History Main / DirtForceField

* Cats are constantly cleaning themselves and are therefore almost always perfectly clean. One reason theorized is that this helps them hunt by not having the scent of blood and dirt giving them away. Dogs, on the other hand, go the opposite route and roll in other animals' feces and dirt; the theory for that is it hides the smell of dog from their prey.
** If you find a cat that ''is'' dirty, then it's probably lost or abandoned, and starving. Cats only let themselves get dirty when they're so desperate for food that they stop cleaning themselves to spend all their time looking for it.

* A strange version appears in Creator/KennethBranagh's ''Theatre/HenryV''. The film gave a good deal of attention to historical accuracy (as much as was possible given that the play itself is Tudor propaganda) and realism. Accordingly, the cast spend much of the film dirty, bloody, and generally pretty realistic. Henry's [[WhiteStallion white horse]], however, remains remarkably clean. This is particularly noticeable during the Siege of Harfleur, when a very soiled and bloody Henry comes racing out from the city gates on his horse, which looks like it's just been carefully bathed for Grand Prix dressage. Someone apparently forgot to tell the wranglers about the "realism" thing. [[FridgeBrilliance The horse is the only 'noble' thing around for miles.]]
* Averted in ''Film/DragMeToHell'', where Alison Lohman gets about as soaked and muddy as it's possible to get, and bashed on the head to boot.

* Humorously done at the end of ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'', when Venkman (the "coolest" Ghostbuster) has far less marshmallow on him than the other guys. This is reputedly because he got "slimed" by the onion head ghost earlier on in the film and didn't think it fair he should have to get completely covered in the finale.
* This trope is both played straight and inverted in a ShoutOut to the aforementioned Ghostbusters scene in ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou''. Bill Murray's character is the only one to get bitten by leaches while moving through a swamp.

* Lampshaded in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novel ''Legend of Huma'' by the wizard Magius. During a long trek, Huma and Kaz wonder why they are all muddy and Magius is still clean. Kaz then deliberately tries to kick mud onto Magius, which just bounces off some [[SomeKindOfForceField invisible barrier]].

* In the pages of Comicbook/XMen, Emma Frost's costumes are always a pristine white no matter what she goes through on a mission. It's possible she may be using her psychic powers to merely APPEAR pristine in the minds of those around her. Similar to how she [[spoiler: hid her aged appearance]] in the Old Man Logan comics.

** Daniel Craig also gets covered in blood after killing a goon in ''Film/CasinoRoyale'', a subversion to Bond's habit of simply straightening his tie and walking off afterwards.

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* Sort of {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/LastActionHero'' after Arnold's character falls into a tar pit and all it takes to clean himself completely is a few wipes with a tissue, prompting his kid sidekick to comment, "Tar actually sticks to some people." A similar RunningGag is used in ''EvilDead2'', in which Ash and everything around him would get drenched with ichor in one scene, then show no trace of goo (or at least, that particular ''color'' of goo) in the next. He does suffer lasting wounds and wardrobe-damage, however.

* Many {{superhero}}ines tend to benefit from this trope, to the point where it is the Second-[[MostCommonSuperPower.]]\\

* Many {{superhero}}ines tend to benefit from this trope, to the point where it is the Second-Most Common Super Power, [[MostCommonSuperPower beyond the first, of course.]]\\

->'''The Dead Collector:''' [[TheDungAges He hasn't got shit all over him.]]

Particularly noticeable on actresses, who come off as {{Faux Action Girl}}s because the studio doesn't dare film them except in the most flattering light. The human antithesis to this is probably BruceWillis, who by the end of his movies is drenched in about five pints of grime, sweat and blood, mostly his own. Creator/SigourneyWeaver's stint as Ripley in ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was probably the first major female exception.

* Michelangelo's ''[[PietaPlagiarism La Pieta]]'' is one of the more famous examples in art. Jesus's lovingly-detailed, well-toned muscles and polished-smooth skin don't look much like someone who's spent three days dying of thirst and blood loss. Mary also invokes this, with a face completely absent of the lines or blemishes that would have been typical on a woman who was in her late forties at least. Michelangelo largely gets away with it, because the anatomy is so good that it easily overshadows the inaccuracy, and because Jesus seems like a good candidate for someone with an actual DirtForcefield. This hasn't stopped some artists from [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Pieta_z_Lubiaza.jpg/751px-Pieta_z_Lubiaza.jpg trying]], though.

