Blank Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) I have seen this one way too many times: the deranged patriot. Most recently, he made an appearance in CSI: Miami, but he is no stranger to other series, such as The Unit and Walker: Texas Ranger. His main characteristics include Sudden admissions of all his crimes in one sitting Logically fallacious motives told during said admission A proud attitude despite atrocious acts committed, such as gouging eyes and bombing schools and leaving easily identifiable tracks for law enforcement protagonists to find him Go ahead and profile any others if you want. I find it funny that the same villains are used in almost every series. Edited January 23, 2007 by Blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorian Drake Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) Patriotic Martyr: Characteristics - dying for the 'good cause' - heroic and stupid act of suicide - killing a lot of 'infidels' while dying - making macho comments while/before dying mostly seen in: american movies about wars and aliens Big Meanie: Characteristics - bullying anyone around him - being atleast twice as stupid as strong - dying without a reason, or just leaving a sidenote in history mostly seen in: mafia movies and (super)hero like movies as henchman or noob villain Black Widow: Characteristics - sexy young female - killing men because she likes that /gets paid for - flirts with half the casted characters - at the end of the movie she will be 'unmasked' as a girl who had a very bad childhood - hero becomes sad from her death for about 2 mins then life goes on mostly seen in: detective/mafia/noir/comedy/action movies (they really like this one) Edited January 23, 2007 by jorian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) I'm not sure how many of these cliches are a symptom of writer's laziness and how many are symptoms of the TV format, that is, 20-40 minute episodes with frequent commercial breaks. The Unit, Walker, and CSI are all formula / procedural shows, that require a literary arc (beginning-middle-end) to every episode. They don't really have the luxury of making deep characters. Same thing with just about every sitcom ever made. The characters in Law & Order are barely even characters. That's also the reason why a lot of serial shows, Lost or Heroes or The Shield or The Sopranos or The Wire or Battlestar Galactica, get so much love. They don't have to operate within that paradigm. You have character and plot development over seasons instead of episodes, and the result is (usually) a stronger, more engaging, almost cinematic show. For those who are willing to take the time to follow. Thank DVDs, I guess. The Sopranos and its serialized progeny wouldn't exist if you couldn't buy season anthologies. Edited January 23, 2007 by Pop Join me, and we shall make Production Beards a reality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Yeah, one man's clich OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astr0creep Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 No one has mentioned a gay friend yet so there you go. http://entertainmentandbeyond.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosbjerg Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 The friend/lover (or someone close to the protagonist) turns out to be the actual bad guy ... and everyone is suprised!! and I'm generally tired of the whole Good vs Evil.. but I guess it's really hard to write a story without somewhat making it a battle of morals (term used loosely) as well.. Fortune favors the bald. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wistrik Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 The Token <ethnic group> Guy - Typically the only representative of his ethnic group in the entire cast. This cliche is a remnant of darker times in America when racism was more widely accepted and practiced. It happened with black male actors more often than not, and mostly in movies made prior to the 1990s. I'm glad to see more variety today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laozi Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Maybe because patriotism is the virtue of the vicious People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blond hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astr0creep Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Maybe because patriotism is the virtue of the vicious <{POST_SNAPBACK}> http://entertainmentandbeyond.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surreptishus Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Maybe because patriotism is the virtue of the vicious <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I see that once again Laozi and astr0creep are in agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astr0creep Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Maybe because patriotism is the virtue of the vicious <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I see that once again Laozi and astr0creep are in agreement. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That ain't fair. Maybe I found the comment laughable. Which I didn't. :D http://entertainmentandbeyond.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathScepter Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 The Nerd. Eccentric One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krookie Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 The "cute little kid" who says stuff like "How rude!" and "Mom always said, don't play ball in the house!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarna Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yeah, one man's clich Ruminations... When a man has no Future, the Present passes too quickly to be assimilated and only the static Past has value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Well, I'm assuming you've never had your girl kidnapped by international drug dealers that were part of an elite special forces division in Vietnam, had them smash into your house, and so on. But yeah, it's weird. I never really noticed it before. In any case, since he was mentioned, I must state that Jung is a crackpot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calax Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Extreme serialization. Companies are trying to make shows have metaarcs and usually end up with the metaarc causing the show to become a mess for sombody who just shows up and watches one episiode (Battlestar is a good example of this.) Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition! Kevin Butler will awesome your face off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astr0creep Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Extreme serialization. Companies are trying to make shows have metaarcs and usually end up with the metaarc causing the show to become a mess for sombody who just shows up and watches one episiode (Battlestar is a good example of this.) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Battlestar? What about 24 & Lost? Much better examples if you ask me. Anyway serialization is not a clich http://entertainmentandbeyond.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calax Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 oh... Don't forget the basic scifi plots now adays... Last survivors or Ultimate Explorers! the prior being BSG the latter being Startrek/Stargate. Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition! Kevin Butler will awesome your face off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walsingham Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 The nerdy but good Englishman (new) The cavalier but evil Englishman (old) Englishmen are allowed morals or style, but never the twain shall meet. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) How can anyone forget Crazy Military Man, who is really eager to unleash a nuclear/bio/chemical strike on whatever and wouldn't listen to The Scientists Who Know That Something Bad Is Going To Happen and who try to put some sense into him. Edited January 25, 2007 by Diamond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surreptishus Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hey I think we've missed a really obvious one: Hero who escapes torture by biting into the necks of terrorists You see that one everywhere nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 In any case, since he was mentioned, I must state that Jung is a crackpot! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You shouldn't speak ill of the dead. In my experience genius is very close to insanity. I certainly don't have the evidence to contradict his (metaphysical) philosophies, and his psychology has always been very well respected, too. OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hey I think we've missed a really obvious one: Hero who escapes torture by biting into the necks of terrorists You see that one everywhere nowadays <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He does what he needs to do to win. It's a very bad idea to cross that hero :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 In my experience genius is very close to insanity. I certainly don't have the evidence to contradict his (metaphysical) philosophies, and his psychology has always been very well respected, too. I liked Jung's influences on Cognitive Psychology. The main issue I have with Jung is his collective consciousness idea. The thing about it is that it doesn't seem to be provable, and more importantly, it doesn't seem to be falsifiable. IMO his contributions to psychology are similar to that of Freud's. Some interesting ideas, but too reliant on introspection and unfalsifiable theories. I think it's safe to say that Jung's ideas reflect his relationship with Freud. Though to be fair to Jung, his ideas are a bit less open to criticism than Freud's, which were often subject to circular logic. I tend to Occam's Razor his explanations of collective conscious and archetypes however. Yes archetypes exist, but I don't see why this has to be a part of the collective consciousness straight from the collective experiences of our DNA, when socialization seems to be an alternative explanation for such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 The reason I picked up a book on Jung in the first place was as background research for a book I'm reading The Seven Basic Plots, which is subtitled Why We Tell Stories; I agree some of his stuff is pretty off-the-wall; then again, you can't apply logical positivism to metaphysics otherwise there wouldn't be a lot of religion around ... OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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