Reddit users have recently been calling out the film and TV tropes that cause them to lose interest, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts below. From "awkward" girls who look like actual models to former cops who come out of retirement, be sure to upvote the tropes that make you roll your eyes as well. And keep reading to find a conversation we were lucky enough to have with the Reddit user who sparked this discussion in the first place!
#1
The ex-cop/FBI agent that comes out of retirement because the entire government can't catch a criminal.
Image credits: The_Spyre
#2
The main character bakes muffins part-time 3 days a week but lives in a 2500 sq ft loft penthouse in the chic part of town.
Image credits: SeaTie
#3
The "clumsy, nerdy, awkward girl" who are normally played by the hottest actresses out there...
Image credits: Icy_Note_8154
To learn more about how this conversation began, we reached out to Reddit user Fake-And-Gay-Bot, who originally posed the question, “What single trope can cause you to fully lose interest in a movie/show?” They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about what inspired them to start this discussion in the first place, sharing, "I was talking with my friends Toby, Robin, and Erica, all writers, about what kinds of tropes ticked us off over lunch. Toby, for example, dislikes when fantasy species are designed to be discriminated against (i.e Tieflings).”
#4
They can't figure out how to give their female characters depth without falling back on some kind of rape/sexual assault.
Image credits: gin_a
#5
Cutting the palm of their hand in order to use their blood for some goofy b******t like it’s not one of the worse possible places to cut.One of the ones that never fails to make me laugh however is something insane happening in front of a lone hobo, then the guy looks at the bottle he was drinking and tosses it over his shoulder
Image credits: MJVinci22
We also asked the OP about any tropes that they personally can’t stand. "When disabled characters lose the disability,” they shared. “The mute character was on a vow of silence the whole time. The wheelchair bound character gets 5-second surgery an episode after getting bound to it. The blind character can see using special sunglasses. Why disable the character if they're not actually disabled?"
#6
"If I kill him I'm no better than him"Motgerfucker you just smoked 19 of his henchmen and put 5 more in a wheelchair for life, end his a*s.
And of course the bad guy gets let go, but decides at the last second to try to kill the good guy, justifying a bullet between the eyes, usually by either the good guys sidekick, or the bad guys henchmen that he just got done betraying.
Image credits: Pyrochazm
#7
When a character is repeatedly hyped as being insanely intelligent, but then they just have a decent vocabulary and aren't particularly insightful or clever.
Image credits: Gloomy-Flamingo-1733
“Often, the character will not have to suffer real consequences while disabled,” the OP went on to note. “The mute will never have to get someone's attention, the wheelchair bound won't arrive at their regular workplace to find there's no accessibility, the blind character won't have to make any kind of lifestyle change to accommodate, even in the meantime between being fixed.”
“Many superhero films, like Daredevil (the titular character, blind) or X-Men (cyclops, pseudo-blind), have a disabled character that can operate just as well as a non-disabled character, as if they don't have the disability,” they added.
#8
Resurrection and fake-out deaths
Image credits: Cold_Hour
#9
If an entire conundrum can be solved by just someone waiting 1 minute for the other person to explain but chooses not to.Irritates me to no end and I'd much rather stop watching the movie.
Image credits: charthrowawayliet
As far as tropes that Fake-And-Gay-Bot actually does appreciate, they told Bored Panda that they’re a fan of “Morally intelligent Anti-Villains”. “The kind of villain that doesn't even need to mind control you, because he's already convinced you,” the OP explained. “The type of villain that has such a good point, you begin to wonder who the villain really is. Death the Wolf, Joker, and Gus Fring are some nice examples.”
#10
Something that can be fixed right away with just a conversation
Image credits: Beginning-Match592
#11
Fathers that are stupid/literally cannot parent for comedic value. The “useless dad” trope.
Image credits: fieldsofjade
We were also curious why this OP thinks film and TV writers continue to use the same tropes over and over. “I believe it's easier to write a story when focusing on archetypes and plot narratives, many of which tend to be very common or something the writer picked up from their favorite media,” they told Bored Panda. “People who grew up with stoic, justice-serving vigilantes might base some characters off of them. Typically, an ensemble is based on an assortment of archetypes who bounce off one another."
#12
All the men are diverse in age and attractiveness, and the two to three total women are twenty-something bombshells.
Image credits: Altruistic_Dust123
#13
“Wait! I can explain this very obvious and easy to explain scenario”“Nope. You’re dead to me. Now stare speechless as I’m meander my way out of your life slowly.”
