Part II: 10 Clichés That Must Die
by James HudnallIf you read part one of this essay, you know I hate clichés and stereotypes. They’re the products of hack writers, lazy minds, and innate bigotry. Part one was about how Hollywood looks at “conservative America.” That is, anything to the right of them is “conservative.” Part 2 is mostly (except for #1) about how they look at themselves and society.
You see, art is a statement, even commercial art. It’s a kind of message, even when the message is stupid. Because all stories are an argument about something. Any story that doesn’t have a point is just a waste of time.
When people talk to you, they’re telling you a lot about themselves, without even realizing it. In the subtext of what they say, they tell you how they see the world. It’s rare that people say exactly what’s on their mind, they usually say it in a roundabout way.
This is how fortune tellers and mentalists have been able to trick people for centuries, telling them what they want to hear. The fortune tellers listen carefully to what the fortune seekers say. Then, after figuring out what the seeker wants to hear, they make up some story. But Hollywood is full of people who think they know better than everyone else. They don’t care what the public thinks all that much. They want to tell us what they think. This attitude often comes out in their products. These clichés reveal how many in La La Land see the world and themselves. And it’s kind of embarrassing, actually. For them.
Let’s continue our list, shall we?
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1. Evil corporations/businessmen: According to Hollywood, corporations are Capital “E” Evil and run by evil business people. Did I say evil? Yes, eeeeevvvvil! The CEOs are usually old white men, unless the hero of the story is female. Then the CEO’s a ruthless hot chick and the corporation is always planning to poison or kill their customers with their product, which they expect to make them rich. Bwa ha ha!!!!
Note to Hollywood: Logic check: How do you get rich killing or poisoning your customers, exactly? Aren’t real corporations constantly being sued for every little mistake? A lot of times they get sued for things they didn’t do. And why would anyone buy a product that kills or sickens them? Wouldn’t that diminish your customer base?
OK, we know what this is really about. When youe talk about products that sicken people, you’re talking about your movies, right? All joking aside, let me guess. You don’t like capitalism. Corporations = capitalism. I mean, greed is bad, except for you. You’re not greedy, despite your lifestyle, because you’re “progressive.” It’s okay to attack corporations because you’re sticking it to the man, man. This is how you bolster your street cred, yo. Just don’t drive through South Central. You won’t get any “props” there. Maybe in Venice Beach.
Yeah, Enron was bad. So were a lot of those failed Wall Street companies that mismanaged their clients accounts. Yes, some corporations are run by crooks, but they’re also made up of a lot of innocent people who don’t know that until they get burned. But this is a small percentage of the thousands of companies out there which provide jobs to the public buying your movie tickets. Many companies donate millions to charity, fund public projects, etc. They are not all evil. And frankly, no company is as evil as they’re made out to be in movies. That’s just plain laughable.
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2. The Gay Friend: Gays are the perfect friend for single women. They give her all the tips she needs to get ahead with her man and act like a Greek chorus, cheering her on to victory. They also make funny stylists or interior decorators. Sometimes they’re the hilarious neighbor next door. You know, the guy with the pink sweater tied around his neck and swishy boy friend who always says something sassy. Gosh, aren’t they witty? They’re hilarious. All gays are funny, except, when they’re Republican – then they’re evil. Because that’s what all Republicans are: evil and secretly gay. Yes, all Nazis are gay too, but they’re not witty, either.
Note to Hollywood: This is the current incarnation of the token minority friend. Just like the black friend who pops up and says: “That was whack, yo!” The gay friend always has some snappy comment. They often mimic clichéd black girl mannerisms because it’s “funny.” Except, not all gays are funny. Not all gays are swishy and fey. Many gays act and dress like boring straight people. Or even macho straight people. And they’re not all sassy or current with the latest styling tips.
And no, all Republicans aren’t evil and secretly gay. Neither were the Nazis. Comparing Nazis to anything is a tired cliché. But if you think Republicans and Nazis are evil, why accuse them of being gay? Do you think being gay is evil, too? If so, what does that say about your much vaunted tolerance? And why can’t you write gay characters that don’t fit into a narrow caricature? Is it that, oh, I dunno…you think of gays in a stereotypical way? But aren’t there are lot of gays in Hollywood? So, why would you–Ah, I get it, this is how you get back at them. You really don’t like them. Ahhhh, I see now.
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3. Computer/Robots/Alien World Destroyers: Computers and robots usually become intelligent and then decide to strike back at humans because “they deserve it.” When intelligent computers aren’t handy, aliens will do! Back in the day, it was giant mutant critters attacking humans because they polluted their creek, which made the critters huge, so they had to strike back. But now it’s pretty Space People who decide to let us know our carbon footprints are all over the grass. They intend to save our planet by killing us because that will really make the place more “sustainable.” Oh yeah, and robots are angry that we created them so they decide to kill us, After all, we made them work instead of giving them welfare and a universal health plan.
Note to Hollywood. These clichés were popular in the 50s and 70s, and now it’s 2009. Yeah, I know, ideas get recycled. I’m still waiting for the Smurfs movie by Michael Bay (with tons of CGI and explosions). We know what you’re saying here. You think mankind sucks because the world isn’t perfect by your definition. So these movies are a way of saying, “Keep voting Democrat or we’ll keep making depressing movies!”
This cliché offends me because I want to see intelligent computers and robots. Your worldview is anti-advancement and anti-technology as though you’re some nutty cultists wanting everyone to go back to living in tee pees. These advancements could actually make the world a better place. So can genetically modified food and nano-technology, which you seem to hate. See, you don’t show scientific advancements as a good thing, it always has to be a bad thing. That’s because you’re anti-science despite your histrionics about stem cell research. After all, you took Al Gore’s bogus movie at face value even though the science in it is laughable and has been mostly discredited. If you don’t believe me, check out the weather this winter. Oh, that’s right, you live in Southern California. Never mind.
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4. Angry Black Dude/Chick: Black people are MAD in movies and TV. They often have a major attitude, a mean face and are quick to temper and violence if ”dissed.” Professional black women who act business like will suddenly talk all ghetto the second they get angry and start snapping their fingers in the air, saying: MMM HMM!” and “Oh, no, you didn’t!” In fact, all cinematic black women get angry at the drop of a hat and black men are in your face rage-a-holics unless they are meant to be a “cool” character.
Note to Hollywood. This one seems to be fading, fortunately, but I still see it around. Maybe in the age of Obama it will fade completely, but it’s doubtful. Black people are often shown as edgy because they are trying to add tension or spice to the story. Yet, it’s a demeaning stereotype when used as much as it has been. You’re suggesting blacks are difficult and hard to deal with. Oops, that doesn’t sound very inclusive, does it? Sure there are people like that, but to suggest that’s the norm for a race is a stereotype. Don’t be wack, hack.
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5. Man-Boys, not Men: It seem as though real men like James Stewart, John Wayne, Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin are no longer allowed. Now they have to be pretty faced man-children — arrested adolescents. And even if they’re 50, they’re goofy and immature and have to look to women for advice and consent. In 300, the macho King Leonidas had to look to his wife before making any decisions. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn was this insecure doubter who needed his girlfriend to give him confidence. Men aren’t allowed to be men, and if they act alone it’s because they’re stupid and reckless. Men aren’t smart enough to think for themselves. They aren’t allowed to be brave or decisive on their own.
Note to Hollywood: Get real. Yeah, some men are like that. Partly because of the head trip you’ve laid on the culture with your post-feminist (misandric) propaganda. But frankly, this is a load of crap. It’s as mean a stereotype as the one they used in the old days with all women being flighty, screeching crybabies. Yes, there are women like that too, but all people are different in both genders. When you create characters, they should not fit one or two templates. They should be well rounded on their own terms and not based on some stupid, narrow PC talking point. Whoever came up with these “politically correct” notions should be publicly flogged. Preferably by some real men, because karma is a bitch.
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6. White People Are Racist: Only white people are racists. Only whites are capable of racism. And whites would oppress minorities at the earliest opportunity if they could. They still do in the South. No wonder black people are so angry in movies! Ever see Roots? No white has ever helped or been nice to a black person in hundreds of years, unless they were lying to them or using them. Yes, whites all want to lynch black people if given the chance and it’s only heroic liberals who keep it under control. (See #7)
Note to Hollywood: Get real. We elected a black president. If whites were as racist as your movies make them out to be, the Civil War and the era of civil rights never would have happened. Of course, compared to the rest of the world, we all know how far behind Hollywood was when it came to the inclusion and integration of their companies and film crews. Now, why is that? Hmmm?
Oh yeah, and while you’re at it, explain why only white people can be racist? That’s a racist statement. Racism is common in every culture and in every race. Racial minorities are second class citizens in most nations on earth but we’re one of the few countries that has worked hard to fight racism. In most parts of the world racism is accepted as the status quo. So quit bashing Americans for our failures and start giving us credit where credit’s due. We’ve come a long, long way. A lot further than other places.
Now, a black director named Spike Lee famously claimed that only whites can be racist because only whites have power, or some such nonsense. That’s nothing more than someone trying to use the race card to get attention for his movies. He seems to do it every time a movie of his comes out. Race hustling is so 20th Century, Spike. Get with the times.
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7. Liberal Saviors (Journalist/Trial Lawyer/Teacher): If it wasn’t for white liberals, blacks would still be slaves. They owe everything to the white liberal savior who is often a crusading journalist, teacher or trial lawyer fighting the evil corporations. In the 80s and 90s there were apartheid movies, at least one a year, about some white man who goes to South Africa and helps Biko or Mandela beat the evil racists. If it wasn’t for the white savior, where would Mandela be? And forget about the South, the white liberal guy did it all. Civil Rights happened because white liberals wandered into town and fought social injustice. Martin Luther King just stole all the press. And don’t forget all those white teachers who go into black schools with troubled kids and show them how to dance! How to play basketball! And the heroic trial lawyers who…ha ha ha–heroic trial lawyers. That’s a good one!
Note to Hollywood: Come on! We know what this is about. It’s an egotistical idea that some white guy saves black people from bad white people. So what are the black people in the story? Little lost lambs who can’t think or act for themselves and don’t get credit for anything. OK, I understand you want to show people helping the poor and the oppressed, but you make it into such a cartoon where the system is almost always either an evil corporation or evil racist whites. Like those sports movies about the first black swim team who wasn’t allowed to swim in “white pools” and the first black badminton team that wasn’t allowed to use white badminton courts. And of course, there’s always some white coach to show the racist whites that blacks can play badminton with the best of them. How many more silly racist situations are you going to come up with? Shuffleboard? Frisbee tournaments? “Dungeons and Dragons?”
If blacks would be nowhere without white liberals, what you’re saying is that you’re superior to minorities because they need you to save them. Sounds rather patronizing.
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8. The Killer Babe: Hot looking women all know kung fu. A 5′2″, 90lb lady can beat up any man with ease, no matter how big, even when she’s wearing high heels. In fact, the K.B. usually wears pumps all the time, and mentions it after she does something, ”I did it all in heels!” She can even battle superhuman villains with ease. And her hair is perfect. She never has a bad hair day.
Note to Hollywood: OK, I’ll admit to liking Joss Whedon shows. But how many uber-waifs is he going to trot out? His latest show (”Dollhouse”) is just another super-babe, but at least his shows are good. So many others overuse this canard. It started in the early 90s and keeps going.
So, Hollywood…you like the idea of chicks in high heels beating you up? Really? How much of your income goes to paying for that? Just curious.
Sorry, but a guy my size (6′4″) is generally unafraid of tiny women – not that I need to be, I’m a nice guy. But honestly, if your heroes are never in serious danger, if no one can beat them, guess what? The story is boring. Stories are a lot more interesting when the heroes (or heroines) face situations that seem impossible – when they face insurmountable odds, not people they can easily kick the crap out of. It’s sad enough that you’re resorting to overused clichés, but you’re making it even more lame by removing the suspense.
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9. The Future Is Hopeless: Look around, man! The future is bleak! We’re all doomed. We’re killing the planet! We’re not acting sustainable! Our carbon footprint is too large! But before we destroy the world, we’re going to treat each other really bad because that’s what humans do: We’re all bad. We deserve to die. The pretty alien guy said so.
Note to Hollywood: Speak for yourself, or maybe you are. Yes, many of you treat each other badly. We’ve all heard the stories. You keep making movies about how obnoxious Hollywood people are. We know how mean spirited, deceitful and false some people in The Big H can be. That doesn’t mean the rest of humanity is like that. We’re not all part of your weird-ass culture which bears no relation to reality at all.
If people were as bad as some of you seem to think there would never be any peace and a lot more theft, murder and rape. Instead, crime rates have gone down over the years, people send millions in aid to others, and many citizens around the world do community service and look out for their fellow man. Okay, I know, you’re trying to set up an exciting story in some hypothetical place. Except you always pick the worst case scenario. I like a lot of end of the world stories, but why does every future have to be the same negative dystopia? Can’t you come up with something more interesting? I mean, plumb more sci-fi novels where there’s an interesting future. You’re running out of Philip K Dick stories. He wasn’t the only sci-fi writer, you know.
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10. The Government Is Evil (if there’s a Republican president): Yes, the government is out to get us. Black helicopters, men in black and agents with black sunglasses and black suits. Black, black, black… Have you run out of paint, yet? Anyway, the government is omnipotent and knows everything about our lives and is trying to get us. There is no escape! They’re tapping our phones, dragging us off to secret prisons where we’re tortured, and they hold all the secret technologies that would set us free – but if we ever discover those secrets they will come after us. Agents are everywhere. So is the evil military waiting to send troops down our streets.
Note to Hollywood: Obama is president, does that mean that the government is good now? Will we now get movies like “Dave,” “The American President” and “Air Force One,” like we did when Clinton was in the White House? Yes, “The X-Files” was during the Clinton era too, but the heroes of that show were government agents so that doesn’t exactly count. I’m not a fan of big government, either, but you seem to be. You keep voting for and promoting statists who want to usher in more government programs. So if the government is so evil, why do you want to give them more power? Do you really think that one party in power all of a sudden makes it good? Are you really that naive? Sorry I asked.
In closing, I know you want to make good movies because you want the praise of your peers. You want ratings and box office. And yeah, many of you may feel, deep down, that you’re not clever enough to do great work. But that’s no excuse for not even trying. These clichés are just amateurish and insulting to the very people who help pay your salary. Yes, the public.
I know many of you aren’t bad. Hollywood has plenty of creeps, knuckleheads and no-talents, but many of you are talented, smart and capable. You should know better that to perpetrate this noxious stuff. It embarrasses you, it makes you look stupid in the eyes of the public, it sends out the wrong kind of message and it’s often racist, sexist and just plain depressing and sad.
Don’t forget what you’re here for. You’re supposed to entertain us, not insult us.
Prescription: Watch Sullivan’s Travels by Preston Sturges several times and call me in the morning.
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113 Comments
Actually, the Founding Fathers were the ones who preached about government being evil. Any conservative would agree (which is why this project from AB is chock-full of neocons, not conservatives.)
I am SO glad to finally see someone mention the fact that every time liberals want to discredit a historically conservative figure, the first volley fired is “Hey, you know he/she was gay!”, as if they believe it is a bad thing. And they tout themselves as the tolerant group. Yet another double standard from the left.
Sigh…you know if you changed science fiction movies to remove anything and everything that might be negative or dystopian, then it would be a pretty bland genre. It might surprise you to know that one of foundations of storytelling is to give your protagonist an obstacle or trial or antagonist to overcome over the course of the story. Frankly, if all movies portray the future as a marvelous utopia where nothing at all has gone wrong, then why exactly are we watching this? Or more importantly, why would the studio go to the expense of creating this futuristic world to film? By the way, Phil Dick’s Man in the High Castle is an extremely optimistic book which would make a fabulous movie.
