Needs Help: Soul Brotha

In the Sandbox definition it's mentioned that the "urban black person" stereotype took a specific form in the 70s, but has been "modernized" a bit in more recent works. I don't think it'd be reasonable to split those into 2 different tropes.

edited 17th Aug '15 9:27:24 AM by Rjinswand

Seconded

Any more opinions and input about the Sandbox?

I feel this thread might be solved quite soon, with a bit more discussion.

The new definition seems to have a very similar basis to Men Are Generic, Women Are Special: the expected norm is white men, any deviations is enough character on its own. Should we mention the link?

edited 22nd Sep '15 3:39:49 PM by Reymma

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.

That's an interesting idea. Maybe a comparison to Men Are Generic, Women Are Special should be mentioned at the end of the first paragraph? ^note Slight correction: white people are treated as the "expected norm", not just white men. Soul Sistas are "special" compared to the "generic" white women.

edited 23rd Sep '15 1:16:41 PM by Rjinswand

So would that also count as a laconic. White people are the expected normal, black people are somehow different?

If so, and rereading the description that lists just about every black centric trope as a possibility, this reads to me like a supertrope where the examples should be limited except for a few seminal or iconic ones.

edited 25th Sep '15 8:30:21 AM by acrobox

We don't limit examples like that, even for supertropes. It is the exact opposite of our policies on the matter. Bad acrobox. No cookie.

That said, this isn't about any specific stereotype, so much as it is about having black stereotypes INSTEAD OF a unique personality. This is for blackness being enough to define the entire character.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

but i wanted a cookie....

...Maybe a little one.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Hmm... My understanding of this trope actually was that it is about specific stereotypes — and "white people are general, black people are special" is just the reason for the trope's existence rather than the trope itself.

I think if we want a trope like that, it shouldn't be limited to black people only. Something like Ethnic Majorities Are Generic Ethnic Minorities Are Special, which would be a supertrope for many, many ethnic/racial stereotype tropes. It doesn't even have to have "white people" on the "generic" side — that'd be a bit Americanocentric. E.g. in anime, Japanese people are "generic" while white Americans are often treated as "special".

So to recap, I'd suggest to keep Soul Brotha about "urban black stereotypes", and turn the underlying reasoning into its own huge supertrope. Thoughts?

edited 25th Sep '15 10:49:19 AM by Rjinswand

I like that proposal.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Sounds like a reasonable solution. I can get behind that.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report

That makes far to much sense.

hear hear

@36, 37, 38, 39: Thanks for the feedback, guys! I can try YKTTW'ing that supertrope, though I hope someone could help with the description.

Any more opinions or suggestions about Soul Brotha itself?

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UPD: Here is the YKTTW: link. Would be grateful for any help!

edited 28th Sep '15 1:03:08 PM by Rjinswand

Locking as part of New Years Purge.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick