There are lots of good, bad, and ugly tropes that permeate all kinds of fiction, from comic books to anime to film and video games. What are some tropes that you enjoy but personally feel they have lost their luster? They can be cheezy, they can be humorous, they can be scary and whatever else you can think of. But, let's face it, some of these tropes are 'dead' and should only really be used when the story being told demands it. One of my pet peeves is 'cool mentor character who dies not even ten minutes into the story' I don't see it *too* often, but when I do, it's always the same spheel. Like literally every instance is the same, I get that this is what makes it a 'trope' but come on, show me some inovation. Another one (particularly for JRPG's but western games do it too) is the 'red herring' final boss, like, oh no, the big bad we thought was the ring leader actually wasn't! Gasp, whatever will we do in the face of this new enemy that was never foreshadowed or talked about at all and they're secretly some kind of god?
Like probably most if not all tropes, it's actually an archetype, meaning a structure existing inside the human mind that helps us make sense of the world around us, that shows up frequently in dreams and mythology/fairy tales/folk tales etc. And of course in life as well (though mentors don't necessarily literally die, in a sense they do when we outgrow them or realize they're just fallible people and messed up in many ways like all of us). I think what's lost its luster is any archetype used poorly. This is what I think makes people believe any trope is worn out—just like anything else in writing, if it's done well and feels fresh nobody will think it's worn out or overused. Example, if somebody bases a mentor character directly on Obi-Wan Kenobi and doesn't bring anything fresh to it. That's actually more a matter of lazy referencing though, but it will get lumped in as a worn out trope.
I dislike "chosen one" stories. Mystical person: you must do this thing because you are the chosen one! Only you. No one else. Chosen One: but im poor with a crappy upbringing and have no skills what so ever Mystical person: doesnt matter. Your the chosen one. Go on this quest Chosen one: why? Mystical person: because you are the Chosen one. Chosen One: but what do i have to do? Defeat evil or something? Mystical Person: unclear. Just go be the Chosen One. Chosen One: -does things- Other people: so why are you doing these things? Chosen One: because im the Chosen One ......... No other personality. No other goals. No other reason. And they just go along with it. Id like to read a story where this happens, and instead the "Chosen One" says "nope. No thank you". I like the parodies of it, though. Kill The Farm Boy was hilariously done. Stereotypical trope of a lowly farmboy visited by a fairy who tells him he must save a princess from evil and bring balance across the land (only the fairy is drunk and "methy" and when the farmboy doesnt believe shes a fairy, she enchants a goat to talk and the goat in is now this profound character who wont shut up) ANYWAY... Avatar also do this right, too. Ang actually did run away from his "Chosen One" role and the world went into chaos. Korra embraced the role and got overly cocky and ended up getting the literal spirits knocked out of her. I think i liked them because their stories explore WHY they became chosen ones and their complex emotions toward it. Like "this is what happens when you run away" (Ang being frozen for 100 years as the Fire Nation takes over), and "this is what happens when you jump too quickly into it" (Korra in general) I may not have a "chosen one" narrative in my WIP, but my MC is told by a "mystical person" that she must do this thing. She doesnt want to and actively does OTHER things to find out who she is apart from being "the person who does the big thing"
I dislike this trope so much that I'm even starting to dislike the frequent parodies of it. I did and still however do like The Matrix's twist on the subject, as Neo had to die to become the chosen one revived as a sort of program between realms of existence. That was some Kierkegaardian fun right there.
The "Jesus" trope (im blanking on the exact name of the trope, though ive mentioned it on WF before...)
Yes and no. I always thought of The Matrix as a special circumstance because it got funneled in with the Jesus trope, especially in the final two movies I'm not counting here, but it really was quite a bit more complex than that. There was the hard set barrier between analog and digital worlds being not only crossed, but connected through the Neo conduit, which was actually explained later as a recurring incidence (though that is the third one). And unlike the cop out that Harry Potter took with this sort of thing and the Resurrection stone, Neo actually became something entirely different. Distorted the lines of what reality actually is, which is a Kierkegaardian concept I enjoy, though it is of course highly unlikely. Now I want to watch it again...