By the way, from a marketing standpoint, I’m not exactly sure how you would sell a movie where some innocent white people were the victims of horrific institutional black racism. Neil LaBute’s attempt to do that with Lakeview Terrace was pretty inept.
RE: Nazi being repressed homosexuals.
My guess is that if someone is choosing to repress their sexuality, they end up making other choices in life that are an extension of that repression. People who choose not to repress healthy expression of their sexuality tend to make choices in life that are, well, healthy, good and right.
RE: Nazi being repressed homosexuals.
My guess is that if someone is choosing to repress their sexuality, they end up making other choices in life that are an extension of that repression. People who choose not to repress healthy expression of their sexuality tend to make choices in life that are, well, healthy, good and right.
Just a theory. Not saying all Nazi’s were gay. But my guess is the truly evil ones were somehow repressed, sexually or otherwise, gay or straight.
“One notable exception is ‘Dead Man Walking.’ Pretty good movie; hard to believe Sarandon and Penn are in that one.”
Yes. I hear it has a happy ending.
You missed all the gawd-awful ways the military is portrayed. It’s worse with lower budget movies and television but how people who can not even imagine themselves ever joining the military think they can write a script, produce or direct it, and get the military right, is beyond comprehension.
You guys do realize that Dead Man Walking was a very honest look at the Death Penalty that managed to be both anti-death penalty while not pretending that the guy who was on death row was innocent of the crime? It was a very even handed movie that hardly took a black and white view of the world, which appears to be a main component of all the “solutions” you guys keep proposing to fix the movies.
Growltiger Said “Tom Clancy’s books AS WRITTEN – no substituting Nazis for Ecoterrorists or Islamic religious wacos”
Thank God I’m not the only person that was totally annoyed while watching “the sum of all fears.” Now, I understand that screenwriters must make changes when adapting a book to movie format, but to change the enemy to something more politically correct (and far less believable) is dangerous and stupid.
Vince, are you for real? If by “healthy expression” you mean 12-17 year olds engaging in sexual experimentation with young but older men too! Or perhaps you mean taking care of the results of their “healthy” expression, i.e., abortions? How about the “hollywood” types who never repress their “healthy” expression of their sexuality just end up letting it all, and I do mean “all”, hang out for everyone to see even if it is sickening? Adults try not to make choices that are not healthy, good and right, but usually that’s after they’ve grown up and become real men and women and not just whining males and females!!
Oh, come on Growltiger, do you honestly believe that there’s a fertile market for the “whites who are discrimminated against” movie?
Frankly, in a lot of ways, the old style “In the Heat of the Night” racial tension movie has been played out as well. Honestly, how many “racism” movies do you really see these days? Unless it’s some sort of “based on a true story” deal like Glory Road, you just don’t see it. Before you say “Crash”, there are MORE than a few people on the left who thought that movie was nonsense.
The dystopian films like Blade Runner are generally received better than things like Fifth Element.
The “positive future” sci-fi genre got played out by all the Star Trek films, that became more inane with each successive installment.
By the way, speaking of “end of the world” films, what was your opinion of Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later”. If anything, I think the the happy ending that got tacked on was so intellectually phony that it further diminished a great movie that was already suffering from a VERY wobbly last act.
In a world…
Flying Monkey said: “Thank God I’m not the only person that was totally annoyed while watching ‘the sum of all fears.’”
Are you kidding? Listen to the commentary on the DVD for Sum of All Fears. Tom Clancy starts out by saying: “Hi, I’m Tom Clancy and I wrote the book they ignored.” It only gets better from there
Nicely done, with wit and style.
Good piece.
PS to Hollywood. Most of us think you baby stars are losers and pay no attention to your political whinning. You guys pretend for a living; get it?
Grow up, do your jobs and leave reality to the rest of us workins stiffs.
Pike, if Clancy really was that cheesed off at Sum of All Fears, why exactly was he on the DVD commentary again?
Richard, you know another cliche that this list is missing? The chip-on-the-shoulder “conservative” railing about elites and intellectuals piously patting himself on the back for being a “workin’ stiff”.
Too often this site reminds me of a lame SNL skit about a game show called “You think you’re better than me???/”
Pete, I didn’t have a problem with the ending of “28 Days Later”. But then, I enjoyed the last act. However, I will agree that the alternate, darker endings on the DVD would have been better.
In regards to #5: What the heck is wrong with looking to your spouse for advice? I thought that married couple were supposed to help each other on this long trip known as “life.” You know, in sickness and in health, that type of thing.
But maybe that’s just me.
(But Hollywood needs men, not the “man-boys” as you have labeled them.)
Thank you for number 8. The size 0 waif who can crush anyone with her brute strength is boring and stupid.
A+
Don’t forget Black Christian (the only characters allowed to attend church regularly) that jumps up and down and yells “Amen” and “Hallelujah” during service (they’re all such good dancers too). And the Black Preacher whose mission in life is to help people be nice to each other and tolerant so they can get into Heaven.
From time to time a T.V. show will allow White characters attend church, but they are pretty much always either one of the Christian types mentioned in part 1 or the dad who only goes because mom/wife nags him when what he really wants is to stay home and watch football.
Ken, but surely the last act of 28 Days Later fell into the “military is bad” cliche? I think it was scraping too close to the ground that Romero had trod upon in his zombie films.
So, Hollywood…you like the idea of chicks in high heels beating you up? Really? How much of your income goes to paying for that? Just curious.
I’ve wondered the same thing myself because it’s always men who write and direct the killer babe movies. Your suggestion as to why is a good one, but another one would be how many of these guys (and the guys in the audience who seem to dig this stuff) were from broken homes where the mother kept the son and the father lost all influence.
So the archetype becomes the protective mother.
Watch any slasher movie and not yell yourself hoarse at whatever young adult wanders off alone in an assortment of dark two story houses, creepy woods, midnight swim workouts alone in a haunted swamp, all the while stepping over dismembered bodies and pushing long dead creeps back to the bottom of said swamp. Oh yeah, the ubiquitous crypt opening that requires it be done at between midnight and 4:30am. Now tell me, wouldn’t everyone do just that, a few shots of Jack, a couple of beers and scantily clad women. Sign me up!!!!
Zach Snyder’s DAWN of the Dead had an ending that was fairly consistent with the ending of the original Romero one, with the two remaining survivors flying a helicopter almost out of gas as hundreds of zombies invaded their formerly safe hidey hole in the mall.
I agree that the last act of 28 Days was a bit heavy handed with the military guys, although without the “military” sending out the rescue call, the main characters wouldn’t have ventured out of London to begin with, fundamentally changing the film.
Um, without the “crusading journalist” cliche, the last act of His Girl Friday sort of evaporates, no?
Pete,
What was so dystopian about “Blade Runner”? It was awesome. What I really fear is a “Highlander 2″ future. Confused plot, retconning, bad acting [shiver].
James Hudnall,
Star Trek didn’t “get lame,” it was lame from the beginning (and this is coming from from a hard-core trekker). The Star Trek future is only perfect because they’ve achieved Socialist Bliss (that’s the lame part, the rest super-awesome).
Humanity in the Star Trek universe is living out John Lennon’s “Imagine.” No countries, no money (kinda), no religion (unless you’re a Native American Pantheist). They’ve taken human nature and human motivation and thrown them out the window. It’s how Lenin’s USSR if everyone had JUST GOTTEN WITH THE PROGRAM!! A world living in perfect peace and harmony duly enforced by the guys in charge of the giant battle-space ships orbiting the earth.
“Comparing Nazis to anything is a tired cliché.”
In what movie(s) do they compare a secretly gay Republican to a secretly gay Nazi?
Can you name me a movie that features a secretly gay Republican? I don’t doubt you, but all the examples I can think of were based on real people who *were* secretly gay (ie Roy Cohn in “Citizen Cohn” and “Angels in America”)
Blucas, in all fairness, American Beauty DID have the authoritarian right wing collector of Nazi chachkis that made a pretty clutzy pass at Kevin Spacey and ended up killing him when rejected. Of course, I don’t remember him being described explicity as a Republican.
Then again, the people on this site still haven’t come to grips with the notion that Larry Craig and Ted Haggard are gay.
Pete said: “Pike, if Clancy really was that cheesed off at Sum of All Fears, why exactly was he on the DVD commentary again?”
You’d have to ask him. I thought it was hillarious, since he spent most of the time ripping on the movie (Phil Alden Robinson is also on the commentary track with him). For instance, he explained how President Fowler in the book was a metaphor for Dukakis. Some of the other errors he pointed out were such things as how no solider would jump into a helicopter with the barrel of their weapon pointed UP (you know, INTO the rotor)–they’d point it down where if the weapon discharged it would go harmlessly through the floor and not damage the helicopter’s engine; how the helicopter the movie used for the sea rescue actually produces so much down-draft that it would drown anyone they were trying to rescue; how stealth technology is just that (in fact, that point in the film is funny too, because the line in the movie is where the Russians tell their president, “Sir, the Americans just launched their stealth bombers!” to which Clancy responded: “Now how the hell would they know that?” And when Robinson responded, with “They’re coming in and out of radar” Clancy responded, “That’s the point of stealth technology, Phil. So they CAN’T see it on radar.”).
So, like I said, you’d have to ask Clancy why he was on it, but it’s the only part of the movie that made it worth watching.
Great piece!
How about the cliche of the Terrorist Who is Really A Freedom Fighter? Or the evil terrorist who’s so courageously depicted as take your pick Russian\White\Communist\Christian.
I’d love to see some of Asimov stories more closely follow the book. Bicentennial Man was good although someone missed a killer role as Dr. Susan Calvin. “I, Robot” was an excresance. I like Will Smith but all they took was the book title. The book looks nothing at all like the movie.
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Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” was a pale imitation of the book. I’d love to see the story with the full range of the story including Heinlein’s political commenteries.
Ah, OK, “American Beauty.” I felt like I was missing an obvious one. And yeah, I’ll agree that comparing people to Nazis is both cliched and counterproductive. It’s something that happens way too much on both sides of the political aisle (it was dumb when people on the left compared Bush to Hitler and it’s dumb when people on right do it to Obama).
I was talking about the “gay” angle, specifically though. There’s “American Beauty,” OK, and are there are movies based on real people, but once != cliche.
Since
Gay = good
and
Republican = evil
I would think that a “Gay Republican” would be a Hollywood oxymoron.
Unless, of course, he is the bad-guy, driven to evil by his suppressed desires who sees the light at the end of the movie and becomes a proud Gay Liberal who loves everyone.
Don’t forget all cops are racist, violent, and corrupt.
And I, too, find the 5-2, 90lbs killer babe tedious. All the martial arts in the world won’t save a 90-pounder from a 6-4, 250-lbs male. That’s why they have weight classes in boxing and MMA.
Buffy gets a pass, BTW, since she has superpowers – instilled by men, BTW. Plus there are bad ass men in Buffy as well.
Here’s one that definitely applies- the Black Female Judge!
they say that you should write what you know. any screenwriter in the studio system looks at the executives/CEOs around him and creates a monstrous character. i worked for turner, and know what i’m talking about.
How about showing our Vietnam veterans as heroes and all of our troops as heroes doing their job. Coming back home and getting on with life and no mental problems. This is the image I saw with all the Vietnam Vets I ever knew. This was the same with all the WWII fathers, uncles neighbors I knew growing up. Now with my own son all his buddies will all go back into our world and build careers and families. This isn’t the image that came out of Hollywood for 35 years. We need to take back our culture and not just talking about it or debating here on a blog. Everyone can make small you tube videos and make something positive to break down this system.
Chris Cooper plays “right wing stereotypes”? Are you positive? Let’s look at some of his films from his imdb listing
1. Matewan – union organizer who is killed by the Pinkertons. Wow…how “right wing”
2. Seabiscuit – a wise horse trainer, good lord, what a slander of the conservative ideals
3. Adaptation – seriously, nothing says “I am stereotyping the right wing” then playing a toothless orchid freak?
4. Lone Star – a liberal sheriff who accidentally discovers that his hero father was a corrupt murderer. Has a Latina girlfriend too….ooooh…that part really slammed the conservatives good.
5. October Sky – yeah, that movie was so left wing it might have been written by Stalin himself
Oh, that’s right, he was a villain in a Bourne film, therefore he’s a commie…
Another cliche is the evil FBI (or whatever govt. law enforcement agency) comes in act acts like pricks over the valiant local law enforcement agency. Or ATF vs FBI vs CIA vs NSA. They can’t get along.
Blucas, who on the right is comparing Obama with Hitler? I ask not as a challenge, but because I’ve never heard of it happening and I’m genuinely curious. If it’s true, then I agree with you that it’s completely unfair and ridiculous. And after feeling the sting of having liberals attack Bush in this way for the last eight years, we should know better than that.
Hey Pete, Cooper also played right-wing stereotypes in Silver City, Syriana, Breach, and Jarhead. You throw in American Beauty and the Bourne movies, and there’s an ongoing theme there, whether you want to admit it or not.
Aw, James..seems like someone hit a nerve with you about gay characters. You’re right, not every priest is a pedophile. MANY of them were, but obviously not all of them.
The reason people make fun of you guys about this issue is that when the right screams REALLY loudly about gay people, it turns out that some of the fellers screaming the loudest are actually gay themselves, like Ted Haggard. Instead of saying, “wow, sometimes we’re big fat hypocrites about this”, you pretend that reality doesn’t exist, like the people in Colorado who still won’t believe that Haggard is actually gay.
Was Chris Cooper’s character in Bourne REALLY a “right wing stereotype”, OR was his character an intelligence agent who simply took a sleeper progam WAY too far? I think you guys are projecting your own neurosis on films that have nothing to do with nothing again. With the number of actors you guys put on your little blacklist, who will be left to be in your movies? Chris Farley’s brother can’t be in everything you know.
As for the Obama-Hitler thing, famed right wing site World Net Daily REPEATEDLY compared Obama to Hitler in the months before and after the election. NoQuarter did the same thing. Texas Darlin’ did as well. Free Republic did everything but blame Obama for the absence of life on Mars.
Pete said: “The reason people make fun of you guys about this issue is that when the right screams REALLY loudly about gay people…”
You mean like how the left screams REALLY loudly about how we should respect other people’s privacy but then goes out of their way to out everyone they possibly can as being gay? THAT kind of hypocrisy?
For that matter, suppose that Republicans are hypocrites. Does that make them wrong? Consider an example (I doubt you can, but I can always Hope).
Suppose I am a drug addict. I tell you, you shouldn’t do drugs because they are bad. I am a hypocrite because I tell you not to do what I do. Does that mean my statement about drugs is false? Does that mean you’re justified in doing drugs because I do them to? Or does it in fact mean that I have personal, first hand experience that drugs are bad and therefore you should listen to me?
(For the record, since liberals are reading this and they have the poorest reading comprehension imaginable, I am not a drug user.)
The examples could be multiplied. But just because someone is a hypocrite doesn’t imply that their statements are false. It could very well be their statements are still true.
And since you brought up Haggard, surely you understand that one of the tenets of Christianity is that we are all sinners. Which means that we are all hypocrites. That doesn’t mean Christians throw out morality. It just means we know how to deal with our sins when we have them.
Man, I missed this gem from Jimmy. Wasn’t Cooper’s character in Breach a guy who sold secrets to the SOVIETS? Is THAT a right-wing stereotype?
Pete- did you even WATCH “Lone Star”? Cooper’s father was neither corrupt nor a killer.
Cooper’s character detested his father, and was sick of hearing what a great man his father had been. Long ago, his father had forced him to break up with his Mexican girlfriend. Cooper’s character assumed, wrongly, that it was because his father was a bigot. For that reason, he spent much of the movie trying to prove that his Dad WAS a corrupt murderer.
