Well, Christmas is approaching, so why not include a trope related to the holidays? And why not make it about one of the most prominent figures to adherents: Santa?
Santa Claus is an extraordinarily popular holiday figurehead, the very essence of the season wrapped in a jolly, overweight package. Most know him as the bearer of gifts to good children (and coal to naughty ones), though his history is naturally wrought with cultural evolution. Below are some cultural notes on the inspirations before we dip into the personification of Christmas himself.
Santa's earliest and primary inspiration is Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th century bishop of Greek descent living in what is now Turkey. Saint Nicholas (who would later lend his own name to the jolly elf) devoted his life to Christianity and is commonly depicted in European art donning his bishop robes. His remains were, according to legend and relics, taken by sailors from Italy during rotating conquests of the region between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks. His remains turned up in Bari, Italy, as a result.
Some parallels were given between Claus and Odin, a major god within Norse mythology, prior to Claus' Christianization. One such example was how children would fill boots with various foods fit for Odin's horse. Doing so would encourage Odin to repay their kindness with gifts and candy.
Beyond Odin, there is Dutch tradition, where Saint Nicholas is aided by helpers, who became Krampus (demons) in Germanic myths and friendly elves in the United States. According to tradition, they arrive by steamship from Spain containing notes on which children were naughty or nice. It's here where we see why Saint Nicholas is the most direct inspiration, although their looks differ (Saint Nicholas sported bishop's robes, as per traditional European depictions).
With the attention given to giving gifts to children, it isn't uncommon to depict Santa as a kindly gentleman, with patience of a saint. However, this isn't always the case. There are several ways to interpret the Bad Santa trope, as noted in the trope page. If it is Santa himself, he is decidedly stressed out, possibly hitting the egg nog fairly hard, and can't take it anymore. Alternatively it isn't really Santa, but an impostor that no one know is fake. Thirdly, it is a Mall Santa (hence someone we know isn't the real deal, regardless of whether Santa exists in the setting or not) and he happens to suck at his job.
As such, know how to play it appropriately when using this trope. It may not make much sense to play up the Mall Santa variety as 'potentially real' if there is no good indication he is; it can still happen, if paranoia and such are handled and used properly, but it isn't a guarantee. Establish the possibility early and with force, if so.
Also, remember the Show, Don't Tell rule: no one will believe you if your alleged Bad Santa is simple apathetic at worst. He may still be a decent Santa, just one seeing it as a job rather than a joy. Plus don't make him seem too likeable if you truly desire everyone to hate this Santa. Sometimes the wrong characterization can ruin any and all intentions.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sword Limbo
All right, so you are reaching a pivotal scene - whether against the Big Bad or against a friend because the Big Bad convinced you to do so. You've built up the fight, hinting at it throughout the narrative. How is it going to be end up and will it be as awesome as you think it will be?
If the story is set up such that you can justify sword play, expect the occasional bouts of Sword Limbo. Basically an opponent (not uncommonly the hero) dodges a sword swipe by bending backwards as the sword passes over him.
Obviously for this to make sense, you need to establish that swords are appropriate for the setting. RPGs tend to exploit this very commonly, for example, especially for its heroes. This happens quite often, even if the opposition and the heroic mook army resort to such weaponry as phasers and rifles. To overcome the discrepancy between blade and bullet, it is also quite common to combine a sword with artillery (RPG enthusiasts will undoubtedly find this familiar).
Which does add a dimension worth noting: be sure to know when to fall more towards accuracy or cool when deciding to run with swords. Plenty of the techniques shown in media aren't exactly truthful to reality (enough sometimes to taint the audience's expectations) and can cause massive damage, if not kill a person outright, when performed in real life if they are even possible. Anything from Hammerspace to any variety of cool weapons cause physics to shrivel up into the fetal position but work because they are cooler to watch.
This explains why good fight scenes are so cathartic: they don't break willful suspension of disbelief when accuracy falls to the wayside. Obviously this doesn't always work but then again, sometimes even failure at this can be entertaining.
If the story is set up such that you can justify sword play, expect the occasional bouts of Sword Limbo. Basically an opponent (not uncommonly the hero) dodges a sword swipe by bending backwards as the sword passes over him.
Obviously for this to make sense, you need to establish that swords are appropriate for the setting. RPGs tend to exploit this very commonly, for example, especially for its heroes. This happens quite often, even if the opposition and the heroic mook army resort to such weaponry as phasers and rifles. To overcome the discrepancy between blade and bullet, it is also quite common to combine a sword with artillery (RPG enthusiasts will undoubtedly find this familiar).
