Once Popular TV Tropes That Are No Longer Acceptable Today
A Redditor asked: 'What TV trope was common in the not-so distant past but is completely unacceptable today?'
Content Warning: alcoholism, sexual assault, harassment, and violence against women in entertainment
The entertainment industry is constantly changing and generally reflects what the public finds interesting and believes in.
Fortunately, this means that some problematic tropes, storylines, and messages are being retired from the writers' room, and viewers are embracing the more inclusive characters and stories they're seeing on screen.
Redditor midnightsonofab***h asked:
"What TV trope was common in the not-so-distant past but is completely unacceptable today?"
Connected At All Times
"Misunderstandings that can now be cleared up by a text or cell phone call. Entire episodes used to be built around people not being able to find or communicate with each other and just having to figure stuff out."
- OccasionallyWright
"I read a story from a horror writer and he said cell phones changed how they have to write because 99% of the stuck-in-a-murder town or house situations would be solved by phones now."
- Cleets11
"Oh yeah, for sure! I write thrillers for a living, and the idea of a 'MacGuffin' that is hidden is a lot harder to pull off when the now-dead character hiding it could've just called the right people and told them, or sent them the data in an email, etc."
"I have a very good editor (he's BAFTA nominated) and had this exact one in my latest story outline, with them 'finding' a report he's hidden. But... he could've just sent it to his daughter by email."
"As I'm older, I have to adjust my mindset constantly to deal with stuff like that."
- jloome
Security Before Love
"Running through the airport to confess one's love for the protagonist. Or the 'Home Alone' premises. These wouldn't happen today with current security measures."
- flawedmentalist69_
Women's Panic Attacks
"Not really TV trope but slapping women that were supposedly having a panic attack was almost a trope in westerns and noire movies."
- Sufficient-Eye-8883
Unresolved Amnesia
"People walking around with amnesia."
"Every freaking show, someone hit their head and had amnesia and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Like, hello, brain injury?"
- darkmatternot
Stalking Love
"Stalking a woman long enough and constantly will eventually make her fall for you."
- SuvenPan
"This was probably the most confusing thing growing up in the late 80s and early 90s."
"This odd thing was sold to both genders: the guy was supposed to keep on going after being told to be uninteresting. This led to guys thinking 'no means ask again' and girls saying 'no' to guys that they were interested in, but thought this is how the game was played in real life."
"Even in my early 20s, I saw girls in my party crew doing this, quite often harshly rejecting a drop-dead handsome guy, then being all p**sy about it when the guy just f**ked off as being told to and didn't instead start the rom-com mating ritual."
- aamurusko79
Voyeurism Was Not Okay
"Spying on naked women or women changing clothes as an innocent boy or teen rite of passage."
- coagulatedfat
"'It’s Always Sunny' does a great episode called 'The Gang Hits the Slopes' or something. They go to a ski resort and live out 80s tropes from their childhood before realizing how f**ked up it all was, including spying on women and skiing without helmets."
- tman291
Homophobia "Humor"
"Gay panic. I love 'Friends,' but how often the joke was AT any of the guys doing anything feminine?"
- HazeAbove
"The flamboyant gay character whose sexuality is either intended for the audience to laugh and make fun of or becomes a joke with other characters."
- DimesyEvans92
"Or in the case of 'Friends,' the straight character who everybody thinks is gay and is the butt (pun intended) of the joke."
- Friesenplatz
The Dark Side of the Town Drunk
"Comedic town drunk. Think Otis from 'The Andy Griffith Show.'"
- dominationnation
"I think part of the problem is the 'comedic town drunk' is something so many people can relate to because every small town seems to have one."
"My town growing up certainly did. His name was Silas. He drove a lawnmower everywhere because he lost his license, and would shout, 'Yee-Haw!' when it reached max speed. The man could consume an impossible quantity of alcohol and just as quickly piss it all out."
"He was homeless and on a first-name basis with every police officer in the county. He could tell the funniest, dirtiest jokes, and in late autumn would commit some minor harmless crime to spend the winter in jail (where he'd put on a lot of weight) instead of spending it in his tent."
