Examples You Like Of Tropes You Hate

Exactly What It Says on the Tin- the "exception that proves the rule".

Right now, two that come to mind:

I really dislike the Vigilante Man trope as it indicates a very Family-Unfriendly Aesop that's against civil rights and revels in having its "hero" engage in cruelty to their enemies.

However, I am fond of "U.N. Owen" in And Then There Were None as well as Dexter. Both works have a Serial-Killer Killer who acknowledges they are crazy and don't hold themselves up as a good person (nor does the author). Also, "Owen" and to a lesser extent Dexter doesn't really emphasize torturing victims- as long as the victims end up dead, they're quite happy to kill painlessly. In fact, them being Ax-Crazy has the result of them being a lot nicer and more controlled then your typical Vigilante Man- they have to be The Fettered, because if they aren't, they would start killing innocent people.

Another example- I'm kind of annoyed by the idea that "the Maya predicted the world will end in 2012". Not only is it arbitrary to believe in this calendar, but the idea is a misunderstanding of what the Maya actually thought. However, this trope is used well in both Rah Xephon and Occult Academy. The former actually shows its work about Mayan belief and uses the 2012 date in a way that it more accurate. Occult Academy makes it work because the creators' show a really impressive knowledge of various crackpot occult theories including alien invasions, Nostradamus, and telekinetic powers.

Thanks.

edited 3rd Nov '10 10:14:56 PM by Jordan

Leftovers from a since-fixed glitch in the NSFG curtain. Fixed it.

It's called Trope Enjoyment Loophole.

Not a specific example, but I hate Disabled Means Helpless unless it's exploited by the disabled person.

Edited by selkies on May 15th 2023 at 3:36:08 PM

I can't really think of any specific examples, but I'm a pretty firm believer in Tropes Are Tools and the Trope Enjoyment Loophole and there are ways to play with pretty much all tropes in ways that still work.

Deconstructing a problematic trope can be a pretty good way to use it and call attention to its issues, such as its Unfortunate Implications if it applies.

Edited by punkcrow on May 15th 2023 at 6:08:29 AM

I dislike Camp Gay or Butch Lesbian if it applies to all gay men and lesbians in a work. If there is an example of either trope and there are other gay characters or lesbians who aren't stereotypical, I'm cool with that because the campy men or butch women are the exception rather than the norm. For example, I don't mind Tristan being Camp Gay because his boyfriend Tanner is Manly Gay instead.

I tend to dislike Freudian Excuse and tragic villain backstories in general because I feel like they, more often than not, only exist to force the audience to feel sorry for the bad guy. It usually involves the entire world around them being exaggeratedly cruel to justify what happens later, and I tend to lose interest in villains if the narrative tries to make me see them as damaged or troubled.

But Wicked is a show I enjoy, and I appreciate it because Elphie's development is more nuanced and better paced, with a lot of the trouble being driven by her own flaws and ambitions. I also like that the rest of the cast aren't just cartoon villains, and you can understand THEIR motives as well. Oh, and it being gradual and not just an immediate snap to being evil is also very nice.

Glass Onion included a couple tropes I dislike, like Pocket Protector and Backup Twin, but I don't mind because it's fun, and it's supposed to be a genre piece.

I dislike All Just a Dream and Dream Within a Dream, but the Stickin' Around episode "Photo Oops" had an interesting twist on the latter, where the character keeps having them and then wakes up STILL thinking they're in a dream.

Generally speaking, I don't like Take That! unless the joke being made is one that those who like the subject of the Take That! in question can also laugh at. In particular, Take Thats made with the sole intention of dunking on the subject instead of actually making it clever (especially ones that come off like "X sucks and you suck if you like it") I usually just end up finding obnoxious.

I also find All Animals Are Dogs really annoying and overused for...I can't even put my finger on why, I've just never liked the trope for some reason. That said, I don't mind certain cases where it makes sense for the setting (Dino) or is just so funny that it merits a pass from me (Maximus).

Edited by kablammin45 on May 17th 2023 at 11:22:24 AM