Line #65 Main/DirtForcefield


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15	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scrooge_steele_3.png]]]]
16	[[caption-width-right:350:A superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police does not get "muddy"!]]
17
18	->'''Large Man with Dead Body:''' Who's that then?\
19	'''The Dead Collector:''' I dunno, must be a king.\
20	'''Large Man with Dead Body:''' Why?\
21	'''The Dead Collector:''' He hasn't got shit all over him.
22	-->-- ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''
23
24	The conspicuous lack of grime, dirt, or bruises on actors, especially those in action sequences. There is an inherent suggestion of grueling badassness to completely cover a character in sweat and grime to show that he's ''really'' gone through the wringer. This might be a remnant of older special effects, which lacked CG but were very fond of various fluids and chemicals being waded through and thrown around.
25
26	Particularly noticeable on female characters. The human antithesis to this is probably Creator/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.
27
28	One practical reason is that film and television scenes are rarely shot in chronological order, requiring the director to carefully keep track of which scenes are supposed to show which markings. The easiest solution is to avoid the issue by not having any stains in the first place.
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30	See also BeautyIsNeverTarnished and BulletProofFashionPlate. May not protect against [[CoveredInGunge Gunge]]. For vehicles, see DamageProofVehicle.
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32	Has nothing to do with ElementalBarrier.
33	----
34	!!Examples
35
36	[[foldercontrol]]
37
38	[[folder:Anime & Manga ]]
39	* The sword Sayafushi from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', which was a failed attempt to make a perfect sword that came out ''too'' perfect to be usable, has the property that no blood will ever stick to it because it is too smooth and can't be damaged.
40	* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', one of the defining features of the planet-shattering fights in the series is that the terrain around the fighters is often torn to pieces by the force of their blows, and energy blasts regularly kick up huge clouds of dust (often from which the intended target emerges unscathed). Despite this, whilst characters often suffer wounds and battle damage, they almost never get dirty.
41	* ''Manga/{{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 speck of dust on his body. [[{{Irony}} As it turns out, Gaara didn't get dirty because he was covered by a layer of sand.]]
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Art]]
45	* Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti's ''Pieta'' is one of the more famous examples in art. UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}' 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 version. 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.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Comic Books]]
49	* Many {{superhero}}ines tend to benefit from this trope, to the point where it is the Second-MostCommonSuperPower.\
50	\
51	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.
52	* 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]].
53	* Both lampshaded and justified in an issue of ''Franchise/{{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.
54	-->"Who was that strange man?"\
55	"I know not; some great king, belike."\
56	"Aye, for who else could walk in such filth and not stain his robes?"
57	** Pre-Comicbook/{{New 52}}, Superman's invulnerability was a protective aura - a literal dirt forcefield. Once, while hiding out in disguise on Apokolips, he lamented the fact that this forcefield kept him from looking completely authentic amongst the unhygienic Lowlies that populate the planet.
58	* In the pages of ''Comicbook/XMen'', ComicBook/EmmaFrost'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.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Fan Works]]
62	* The titular character of ''FanFic/HopeComesToBrocktonBay'' explicitly has a minor superpower that prevents anything from sticking to her. It has all sorts of interesting interactions, including making her one of the very few people who can't be held by containment foam and allowing her to perform surgery without needing gloves or having to wash her hands.
63	* ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''
64	** Apparently the Hunter has one of these [[spoiler:—until he has his HeelFaceTurn. The battle on the Plains of Death leaves him completely disgusting and stinking to high heaven, even after John hoses him down.]]
65	** Averted, though, with John's cloak, which spends the book getting smellier and smellier because he's afraid to wash it lest he wash the magic off.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
69	* Done in ''Anime/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.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
73	* A similar RunningGag is used in ''Film/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.
74	* Humorously done at the end of ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', when Venkman (the "coolest" Ghostbuster) has only a dob of marshmallow in his hair, while the rest of the cast is completely covered. Apparently Bill Murray was not enthusiastic about being covered in goo again (after getting slimed earlier in the film) and convinced the others that having Venkman unscathed in this scene would be funnier.
75	* The Great Leslie in ''Film/TheGreatRace'', up through most of the pie fight [[spoiler: when he gets hit with a white pie]].
76	* 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.
77	* Film/JamesBond almost never gets dirty during his action scenes - the biggest exception being ''Film/LicenceToKill'', where after [[spoiler: [[KillItWithFire setting the villain on fire]], leading to a big explosion]], Bond is bloody, with a wild hair and entirely covered in sand. Nothing less glamourous.
78	** And he gets really, really dirty throughout the entirety of ''Film/QuantumOfSolace''.
79	** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' also features an exception to the rule regarding actresses never getting dirty. By the end, Olga Kurylenko is covered in just as much grime and sweat as Daniel Craig.
80	** Daniel Craig also gets covered in blood after killing a goon in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', a subversion to Bond's habit of simply straightening his tie and walking off afterwards.
81	* {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in ''Film/LastActionHero'' after Jack Slater 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."
82	* 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.
83	* Creator/PeterJackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' films subtly obey this trope.
84	** 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 [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing third movie]] that Aragorn's head is no longer a mop of stringy, oily hair.
85	** Gandalf the White's whiter-than-white robes but [[OurAngelsAreDifferent his case is justified and]] even then the edges that touch the ground are dirty; as Gandalf the Grey Pilgrim he is quite disheveled and wayworn.
86	** As an elf, Legolas is always far better and cleaner looking than the men. However, when a lot of other elves show up at Helm's Deep in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'', Legolas notably looks a lot worse than them.
87	* In ''Film/ANewHope'', Princess Leia and the others end up in the trash compactor on the Death Star, yet none of them get remotely dirty. While Han and Luke at least have the excuse of changing out of their disguises, Chewie is naked and Leia is wearing a white dress, yet neither has a spot on them. Creator/MarkHamill tells an amusing anecdote about this: as they were filming one of these scenes, he piped up saying "I was just underwater, shouldn't my hair be all mucky and dirty?" To which Creator/HarrisonFord replied "It ain't that kind of a movie, kid. If anyone's looking at your hair we're all in a lot of trouble."
88	* Considering the amount of time that the characters of ''Film/ResidentEvilExtinction'' have spent on the road on a refugee convoy they all seem to have dirt forcefields, especially the women.
89	* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'':
90	** Every Transformer with a GM-licensed vehicle mode, 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 (Bumblebee, Sideswipe, the 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 (Creator/ShiaLaBeouf mentioned that anyone driving the Bumblebee Camaro was ordered to touch nothing inside but the wheel, shifter and pedals.) and intentionally causing minor damage was not feasible.[[/note]]
91	** Mikaela's white pants in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', which stay totally clean even after she's been laying in dirt and sand.
92	** In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', 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.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Literature]]
96	* 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 perfect hair, perfect clothes, and perfect makeup."]] Note that Rachel is the BloodKnight of the team.
97	* ''Literature/TheDiamondAge'': {{Nano\|Machines}}technology is so common that almost all fabric is a self-cleaning nanotech construction. Children can play in the dirt in their best clothing and be still largely presentable afterwards.
98	* Lampshaded in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novel ''Literature/TheLegendOfHuma'' 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]].
99	* Non-character example: In ''Ghost From The Grand Banks'', one of the investors funding plans to raise parts of the ''Titanic'' made his fortune by developing dirt-proof windshields and window glass.
100	* ''Literature/OddlyEnough'': {{Justified\|Trope}} in "Am I Blue?" -- the first evidence that Melvin is a genuine [[FairyGodmother Fairy Godfather]] is that a splash of muddy water doesn't leave a spot on his clothes.
101	* {{Justified\|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheRavenTower'': Perks of being appointed Raven's Lease by the eponymous PhysicalGod include rule over the nation, PurposeDrivenImmortality, and robes of office that always stay spotless white.
102	* ''Literature/TrappedOnDraconica'' implies that Rana uses ShockAndAwe powers to make dust afraid of her and keep her dress clean.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
106	* Combined with BeautyIsNeverTarnished in the ''Series/AdamAdamantLives'' episode "The Sweet Smell of Disaster". Adam and Georgina lay a trap for the villain and his female sidekick in a room full of soapsuds, and in the resulting fight everyone gets covered with foam. When the survivors emerge, all have suds on their clothes -- except for Georgina, who's merely damp.
107	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
108	** 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.
109	** Averted, then played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "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.]]
110	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell should be covered in blood, sweat and grime in [[spoiler:"Blackwater"]], yet he's completely clean. Loras' flawless appearance is further highlighted after Lord Tywin Lannister arrives to the throne room because the old man's face is coated with blood splatter and dirt.
111	* 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.
112	* An episode of ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' in which the woman of the episode goes waist-deep into mud and in the next scene is clean.
113	* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Since Elnor is a [[LongHairedPrettyBoy gorgeous]] [[{{Elfeminate}} character]] (and portrayed by Evan Evagora, an ex-model no less), the producers clearly didn't want anything to detract from his physical beauty.