"He was also a very reliable handyman, our family hired him a few times to remove massive trees, and he'd drop them right where he said he would."
"But that's where the comedy and trope end. I've referred to him in the past tense because he died of liver failure."
"He was ill with an addiction and desperately needed help to get past it, and that's what the TV tropes fail to discuss. Consequently, it's funny to the audience because it conveniently ignores the harsh reality of the situation."
- Kent_Knifen
Smoking Bans
"'Mind if I smoke?' in places where people would instantly object today, like cars, airplanes, spaceships, the baby's nursery, etc."
- crooked-v
Anti-Tomboy and Androgyny
"'Fixing' the 'tomboy' who likes to wear boys' clothes, no makeup, and do boy things."
"There's an 'Andy Griffith Show' episode that would be considered an over-the-top parody if it came out now."
- Visible_Scallion_489
No Locked Doors
"People living in NYC and L.A. who never lock the front door."
- KAG25
"Pretty sure 'Friends' lampshade this with an episode where they all get locked out and Monica even asks, 'Who locked the door? That door is never locked!'"
- rhapsody98
Questionable Family Dynamics
"An overweight, lazy husband with a smoking hot, nagging wife. Add in one rebellious teen and one nerdy kid and boom. The family sitcom recipe."
- chewedupshoes
The Hate for Wives
"The running joke in sitcoms is that every average American man hates their wife and is always complaining about her 'nagging' and just wants to hang with the boys and dreams about the single life or having more freedom but he’s a dad now."
"I think too many are sick of seeing that. It wasn’t really funny in the first place. And now society is trying to push many to see marriage as the ultimate goal anyway and vilifies people for wanting to be single."
- BellaBlue06
Minorities As Targets
"Black dude dies first. It's basically never done nowadays and the trope is almost always pointed out if there's even the possibility of it happening."
- CoolGuy69MLG
When we look through this thread, we can all think of examples of these old tropes, from smoking to consent, and fortunately, most of these shows are older.
As terrible as it might be that these tropes were once popular, it's at least refreshing to see that we are learning, that the entertainment industry is reflecting that, and some of these tropes are fading away.
People Break Down The Biggest Problems Apocalyptic Films Never Properly Address
Reddit user ShinyDisc0Balls asked: 'What's a problem that's never addressed in apocalyptic movies?'
Some people say, "It's just a movie. There's no need to think so deeply about it."
However, some plotlines are just too problematic not to notice.
Despite people pointing these problems out, they are rarely ever addressed.
These problems can be as minor as a woman having perfectly manicured nails despite being trapped in a cave for an extended period of time to something as big as characters not contracting life-threatening diseases despite not having proper nutrition, shelter, or medical care for years.
Redditors have noticed this too and were ready to share what they think are the biggest problems in apocalyptic films that are never addressed.
It all started when Redditor ShinyDisc0Balls asked:
"What's a problem that's never addressed in apocalyptic movies?"
Vroom, Vroom
"If it goes on long enough, keeping cars operational. Tires going bad, gasoline going bad, even fuel lines going bad if a car's been sitting for a few years. Mice chewing on the wires. Sometimes they'll show the effort to obtain gas (but never address it going bad over time) and sometimes they'll show a battery being jumped, but mostly it's hop in a car you just found and drive off."
– froglover215
"Station Eleven (the novel, haven’t seen the show) was very fixated on the idea that gasoline goes bad after about three years. After that, it’s all horses all the time."
– Yellwsub
Medical Issues
"No one has dysentery. Everyone would have dysentery."
– YaBoyfriendKeefa
"Especially if you’re on the Oregon Trail."
– rapalosaur
""Where are we going?""
"Oregon"
""F**k""
– Buckus93
"Disease. Seriously if most doctors and infrastructure are gone, people would be dying left and right, and zombies or radiation would be the least of their problems."
"Appendicitis. I didn't even think of things like that! People would die of pretty routine stuff that they couldn't get treated easily."
– Affectionate_Ad_7802
"The big killer with food poisoning is all the water you lose when your body literally flushes out whatever you ate."