In the end, he finds that his father, though flawed, WAS a pretty decent man after all. The murder victim (Kris Kristofferson) was truly evil, and pretty much deserved what he got. Cooper’s father’s sins lay in
1) Protecting the black man who DID kill Kristofferson.
2) Impregnating a Mexican woman with whom he’d been having an affair. THAT was the real reason his Dad forced Cooper to split with his own Mexican girlfriend: because she was Cooper’s sister!
James
Not sure what category this is in…but have you noticed that when a single girl gets pregnant, the girl always has the baby, every single time.
I thought Hollywood was proudly pro-choice? Why don’t they show when the girl chooses an abortion? And the pain and heartache that follows?
The thing that frosts people about the evangelicals hysteria about “morality” is that when they’re not busy trying to impose their own version of it on everyone, they often are quite selective about what Biblical texts they base their “morality” on. Now, I don’t want to get into a Bible quoting contest with you, but all I have to say when it comes to the dangers of Biblical literalism and morality is…..SHELLFISH.
For a religion of peace and love, the things that so-called “Christians” say about gay people is pretty damn chilling. Maybe if Haggard wasn’t raised with a philosophy that gay people were subhumans who were going to hell, then he would have been able to FREELY live as who he really was. Without self-loathing, he might have avoided having to meth up with gay prostitutes on his church’s dime.
how ’bout cliche #11
Liberal troll: Magically appears in the conservative forest, armed with non sequiters to put poor hapless deluded neocons in their place. Similar to “magic negro” but without the charm and soundtrack.
Astorian. Ok, you’re right, Cooper’s father in Lone Star didn’t kill Kris Kristofferson, but neither did the black character, Otis. It was Hollis, the white deputy who killed him. So, we’re both wrong on a few details.
The point about Cooper is that he’s played a WIDE variety of roles, and this author’s pithy throwaway comment that Cooper “made his career playing right wing stereotypes” was simply false.
By the way, to the author of the post, some of the things that you are blasting as “cliches” are simply plot points that you don’t like, often for political reasons. By your little homophobic comment that you threw at me (witless conservative tools like you always think you’re being soooooo clever when you do that), it seems that gay people really bother you. After all, your post is all about people’s true motivations for saying and doing things in movie scripts, no?
As for your question as to why I’m debating your post the way I am? Because I can.
Clancy’s commentary is wonderful. And yes, studios do allow critical commentary. Check out Christopher Lee’s commentary on The Lord of the Rings. He rips Jackson and Walsh several times for inept fumblings in the script (especially the Faramir fiasco).
i have one more cliche i’d like to see die.
i call it “hillbilly buttsex”. from deliverance to brokeback mountain, it almost qualifies as a sub-genre. hollywood is fascinated by it.
speaking for rurals everywhere, it never used to occur to us to rape you city folk. if you’d stop bringing it up, we’d leave you alone.
Pete said: “The thing that frosts people about the evangelicals hysteria about ‘morality’ is that when they’re not busy trying to impose their own version of it on everyone, they often are quite selective about what Biblical texts they base their ‘morality’ on.”
And there you go generalizing again. Not only that, but you’re also hypocritically self-inconsistent here too.
If it is morally wrong for someone to “impose their own version of [morality] on everyone” then why are you seeking to impose your own version of morality upon me? Why are you being selective as to which liberal ideal you base your “morality” on?
Pete said: “For a religion of peace and love, the things that so-called ‘Christians’ say about gay people is pretty damn chilling.”
And the things that so-called tolerant liberals say about Christians is pretty damn chilling too.
Pete said: “Maybe if Haggard wasn’t raised with a philosophy that gay people were subhumans…”
Maybe if Pete wasn’t raised with a philosophy that you could make up whatever claims about a religion you hated that you wanted, you’d realize that no Christian says that gay people are subhuman. In fact, subhuamns cannot sin; so if a Christian says homosexuals are sinners, they are ipso facto human. This is so trivial, I’m not even trying here.
If you’re going to wax on and on about hypocrisy it would behoove you to actually understand the position you oppose first.
John Locke, no, I think you’re reading too much into this. Considering the real man was a traitor to this country for no apparent reason other than his own narcissim, I think crying “right wing stereotype” is being too cute by half.
Yes, he was a religious man, devout Catholic, and had a stable family. YET, he still consciously chose to commit a terrible crime against his country. It’s about one man and one choice he made. No rational person could possibly see this character as implying that devout Catholic family men are potential commie traitors. The rampant insecurity and persecution complex of modern conservatism is a real turn off, and doesn’t serve your cause much good.
Flubber, Christopher Lee bagged on Jackson because he was pissed that his big death scene was cut out of the theatrical cut of ROTK.
Pete Kent, calm down. I’m not imposing my “morality” on you. You are free to live your life the way you want as long as you’re not stealing from me or trying to commit violence upon me or my family. It’s called live and let live.
And, being a Catholic, it would be a bit of a stretch to say that I “hated” Christianity. Unless you’re one of those evangelicals who don’t think that Catholics are Christians, then once again you’re wrong there.
However, the homophobia of SOME evangelical sects is hypocritical. They like to throw out Leviticus whenever they are ranting about a gay person, but then conveniently ignore Leviticus when it comes to..oh..the whole shellfish thing.
Either way, the days of gay people being marginalized and treated as second class citizens by an evangelical minority are coming to an end. Ideally, in a generation or so, people will actually wonder why you guys got so freaked out by it all.
[...] Here’s the second in a series of anti-clichè posts by James Hudnall. The site is only political if you think that Hollywood consciously ignoring the taste of at least (At least! Yes, a conservative estimate. Eh hem.) 50 percent of the ticket-buying public is politics and not some wacky marketing strategy. The cost of staking out any exclusionary political position is quite high. We think it’s just bad business. Really some smart stockholder legal eagle will use all the accumulated evidence that these huge mega-corporations (see Hudnall’s ironic clichè #1 too.) that fund mainstream film are consciously not giving full value and make a killing. [...]
Regarding Cooper’s character in Breach: he says, out loud, “I don’t trust a woman who wears pantsuits. The men wear the pants. The world doesn’t need any more Hillary Clinton’s.”
Pete, are you actually going to argue that a character who says that, isn’t being portrayed as a conservative? Seriously?
Pete said: “You are free to live your life the way you want as long as you’re not stealing from me or trying to commit violence upon me or my family. It’s called live and let live.”
That doesn’t square with anything you’ve said before. Not that I blame you for trying to pretend none of the previous ever happened. I’d be embarrassed if I was beaten as badly with my own bludgeon as you’ve just been.
But you’re not even consistent with the above. If you really held to it, then you shouldn’t be upset over anyone’s treatment of any other gay man than yourself (if you are even gay) because it’s not YOU. But your catchphrase doesn’t make for good morals, does it? Because when the metal meets the meat, you realize that there ARE certain things that just ARE wrong even when they don’t happen to you.
Apparently you weild the hypocrite bat because hypocrisy is the only thing you’re familiar with.
Here’s a few more that need to be retired:
** The Hottie 20-Something Scientist: If you are female, attractive, and have a nice figure, it is possible to become a world-renown expert in any hard science – nuclear fission, genetics, archaeology, biology, etc. – at the age of 24.
** Always The Right Wire: Wouldn’t be interesting if just once the guy trying to diffuse a bomb cut the wrong wire and got blown up?
** Everyone Loves A Parade: It seems that any chase through city streets will eventually come upon a parade. In San Francisco, it will be a Chinese parade, complete with large dragon; in New Orleans, it will be a funeral procession.
** The Unlucky-In-Love Setup: In the movies, if you are a single woman in your late 20’s/early 30’s who has been unlucky in love, your building handyman/gardener/plumber will be a well-built (though he never goes to the gym) Renaissance man. He will play classical piano, cook gourmet meals, practice some form of non-dogmatic, non-threatening, one-with-the-cosmos spirituality, never raise his voice, and continue to make himself available to you despite your constant condescension and interest in other men. In real life, you just end up owning a lot of cats.