Which does add a dimension worth noting: be sure to know when to fall more towards accuracy or cool when deciding to run with swords. Plenty of the techniques shown in media aren't exactly truthful to reality (enough sometimes to taint the audience's expectations) and can cause massive damage, if not kill a person outright, when performed in real life if they are even possible. Anything from Hammerspace to any variety of cool weapons cause physics to shrivel up into the fetal position but work because they are cooler to watch.
This explains why good fight scenes are so cathartic: they don't break willful suspension of disbelief when accuracy falls to the wayside. Obviously this doesn't always work but then again, sometimes even failure at this can be entertaining.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Biologically Inclined
Sometimes we make decisions regarding creative works that wind up contradicting real life. Whether it is biology, logic or any number of other topics, we realize sometimes what's real doesn't make for a riveting story. Naturally, sometimes this isn't that bad and we should just relax. Other times, it becomes borderline insane and we wonder if the producers were even aware of what they were doing.
Let's take a look at a few of the most egregious examples of people taking the Rule of Cool, Fnnny or Otherwise because they are what work (whether they succeed at using them or not is an entirely different matter). Remember, tropes are simply tools and can fall on any side of the beneficial/detrimental line. It's up to the author to decide whether or not the plot would benefit from the use of a trope.
Oh and be prepared for these to be predominantly biological in nature.
1. Four-Legged Insect/Four-Fingered Hands: Either of these tropes can fall into the Artistic License category, specifically biology. However, they are also acceptable breaks from reality, enough that we usually don't give them any thought when they occur. As such, they are as the name says on the tin: insects drawn with four (or six or eight) legs and characters drawn with four-fingered hands, regardless of (and quite contrary to) real life anatomy. This is often due to wanting to ease up on animation; four legs are easier than six, six easier than eight. It's worth pointing a trope becomes the former if the species of insect in question is drawn with less legs than it has in real life (four tends to be fairly common). The similar is true about four-fingered hands; three fingers may be this, such as it is with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
2. Square/Cube Law: Quite often when you are dealing attacks of fifty-foot anythings, the Square-Cube Law weeps silently to itself. Basically when an object experiences a proportional increase, its volume increase is equal to the cube of the multiplier (if you double something, the volume multiplies by 8 - 2^3 in other words) and its surface area is increased by the square of that multiplier (in the case of doubling, surface area is multiplied by 4 - 2^2). What does this mean for the object in question? Well, for living things it'll need a lot more muscle (more or less a function of surface area) to move itself around (weight is a function of volume) but generally won't get it if you apply the Law according. With attacks from the Fifty Foot Beasts, there's a good reason we ignore this: they would find great difficult getting from place to place if reality is enforced. More shows attempt an explanation - more or less hand-waving and/or lampshading - to get around this, as more audiences become aware of the gist of the Law, but it still means it happens.
3. Longest Pregnancy Ever: It's normally the span of a few months (6 to 9) for a human pregnancy to occur. However, not all stories exist in that sense of 'normalcy.' There are numerous reasons pregnancy may take longer or shorter than what is accepted in real life without any adverse consequences. Time may be highly compressed or stretched out, such that it took the author a year (or a week) to tell nine month's worth of events in-universe. Likewise, as is the case with One Piece (think Ace), sometimes everything is happening in real time (one year's worth of manga releases is one year in-universe, for example) and thus the birth really took that long (or short). For the former, sometimes it's due to letting the schedule lapse. Sometimes it's a matter of authors having difficulty with numbers.
Let's take a look at a few of the most egregious examples of people taking the Rule of Cool, Fnnny or Otherwise because they are what work (whether they succeed at using them or not is an entirely different matter). Remember, tropes are simply tools and can fall on any side of the beneficial/detrimental line. It's up to the author to decide whether or not the plot would benefit from the use of a trope.
Oh and be prepared for these to be predominantly biological in nature.