* Many female {{Superhero}}es tend to benefit from this trope, to the point where it is the Second-Most Common Super Power, [[MostCommonSuperPower beyond the first, of course.]]\\

But it's worth noting that for most of comics history, minor injuries just weren't drawn on either male or female superheroes -- a combination of the same artistic factors that contribute to GenericCuteness, and the standard action hero's MadeOfIron that turns severe injuries into OnlyAFleshWound. And superheroes tended not to get injuries ''at all'', unless they were plot-sensitive (such as messing up a SecretIdentity) or [[GoodThingYouCanHeal it showed off a power]].
** A secondary historical reason is also due to the Comics Code in the United States that existed for a few decades. Visible injuries would probably bump up the rating and, at a time when comics were severely censored, it either wasn't worth the risk or might not have been allowed at all, much as with film under the Hays Code.
* Both lampshaded and justified in an issue of ''{{Superman}}'', during John Byrne's run. Using his voluminous cape as an impromptu "robe" during [[TimeTravel a journey to the thirteenth century]], Superman speaks briefly with two peasant farmers, then continues on down the road. The farmers turn to each other.

** Pre-{{New 52}}, Superman's invulnerability was a protective aura - a literal dirt forcefield.
* In the pages of Comicbook/{{X-Men}}, Emma Frost's costumes are always a pristine white no matter what she goes through on a mission.
** It's possible she may be using her psychic powers to merely APPEAR pristine in the minds of those around her. Similar to how she [[spoiler: hid her aged appearance]] in the Old Man Logan comics.
* Superintendent Sam Steele from ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'''s "Hearts of Yukon" chapter. [[TheAce A superintendent of the North-Western Mounted Police]] does not get... 'Muddy'. Nor, for that matter, does he get '[[BulletproofFashionPlate blown up]]' or say "Yowch!".
** And yes, it ''does'' protect against [[CoveredInGunge being thrown into chest-high mud]].

* Peter Jackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' films subtly obey this trope.

* Sort of {{lampshaded}} in ''Film/LastActionHero'' after Arnold's character falls into a tar pit and all it takes to clean himself completely is a few wipes with a tissue, prompting his kid sidekick to comment, "Tar actually sticks to some people."
** A similar RunningGag is used in ''EvilDead2'', in which Ash and everything around him would get drenched with ichor in one scene, then show no trace of goo (or at least, that particular ''color'' of goo) in the next. He does suffer lasting wounds and wardrobe-damage, however.

* Every Transformer with a GM-licensed vehicle mode in the TransformersFilmSeries, thanks to the ProductPlacement agreements. However, In robot-mode you can see the paint scuffs and dents. [[note]] This isn't just to make the cars look good, but because all cars were on lease from GM, so they had to remain factory perfect (meaning dents and scratches required the entire panel to need to be replaced rather than simple smoothed out) to be returned after filming. And to make things worse all the cars were either at the moment unreleased prototypes (Bee, Sideswipe, Twins) or custom made (Ironhide Ratchet), meaning there were no spare parts available that wouldn't require a special order from GM. As a result the crew were very paranoid about delicate handing (Shia mentioned than anyone driving the Bumblebee car was ordered to touch nothing inside but the wheel, shifter and pedals.) and intentionally causing minor damage was not feasible.[[/note]]
** Mikaela's white pants in the second movie, which stay totally clean even after she's been laying in dirt.
** The third movie takes it UpToEleven: Carly somehow gets through a firefight between Autobots and Decepticons, wanton collateral damage left and right, and a collapsing building with shards of ''concrete and glass'' raining down from all sides without a ''single'' scratch. As for Sam... he looks like he ran into a bus... and a wood chipper... and a wild bear.
* Considering the amount of time that the characters of ''Film/ResidentEvilExtinction'' have spent on he road on a refugee convoy they all seem to have dirt forcefields, especially the women.

* The Great Leslie in ''TheGreatRace'', up through most of the pie fight [[spoiler: when he gets hit with a white pie]].
* A strange version appears in KennethBranagh's ''HenryV''. The film gave a good deal of attention to historical accuracy (as much as was possible given that the play itself is Tudor propaganda) and realism. Accordingly, the cast spend much of the film dirty, bloody, and generally pretty realistic. Henry's [[WhiteStallion white horse]], however, remains remarkably clean. This is particularly noticeable during the Siege of Harfleur, when a very soiled and bloody Henry comes racing out from the city gates on his horse, which looks like it's just been carefully bathed for Grand Prix dressage. Someone apparently forgot to tell the wranglers about the "realism" thing.
** [[FridgeBrilliance the horse is the only 'noble' thing around for miles]]