** Crimes Against Football: Believe it or not, the best way to make a tackle in football is not to launch yourself airborne at the ball carrier from 15 feet away.
** Fork, Anyone?: According to Hollywood, Americans, in all parts of the US, when eating Chinese food prefer to use, and are proficient in using, chopsticks.
** Parenting For Dummies: No matter the extent to which you have neglected your spouse and/or children, in the movies you can make things right and all is forgiven if you defend them from a space alien or giant lizard.
8. The Killer Babe: Yes in every case except Buffy. Buffy is absolutely the wrong example.
Buffy is the perfect example.
Glad to see the Buffy love present in the comments. Buffy, like Veronica Mars, is an extraordinary example of a show that is loaded with conservative principles without being explicitly conservative. Unlike most shows, there is a clear delineation between good and evil in Buffy. She is flawed, but the more she fights, the more she understands that right and wrong is not simplistic, and that there is real evil in the world. Buffy also agonizes over her birthright and often does not want it. Yet it does not stop her from understanding and acting on the fact that she is a moral and physical force for good. Recall that much of the embodiment of liberalism in the show is the character of Willow, who becomes a witch, then a lesbian, and ultimately attempts to end the world (an oversimplification, but the theme is present through the first six seasons). As the show progresses, Willow becomes more and more resentful of Buffy’s power, and the dynamic between the two best friends (one clearly good, one lilting toward and ultimately embracing evil) is a complicated expression of very real philosophical differences between conservatives and liberals.
Most important pieces on Big Hollywood yet. All of these cliches have infuriated me for years and years. PLEASE HOLLYWOOOD STOP…STOP…STOOOOOPPPPPPPPP
LISTEN TO JAMES, LISTEN TO JAMES
Growltiger:
“Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon. This thing sold millions of copies.
Fabulous! I suspect this is snubbed because of her depiction of the particularly sadistic homosexual even though the other homosexual character is a truly stellar human being. I’ve read her entire series, some several times over. Yes, fabulous.
Jack Marino:
I agree with you … one of the reasons I really hate Gran Torino.
I love the angry black guy one! I’ve been talking about this one forever! I call it BLACK-A-TUDE, everyone else should too.
Hey, while we’re listing cliches we’d like to kill, can we preemptively kill some cliches that are coming down the pikeway? I’d like to add a new one:
11. No scientific innovation or political accomplishment credited to a male could have happened without his wife; every innovation or accomplishment credited to a female was entirely of her own doing (or done in spite of her husband).
In the HBO series John Adams, his wife was depicted as being central to his success as a politician. He just couldn’t have done it without her.
I saw a show on PBS that tried to depict every scientific development up to and including Einstein as being impossible without the aid of wives, girlfriends, etc.
This meme seems to be cropping up more frequently, a sort of an offshoot of the empowerment thing — you know, where in history books or even computer science textbooks the accomplishments of women are given equal billing to those of men, even if they weren’t all that central to the field’s progress.
It’s not such a big deal in small doses, setting aside the historical inaccuracy of it all, but the superwoman thing is annoying as hell. I mean, come on — Einstein’s wife contributed diddly to his research and thought experiments, and John Adams would have been a fire-breather even without his wife Abigail. Most of the time men really do accomplish and innovate on their own, but I have a feeling every script is going to muddied up with some kind of quota for ‘empowerment’ subplots.
Vince wrote:
People who choose not to repress healthy expression of their sexuality tend to make choices in life that are, well, healthy, good and right.
Just a theory. Not saying all Nazi’s were gay. But my guess is the truly evil ones were somehow repressed, sexually or otherwise, gay or straight.
Ernest Roehm, the head of the SA (killed by Hitler in the ’30’s during the “Night of the Long Knives”) was certainly not a repressed homosexual. His love of blond Storm Trooper was quite well-known. He was in bed with one when he was killed. Roehm was also a brutal, vicious killer. He was not killed because he was gay, but because of an internal power struggle. Once Roehm was out of the way, the more reliably loyal Himmler and the SS rose to power.
Amon Goeth, the Nazi played by Ralph Fiennes in “Schlinder’s List” was another notably unrepressed Nazi. This was not shown in the movie, but Goeth was bisexual and bedded his fellow officers whenever women were unavailable. Yes, the Nazis might have persecuted homosexuals, but at the same time, they were more than willing to turn a blind eye to it among their own ranks.
The idea that “open, healthy sexuality = happy, healthy person” smacks of ’60’s wishful thinking. Would that it were true. I think human happiness is much more complex than that.
JAMES HUNDALL, re: Conan, I think you mean “Belit,” not “Amra.” As I recall, Amra was another name for Conan himself.
PETER PIKE – January 26th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Heh, yeah.
————————-
The “gay thing” bugs me because every show on T.V. now has to have a well-adjusted gay character to “properly represent reality” but nowhere do you see a dedicated, happy Christians even though the average person is far more likely to be, live next to, work with or be directly related to a practicing Christian then they are a practicing homosexual.
Watching T.V. and Hollywood movies, you’d think that America was far more gay than it is religious.
Personally I don’t care if someone is gay, it’s just so obvious that they’re misrepresenting reality to push an agenda.
MovieBob:
I like how most of these are general storytelling staples DECADES old here being ascribed exclusively to American filmmakers because it makes the point conveniently.
I like how you seem to have (deliberately or otherwise) missed the point completely.
But before we destroy the world, we’re going to treat each other really bad because that’s what humans do
One thing I liked about “The Dark Knight” – the people on the ferries didn’t blow each other up. They foiled the Joker’s plot by being decent. There’s a plot twist you don’t see very often.
I like how most of these are general storytelling staples DECADES old here being ascribed exclusively to American filmmakers because it makes the point conveniently.
I like how you seem to have conveniently missed the point completely.
#32 (are we up to 32 yet?)
Right-wing terrorist organizations.
All of those nasty Northern Europeans and Rednecks with vague motives attempting to blow up buildings or sports stadiums or poison a bunch of people (even when the original story has a different villain).
Here’s a question: can anybody point to any movies about people suffering under the Castro regime? Or in the Soviet gulags (since the ’50’s)? Or during Mao’s Cultural Revolution?
I can’t think of anybody and I was struck by what a commentator said in the first thread about movie cliches, Movies about Nazism and the Holocaust been done and done and done and done again. They are the perfect Hollywood bad guys because they are perceived as “right-wing” (National SOCIALIST Party, anyone?) and they’re white. Communism killed 100 million in the 20th century, but that doesn’t keep hip morons from wearing Che T-shirts.
For that matter, how many WWII since the ’60’s have been done about the Pacific Theater compared to the European one? The ratio is very lopsided although the battles of Imo Jima and Tarawa were horrific and Japanese POW camps were on a par with Nazi concentration camps. I’m guessing portraying non-whites as the bad guys became very problematic for Hollywood (they certainly did traffic in racist stereotypes about the Japanese during the war.)
I like this list a lot more than your first one. Good work. I would maintain that the evil corporate thing is a sort of metaphor of the desire to be an L’enfant terrible. The corporation or the church is just a symbol for the status quo. It’s not a literal thing.
Oh, and before an outraged lefty writes a post exclaiming that the Nazis were too right-wing bad guys so there, let me ask you this: would right-wingers invent the Volkswagen – The People’s Car?
Conservatives (not RINOs) believe in minimal government. That was -duh- not true of the Nazis.
DONNA V. – January 26th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
You make an excellent point.
I was told recently that in the movie The Killing Fields the word “Communist” is never used. Haven’t been able to verify, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
I know I’d pay to see a Michael Bay Smurfs movie!! I think Smurfette would kick some ass.
[...] Prevailed During the transition period, unknown to the public, Obama’s legal, intelligence Part II: 10 Clichés That Must Die – bighollywood.breitbart.com 01/26/2009 by James Hudnall If you read part one of this essay, you [...]
Rob, if you like good T.V. Sci-Fi then may I recommend Firefly.
And the entire series is available free (and legal) online at http://www.hulu.com/firefly.