Image credits: Aerhart941
The OP went on to note that they look for ways to create new ideas, subverting and deconstructing classic archetypes, with their own writing. “The passionate, determined fighter only wants to work hard, not smart, and his potential is lost until he realizes it,” they shared. “The invincible ‘I'm the real hero’ villain can genuinely be reasoned with. The hero is driven by less noble motivations, like fear, trauma, or greed.”
“Think of tropes like cooking ingredients,” they continued. “What goes well on a steak might not fit as well in a cake. Every tool has its use, every trope has its place. Your story is a sculpture, best not to use a giant chisel for every nook and cranny.”
#14
faked reactions by judges on America's Got Talent.You have the magician who is clearly intentionally fumbling around and messing up the trick. Even a 3 year old can see it is an act, but the judges are sitting there faking disgust that they can't believe this talentless hack made it to the live show.
Or you have a stage magician with some very basic illusions yet the judges act like this guy has actual magic powers and cant even conceive of how it might be a staged illusion.
They are supposed to be experts in performing arts, have some class and act like it.
Image credits: robotmonkeyshark
#15
The main character is about to get killed. The antagonist is sitting there pointing a gun at them about to shoot them, but they first have to give a 30 second speech. This gives the love interest/forgotten side kick/child with developing fighting skills to come kill the enemy instead. Follow it up with a quote from them saying “you think I’d miss this party?”.
Image credits: Jimbo19091
If you think about your favorite films and TV shows, you’re guaranteed to come up with some archetypes and classic tropes that are present in them. But when the writing is done well, you will be so focused on the characters themselves that you won’t be rolling your eyes about them being a classic manic pixie dream girl or anti-hero. Keep upvoting the tropes you’ve seen enough of as well, and let us know in the comments if there are any more that immediately make you lose interest in a film or show. And if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article discussing this same topic, look no further than right here!
#16
Disobedient stupid children who ultimately end up getting their parents killed or put them in danger
Image credits: SirCletusIII
#17
She was a busy business lady that only had time for business. He was some jackass womanizer with chlamydia. Will these two incompatible people go through a series of unlikely events, fall in love, have some minor misunderstanding, then get together in the last few minutes? Find out this fall
Image credits: Joham22
#18
Refuses to solve the problem because one person may die so instead they risk the lives of millions
Image credits: Veldora12
#19
Abuse of men getting downplayed as a joke
Image credits: blaizken_420
#20
Character dies at the end of story for no reason just because of shock value and they "Needed" to kill someone
Image credits: amcoolerthanu
#21
Presenting casual stalking and the denial of boundaries as romantic. Notebook I'm looking at you. (Not saying all movies that do this are bad, but it really makes me cringe)Edit:
Yall are right the notebook IS a bad one
Yes I know its an older trope, but it can still be seen in some newer media
Image credits: birdy_737
#22
Being mildly impacted by lethal injuries. Likewise, when in subfreezing temperatures, not succumbing to hypothermia when soaking wet. Not always enough to shut it off, but it always stands out and strains the illusion.
Image credits: spill_oreilly
#23
Stupid parents. Smart kids.
Image credits: buzzkill007
#24
The virgin being the chosen girl. Why can’t the blonde s**t save the day for once? They can be smart too. I need my character representation.#25
kill animal or pet for cheap shock value#26
I can’t stand seeing specialists being cast as masters of multiple highly specialized skill sets or areas of study. I understand that it’s a popular action movie trope, but you also see this in the medical and academic fields.
Image credits: BeatMeElmo
#27
The plot twist where the seemingly innocent character is revealed to be the villain behind the stages and goes into a monologue as to why he / she had their motives, bringing up a boring backstory about how their efforts were never appreciated or how they spent time in secrets learning skills to outwit the hero.
Image credits: RabbiAndy
#28
Watching the first episode of Suits with my roommate ages ago. Early in the episode the main character just puts a baseball cap on another random person and walks away. The random person just walks with this new random baseball cap until the prof pursuer takes it off him in the hopes of finding the main character.My roommate just lost his s**t at that. Like what kind of person just lets someone else puts a baseball cap on him and keeps it there instead of immediately taking it off and going "WTF". He refused to watch the rest of the episode after that, he was f*****g livid. I wish I took his warning because that show really was bad and I should have not bothered watching it after that too.
