# Pop Culture tropes that infuriate you. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269 "2018-06-17T17:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/241 "2018-07-19T13:09:05Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > It does raise an interesting question though - when one is translating to foreign language are figures of speech supposed translated literally or should one use the equivalent figure of speech in the foreign language? Equivalent, for God’s sake. Otherwise you end up translating that as “so Creator japanese liquor”. It’s a problem with certified translations: they’re required to be “as literal as possible”, so… yeah, japanese liquor. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/242 "2018-07-19T14:13:33Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Oh, this one chaps my ass fiercely–fantasy milieu, elves and dwarves and swords and unicorns, oh my, we are not in Kansas any more! Then someone falls down and someone else asks “Are you OKAY?” “Yeah, I’m OKAY.” OKAY? WTF? A neologism so new it barely exists in modern English, but your medievaloid nonhuman characters use it? Nope, I’m out of there in seconds. I’m looking at YOU, _Sword of Shannara!_ I get what you are saying but I’m not sure you picked the best example. I thought Sword of Shannara was post-apocalyptic fiction set thousands of years in the future. If we are to believe the rest of the English language is preserved, we should assume “okay” was too; if we assume they are speaking some post-English dialect, we should assume that the translation to “okay” reflects the best available cognate. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/243 "2018-07-19T16:38:21Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > _Star Trek: Insurrection_ showed Riker flying the Enterprise-E using a [joystick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4x1K97JZG0). I remember a lot of fans at the time thinking that was ridiculous and looked too “video-gamey.” But really, joysticks have been used to steer actual aircraft for years (since 1908, according to wikipedia) before they became video game equipment. And a joystick has got to be better than pushing buttons for maneuvering a flying craft. > > Frankly, we should have seen more joysticks and/or yokes used in piloting starships. I remember watching Sulu pressing buttons during battle scenes in _ **TOS** _ and wondering how the hell the ship could respond so quickly to such maneuvering inputs. And I was, like, 14 at the time! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/244 "2018-07-19T20:59:09Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > I get what you are saying but I’m not sure you picked the best example. I thought Sword of Shannara was post-apocalyptic fiction set thousands of years in the future. If we are to believe the rest of the English language is preserved, we should assume “okay” was too; if we assume they are speaking some post-English dialect, we should assume that the translation to “okay” reflects the best available cognate. I have no idea–I didn’t read the book, and this was the first five minutes of the first episode of the tv series, so within the show there was zero indication that it was anything other than pure fantasy with no relationship to modern day and given the overall wooden clunkiness of the acting I think it’s more than reasonable to assume “oh gods, this sucks” rather than “I’m sure there’s some Very Clever reason why they’ve chosen to use modern English slang.” If you want to keep an audience it’s best you wait longer than five minutes to start salting in the hints that All Is Not As It First Appears, and to do it in a way that raises more questions than it answers. At any rate, _Shannara_ is just the most recent offender in this arena. I guarantee you that you’ll now be aware of just how often these modern English terms creep into fantasy and historical drama as well. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/245 "2018-07-19T21:29:58Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > I have no idea–I didn’t read the book, and this was the first five minutes of the first episode of the tv series, so within the show there was zero indication that it was anything other than pure fantasy with no relationship to modern day and given the overall wooden clunkiness of the acting I think it’s more than reasonable to assume “oh gods, this sucks” rather than “I’m sure there’s some Very Clever reason why they’ve chosen to use modern English slang.” If you want to keep an audience it’s best you wait longer than five minutes to start salting in the hints that All Is Not As It First Appears, and to do it in a way that raises more questions than it answers. [The opening credits for the show start with Seattle being hit by a nuke.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvgE2Un5cVo) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/246 "2018-07-19T22:42:29Z")
“If we turn and walk a foot away from the person, they can’t hear us.” ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/247 "2018-07-20T00:13:19Z")
