Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Unclear Description
, started by supergod on Dec 10th 2016 at 3:45:58 AM
Due to the confusion over what falls under this trope, I propose it be renamed "How we could have avoided this plot", which would clarify that this only applies to when it is acknowledged in-universe how it could have been avoided.
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That would be a job for the Trope Repair Shop. I assume there is enough evidence to justify a rename proposal, yes?
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
I'm new to this wiki, so I'm not sure what would qualify as evidence. My reasoning is that What the Hell, Hero?, which also is in-universe only, is having fewer examples removed for not qualifying, implying it is clearer in what is an example. Is that evidence?
Nah, evidence would be something like a wick check showing that more than 10% of all examples here are misused.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
If this whole "plot could have been avoided in the first place" in question is the audience's reaction, then where does it go then?
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Rather than add to, change, or worse ... delete the Avatar listing I'm going to ask here about it. Primarily because I watched the film only once and may have misunderstood. There was no 'we could have avoided this' in Avatar as pointed out in the middle of the film when Jake says 'They will never leave Hometree'. He was ordered to get the Na'vi to leave the Hometree in a couple of months or the military would simply take it by force heavily implying that Hometree would be destroyed EITHER WAY which would have created conflict anyway. Screwing around with their time then becomes irrelevant, if they had done their jobs properly it would have ended with him giving the report to his superior officer who would say 'they won't leave eh? well, we'll just have to burn them out' which is what happened anyway. War was inevitable.
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It's not an example at all under the criteria for the trope. It should be deleted, and the rest of the page should probably get a look over to make sure only in-universe examples are present.
- In the third Aladdin movie, Aladdin reunites with his long-lost father Cassim, the King of Thieves, and tries to get him to go straight. But Cassim is obsessed with getting the Hand of Midas, so he steals Aladdin's magic staff that can summon an Oracle and—wait, why is he stealing the staff? Does Aladdin have any reason not to let Dad borrow it for one question (especially since it will only answer one question per person, making it useless to Cassim afterward)?
This entry is flawed in a big way, so I cut it. The thing is, Aladdin and his dad had no idea who the other was, UNTIL they met in the thieves' lair and Aladdin showed him the dagger. Before that Cassim was just robbing some rich dude's wedding gifts, and why would Aladdin let a king of thieves just waltz in and borrow the staff?
Sorcerer in training
- In the short story The Necklace a woman asks her friend to borrow a necklace for a party to make herself stand out. Her friend gives it to her but after the party the woman loses the necklace. Rather then tell her friend the truth, she replaces it with a similar but very expensive one and she and her husband work themselves into poverty trying to pay it off. When she see her friend again, its then she reveals the truth to her... only to be told the necklace that was loaned to her was a cheap imitation that was hardly worth anything.
The final cost? It took them ten years to pay off all the moneylenders they borrowed money from to pay for the replacement. The hard work to earn more money cost the woman her looks and at least part of her health. It's never mentioned why the husband went along with this.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
Can I ask for some clarification of this trope? Is it only for when someone actually says 'if you had asked we could have avoided fighting' or can it also be for when people fight because they didn't bother to actually speak to each other?
"Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" has two examples covering the same problem. One is the stated not asking first, the other is not listening to the grey wolf when the wolf tells him to use the old cage, bridle, etc., and instead keeps picking up the shiny gold versions the wolf specifically told him, "Don't touch!" It's bad enough you want to smack Ivan by the third time, and you have to admire the wolf's patience.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett