Trope Talk - C.M. Weller

Sign in Subscribe

Trope Talk

A collection of 13 posts

WHY Are All Nonhuman Aliens Naked?

Just Nerdy Things

WHY Are All Nonhuman Aliens Naked?

This has been bothering me for a solid minute.

Groundhog Purgatory: Redemption by Do-Overs

Personal Illogic

Groundhog Purgatory: Redemption by Do-Overs

The clock ticks around and the alarm in the form of I Got You Babe asking Cher to put her little hand in Sony’s.

Tropes I Despise: Burden Porn

Personal Illogic

Tropes I Despise: Burden Porn

The sorrowful, dramatic, and heartbreaking music swells. The man in the white coat looks at his results once again and steels himself to deliver the bad news. "The results are in," he says. "There can be no doubt. Your child is... a burden."

Tropes I Despise: The Miraculous Minority

Personal Illogic

Tropes I Despise: The Miraculous Minority

You’ve likely seen them without ever knowing they’re there. They’re in Hallmark movies. They’re in Hero movies. They’re in your after-school special.

The Flavour of Nostalgia: Aesthetic and Thematic Choices in Modern Cinema

Personal Illogic

The Flavour of Nostalgia: Aesthetic and Thematic Choices in Modern Cinema

Beloved and I went to see two movies just a few short days ago: Into the Spider Verse and Bumblebee. Both are very different movies, but they have one thing in common – a healthy dollop of nostalgia.

Tropes I Despise: Generic Blonde Wife

Tropes I Despise: Generic Blonde Wife

You almost don’t notice this one, and that’s why it’s so insidious. Once I started taking notice of it, I noticed how prevalent it was.

Tropes Vs Autism: The Superpower

Actually Autistic

Tropes Vs Autism: The Superpower

Someone, somewhere, latched on to the concept that Autistic people are super-good at some things and someone else’s speculation that Autism may be a step up on the so-called evolutionary ladder.

Tropes Vs Autism: The Heroic Asshole

Actually Autistic

Tropes Vs Autism: The Heroic Asshole

So the white male hero gets to be the asshole that the writers wish they could be, solve all the problems, and save the day. Every week. More often than not, the Autism label is slapped on as an afterthought.

Tropes Vs Autism: The Burden

Tropes Vs Autism: The Burden

This is one that turns up in the social narrative as well as fictional ones. The autistic boy (And it’s always a boy, as discussed last week) can’t be managed and won’t be managed. Sometimes, he’s a danger to himself and others.

Tropes Vs Autism: The White Man/Boy

Tropes Vs Autism: The White Man/Boy

Autism has been the Big Scary since the 70’s, when it became a diagnostic and not merely the subheader “retarded”. I remember that they had an extended PSA about it via Quincy, which just goes to show how long this has been going on.

Tropes I Despise: Innocent White Criminal

Personal Illogic

Tropes I Despise: Innocent White Criminal

Due to circumstances beyond Our Hero’s control, he has to enter a life of crime to make ends meet. He suffers. He fights. He becomes a monster. Was I talking about Walter White from Breaking Bad or whosisface generico Everyman from Ozark?

The Romance of a Thousand Couples: The Romcom Journey

Personal Illogic

The Romance of a Thousand Couples: The Romcom Journey

My only means of qualification is that I am really, really, really sick and tired of the Generic Romcom Formula.

Follow That Ass (Tropes That Have to Die)

Follow That Ass (Tropes That Have to Die)

If you’ve seen a lot of older movies, especially after they allowed the Pencil Skirt onto the screen, you’ll know the shot. Two guys are having a conversation and they stop to admire some Stacked Beauty [pick a sex symbol, any sex symbol] walks past. The camera pans