1. Four-Legged Insect/Four-Fingered Hands: Either of these tropes can fall into the Artistic License category, specifically biology. However, they are also acceptable breaks from reality, enough that we usually don't give them any thought when they occur. As such, they are as the name says on the tin: insects drawn with four (or six or eight) legs and characters drawn with four-fingered hands, regardless of (and quite contrary to) real life anatomy. This is often due to wanting to ease up on animation; four legs are easier than six, six easier than eight. It's worth pointing a trope becomes the former if the species of insect in question is drawn with less legs than it has in real life (four tends to be fairly common). The similar is true about four-fingered hands; three fingers may be this, such as it is with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
2. Square/Cube Law: Quite often when you are dealing attacks of fifty-foot anythings, the Square-Cube Law weeps silently to itself. Basically when an object experiences a proportional increase, its volume increase is equal to the cube of the multiplier (if you double something, the volume multiplies by 8 - 2^3 in other words) and its surface area is increased by the square of that multiplier (in the case of doubling, surface area is multiplied by 4 - 2^2). What does this mean for the object in question? Well, for living things it'll need a lot more muscle (more or less a function of surface area) to move itself around (weight is a function of volume) but generally won't get it if you apply the Law according. With attacks from the Fifty Foot Beasts, there's a good reason we ignore this: they would find great difficult getting from place to place if reality is enforced. More shows attempt an explanation - more or less hand-waving and/or lampshading - to get around this, as more audiences become aware of the gist of the Law, but it still means it happens.
3. Longest Pregnancy Ever: It's normally the span of a few months (6 to 9) for a human pregnancy to occur. However, not all stories exist in that sense of 'normalcy.' There are numerous reasons pregnancy may take longer or shorter than what is accepted in real life without any adverse consequences. Time may be highly compressed or stretched out, such that it took the author a year (or a week) to tell nine month's worth of events in-universe. Likewise, as is the case with One Piece (think Ace), sometimes everything is happening in real time (one year's worth of manga releases is one year in-universe, for example) and thus the birth really took that long (or short). For the former, sometimes it's due to letting the schedule lapse. Sometimes it's a matter of authors having difficulty with numbers.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Boss Subtitles
This is what I get for selecting 'Random' on TV Tropes.
Okay, so let's think back to our video game memories. My earliest are, as with many people's, during the '80s and 'early '90s that somehow refuses to die properly. It's a time when the Zelda series, name issues aside, introduces the world to a youthful hero trying to save Princess Zelda in all her various incarnations (except perhaps that version though even then). Mario, at least the Mario we all remember, first antagonized a gorilla to save another Damsel in Distress before beating up a lizard to save another Damsel (at least when he and his perennial adversary weren't goofing about). Sonic the Hedgehog taught kids various lessons in his Animated Adaptation (much like Mario really) while going insane with speed (even if other characters may run as fast as he can).
There are various tropes (some outlined above) associated with such early memories. One is the delightfully anti-immersive Boss Subtitle. This affects the kind of situation you expect it would, even if you fight them more than once. It is basically the name of the boss flashed on the screen for a brief while, with a brief description sometimes added to the mix.
This one can come across as too cheesy rather than invoke anything serious, though that isn't always what the author desired. After all, it's hard to argue Mario is far from the cynical end of the scale, even if it does raise certain questions about its inspiration. As such, be mindful of how you want the game to come across.
For example, certain genres have traditionally-expected elements where the Boss Subtitle would fit right in with. Platformers, for example, may have a bare-bones plot at best, if a plot at all, as well as the usual array of common enemies to offset the one boss at the end of it all. Without a deep story to compliment the game, an author may be able to get away with a Subtitle for the sake of providing a name (although providing none wouldn't detract from anything in this case).
Okay, so let's think back to our video game memories. My earliest are, as with many people's, during the '80s and 'early '90s that somehow refuses to die properly. It's a time when the Zelda series, name issues aside, introduces the world to a youthful hero trying to save Princess Zelda in all her various incarnations (except perhaps that version though even then). Mario, at least the Mario we all remember, first antagonized a gorilla to save another Damsel in Distress before beating up a lizard to save another Damsel (at least when he and his perennial adversary weren't goofing about). Sonic the Hedgehog taught kids various lessons in his Animated Adaptation (much like Mario really) while going insane with speed (even if other characters may run as fast as he can).
There are various tropes (some outlined above) associated with such early memories. One is the delightfully anti-immersive Boss Subtitle. This affects the kind of situation you expect it would, even if you fight them more than once. It is basically the name of the boss flashed on the screen for a brief while, with a brief description sometimes added to the mix.
This one can come across as too cheesy rather than invoke anything serious, though that isn't always what the author desired. After all, it's hard to argue Mario is far from the cynical end of the scale, even if it does raise certain questions about its inspiration. As such, be mindful of how you want the game to come across.