[...] 10 Movie Clichés That Must die, now. [...]
The judge will only be played by a black female if she is incidental to the plot. The court room humour of “My Cousin Vinny” would never work if they had cast a black woman as a judge, when you need a bigotted, authoritarian bully only a southern white male will do, no?
One you missed is the cheerfully ethnic family as opposed to the uptight, repressed Anglos, think “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or the Irish in “Titanic”.
Of course the Irish are always nice and the villains are usually British or at least played by a snobby English actor. Liam Neeson the bluff big Irish lad gets to play the nice Nazi but impeccably posh Englishman Ralph (pron. ‘Rayf’) Fiennes is the camp commandant (no German actors casting that day?). This follows to ridiculous levels when Liam is again the hero in “Michael Collins” and the uptight cowardly villain, otherwise known to history as Irish Republican hero Eamonn DeValera gets played by, well who else but Bruce Willis’ old sparring partner the one and only toffee-nosed Englishman, Alan Rickman?
Beyond Bizarre.
JAMES HUDNALL – January 26th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Marry me…
or…pen an article expounding on this topic.
Stereotype #6 – white people are racist, and the South is the worst of all. They are backwards, ignorant yokels who live in trailer parks, missing teeth, gun-toting, bible-thumping, lard-eating, wife-abusing inbreds. Last time I visited my Arkansas relatives after a long interval, they were almost apologetic to their “big-city” cousins about the false image presented by Hollywood, and their rural outdoorsy entertainment. It almost broke my heart. We reassured them we had a great vacation and they could not have been more gracious and hospitable. For once I would love to see a true depiction of the people of the South – intelligent, educated, softspoken, hard-working – just your average American. They put the dysfunctional Hollywood “film community” to shame.
Re: gay republican/conservative cliche.
I seem to recall some of the cop shows doing this for a while (some of the many Law and Orders, if I recall correctly). Seems they always went out behind their wives’ backs and then pleaded for the cops not to tell anyone or their careers would be ruined.
This type of thing would be okay if used in moderation or to add a twist, but it’s so prevalent you can see it coming from the pre-opening story lead-ins anymore.
I also remember a few years back when the in thing on the morning news circuit was to have a different ‘biography’ writer on to accuse every major American political figure of the past of being gay. Started with Lincoln, then they hit Jefferson, Jackson, Washington, and a few others…and the vast majority of the proof was how they wrote (like writing styles, and even word meanings, don’t change over time).
Re: Nazis as conservatives.
Mr. Hudnall got it mostly right. They were socialists from an economic standpoint, thus leftwing there. But unlike other socialist ideologies at the time they were ‘conservative’ in their nationalistic focus. The others, such as communism and standard socialism, were ‘liberal’ in their desire for a world-wide ‘worker paradise’. This one little difference made the ‘pure’ socialists and communists HATE the Nazis, and vice-versa.
It also doesn’t help the classification any that Hitler was made Chancellor of the Weimar’s Parliament by a coalition of conservative parties. Without the NAZI party, both sides would’ve been fairly deadlocked. Hitler sided with the conservatives because he hated them slightly less and didn’t outright blame them for losing WWI, like he did with the commies. The conservative parties (wrongly) thought he was weak enough that they could control him.
Now, a black director named Spike Lee famously claimed that only whites can be racist because only whites have power, or some such nonsense.
And then he goes and makes “School Daze” which explores black-on-mixed race racism.
Man-boy of the year award: Kevin James in “King of Queens” It should be called the “Queen of Queens,” because his wife wears the pants in that household and he’s just a big dumb oaf. She’s more his mother than his wife.
Why are gay best friends always neutered, chaste, asexual non-beings, when the Hollywood types who create them like to pat themselves on the back for their own tolerance and openness?
White people are racist:: Halle Berry did nothing more than the other actresses she was up against. She did not open any doors and is not a heroine – the Academy awarded her the Oscar, and the Academy is mostly white people. (SImilarly, Jackie Robinson wouldn’t have gone anywhere if not for the white people willing to make a stand for him and let him play professional ball.) Why do white people so frequently and willingly abase themselves as wrong and bad?
Thanks for the great commentary. So many questions…
Just watch any lame movie based on any John Grisham novel. You can practically see the Halos on the liberal characters (Dustin, Matt Damon, John Cusack, etc., and et.al). The scary thing is, the stupid people buy this spoon fed tripe – and vote Democrat!
I agree the killer robots is a tired cliche. My favorite author Isaac Asimov tried to change that with the invention of the 3 Laws. Since before him ALL robots would eventually turn and kill us. Thanks to him we at least have the chance to have Data from Star Trek.
Which brings up Star Trek, which is a lovely view of the future while at the same time leaving plenty of space for trial and conflict needed for good storytelling.
Sue ~
By healthy expression, I meant two consenting adults being honest with themselves. All that other stuff you mentioned … I have no idea why you would project that onto what I said.
Led Zeppelin said-
“That whole “real men” thing is a cliche itself.
I’m a man, and I know.
Most men, “even if they’re 50″, are “goofy and immature and have to look to women for advice and consent”.
That whole John Wayne caricature always was a crock. It only exists in John Wayne movies and on military bases.”
Yes, I’m sure it is a crock in regards to you, Led.
But the truth is that real men (other than yourself and a few other metrosexual pantywaist examples) is not a crock. You must be very isolated geographically (never leaving your mommy’s basement) or you are in denial of reality.
Excellent posts, James, both parts!
I concur with all of the cliches you mentioned. I’m sure sometimes it’s just intellectual laziness, but for the most part I think the writers who do it really believe this crap, and/or are trying to push a Leftist agenda.
IRT Nazis, that’s correct. Nazi’s also banned all citizens from owning guns, another favorite platform of Socialist/Communists.
It’s far easier for a government to commit atrocities like the Nazi’s and Communists have when citizens don’t have guns. It’s also easier to suppress liberties.
Leftists today can’t refute those facts so they ignore them.
One your missing: interracial relationships are never as accepted as gay relationships. Compare the approaches and how many of each exist.
Must admit, I’m neutral on #3 and #9, and I really don’t mind #8. #4 can be tolerable. And in #5 you give some examples which are really off-base. Maybe this should have been 5 cliches that must die . . .
Your list does not include military villains–everybody above the rank of major is poised and ready to lead a conspiracy to overthrow the government and/or exhort billions using captured nukes but for heroic efforts by liberal reporters/scientists assisted by unlikely regular joes and hot babes who routinely stop them.
The best and most enduring treatment of Hollywood stereotypes is still Ben Stein’s classic: The View from Sunset Boulevard: America as Brought to You by the People Who Make Television. There has been almost no departure at all from the mindset he described in detail in 1979. It is an underappreciated classic.
Pete,
damn dude, i’ve never seen someone build up so many straw men to tear down as you have in this one thread about movie cliches.
I disagree with your comments about King Leonidas in 300 (5. Man-Boys, not Men:).
He didn’t look at her for approval. He was making sure that she understood his decision and the possible consequences of his decision.
In Spartan society when the Citizen Soldiers were away their women took charge of day to day operations at home and were even trained in fighting arts in order to defend their homes when the men were gone.
Great list. Agin.
Terrible close.
Sorry James, but they ARE that stupid, talentless, racist, depressing, and sad.
But at least it makes it easy to distinguish the good stuff when it struggles forth from the sewer.
Speaking of Matt Damon… I’m not going to claim that the Borne Identity books were particularly good, but in them the character of Borne is not an assassin. A kill order is put out on him but only because when he loses his memory he doesn’t report in and then he steals all of his working funds. Not that there aren’t bad people working for the good guys and a super-secret program to unravel, but there is actually a bad-guy that they are all after, a terrorist/assassin that doesn’t exist in the movies AT ALL. There was actually a super-criminal in the books that needed to be caught and stopped. Eventually, IIRC, the guy who gave the order to have Borne killed says he’s sorry and they make up, sorta.