* Rachel from the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series. To the extent that the others (especially Marco) [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] about it. Once, her best friend Cassie jokingly throws a dirt clod at her. "I just want to see if it is actually possible for dirt to cling to you." Rachel catches the clod, drops it, and refuses to show Cassie her hand.
** Memorably, in one book, the narrator describes Rachel as being able (paraphrased) [[SerialEscalation "to be hit by a flood, picked up by a tornado, buried in a mudslide, and walk out with her hair in perfect order."]]
* Lampshaded in the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' novel ''Legend of Huma'' by the wizard Magius. During a long trek, Huma and Kaz wonder why they are all muddy and Magius is still clean. Kaz then deliberately tries to kick mud onto Magius, which just bounces off some [[SomeKindOfForceField invisible barrier]].

* Literature/TrappedOnDraconica implies that Rana uses ShockAndAwe powers to make dust afraid of her and keep her dress clean.
* Literature/TheDiamondAge: [[NanoMachines nanotechnology]] is pervasive, to the extent that almost all fabric is a nanotech construction that self cleans... children can play in the dirt in their best clothing and be still largely presentable afterwards.

* Unintentionally done on the Discovery show ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}''. Jamie always wears a white shirt, and almost never gets it dirty no matter what he's working on. Adam often teases him for it.
* Averted, then played straight in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story ''The End of Time''. The Doctor [[spoiler:is shot by the Master's captors, then ends up taking a skydive from an alien ship through the skylight of a mansion. By the time he takes the fatal blast of radiation to save Wilf, he looks like he's been through the wringer. After the blast, he heals his external injuries with the first energies from the upcoming regeneration, so that he'll look his normal, dapper self for his final goodbyes.]]
** Played straight in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters Carnival Of Monsters]]'', where Jo sinks to her waist in a swamp on location. Her clothes are clean and dry in the studio scenes set less than a minute later.

* {{Lampshaded}} in the parody RPG, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=2619246 Diana: Warrior Princess]]'' where a Dirt Forcefield is one of the powers of royalty.
* The ritual Fastidiousness in the fourth edition of DungeonsAndDragons grants magical protection from dirt as well as water damage.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Shadow of the Colossus}}'', Wander will get progressively dirty and bloodied through the game, as expected of someone who fights walking mountains. He won't immediately show it though, as his appearance only updates after a colossus dies and the respective cutscene plays out.
* ''{{Yo-Jin-Bo}}'' plays it dead straight. Running through a forest and fighting ninja will not even scuff your shoes, much less rip kimono or cause horrendous sweating and body odor.

* ''KingdomHearts'' generally plays this straight, as might be expected by the offspring of [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney]] and FinalFantasy. The secret movie "Birth by sleep" is an interesting exception - not only does it throw the impossibly-clean aesthetic out the window, it also manages to ''introduce'' a female lead in the middle of battle, covered in a mixture of dirt, grime, and her own sweat.

* ZigZagged in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'': One of the game's major mechanics is that you regain health from slaughtering your enemies in as bloody and messy a way as possible (with [[ChainsawGood chainswords]] and [[AnAxeToGrind power axes]] and [[DropTheHammer thunder hammers]]), so at the end of a battle your character's armor and [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic face]] is completely splattered in blood. However, it will all have faded away within thirty seconds.

* In ''TheZombieHunters'', a [[http://www.thezombiehunters.com/index.php?strip_id=92 gag strip]] [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] this with regard to Charlie's [[BadassLongcoat labcoat]], which he'd recently befouled in the course of [[spoiler:''punching a zombie's head in.'']]

* There's a student at the SuperHeroSchool [[WhateleyUniverse Whateley Academy]] whose codename is Pristine. She literally has a forcefield that keeps her body and clothes immaculate.
** Which prompted at least one other girl to get a devisor to build her a low power Personal Forcefield Generator to achieve the same effect. There is an untapped market here.

* Characters in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' generally get dirtied up when the occasion calls for it (they don't stay that way long, but that's justified when you have people who can manipulate air, water and earth). This is most notable in "The Drill" where ''everyone'' winds up utterly drenched in slurry.
** A prominent example of averting it is "The Blue Spirit," where, after trudging around in a swamp and getting pinned to a log by about a dozen arrows, Aang's outfit is dirty and ripped in several places. The secondary theme of that episode was apparently "Aang Has a Bad Day".
** Also constantly averted by Toph, whose feet are always filthy due to her always going barefoot to better use her earthbending to "see." She also appreciates "a healthy coating of earth."
* Usually played straight in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', characters' outfits are always pristine even during fights, and on the occasion that someone gets [[CoveredInGunge slimed by one of the show's goo monsters]], it disappears in the next shot. One notable aversion is [[spoiler: Terra]] and Raven's fight in mud, in which both end up soaked head to toe in mud, and it actually adds to the drama of the scene.

