boo, hiss - just stop.
And the ones where they're all of those! 
This actually needs lampshaded, with the shy character saying "Oh, my dad used to " whatever, and the kid sucks at it, admitting "Well, I did say it was my dad that did it well."Watched a bunch of movies over the weekend and this kept coming up...
When an otherwise quiet, anxious, or shy character suddenly becomes a NASCAR champion when they have to outrun the cops or the Bad Guys, usually saying something like "Oh, my dad used to fix up old cars and he taught me to drive like this..."
Same scenario with "Oh, my dad/brother/whatever..." was a sniper in the army, nuclear physicist, pilot, safe cracker, jewel thief, stuntman, etc.
Boo, hiss - just stop.
A reply I gave in another thread reminded of another hated trope: Military NASA.
NASA is a civilian agency and has been since its inception, but there's a fixed idea in Hollywood that stems from the fact that the earliest astronauts were former military. The key word is former. NASA astronauts taken from the various service branches go to space as civilians or reservists, but it's like some Hollywood writers have ignored the history of spaceflight and are stuck for reference material back in the X-15 days.
One glaring example is the sitcom 'I Dream of Jeannie' - which I love - that features a NASA that might as well be the U.S. Air Force with all the military brass walking the halls, and that includes Tony Nelson and Roger Healey and Doctor Bellows all walking around in their Class A's with full insignia on display. And just to add one more level of Hollywood forehead-slap, when the show started filming in color Roger Healey was suddenly transferred to the Army. Why? I can just picture the conversation: "Well, we gotta put Roger in a different color uniform or the audience won't be able to tell them apart."
A more recent example is 'The Martian,' in the scene where the crew of the Hermes were discussing defying NASA and executing the Rich Purnell maneuver. At one point Lewis tries to curb Martinez's enthusiasm by telling him they'd get court-martialed for doing it. No, Jessica Chastain. Court martialing you and Martinez would require your former military branches to reactivate you just for the pleasure of trying you for violating another agency's directives.
So what movie got me thinking about this? It's The Core. That whole scene where Hilary Swank faces a board of inquiry was jammed full of military dress unis, including Swank in her Air Force blues and Bruce Greenwood in his Navy blues. ("Gotta distinguish by color!") And it's all BS, because the military didn't fly space shuttles. ("That you know of!" Said the conspiracy theorist.)
It probably seems like not big deal, but it really is because "NASA is a civilian organization" is a frightfully easy concept to grasp, yet Hollywood, throughout NASA' history, has always seemed unwilling or just incapable of grasping it.
NASA is a civilian agency and has been since its inception, but there's a fixed idea in Hollywood that stems from the fact that the earliest astronauts were former military. The key word is former. NASA astronauts taken from the various service branches go to space as civilians or reservists, but it's like some Hollywood writers have ignored the history of spaceflight and are stuck for reference material back in the X-15 days.
One glaring example is the sitcom 'I Dream of Jeannie' - which I love - that features a NASA that might as well be the U.S. Air Force with all the military brass walking the halls, and that includes Tony Nelson and Roger Healey and Doctor Bellows all walking around in their Class A's with full insignia on display. And just to add one more level of Hollywood forehead-slap, when the show started filming in color Roger Healey was suddenly transferred to the Army. Why? I can just picture the conversation: "Well, we gotta put Roger in a different color uniform or the audience won't be able to tell them apart."
A more recent example is 'The Martian,' in the scene where the crew of the Hermes were discussing defying NASA and executing the Rich Purnell maneuver. At one point Lewis tries to curb Martinez's enthusiasm by telling him they'd get court-martialed for doing it. No, Jessica Chastain. Court martialing you and Martinez would require your former military branches to reactivate you just for the pleasure of trying you for violating another agency's directives.
So what movie got me thinking about this? It's The Core. That whole scene where Hilary Swank faces a board of inquiry was jammed full of military dress unis, including Swank in her Air Force blues and Bruce Greenwood in his Navy blues. ("Gotta distinguish by color!") And it's all BS, because the military didn't fly space shuttles. ("That you know of!" Said the conspiracy theorist.)
It probably seems like not big deal, but it really is because "NASA is a civilian organization" is a frightfully easy concept to grasp, yet Hollywood, throughout NASA' history, has always seemed unwilling or just incapable of grasping it.
The earlier discussion of overhearing conversations reminded me of another one I hate that's most commonly seen in crime shows: When an informant calls one of the heroes saying they have vital info to give them, but it's too sensitive to give over the phone, so they arrange to meet in person and then get killed by the villain before they can deliver the info.
If you think the bad guys are able to intercept your call, why would you let them hear when and where you're going to be? Just whistleblow and run.
If you think the bad guys are able to intercept your call, why would you let them hear when and where you're going to be? Just whistleblow and run.
Tough to do these days when no one reads newspapers anymore.
I really miss the old "spinning newspaper" trope...
Started watching Wentworth recently, the Australian prison drama, and was shocked at how many prison tropes were in the first episode. They didn't take their time, but got right down to business, but it also makes me wonder how they could have kept things fresh for 8 seasons at that rate. Drug smuggling: check. Prison riot: check, staff being killed: check, etc. It almost felt like it tried to do too much during that one episode. Felt like saying, Whoa, slow down!
If it's a public TV show i guess the soap drop in the shower was skipped?
I dunno. I'm assuming they eventually end up doing it, though they did have a strip search scene. They haven't even had a shower scene yet where I'm at, which I found surprising, although they did talk about them having showers. The other thing that really surprised me was the child in the prison, crib and all.
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