– P-Tux7
Or Dental Issues
"Dental care. How many people would be straight up dying from abscesses, or in pain from f**ked teeth."
– softcore_UFO
Silence Is Golden
"Why do "traditional zombies" only make noise when they're right up in your business?"
"Zombie moving through the woods in stealth mode, no branches snapping, no leaves rustling, no moaning or growls."
"But right when they're about to get their funky zombie mitts all over your throat, they are loud as sh*t."
"What's the deal?"
No Escape
""Speaking of which, why don't they ever use bicycles to get around? They're quiet, comparatively low maintenance, can go over most ground, and definitely faster than any zombie."
– Sayakai
"Realism" (within the context of zombies) has always been my go-to for why slow zombies are scary enough on their own and fast zombies are a lazy shortcut."
"Yeah, they're slow and loud and clumsy. A brisk walk is enough to get you away from any zombie, or group of zombies. In a fight, they're predictable and slow. But they're immune to pain, and immune to fatigue, immune to fear or bribery or demotivation. And their main physical vulnerability - "destroy the brain" - is way more difficult than TV and movies portray: headshots are tough to pull off with guns, and skulls are actually pretty durable. Get into a physical altercation with one, and that's actually serious trouble - you'll get tired real fast but the zombie will not, and one f**kup will be enough to get you bitten."
"Briskly walk away? Sure, you can probably sustain that for a while. But where are you going? Zombies are everywhere, so you might be briskly walking from one meat grinder to another. And of course there are potential dangers on your chosen path. And still, you'll need to eat food and drink water and sleep and the zombies will not."
"In reference to the old fable of the tortoise and the hare -- the tortoise won the race. And slow zombies are the tortoise."
– effseadot
Perfect Looks
"Body hair for women."
"I mean, you will see this woman in rags, covered in dirt, with the stringiest hair that looks like it hasn't been washed, much less conditioned in a year. Yet, they have perfect brows and look like they've had a full-body wax within the past week. So, they must be doing this somehow."
– zazzlekdazzle
"Also, they'll still have perfectly straight, white teeth."
– Buckus93
Cold, Cold World
"Camp setting in general. You know what is bad for your health? Cold ground. You want to have a failure in your every organ below the ribcage? Couple of months of outdoor sleep would definitely do it. Sleeping bags are great, but they are designed to keep you from losing heat into the air, not into the ground — think of them like of portable blankets. You don't see apocalyptic survivors making an insulated bed or sleeping in a hammock."
– Alex_Downarowicz
"Can You Hear Me? Over."
"Charging their walkie talkie batteries."
"Zombie apocalypse and they always have freshly charged radio batteries that last... forever."
"Just once I wanna see someone sit down and stick their radio in a charging cradle."
– dirtymoney
"Or furiously turning the crank on one of those crank-operated radios or flashlights."
– MedusaStone
Hygiene
"Don't forget tampons!"
– Nightmare_Fuel-
"Ellie in the Last of Us was soo pumped when she found a box in one episode, also Joel was excited to have a fresh pot of coffee as well."
– Will0w536
The Grass Isn't Growing
"Lawncare/overgrowth."
"Not all of them, but TWD for example, all of the lawns were tended to as if there WASN'T you know, a zombie apocalypse happening."
– Plus-Statistician80
Unrealistic Travel
"People in movies often travel a lot of distance with next to no food or water on them. If you are on foot you would need a descent amount of calories to sustain your energy. And a good pair of shoes. Your feet would be a mess in no time. And you would stink to high heaven."
– KevinDean4599
"And that would attract zombies….the scent."
– RedditRee06
Addiction
"Caffeine and nicotine withdrawal. After a week, there are going to be a bunch of very grumpy people around."
"Cigarettes and coffee are going to be valuable exchange items."
– rosanymphae
As if a zombie apocalypse isn't scary enough without thinking about the loss of coffee!
In the golden age of entertainment, there are hundreds and thousands of amazing movies to choose from, with more coming out all the time.
But there always seem to be some that become popular with the masses for no particular reason...
Redditor shirorentz23 asked:
"What's the worst movie that everyone seems to love?"
