SHP Forums

We've all run across some major stereotypes in movies and television shows. Sometimes they're worse than others, but ultimately, they'll be present. I'd like to see what all of us have noticed. So please, join in!

I'll go first:

1. Villains Talk Too Much - Sometimes the "bad guy" needs to talk. He or she can be more menacing if they're intelligent and can strike fear. However, there comes a point where the villain is simply wasting time.

In any movie (or TV show) where the hero looks like he'll be shot or hurt in some way, the bad guys will talk when it's unneeded and usually to "scare" the hero. This gives the hero -- or some sidekick of his -- to figure out a way around this situation.

Just shoot him. Really. I'd like to see some gun-toting bad guys dispense with the commentary and kill their target. The one time I saw this occur was in Time Cop, a movie in which Jean-Claude van Damme was the hero (and did surprisingly well). Some bad guys assaulted him, dragged him out of his house and without any preamble, shot him in the chest. He survived due to wearing kevlar armor, but the point remains that he was shot without giving him time to react.

2. Villains Talk About Their Plans - In nearly every James Bond flick (or other movies with some genius of a villain), the bad guy will ultimately describe his plans -- in detail -- to the hero.

Why? All that does is tell the hero how to stop him. Just kill him!

3. Flawless Technology - The best example of this would be in Independence Day (usually shortened to ID4). While the movie's merits may be debated, the one problem that I couldn't forget was how Jeff Goldblum defeated the alien invaders.

He invented a virus and then connected his laptop to the aliens' supercomputer (after Will Smith flew them into the mother ship), which subsequently destroyed the aliens' ability to use shield technology.

Let's look at this for a moment, shall we? A human-designed laptop interfaced perfectly with alien technology of an unknown origin. Not only that, but the human-designed computer virus Goldblum's character invented worked to disable the alien computers.

We have trouble getting our computers to "play nice" with each other and they're all designed on this planet, many of which have similar systems. Computer viruses can be damaging, but more often than not, our virus scanners find them (and quarantine or destroy the virus), thereby successfully stopping the attack before it does a whole lot.

So why would Goldblum's plan have any hope of working? It shouldn't have, but apparently, it did.

4. Women Always Wear Heels - Look at women in the movies and on TV. Nine times out of ten, she'll be wearing high-heeled shoes. What's wrong with that? Off-hand, I'd say nothing.

The problem comes into play when that woman needs evade her pursuer and run fast. You know that'll happen, too. If the woman is of any importance to the story and wearing high-heels, they'll become a detriment to her.

How many women really wear heels all the time? If they're going somewhere dressy, work or on a date, perhaps they'll do so. But for everyday life? Probably not.

The best example I can think of overdressing would be in the movie Twins. Kelly Preston and Chloe Webb, the two love interests of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, were constantly dressed up. At a grocery store, for instance, both Preston and Webb's characters looked like they should have been going to a four-star restaurant instead of buying cereal.

5. Root For The Underdog! - Movies like The Karate Kid or Rocky teach us one very important life lesson: the underdog is better.

People like the underdog. They can better relate to someone in that situation. However, does it really make sense?

Looking at The Karate Kid, you'll see Ralph Macchio's character receiving training from Pat Morita. He trains for maybe a few months, at best.

The opposing team -- consisting of a bunch of "black hats" known as the Cobra Kai -- is ultimately defeated. But once again, does that make sense? Every student in the Cobra Kai had trained for years, much longer than the star of the movie.

Yet we celebrate the victory of someone less trained over those who've obtained their goal through life-study. In all honesty, I think most people would be pissed off if someone appeared out of nowhere, with far less training than them, and was cheered on for defeating them.

6. All Jobs Are Full of Intense Drama - Which jobs are most prominent on TV or in movies? I'd say police officers, military personnel, doctors and lawyers. Sometimes firefighters are there too, but they're far more rare.

My father is a physician, my grandfather was a lawyer (he's retired), my brother is in law school and I've had friends in both the police force and military. Let's just say that the portrayal of these professions are hardly what they are in real life.

Without going into pages upon pages of detail, it's obvious that these careers have been heavily dramatized. I realize that's because no one wants to see a police officer filling out paperwork or a doctor wrestling with insurance companies. Who'd be entertained if a lawyer didn't involve himself in the "trial of the century" or seeing the military during peace time? Not a whole lot of people.

Regardless, these professions are projected to be a lot more "fun" or "interesting" than they really are.