Image credits: ChocolateBunny
#29
Smart people making dumb decisions for drama. I have stopped watching several shows because of this
Image credits: TheWalkingBlondeJoke
#30
When a character is killed and then soon after brought back to life. You just squandered so much storytelling potential and audience emotional engagement there.Superhero movies are so guilty of this.
Image credits: Pikanyaa
#31
“Chosen one” stories#32
Characters kissing after a big action sequence.#33
Cop with family problems. Yeah, we get it. The job's soo important that they've sacrificed family time and regret it. And now they want to be the parent they failed to be in the past, but... this new case is so important.
Image credits: mailordermonster
#34
Prom queen/cheerleader teen bully. Only possible plot line: redemption arc or gets what she deserves. /YAWN#35
The pissed off teenager that has to move to a small town.#36
I dunno if this is a trope, but CGI fire makes me very angry and I lose all interest after that. It looks so bad!#37
Uptight woman, subversive insubordinate man, they hate each other... but there's sexual tension.F**k all of that, it just encourages creeps.
You're not dangerous and different Rodney, you're just a loud, incompetent d**k.
I don't love/hate you I just hate you.
We will not end up together, and it you keep bothering me ~~my foot is going to end up kicking your a**e~~ I will contact HR
#38
When it feels like you’re being lectured by the writers#39
Pregnancy plotline!I don't care who it is, or even if I love the show. I stop watching. It's sooo boring.
#40
Bad geography throws me every time. Like when a movie says its happening in some specific city but the skyline is clearly a different city, even when the location has no particular relevance to the plot. Like, okay? Why say your characters live in New York when they're clearly in Vancouver? Why not just say Vancouver or not say the name of the city at all?Also stuff like in Captain America Civil War where there's a bombing in Vienna and the authorities catch up with him in Bucharest and he's pursued by German police. Like... what? Why would Romania allow a bunch of German police to operate in their borders? And why would German police be the ones pursuing him for a terrorist act in **Austria**? Bucky gets apprehended and brought to Germany, where he's imprisoned by Americans. Why???
#41
The a*****e teenager that talks s**t to their parents because "teenagers are moody". I didn't know anyone like that growing up.#42
There might be a monster/ghost/demon in the basement, I better go check it out.#43
"Will they won't they". I liked watching New Girl, but when they completely restarted the main characters' relationship I was like, "Oh, so it's going to be like that."Dear producers,
Please let your characters grow.
Image credits: MrMToomey
#44
Parent misses kid's play/game at school... It's in so many movies and shows done exactly the same. Lazy writing.#45
The fat "comedic relief" character.#46
Everyone In This Show Is An Unlikable Bastard. Making everyone an a*****e isn't the same thing as having character depth.
Image credits: CactuarJoe
#47
"What if we used 100%?"And literally anything suggesting multiple personality disorder.
#48
Love triangles.#49
"Sexposition" as popularized by GoT.Sex scenes in general, mostly because they rarely do anything to advance the plot and feel like a cheap way to grab your attention.
Intelligent characters who are mysteriously, conveniently incompetent when faced with important decisions.
#50
The ugly girl (or guy) is made pretty (or handsome) for some douchebag who makes a bet. The ugly girl/guy is actually not at all ugly.#51
Random time travel. You invest in a show or movie and then BOOM, let’s time travel and try to explain the intricacies of time paradoxes#52
Young brown guy with a beard = bad guyYoung brown girl = she doesnt like her culture/religion and wants to escape from it
Old brown parent = idiot thats that want to constantly get their children married
#53
s****y communication to advance a dumb plot. come on, people are smart, smart characters make good shows.#54
The cop who is about to retire, the soldier with one last mission before they're out, and the person who was about to get married WHEN THEY GOT KILLED.#55
I watch east Asian dramas. I'm so fed up of the childhood friends trope, or making them connected in some way in their childhood.#56
Most plot lines revolving around mental illness are just laughably bad. Also, the not like other girls' plots.#57
**A black cap used as a disguise.**Like my dude, I can see you walking conspicuously trying *not* to be conspicuous. If I were any sort of person looking for any sort of person (undercover superhero, spy operative, terrorist) then I will 100% suspect the first person with a black cap on.
#58
Shaky cam, I hate shaky cam#59
Amnesia storyline.#60
Controversial, but shows/movies that rely on awkwardness, like the Office or Elf. I get terrible second hand embarrassment and I just can't.source https://www.boredpanda.com/movie-trope-cliches-people-hate/
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