* Swans, egrets, and many other birds live in an environment with lots of mud and dirty water, and spend their days dabbling around in this mud finding the edible objects in it. They still have enough time to keep their own pure-white plumage looking clean. This is certainly an impressive feat when you imagine how much work all that preening must be. But they do it, because the best way to attract the opposite sex is to prove that "I've got such good genes that I can maintain these beautiful feathers and keep them from being tarnished by mud, lice, or injuries." [[IncrediblyLamePun Like us, they'll do anything for the chicks.]]
* Cats are constantly cleaning themselves and are therefore almost always perfectly clean. One reason theorized is that this helps them hunt by not having the scent of blood and dirt giving them away. Dogs, on the other hand, go the opposite route and roll in other animals' feces and dirt, the theory for that is it hides the smell of dog from their prey.

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* ''{{Naruto}}'': While not normally in effect this trope was once invoked for dramatic effect; after Gaara's team clears the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Forest of Death]] portion of the Chunin Exams in record time, proctor Anko and one of her colleagues (but luckily for the audience, not the local [[TheWatson Watson]]) notice that Gaara doesn't have a scratch or spec of dust on his body. [[{{Irony}} As it turns out, Gaara didn't get dirty because he was covered by a layer of sand.]]
* In ''DragonBallZ'', characters routinely survive ki blasts with planet-destroying power and take little to no damage to their clothes.

** The peasant characters are always dirty, whereas a King like Aragorn is at least ''less'' dirty. However, it is only in the coronation scene near the end of the third movie that Aragorn's hair is no longer a mop of stringy, oily hair.

* Literature/TrappedOnDraconica implies that Rana uses ShockAndAwe powers make dust afraid of her and keep her dress clean.
* Literature/TheDiamondAge: [[NanoMachines nanotechnology]] is pervasive, to the extent that almost all fabric is a nanotech construction that self cleans... children can play in the dirty in their best clothing and be still largely presentable afterwards.

* While most games in the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' franchise play this painfully straight, ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' averts this with a vengeance; Lara is covered in sweat, grime and blood (a lot of it her own), right from the start, and gets worse as the story progresses.

* Unintentionally done on the Discovery show ''{{Mythbusters}}''. Jamie always wears a white shirt, and almost never gets it dirty no matter what he's working on. Adam often teases him for it.

* Swans, egrets, and many other birds live in an environment with lots of mud and dirty water, and spend their days dabbling around in this mud finding the edible objects in it. They still have enough time to keep their own pure-white plumage looking clean. This is certainly an impressive feat when you imagine how much work all that preening must be. But they do it, because the best way to attract the opposite sex is to prove that "I've got such good genes that I can maintain these beautiful feathers and keep them from being tarnished by mud, lice, or injuries." [[IncrediblyLamePun Like us, they'll do anything for the chicks.]] [[note: the need to keep the feathers clean of irritants and anything that could cause problems when trying to fly.]]

* {{Michelangelo}}'s ''[[PietaPlagiarism La Pieta]]'' is one of the more famous examples in art. Jesus's lovingly-detailed, well-toned muscles and polished-smooth skin don't look much like someone who's spent three days dying of thirst and blood loss. Mary also invokes this, with a face completely absent of the lines or blemishes that would have been typical on a woman who was in her late forties at least. Michelangelo largely gets away with it, because the anatomy is so good that it easily overshadows the inaccuracy, and because Jesus seems like a good candidate for someone with an actual DirtForcefield. This hasn't stopped some artists from [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Pieta_z_Lubiaza.jpg/751px-Pieta_z_Lubiaza.jpg trying]], though.

** This trope is nicely averted in "The Blue Spirit," where, after trudging around in a swamp and getting pinned to a log by about a dozen arrows, Aang's outfit is dirty and ripped in several places. This could possibly be because the secondary theme of that episode was apparently "Aang Has a Bad Day".
** Also averted by Toph, whose feet are always filthy due to her always going barefoot to better use her earthbending to "see." She also appreciates "a healthy coating of earth."