'Fast and Furious'
"The 'Fast and Furious' movies."
- TruthYeller54
"I remember one time someone told me they went to space in one of the movies as a funny joke, but then I learned it wasn't a joke."
- zzzzz94
The Greatest Showman
"I will admit 'The Greatest Showman' soundtrack slaps, but I thought it was a mediocre movie. And that's being pretty generous."
- shirorentz23
"Agreed. Why bother making a movie 'based on' the life of someone pretty horrid in real life only to then completely rewrite his story?"
"It should have been an original story about Zac Efron and Zendaya’s characters, with some nods to PT Barnum for historical context and Easter eggs."
"Plus the 'main' song isn’t even the best one."
- Jonbob24
"Someone described it as a movie that PT Barnum would have written about himself, and that made it more palatable for me. It's kind of like how '300' is being told by a Spartian who exaggerates."
- The_Perfect_Fart
'Sharknado'
"'Sharknado.'"
"But we love it BECAUSE it’s a bad movie."
- Mini_Maniac10
DC Films in General
"DC movies, they just seem so bland. I just can't follow it at all."
- Efficient_Stress2181
"With a few exceptions (most of which are Batman movies), DC has this ongoing issue where most of their live-action adaptions are s**t and you're better off with the animated movies."
- CyptidProductions
"I'll never understand the diehard DC / Snyder zealots."
"I love DC comics and DC characters. I even like some Snyder movies ('Dawn of the Dead,' '300,' and I'll even defend 'Watchmen')."
"But his DC movies are so, so bad. How people violently defend them makes me feel like I'm from an alternate universe."
- BeeCJohnson
Poor Dwayne
"Anything starring the Rock."
- Life_Entrepreneur_18
"I swear, I think the only two movies I actually enjoyed him in was 'The Rundown' and 'Walking Tall.'"
- duhcisive
'The Notebook'
"'The Notebook.'"
- StephanieSin
"It does a terrible job at portraying romance or relationships. Bad decisions were made and it wasn't even an emotional movie. The actors were great, though."
- trippy_goth_biscuit
'The Blind Side'
"'The Blind Side.' It’s just a lifetime movie with a budget."
- Seer78877
"Not to mention the guy it’s about hated the movie."
- traws06
Marvel Movies, Too
"I just don’t get what’s so great about the Marvel movies. Every one I’ve seen was a formulaic CGI s**tfest with a bland and predictable plot and boring jokes."
- gyokuro8882
No Will, Either
"Most Will Ferrel movies. I don't hate Will Ferrel, I just don't find the humor in most of his films that funny."
- the_human_dirigible
"90% of the time he plays a manchild."
"The other 10% are 'The Other Guys,' 'Megamind,' and 'The Lego Movie.'"
- eddmario
'Avatar'
"'Avatar.'"
- BatonVerte
"Seriously, I’m on this train with you. I never understood the hype. I didn’t watch it when it came out only to watch it years later and have none of it be memorable at all."
- Germangunman
"The first 'Avatar' movie is truly uninspiring and formulaic to the point that before watching it in anticipation of the second, I could not come up with a single quote from the movie despite having seen it obsessively when it first came out."
- dentastic
'Pretty Woman'
"'Pretty Woman'... A young sex worker falling in love with an old man's (money), and the film portrays it as a romantic love affair..."
- roseotte
'Transformers'
"The 'Transformers' movies are hot-a** garbage."
- shyjuan
"The first one was great because the technology was very new, and it took itself seriously."
"It then went off a cliff very quickly."
- Garfie489
'Twilight'
"'Twilight.'"
- Ali8ly
"Even fans of 'Twilight' know it’s bad. I think it’s sort of a guilty pleasure even for fans of the books."
- hampig
"It’s very much like a soap opera. You don’t want to watch one, you never intend to, but if the TV is left on the channel and you catch TWO SECONDS of an episode, suddenly it’s two hours later and you’re wondering if that person’s twin will wake up from a coma."
- LadyBirdGerhl
'Unbreakable'
"'Unbreakable.'"
"When Samuel L. Jackson says, 'They called me… Mister Glaaaaassssss,' I laughed so godd**n hard. It was ridiculous."
- KieshaK
'The Polar Express'
"'The Polar Express'!"
- dontmindmeimjust1cat
"God, I can't stand that movie. It's boring and the animation is creepy."
- just-doing-a-job
Though there's a lot to choose from in the entertainment world, it's obvious that there are bound to be some films that simply go wrong.
But this is also a reminder that everyone likes different things, and what might be popular for one will be a flop for the next.
Movies aren't what they used to be. It's rare today to find a film that has the same kind of magic that they did a few decades ago. Now, it's all about the franchises and predictable plots. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I truly think there aren't a lot of directors and producers doing what made films great back then.
Fellow movie buffs on Reddit seem to feel similarly. VeggieBurger953 asked:
What is a thing that a lot of movies do that you absolutely hate?
It’s all about the big budget franchises these days. Not all of them are bad, but it’s rare to find a good ol’ stand alone film in modern cinema.
Too many cinematic universes.
“That EVERY movie nowadays is set up as the first part of a possible trilogy, making it non-commital and vague as a result."
“Not just a trilogy, a franchise."
A very familiar trope.
star wars no GIFGiphy“When a character doesn't immediately explain what happened, to stop the conflict.
Just let me explain, I swear that's not what happened. If you just let me finish, I'll tell you! Please, just listen to SHUT UP! JUST SAY IT!
I didn't kill your [insert familial person here] I tried to save them, but I was too late.”
No one fights like that.
“The choreographed fights where the villains always attack one at a time.”
“And choreographed fights where the cameraman is having a seizure.”
Probably the weirdest thing about most movies is how characters interact with each other. This is mostly due to bad writing and overused plots.
Why are these characters always the worst?
“In Rom coms, the two love interests are usually bad for each other. So, to make them seem less bad for each other, when they go through that period where they break up and try dating other people, the other people are the weirdest, most unlovable freaks anyone has ever laid eyes on. Men are instantly abusive, women behave like spoiled children.
It's the stupidest trope.”
We’re not falling for it.
50 shades GIFGiphy“Male lead and female lead with no chemistry end up together 'just because'."
“Also, there's always this 0.01 second of eye contact, that can weakly be described as mutual interest, and from that they go on to make wildly passionate and compatible sex with no awkwardness or anything.”
No one actually does this.
“When two people want to talk privately, instead of them going into the hallway, they make the other 20 people leave the room.”
“Or they move 5 ft away from the group and talk "privately". As if no one could hear them talking in normal volume just because they turned their backs to the group.”
Unfortunately, when movies are bad, it’s most likely due to the screenwriting. If your script isn’t good, it’s hard to make a good film.
Foreshadowing is an art.
“When something is foreshadowed and then revealed later in the movie, but instead of just letting you realize it yourself, one of the characters say it out loud. Like the audience is too dumb to make the connection.
Biggest pet peeve is the fact that EVERY comedy has to turn sad in a very cliche way halfway through the movie. It's the guy loses girl and has to win her back formula that's in every damn comedy.”
We need you, Mel Brooks.
nos vamos GIFGiphy“Yellow filter when they enter Mexico.”
“I need a self-aware movie that has folks driving into New Mexico, filter coming on, someone complaining that it's still the US and the filter going back off until they actually cross into Mexico now.”
“Mel Brooks doesn't make movies anymore.”
Seems legit.
“When the FBI shows up to "take over" the case and then the cops butt heads with them. This does not happen. Cops are more then happy to let someone else do their work for them."
“Also the FBI is almost always portrayed as a bunch of overly bureaucratic folks who suck at "fighting crime" and only know how to follow their standard procedure. The original Die Hard is probably the most on the nose with this, to the point a central part of the plot revolves around the villain actually counting on this behavior."
Zombies make every plot better.
“An entire arc of the film has drama that is just based on a big misunderstanding or petty argument between two characters that is inevitably going to get resolved.”
“I want a RomCom that is like this after 20 minutes or so, you would think it is over and they live happily ever after, but then zombies from outer space invade. The last part should obviously not be mentioned in the trailers.”