For example, certain genres have traditionally-expected elements where the Boss Subtitle would fit right in with. Platformers, for example, may have a bare-bones plot at best, if a plot at all, as well as the usual array of common enemies to offset the one boss at the end of it all. Without a deep story to compliment the game, an author may be able to get away with a Subtitle for the sake of providing a name (although providing none wouldn't detract from anything in this case).
Monday, October 17, 2011
Batman Grabs A Gun
Some heroes just don't carry guns. Each have their reasons, but the ultimate issue is the same: they forbade themselves from clutching a firearm whenever they can avoid it. As such, they work around this self-imposed limitations by any variety of means, such as technology (whether they are sane or otherwise), martial arts or a flat-out gimmick that saves them (ideally) from such a hindrance.
Naturally, this comes to a head when they are pushed to the limit and may actually need to, shall we say, get dangerous.
Welcome to the Batman Grabs A Gun moment, when all hell breaks loose and a character ignores his imposed ban on guns for the sake of fulfilling a goal. Note that he actually must actually possess a vow against using something on a fundamental level and not just somehow managing to avoid doing so due to coincidence. He has a rule, even if it would overlap with That One Rule metaphorically speaking when it comes to writing his character, and he will never violate it unless it hits the fans and pushes him to do so.
Note, also, that why 'gun' is part of the title, it needn't be firearms specifically. Killing is another example, allowing for characters such as Captain America as well as Batman to wind up in these moments. The basic point is that it is something they find so deplorable that they will not use it if they can help it.
As the trope page mentions, this is almost always a Crowning Moment of Awesome but never a Crowing Moment of Funny (though it can be, unfortunately, if handled inappropriately). It isn't merely a moment a hero's doing something he wouldn't normally get a chance to do - he is against doing so. It's very serious (making it justified and thus not a form of the more sarcastic Serious Business trope) and if done properly, people would say the same thing when it happens. Sometimes this can mutate into a Hell Yes moment so long as the hero (or villain, really) is in a situation where he's pulling the gun (or equivalent self-banned tactic, such
As such, it should be used sparingly and with all due consideration taken if you intend on keeping it a running concept. It is easy to fall into Narm territory, as mentioned above, since it isn't necessarily easy to write such moments (let alone act them, draw them, etc.). It is also possible to saturate this far too often, especially with long runners such as The Simpsons or Naruto.
It's also possible a character evolves to open up more to the idea of tactic he once loathed. As a hypothetical example, Batman may find that gun use isn't so bad after all and may simply find it an adequate means of fighting fire with fire. Obviously this depends on numerous factors and can lead to a 'they changed it now it sucks' attitude from the audience, particularly with such a long runner (remember, Batman debuted in 1939, a golden oldie alongside his compatriot, Superman).
Naturally, this comes to a head when they are pushed to the limit and may actually need to, shall we say, get dangerous.
Welcome to the Batman Grabs A Gun moment, when all hell breaks loose and a character ignores his imposed ban on guns for the sake of fulfilling a goal. Note that he actually must actually possess a vow against using something on a fundamental level and not just somehow managing to avoid doing so due to coincidence. He has a rule, even if it would overlap with That One Rule metaphorically speaking when it comes to writing his character, and he will never violate it unless it hits the fans and pushes him to do so.
Note, also, that why 'gun' is part of the title, it needn't be firearms specifically. Killing is another example, allowing for characters such as Captain America as well as Batman to wind up in these moments. The basic point is that it is something they find so deplorable that they will not use it if they can help it.
As the trope page mentions, this is almost always a Crowning Moment of Awesome but never a Crowing Moment of Funny (though it can be, unfortunately, if handled inappropriately). It isn't merely a moment a hero's doing something he wouldn't normally get a chance to do - he is against doing so. It's very serious (making it justified and thus not a form of the more sarcastic Serious Business trope) and if done properly, people would say the same thing when it happens. Sometimes this can mutate into a Hell Yes moment so long as the hero (or villain, really) is in a situation where he's pulling the gun (or equivalent self-banned tactic, such
As such, it should be used sparingly and with all due consideration taken if you intend on keeping it a running concept. It is easy to fall into Narm territory, as mentioned above, since it isn't necessarily easy to write such moments (let alone act them, draw them, etc.). It is also possible to saturate this far too often, especially with long runners such as The Simpsons or Naruto.