* Swans, egrets, and many other birds live in an environment with lots of mud and dirty water, and spend their days dabbling around in this mud finding the edible objects in it. They still have enough time to keep their own pure-white plumage looking clean. This is certainly an impressive feat when you imagine how much work all that preening must be. But they do it, because the best way to attract the opposite sex is to prove that "I've got such good genes that I can maintain these beautiful feathers and keep them from being tarnished by mud, lice, or injuries." [[IncrediblyLamePun Like us, they'll do anything for the chicks.]] [[note]] the need to keep the feathers clean of irritants and anything that could cause problems when trying to fly.]]

* Peter Jackson's ''LordOfTheRings'' films subtly obey this trope.

** A similar RunningGag is used in ''Franchise/EvilDead 2'', in which Ash and everything around him would get drenched with ichor in one scene, then show no trace of goo (or at least, that particular ''color'' of goo) in the next. He does suffer lasting wounds and wardrobe-damage, however.

* This trope is both played straight and inverted in a ShoutOut to the aforementioned Ghostbusters scene in ''TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou''. Bill Murray's character is the only one to get bitten by leaches while moving through a swamp.

* Done in ''FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren''. No character goes out of a fight dirty. Epically fixed in ''Advent Children Complete'', where everyone, after fighting, gets a good amount of dust, grime, and of course, blood.

* Averted in ''DragMeToHell'', where Alison Lohman gets about as soaked and muddy as it's possible to get, and bashed on the head to boot.

* Swans, egrets, and many other birds live in an environment with lots of mud and dirty water, and spend their days dabbling around in this mud finding the edible objects in it. They still have enough time to keep their own pure-white plumage looking clean. This is certainly an impressive feat when you imagine how much work all that preening must be. But they do it, because the best way to attract the opposite sex is to prove that "I've got such good genes that I can maintain these beautiful feathers and keep them from being tarnished by mud, lice, or injuries." [[IncrediblyLamePun Like us, they'll do anything for the chicks.]]
** Well, that and the need to keep the feathers clean of irritants and anything that could cause problems when trying to fly.

* Peter Jackson's ''LordOfTheRings'' films subtly obey this trope. The peasant characters are always dirty, whereas a King like Aragorn is at least ''less'' dirty. Not to mention Gandalf the White's whiter-than-white robes. That last one [[AWizardDidIt makes sense]], though.
** However, it is only in the coronation scene near the end of the third movie that Aragorn's hair is no longer a mop of stringy, oily hair. And Gandalf, as the Grey Pilgrim before returning as the White, is quite disheveled and wayworn.
** Even Gandalf the White's cloak and robes are quite dirty at their lower edges that constantly come in contact with the ground.

* Humorously done at the end of ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'', when Venkman (the "coolest" Ghostbuster) has far less marshmallow on him than the other guys.
** This is reputedly because he got "slimed" by the onion head ghost earlier on in the film and didn't think it very fair he should have to get completely covered in the finale.
** This trope is both played straight and inverted in a ShoutOut to the aforementioned Ghostbusters scene in ''TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou''. Bill Murray's character is the only one to get bitten by leaches while moving through a swamp.
* Every Transformer with a GM-licensed vehicle mode in the TransformersFilmSeries, thanks to the ProductPlacement agreements.
** Well, they're only clean in vehicle-mode. In robot-mode you can see the paint scuffs and dents.
*** This isn't just to make the cars look good, but because all cars were on lease from GM, so they had to remain factory perfect (meaning dents and scratches required the entire panel to need to be replaced rather than simple smoothed out) to be returned after filming. And to make things worse all the cars were either at the moment unreleased prototypes (Bee, Sideswipe, Twins) or custom made (Ironhide Ratchet), meaning there were no spare parts available that wouldn't require a special order from GM. As a result the crew were very paranoid about delicate handing (Shia mentioned than anyone driving the Bumblebee car was ordered to touch nothing inside but the wheel, shifter and pedals.) and intentionally causing minor damage was not feasible.
*** This is taken to a ridiculous extreme with some of the toys, particularly "Final Battle Jazz." The car mode is exactly the same as the regular version of the character, and all the battle damage is sculpted in the robot mode. The toy is actually packaged in robot mode (the vast majority of Transformers are packed in their vehicle modes), to allow consumers to tell it apart from the original.
** Not to mention the Mikaela's white pants in the second movie, which stay totally clean even after she's been laying in dirt.
** And then the third movie takes it UpToEleven: Carly somehow gets through a firefight between Autobots and Decepticons, wanton collateral damage left and right, and a collapsing building with shards of ''concrete and glass'' raining down from all sides without a ''single'' scratch. As for Sam... he looks like he ran into a bus... and a wood chipper... and a wild bear.