Now that a random Reddit user mentioned it, every film should be directed by Mel Brooks. Every single one. We need more weird self-awareness in movies.
But you know what? We watch movies to embrace the unrealistic, so we can escape from real life for a bit. Maybe movies aren't so bad after all
I love movies. I can't wait to go back to sitting in a theater and watching a new story unfold before my eyes. However, just because I love film doesn't mean I can't embrace and call out its flaws. There are some films that are really fantastic and entertaining but upon reflection, the story has issues. And some issues haunt you. They haunt you because the movie was so close to perfect and yet...
Redditor u/KentuckyFriedEel wanted to discuss the films that still haunt us, and not in a good way. They asked... What movie plothole still bothers you to this day?I will say here and now, and die on this hill... no Marvel film has ever had a complete script. There are plot holes you could drive a spaceship through. And yet we watch. We are enthralled and ready to fight. But seriously, when the euphoria dies down, you know, you have questions.
Where there is Smoke...
waterworld slapping GIFGiphyIn Waterworld, paper is the most precious commodity in existence, yet there is inexplicably copious cigarette smoking.
Hey Biggie
Just watched the Bigfoot cartoon movie on Netflix. The kid says he inherited the ability to run very fast and talk to animals due to being Bigfoot's son. However, Bigfoot was originally a human scientist that was changed into Bigfoot after a science experiment went wrong. His kid was already born when this happened... so no way did he inherit powers. Bothered me more than it should for a kid's movie.
For the Money
Limitless.
You're telling me, that essentially the smartest person in the world. That took a 50k loan from some mafia, and then turned that into millions, in like a few days through some crazy investing scheme. Was unable to have the foresight, to pay back the loan shark on time.
It was explained in the movie, "He was just too focused on making money, and he forgot."
Yeah, okay. The dude remembering a random book he glanced at 20 years ago, simply forgot to pay a loan he took out a few weeks ago.
get pants?
the hulk GIFGiphyHow come the Hulk's pants always still fit down to his thighs, if he's getting big or small?
Logic Issues
Not exactly a plot hole, more like a gap in logic, but in "Minority Report" when Tom Cruise's character gets flagged for committing a future murder, PreCrime doesn't disable his permissions or security clearance. Like this organization is LITERALLY ahead of its time but they don't think to revoke his clearance???
Those are all valid points and maybe now shine light for me on reasons why I carry disdain for several of those titles. Logic really should be simple. When you're writing, things should make sense. It's like the basic rule. Anyway...
I Hate Santa
In Polar Express, the kid who almost misses the train never gets gifts from "Santa" for Christmas presumably because his parents can't afford presents, meaning either A. Santa isn't real or B. Santa hates poor people? But at the end of the movie the main kid gets the bell from Santa directly so canonically Santa said forget that kid in particular I guess. This has haunted me for decades.
Marty Sense
Back to the Future II is one of my all time favorite movies but the entire plot doesn't make sense. Why would they need to go into the future to prevent Marty Jr. from doing the horrible thing he does? When they go back to their present it's going to undo it anyway. Why wouldn't they just wait and then try to prevent him from doing it when the time comes?
Stand Back
liam neeson chloe GIFGiphyRas Al Ghul standing next to a microwave emitter, explaining it turns the water in pipes 100 feet away into steam, but apparently isn't strong enough to turn the water in his body into steam when he's standing 10 inches away.
Picard Knows
Picard could have left the Nexus and gone to any place at any time and he chose to go with an unarmed elderly man to fistfight a guy on a mountain minutes before a doom rocket launches. I can think of about 500,000 better strategies.
Amnesia
Brandy Norwood Magic GIF by Disney+GiphyCinderella has always bothered me. We're supposed to believe the Prince falls in love and remembers NOTHING about this woman? No one remembers her face? Hair color? Nothing???
I knew there was something about Cinderalla I had issues with. Like, is he blind? He can't describe the love of his life? That would be a red flag for me. Or even a white one. But suspension of disbelief. It keeps us going. Happy viewing...
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