7. TV News Is Always There - Ever notice how the protagonist seems to get informed of a news story that is not only relevant to him or her, but started just as he or she switched on the TV? The TV is always tuned to the news, as well.

Once again, this is done for the audience, but in reality, makes very little sense. Most of us are lucky if we switch on anything -- without prior knowledge of it -- at the beginning. And how often is something related to us that's news worthy in the least? It might occur, but the chances are against it happening.

8. Kids Are Super Smart - In recent years, the portrayal of children on TV and in film has shown kids to be far more intelligent than their parents or even experts in the field. Granted, this phenomenon has been present since the 1980s (Matthew Broderick in WarGames comes to mind), but became far more prevalent as the years went on.

The worst offender is the "child computer whiz." Once again, we might have WarGames to blame for this. Regardless, the "child computer whiz" will be able to crack national security or perform functions on a PC that are impossible with our current level of technology.

I suppose this is a reaction to how children were traditionally depicted in movies and television, when they were shown to be slightly less intelligent than Forest Gump.

9. Men Are Dumb & Women Are Smart - Despite whatever initial reactions you might have to this accusation, it's rapidly become true in the media. If you were to look at most of the TV shows presently shown, you'd see that in the majority of cases pan this out

Men are portrayed as "irresponsible adult-sized children, lacking self-control and are sex-crazed idiots who have no handle on life." Women, on the other hand, are shown to be "smart, capable and the only true adult in the household."

Good examples would be The Simpsons, The King of Queens, Home Improvement, and practically every sitcom made within the last 10-to-15 years.

Humorous comments aside, this is hardly true. Both men and women could fit either criteria and people in real life are rarely pegged so easily.

The reason this occurs is because of two very important facts: Women are the primary audience and women make far more spending decisions than men. In other words, since more women watch sitcoms, the shows are geared towards them. In addition, it's assumed that women buy more items than men, so advertisers market their products to women who're watching the above-mentioned sitcoms.

Even with the above pointing to logical reason for the disparity, it's still insulting and highly demeaning of men.

10. The Noble Minority - Minorities have had a tough time in movies and TV. No one is going to dispute that. In recent years, however, there has been a concerted effort to portray minority groups as somehow "above" those who're considered the majority.

Two good examples would be Dances with Wolves and Glory. They were both rated as "four star" films. While I'd agree they were good -- if not too lengthy -- I have trouble seeing them as movies ranked up there with The Godfather.

Those movies gave us the "noble savage, fighting for his land against the evil hate-crazed white people" and the "good natured slave who's merely fighting for his rights."

The primary reason those two movies (and others like it) were given such high ratings is due to the "minority factor." In essence, this means that any reviewer or rating system that criticized these films would be considered "racist" due to the portrayal of minorities in a positive light.

You might think that's ridiculous, but it's not. Such attitudes have gone far beyond movies and into books, TV shows and nearly every facet of life within the United States. To decry a product that features minorities in a positive sense is equal to racism.

Perhaps these depictions are a reaction to how American Indians and African Americans were shown earlier in the 20th century. Back then, both were shown highly negatively. I'd agree that destroying those old ideas was good, but to go in the extreme opposite direction is too far.

Oh dear so many stereotypes, so little time.

One the UK tv is sometimes guilty of, if the show has a brash, 'take charge', 'somewhat untrustworthy' characters; odds are they will have a distinctly American accent. *cough*Captain Jack from DW & Torchwood*cough*

But so many stereotypes,racial ones like Asian characters are always supersmart and all look the same way. All first nations, native american, Aboriginal peoples are the magic or 'spiritual' characters. Gay characters are defined by their sexuality, and so many more. And then there's still that old favourite that doesn't seem to die ever; the woman as the whore or saint, the madonna - whore complex

The first examples all seem to be cliches rather than stereotypes. Stereotypes refer more to what Therogue is talking about where it applies to our perception of people.

Some of my favorite overused cliches always apply to the action shows:

-A character never hits traffic during a car chase and can cross an entire city in 10-20 minutes.
-People are safe from explosions as long as they are at least outside the building when it explodes (then they just get tossed in the air instead of getting burnt or torn apart.)
-Main characters always survive multiple bullet wounds.
-Cars never need to be gassed up or washed.
-No one ever needs to use the bathroom (except when they have to escape through the window.)
-People who clearly haven't showered or slept in days always have perfect hair.