Yeah, the problem with tropes (and character arcs) is that often times they're often copied off of the best example of them with little innovation. And the successful ones are repeated ad nauseum Ironically the only 'good' example of the 'Starscream' trope I've encountered is Starscream himself, especially G1 Starscream. As for any particular trope, I'm bored of certain ones because it's super rare to encounter one, and have it flipped on it's head. A lot of tropes aren't exactly 'bad' just...'stale' particularly story telling tropes in JRPG and even western RPG. Sure many of them have wildly different plots, but the DNA is basically the same each time. Just once I'd like to see the badass mentor go on the quest instead of his/her student, hell I wouldn't even mind if the student is killed by the big bad if it was written right.
Isn't "refusal of the call" a standard part of the Hero's Journey? I'd like to see a trope inversion something along the lines of: A: "You must give up your boring life as a peasant and learn to be the most powerful and important person in the world!" B: "Cool, I'm in. I'll get my coat." George Lucas seems to like inverting this trope, whether it's Anakin being the worst Chosen One ever, or the baby in Willow "saving" the world.
That what happened in The Legend of Korra. Opening line: 5 year old Korra says "IM THE AVATAR NOW, YOU BETTER DEAL WITH IT!" korra through her whole series (except for after she got the snot kicked out of her): im the avatar/because im the avatar Also, is it REALLY a refusal, though? More like "reluctance". Katnis was reluctant but still did it. Harry Potter never ran from it or refused it. (Cant think of any others off the top of my head right now)
Proceeding on the basis that the hero's journey is the core of all narrative, in Deliverance John Voight had to become the hero after Bert Reynolds (mentor maybe? Original or wannabe hero?) got wounded. His reluctance took the form of... I don't remember what they called it, but he was a bow-hunter who suddenly had to take aim against another human being and his arm started shaking uncontrollably. I think he tried a couple of times and couldn't bring himself to fire until the enemy saw him and shot a rifle at him. So it was a form of involuntary or unconscious reluctance to take human life, until motivated by absolute necessity.
It's called refusal of the call, but it is more reluctance and needing persuasion. A "hero" really refusing the call wouldn't have much of a hero's journey. And it's very common. Once you're aware of it, you'll see it a lot. Some examples: The Hobbit: "I can't just go running off into the blue. I'm a Baggins of Bag End!" The Terminator: “Come on. Do I look like the mother of the future? I mean, am I tough, organized? I can’t even balance my check book!” Star Wars: "Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan, I've gotta get home, it's late, I'm in for it as it is!" Harry Potter: "Hagrid, I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."
I'm curious about tropes that are NOT (necessarily) a part of fantasy—Chosen Ones, etc. I'm sure there must be some. I think @Xoic touched on one of them in his statement above, about the Deliverance story. The trope of a reluctant, maybe relatively unskilled person who is forced by circumstances to take charge and resolve a problem that is WAY outside their comfort zone. And in the process, they discover things about themselves they weren't aware of before. Any others? Incidentally, in keeping with the OP's original question, I am NOT tired of that particular trope. I would loosely define 'trope' as a commonly-used story setup where the end result comes as expected—although the journey may be very bumpy and unpredictible. One that can bother me a bit, if it's poorly written without any other story elements to mitigate, is the Romance one ...where two characters 'hate' each other at the start, but eventually fall into each other's arms and live happily ever after (or happy for now.) Some great stories like Pride and Prejudice can overcome this predictibility by having a vivid and compelling setting, and the characters are richly developed and unique. But too many just grab that basic trope and drag us along a superficial route till the end. Which I find annoying. Will they, won't they, will they, won't they....of course they will. Don't get me wrong. I am very drawn to 'love stories.' But not predictible ones. I am very happy when I either didn't see the pairing coming (Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy), or the pairing happens early enough in the plot that it's not the focus of the plot. I like the kinds of stories where the lovers are already a unit, or become a unit early on, and face the story problems together after that. Which is a lot like real life, isn't it? Life doesn't always end with 'happy ever after.'
The "reverse harem" niche in romance exists almost purely out of dislike/hate for the love triangle trope. A lot of the readers and writers were frustrated that they often picked the "wrong guy" in the love triangle so now all the guys are the right guy and every reader gets to be happy because no one picked the wrong one.
I'm convinced that tropes, like cliches (different names for the same thing?) are truths, and that the reason they sometimes don't work is because they get used poorly. Once it's been codified as a trope people learn it in it's simplest, barest form (the way it's presented on TV Tropes for instance) and use it without any subtlety or artistry. Hack writers and directors often just copy what's worked before but without bothering to (or understanding how to) make it fresh. Everything old is new again, but it must show up in fresh form each time.