Crime dramas wherein the Very Troubled But Damn Good and Sexy Brooding Detective’s kid/wife/best bud is kidnapped by the baddie, leading to a big showdown. How many times in the history of Earth has this really happened? 4? 5? I like crime dramas, but am so, so, so sick of this trope/plot twist (it’s not even a twist anymore, it’s nearly pro forma). This month we’ve watched French, Brit, and American series that all used this creaky device – and for the most part these were otherwise good, well-reviewed shows. And on the Very Troubled But Damn Good and Sexy Brooding Detective character: stop. Please stop. IMHO, some of the best lead characters are well-adjusted, normal people with a sense of humor whose parents/kids/spouse/buddy haven’t been murdered by a serial killer. “Vera,” IMHO, leads the pack as a model for this type of character. Oh, and lose the Hyper-Traumatized Sexy Brooding Cop Who is the Lead in Solving the Murder of Their Dad/Kid/Spouse/Buddy. Would this really fly in any semi-respected agency? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/248 "2018-07-20T01:16:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [The opening credits for the show start with Seattle being hit by a nuke.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvgE2Un5cVo) I honestly did not see the opening credits–either they ran them after a cold open or for whatever reason I missed them. Still, you’re gonna notice the “okays” now whether you want to or not. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/249 "2018-07-20T12:57:59Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Crime dramas wherein the Very Troubled But Damn Good and Sexy Brooding Detective’s Not directly related, but one of the things that made _Los misterios de Laura_ a success is that Laura looks like a housewife in her forties - which she is, when she’s not on duty. She’s basically a divorced, working under her ex, female [Columbo](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442434/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2), occasional raincoat sightings and all. She looks like someone you could run into any day in your local grocery store. There was a general exclamation of “cool!” when Spain got the news that it was going to be remade in the US, and a general exclamation of “you’vegottobefuckingkiddingme!!!” when [the first stills were shown](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3187578/). If that’s what the Standard 4X-yo American Woman In Walmart looks like I’m the bishop of Rome. I guess what I’m tired of is the idea that in order to have anything worth telling happen to you, you’ve got to look like you don’t go to the hairdresser: your personal grooming team comes to you. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/250 "2018-07-20T13:13:54Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > The accent thing I just let go because not every actor is good at accents–“The Expanse” being a great example. Why in the world would someone born and raised on Mars have a strong Aussie accent after at least a couple generations? They wouldn’t, but the actor does so there you have it. They did a pretty good job of generating a fairly cohesive Belter accent though, I’ll give them that. That comes directly from the books. Alex’s affected cowboy drawl is the accent from the area of Mars he’s from. Bobbi is from a different part of Mars, with a different accent. Hence, in the show, one actor has the Texas drawl and the other has the Kiwi twang. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/251 "2018-07-20T13:52:45Z")
Zombies are just a lazy way of trapping characters together so they can turn on each other. They’ve become generic storytelling shorthand, and I’m bored by it. In most cases, they could be replaced by a bad thunderstorm or escaped tigers and the work would barely change. I think it’s been mentioned, but I also dislike when the “Bad Guys” rush mindless forward to be destroyed by the heroes with no thought to strategy, tactics, or self preservation. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/252 "2018-07-20T15:36:10Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Not directly related, but one of the things that made _Los misterios de Laura_ a success is that Laura looks like a housewife in her forties - which she is, when she’s not on duty. She’s basically a divorced, working under her ex, female [Columbo](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442434/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2), occasional raincoat sightings and all. She looks like someone you could run into any day in your local grocery store. > > There was a general exclamation of “cool!” when Spain got the news that it was going to be remade in the US, and a general exclamation of “you’vegottobefuckingkiddingme!!!” when [the first stills were shown](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3187578/). If that’s what the Standard 4X-yo American Woman In Walmart looks like I’m the bishop of Rome. I guess what I’m tired of is the idea that in order to have anything worth telling happen to you, you’ve got to look like you don’t go to the hairdresser: your personal grooming team comes to you. This is a great example, I’ve seen bits of both versions. Something I really like about many UK crime series is the use of women who look like real people. Middle-aged Olivia Coleman, Sarah Lancashire, and Brenda Blethyn (who is 72yo) are sooooo much more interesting to watch than the hyper-skinny, interchangeable, glamorous young goddesses on US crime dramas. I’m eagerly awaiting Coleman’s debut as Queen Elizabeth in season three of “The Crown”! Mariska Hargitay _is_ 52, but is made-up, dressed, coiffed, and lit glamorously on SVU. Even without these things, I’d wager she’s gorgeous IRL (she looks more and more like her mom, Jayne Mansfield). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/253 "2018-07-20T17:02:46Z")