Donna V,
“Here’s a question: can anybody point to any movies about people suffering under the Castro regime? Or in the Soviet gulags (since the ’50’s)? Or during Mao’s Cultural Revolution?”
Actually, yes, but they’re very rare, and Hollywood usually imports them rather than making them. Examples:
-A Cuban movie called Strawberry & Chocolate was made about gays living in repression in modern-day Havana, and it was very critical of Castro’s regime on this issue. Robert Redford paid to have it released in the US.
-Farewell My Concubine has a harrowing scene depicting the Cultural Revolution, where we see innocent people being dragged out into the streets and burned.
-K-19 The Widowmaker mentions the Soviet gulag briefly, but doesn’t go into any detail on why it was a bad thing. Hopefully people who rent the movie will google it or something.
What are the politics of THE WIZARD OF OZ, for example?
Well, the Wizard does remind me of certain current political leaders,…,
“I am the great and powerful Oz! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
VASTLY PREFERS MEN TO BOYS OR MAN-BOYS, both in entertainment and real life. Doesn’t mean you can’t still be a total dork and play your World of Warcraft now and then, just live for something other than beer.
I also second the defense of King Leonidas, who didn’t look to his wife for strength any more than any strong husband would to a strong wife. They were extremely evenly matched and I LOVED the characterization of both.
[...] a set of essays featuring “Cinematic Clichés that must die”. Part one is here, and part two is here. Some of them spoke to me more than others. The Professional Bitch: For some reason, [...]
I love both parts of this article… this needed to be said for a long time. Now if someone in Hollywood would bankroll projects without these clichés.
James: for another example of a Killer Babe done well, I would nominate Cmdr Susan Ivanova from the series Babylon 5. She was an excellent example of a strong, professional (but still human) woman. Granted, they kinda blew it when they suggested that she was gay. I normally wouldn’t care, but that made it seem like the “all strong, tough chicks are lesbians” cliché, which I despise.
Among the science fiction authors others have mentioned (well of course Heinlein) as sources for great movie material, I would recommend Larry Niven. Some stories are dystopian, but most of his depict a vibrant, business-as-usual civilization. Very refreshing stuff. Lots of good short stories too, like Philip K Dick, which can be built up to 90 minutes on screen.
Other notables are Jerry Pournelle, David Weber, John Ringo… well just about anyone published by Baen Books (www.baen.com).
-rsg
Hollywood cliche I hate.
No military veteran can simply be someone who served his/her country. In order to be a “good” veteran, they must hate their participation in the war, renounce their service and confess their sins and hate the government that made them do it. (John Kerry model)
Veterans all have a deep dark secret which screws up their mind. They got addicted to drugs. They killed unarmed civilians. They tortured or raped people. They killed their own soldiers accidentally or otherwise. Bla, bla.
In Hollywood’s view, no one can simply be a patriotic, honest soldier or sailor who just did their duty and came home to make a life for themselves.
The Hollywood template dictates that they have to be screwed up and the more screwed up they are, the more authentic they are. After all, how can you support the troops unless you denigrate their service for the sake of political expediency. It’s Hollywood’s duty.
Methinks I can explain the attraction of the Killer Babe.
First, she’s HOT. Sizzling sexy. Second, she’s competent. Very, very competent. Boys and men respect competence, they like competence, they want to be competent themselves. Third, she’s simple and direct, at least compared to Bridget Jones and all those gawdawful chick flick “heroines.” The Killer Babe “says what she means, and means what she says.” A really good Killer Babe can start there, and THEN arc out into a more complex character.
Here’s another horrid cliche that must die:
How Art/Dance/Acting/Writing isn’t “authentic” unless the artist has led a tough life.
A close relative of this is the “poor (usually minority) kid teaches all the rich (usually white) kids how to dance or sing or …”
Finally, there’s the “high school/college clique” stereotypes. The snooty, bitchy cheerleaders, the dumb bullying jocks, the nerds and geeks, etc. The first two listed are the worst. Aside from Kim Possible, Buffy and Claire Bennet (aka ClairBear), in any non-porno movie or TV show made in the last 30 years (outside of the “cheer sports” micro-genre), the cheerleaders are just plain evil.
Heck, I spent 4 years in High School, and quite a bit more in college, and never ran across a single evil cheerleader. Don’t recall actually running across any at all in college.
screw the haters. Keep ‘em coming!
Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse premieres Friday, Feb. 13 9/8 c on FOX
The show with programmable people…no robots. I’m pretty sure there are killer men in the Dollhouse too. Read something about a co-ed shower scene.
Dollhouse premieres after new episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 8/9 c FOX
The show with the Super-Babe Robot who can dance ballet and kill you! Evil corporation run by a woman Super-Babe Robot. Hopeless future coming. Wait, I think the humans win in the future.
And why is the Super-Babe Robot running the corporation trying to teach the future Skynet morals?
Wow, you managed to make these lists incredibly political.
I’m surprised you didn’t refer to Hollywood as Hollywierd once!
You kind of sound bitter.
(Oh wait I just realized I’m on a stupid, biased political website)
How did this get linked on IMDB?
Wow, you managed to make these lists incredibly political.
I’m surprised you didn’t refer to Hollywood as Hollywierd once!
You kind of sound bitter.
(Oh wait I just realized I’m on a stupid, biased political website)
How did this get linked on IMDB!?
Here’s another:
Unfair US regional stereotyping.
Hollywood should either stop stereotyping different parts of the country or at least be even-handed in pigeon-holeing.
For instance every southern man is depicted as stupid, bigoted and wears a skin-tight perspiration-soaked T-shirt and aspires to sleep with his 13 year old step-daughter. The women are shown as seductive floozies with huge boobs.
But northeasterners like those from South Philly or New Jersey are shown as laid-back and calm. Sorry…but if you are going to stereotype why are these people not depicted as high-strung, in-your-face types who itch for confrontation….like the majority (but not all) I’ve known? If Hollywood is going to be narrow in outlook it should at least do it on a level playing field.
Oh and not every non-aspiring actor/actress living in So. Cal is some stupid surfer/dope fiend with a bad haircut and ratty Polo shirt.
I have to disagree with #8, and especially with Buffy as an example. The biggest hot girl cliche is for the hot blond chick to get killed by the big scary murderer, or be the victim that some hot superhero saves in an alley. Buffy inspired many women (myself included) to have confidence when walking down the street. The point is, you don’t have to be scared of the her, but she can defend herself in the face of danger. She doesn’t need Batman or Superman. She doesn’t have to be a rape or murder victim. Plus, Buffy wasn’t all about fighting. She was a clever character and used her brain to get out of dangerous situations. And there are so many tough guys and male superhero’s out there, so what’s the big deal with showing a tough women win a fight? Most Hollywood concepts are total BS anyway, so it doesn’t always need to be incredibly realistic, as long as it’s inspirational. And btw, there are women out there who can hold their own in a fight, even without superpowers.
But I have to agree with you on #4 and #6.
Clearly, you didn’t get my point. Movies and tv shows constantly portray women as weak and scared girls who always get gutted in the end. Obviously Buffy is not real. She’s just a character. But her confidence is inspiring, and it’s helpful to see women who can fight back and protect themselves. Young girls don’t have that anymore. They have Paris Hilton and Hannah Montana.
No, I had no idea that what I was watching on TV was just…tv. I thought it was all real! So, does that mean Alf isn’t real? Or the Brady Bunch? Don’t tell me that Santa doesn’t really come down my chimney every December and leave me gifts! I can’t handle that! OBVIOUSLY Buffy is just a character and not a real person. But when I watch her fight, I feel like I can protect myself too. I can’t do backflips or punch out a bunch of vamps, but I can duck, kick, throw a punch and run to safety. That’s rarely portrayed in the media. Mostly, young girls are just given Hannah Montana and Paris Hilton to look up to. Now girls, put on a wig and sing a crappy pop song and you’ll be famous. And don’t forget to wear a short skirt and make a sex tape! You’ll never be a success unless you have no talent and add the words “like and hot” in every sentence.
Methinks you have never read The Federalist Papers.
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