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eroock
Since: Sep, 2012
BattleMaster
Since: Feb, 2015
29th May, 2017 10:26:21 PM
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
Edited by BattleMaster
I'm trying to draw a distinction between two different types of tropes that to someone other than people who specialize in tropes might seem like semantics. In the movie "Roxanne," you have a fire department of doofuses the whole time who are comedic fodder for how terrible they are when trying to fight fires. But when a fire actually happens, it's like a geedee ballet. The closest thing I could find was "Let's Get Dangerous" - but that supposes that they haven't had a chance to strut their stuff yet. In this instance, they have rePEATedly shown themselves to be incompetent when it doesn't matter, but wildly competent when it does. Is "Rise to the Occassion" a new trope I could suggest?
But wait, there's more! Compare this instance of bumbler-to-ballet in an effort to rise to the occassion, to "secret power finally revealed." My example is the end of "Serenity" where Malcolm Reynolds has been effective as a leader and a fighter. But he has promised that when he's really pissed off, that would be something to see. "When we're in a war, you'll know it." Would you file that under "next level badassery"?
Finally, in the movie "Mystery Men," you have Mr. Furious who has been something of a joke all movie - he says his super power is "rage" but he's just an average fighter with a temper. He even says, over and over, "rage taking over," and it never really does. Until the end. Suddenly, there's a moment of rage where he is not only angry, now his catch phrases are articulate and biting, his strength and fighting skills go up - it's like there is a hidden hero that has finally been able to be let out. It's kind of like "rise to the occassion" but it's also kind of like "next level badassery."
What do you think? These are some of my favorite moments in movies - when the chips are down and suddenly the hero is able to pull it off, not because of luck or assistance, but because they dig down deep, deeper than ever before, and they find that they can tap into a well, a well they didn't even know was there, and bring forth strength and power, not because they want to, but because they need to. It's inspiring.