Dazzling white teeth, on _everybody_: cavemen, Aztecs, Jesus, aliens, CGI dinosaurs. It’s weird to the point of when it doesn’t occur (see, “[Black Death](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181791/?ref_=nv_sr_1),” for example) and you see realistic teeth, it takes me out of the movie for a moment. And braces are still used mostly as comic relief or lousy character-establishing shorthand. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/254 "2018-07-20T17:25:36Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Dazzling white teeth, on _everybody_: cavemen, Aztecs, Jesus, aliens, CGI dinosaurs. It’s weird to the point of when it doesn’t occur (see, “[Black Death](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181791/?ref_=nv_sr_1),” for example) and you see realistic teeth, it takes me out of the movie for a moment. And braces are still used mostly as comic relief or lousy character-establishing shorthand. Heh, pterodactyl pteriodonists! I imagine cartoon stink lines coming off most people throughout history. During all the sexy time scenes in “The Tudors” I was thinking about how most of these folks would have smelled. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/255 "2018-07-20T17:54:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > That’s amazing. I never notice any bird sounds and certainly wouldn’t be able to identify the species by the calls. I wouldn’t know a blue jay from a hawk so maybe the producers figure most viewers are as ill-informed as I am. The fierce cry of the Red Tailed Hawk is always used. But all large raptors do not sound like that. The Bald Eagle, our national symbol of no nonsense, we mean business, dominance and power. I have several around my house and where I work, and they sound like chittering little chipmunks on speed. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/256 "2018-07-20T18:22:53Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The Bald Eagle, our national symbol of no nonsense, we mean business, dominance and power. I have several around my house and where I work, and they sound like chittering little chipmunks on speed. What nonsense! It’s totally [majestic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlq2kcYQcLc). Y’know - for a chipmunk :D. They actually can do a [little better](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RArGl2vkGI), but they’re probably still more likely to be mistaken for a seagull. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/257 "2018-07-20T19:11:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > Zombies are just a lazy way of trapping characters together so they can turn on each other. They’ve become generic storytelling shorthand, and I’m bored by it. In most cases, they could be replaced by a bad thunderstorm or escaped tigers and the work would barely change. > I think it’s been mentioned, but I also dislike when the “Bad Guys” rush mindless forward to be destroyed by the heroes with no thought to strategy, tactics, or self preservation. Yep. Zombies are part of the ‘setting’ and rarely part of the ‘plot.’ I read an essay once that went so far as to characterize them as “environmental hazards,” though I cannot remember where I saw it. Since zombies are mindless, they don’t make useful characters and so they basically exist to add menace to a survival situation. All the genuine drama happens between the humans. I think for a zombie story to be effective, the story must somehow revolve around the nature of zombies (eg the loss of humanity and the transmission of the disease) in order to tell a story that could not be told with any other antagonist. That said, even the best zombie movies always include some scene with infighting between trapped humans and it does get tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/258 "2018-07-20T20:12:56Z")
I recall reading a “zombie” story years ago that subverted the trope nicely- The twist was that the zombie disease was actually symbiotic, and made those infected with it mildly superhuman, but turned their skin gray and gave them an overwhelming, barely controllable desire to infect the uninfected. Around normal people, they act like mindless monsters, but without that distraction, they’re just a better version of their old self. All that running and hiding and barricading was totally pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/259 "2018-07-20T20:42:02Z")
In the movie [Fido](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457572/?ref_=nv_sr_1), the zombies have been turned into domestic slaves. The title character, played by Billy Connolly, has a distinct personality. The bit where the zombies are a characterless horde and the non-zombies end up arguing with each other while locked together in some small space probably originated with [Night of the Living Dead](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/?ref_=nv_sr_1), the prototypical zombie movie. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269/260 "2018-07-20T23:11:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > I recall reading a “zombie” story years ago that subverted the trope nicely- The twist was that the zombie disease was actually symbiotic, and made those infected with it mildly superhuman, but turned their skin gray and gave them an overwhelming, barely controllable desire to infect the uninfected. Around normal people, they act like mindless monsters, but without that distraction, they’re just a better version of their old self. All that running and hiding and barricading was totally pointless. I also recommend “The Girl With All the Gifts.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-tropes-that-infuriate-you/816269.md?page=14)