114	** When Elnor slices through Romulan soldiers like they're butter in the "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E06TheImpossibleBox The Impossible Box]]", there is a lot of arterial spray, yet not a ''single drop'' of green blood splashes on him.
115	** In "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2", after walking a long distance from ''La Sirena'' to Coppelius Station in the blazing heat, Elnor looks pristine when he arrives at the entrance, which juxtaposes Narek's sweaty appearance and the subtle, but visible dirt marks on the latter's clothing.
116	* This is usually PlayedStraight for the Winchester brothers in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', but in the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]], a victim keeps appearing to Dean and she is dirtier and more disheveled with each appearance.
117	* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': The show was surrounded by one. Wonder Woman could have a rolling catfight down a grassy hill in "Wonder Woman vs. Baroness von Gunther" and come up clean and without grass stains. Or she could beat up a room full of bottle-smashing, food throwing football players in "The Deadly Sting" and sill be clean. Or even win a rock smashing, [[{{Mooks}} mook]] throwing fight ''on a dirt road'' in "The Girl with a Gift for Disaster" and still be clean. Steve Trevor was the same, for example, making his way through a Nazi forest in "Fausta, the Nazi Wonder Woman" without dirt, grime, or sweat.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
121	* {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d 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.
122	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
123	** The ritual Fastidiousness in the fourth edition grants magical protection from dirt as well as water damage.
124	** The cantrip Prestidigitation can be used to clean one's equipment. In certain editions, it can be cast an unlimited number of times per day, so adventurers don't need to worry about being walking masses of sweat, dirt and gore.
125	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' features the Prestidigitation spell, allowing many types of spellcasters to keep themselves and their party clean.
126	* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful:'' Princesses of Mirrors get a charm that lets them keep dirt, grime, and anything else that would cause social penalties from sticking to them. Princesses of Hearts, by contrast, have a charm that lets them look elegant and composed even when dirty, provided they had some good reason for being dirty in the first place.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Video Games]]
130	* In ''VideoGame/{{Illbleed}}'', the main female protagonist's appearance isn't affected by the environments, but it gets more and more torn, blood-soaked and muddy as she fails to save friends (i.e. completing a level without rescuing the friend there). In order to get the true ending, you have to lose everyone, at which point she is completely naked with only a few mudsmears to cover her bits.
131	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' generally plays this straight, as might be expected by the offspring of Creator/{{Disney}} and ''Franchise/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.
132	* A number of endings in the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series have the heroes spotless, despite being in a series of violent battles.
133	* In ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', 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.
134	* Most games in the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' franchise play this straight, except ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013''.
135	* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Sigvald The Magnificent is a champion of Chaos who floats over the battlefield. Canonically blood and dirt don't ever stain his armor. This is reinforced in the game proper; if you have the Blood for the Blood God DLC activated, blood splatter will NEVER land on Sigvald despite everyone around him being painted red from head to toe.
136	* ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo'' 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.
137	* ZigZaggingTrope 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 {{chains\|awGood}}words and power axes and {{Thunder Hammer}}s), 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.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Web Comics]]
141	* This trope is [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=727 crushed under the steel tracks]] in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. Quite fittingly, by [[TheJuggernaut Jones]].
142	* In ''Webcomic/TheZombieHunters'', a [[http://www.thezombiehunters.com/index.php?strip_id=92 gag strip]] {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d this with regard to Charlie's [[BadassLongcoat labcoat]], which he'd recently befouled in the course of [[spoiler:''punching a zombie's head in.'']]
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Web Original]]
146	* There's a student at the SuperHeroSchool [[Literature/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.
147	[[/folder]]
148
149	[[folder:Western Animation]]
150	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', [[spoiler:Toph]] reappears living in the middle of a swamp, and yet her clothes are immaculate and her hair pure white (Korra, by contrast, spends the entire episode getting muddier). How does she do that without any means of looking at herself? [[spoiler:''Greatest'' earthbender in the world, remember?]]
151	* 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.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Real Life]]
155	* 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." [[{{Pun}} Like us, they'll do anything for the chicks.]]
156	* Cats are famously fastidious about cleaning themselves. Healthy cats spend a good portion of their day grooming, so they are usually quite 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.
157	* Corgis have fur that repels dirt fabulously, in exchange for shedding nearly 365 days a year. "Shedding season" for them only means that they shed ''more'' than usual, and new owners are often forewarned about owning vacuums.
158	* There are some places where there cannot be dirt in the area while products are being manufactured. These are called clean rooms, and anyone who wants to go into one will have all dirt and dust blown off of them and vacuumed away so that they are perfectly clean.
159	[[/folder]]
160

Context Main / DirtForcefield