It's also possible a character evolves to open up more to the idea of tactic he once loathed. As a hypothetical example, Batman may find that gun use isn't so bad after all and may simply find it an adequate means of fighting fire with fire. Obviously this depends on numerous factors and can lead to a 'they changed it now it sucks' attitude from the audience, particularly with such a long runner (remember, Batman debuted in 1939, a golden oldie alongside his compatriot, Superman).
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Actor IS The Title Character
Ever notice how films occasionally heavily advertise the fact they star a particular film, to such an extent that they say this guy IS the character? Of course you have, it's a fairly common practice, whether in America or across the seas. The actor's name gets top-billing, even if the character only makes a brief cameo in the film to sucker in audiences.
Welcome to the world of Actor IS The Title Character, a fairly common sight in modern cinema. The implication is that the actor is so similar to who he plays that he basically is the character. A quasi-contrast to this is the fabled Alan Smithee defense, which works for directors (although Alan Smithee is no longer the only name permitted). It's meant to cash in on the celebrity actor's name to draw in audience, similar to how comics announce certain characters in an issue to get more sales.
This can easily allow for fourth-wall breaks and extremely hammy acting, depending on the script and actor involved obviously. It can also be lead into a case of false impressions even if the actor makes an appearance, however brief, though especially if the actor doesn't.
Welcome to the world of Actor IS The Title Character, a fairly common sight in modern cinema. The implication is that the actor is so similar to who he plays that he basically is the character. A quasi-contrast to this is the fabled Alan Smithee defense, which works for directors (although Alan Smithee is no longer the only name permitted). It's meant to cash in on the celebrity actor's name to draw in audience, similar to how comics announce certain characters in an issue to get more sales.
This can easily allow for fourth-wall breaks and extremely hammy acting, depending on the script and actor involved obviously. It can also be lead into a case of false impressions even if the actor makes an appearance, however brief, though especially if the actor doesn't.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
He Who Must Not Be Heard
Here's a quick one, to update this blog.
He Who Must Not Be Heard (contrasting He Who Must Not Be Seen) is a character who never speaks. There are three main varieties of this trope, each with their own reasons for being applied: those who wish not to speak, those who cannot speak at all and those who can speak but are incomprehensible to the audience. The latter need not be unintelligible to his or her fellow characters (think of R2-D2 or Chewbacca) but he or she sometimes might.
There are numerous reasons one can utilize this trope if need be. Someone wise beyond their years may feel it only necessary to speak when it is important, although they may also be quite mad. Sometimes it is to give a world flavor, especially to counteract the suspicious tendency of aliens being capable of speaking the language of the audience, and rather fluently at that. Some who is particularly evil can be driven to this or can drive someone else into this situation as an adequate demonstration of nightmare fuel (which is very rarely accidental).
It may also be used for humor, such as when a foreign language depicted often uses long speeches that translate into short meanings (and occasionally the reverse). This does provide a good deal of Bilingual Bonus when the character Who Must Not Be Heard is actually saying something rather than the silent type (assuming the language is actually intelligible, particularly important when the language is fictional). It could also potentially fall into Amusing Alien and Funny Foreigner, however, which may be a sensitive topic.
He Who Must Not Be Heard (contrasting He Who Must Not Be Seen) is a character who never speaks. There are three main varieties of this trope, each with their own reasons for being applied: those who wish not to speak, those who cannot speak at all and those who can speak but are incomprehensible to the audience. The latter need not be unintelligible to his or her fellow characters (think of R2-D2 or Chewbacca) but he or she sometimes might.
There are numerous reasons one can utilize this trope if need be. Someone wise beyond their years may feel it only necessary to speak when it is important, although they may also be quite mad. Sometimes it is to give a world flavor, especially to counteract the suspicious tendency of aliens being capable of speaking the language of the audience, and rather fluently at that. Some who is particularly evil can be driven to this or can drive someone else into this situation as an adequate demonstration of nightmare fuel (which is very rarely accidental).
It may also be used for humor, such as when a foreign language depicted often uses long speeches that translate into short meanings (and occasionally the reverse). This does provide a good deal of Bilingual Bonus when the character Who Must Not Be Heard is actually saying something rather than the silent type (assuming the language is actually intelligible, particularly important when the language is fictional). It could also potentially fall into Amusing Alien and Funny Foreigner, however, which may be a sensitive topic.
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