Stereo types in horror movies:
- it's always teenagers getting killed, especially the sexiest girls who scream the loudest.
- there's 1 way and 1 way only to kill the monster. Nope, not bullets. Nope, not by chopping his head off. Nope, not by burning it. You have to either freeze it or melt it, and somehow they always find the right tool after 90 minutes.
- no matter how many different directions they look at, the monster is always either 1) behind them or 2) sticking on the ceiling.
- the government did it.
- the loser is always the hero.
- the monster starts off by eating a pet and finishes by eating an entire town.
- ...

I've seen what you are describing as the super powers of technology present in movies and TV as being due to "Movie O.S." or "Movie Operating System". Quite clearly the virus can kill the ship in Independence Day - Jeff Goldblum's computer was running Movie O.S.

Movie O.S. can also automatically track cell phones to an exact street location without those bothersome things like court orders, search warrants and presenting said search warrant and court order to a highly underpaid disinterested phone company employee who has to find a manager who also has to find a manager by which time the person you were tracking is most of the way to Guatemala.

If the venom with which I typed that last paragraph seems a bit intense recall that I was a police officer and detective for ten years. Your civil rights are very, very safe - there is a wall of bureaucracy, apathy and incompetence between the government and you that cannot be penetrated if you were kidnapping the daughter of Paris Hilton's dog, much less when you are just grumbling to your pot headed buddies on the phone about the President.

Rudy wrote:Stereo types in horror movies:
- it's always teenagers getting killed, especially the sexiest girls who scream the loudest.
- there's 1 way and 1 way only to kill the monster. Nope, not bullets. Nope, not by chopping his head off. Nope, not by burning it. You have to either freeze it or melt it, and somehow they always find the right tool after 90 minutes.
- no matter how many different directions they look at, the monster is always either 1) behind them or 2) sticking on the ceiling.
- the government did it.
- the loser is always the hero.
- the monster starts off by eating a pet and finishes by eating an entire town.
- ...

One thing you missed -- the hero (or survivor) in horror movies is female 99.9% of the time. Usually she's not the "violent type" and is quite shy, not belonging to the "popular crowd." Eventually, she finds the "will" to fight off the enemy (whoever or whatever it may be) after seeing her friends/family slaughtered.

cliche is a saying, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty,

A stereotype is a prejudice towards an individual that simplifies thought and labels an individual into a group that is characterized with certain attributes with which this individual is expected to support. Many of these assessments that are made of others are actually interactive processes. More simply stated, a stereotype is a preconceived and oversimplified notion of characteristics typical of a person or group. They are shortcuts that the mind uses for representation in our memory as summaries of the typical group member. They do not reflect reality properly because, even when they are based on truth, they are still a generalization about an individual which can never be completely accurate.

DPX wrote:Yet we celebrate the victory of someone less trained over those who've obtained their goal through life-study. In all honesty, I think most people would be pissed off if someone appeared out of nowhere, with far less training than them, and was cheered on for defeating them.

That is a very old story, endlessly replicated. King Arthur is one example. How many three brothers set out on a quest and how many times had the youngest (and presumably least experienced) one returned triumphant? It's a fairy-tale, it's not real. Yet even fairy-tales have their uses, which is why I rate films like Rocky or The Karate Kid as a kid's film - basically a film with a plot which is about on par with Little Red Riding Hood, albeit with less violence than LRRH.

More generic cliches...
- Anyone can drive and park anywhere at any speed they want.
- No one ever locks their cars. These are only stolen when the script calls for them to be.
- Films about police life, army life, or life in college, are perhaps the biggest cliches of all, seeing as they all try to be screwball comedies. Just look at the Police Academy films, Stripes, or any film about life in college.
- Any villain will have far more sophisticated (or just larger) system of weaponry than the hero. Despite this, the hero always wins. (This has crept into computer games too - remember Sludge Vohaul's revenge?)
- Supposedly 'old' computer display terminals will be so bright that the images will shine bright green on the face of the person using the computer, as if he was bathed in uranium.
- Similarly, the person using such 'old' computers will always be depicted as a 'nerd'. Bleh.

Computers can hack EVERYTHING.

It's not just a simple case of stealing somebody's identity. With a computer, you can turn on someone's webcam and actually control it's aim manually. Or to a more epic extent, you can open all the fuel lines in a station causing all the natural gas to flow back into one spot and blow it all up. Which is really impressive since those valves need to be turned by hand and aren't even connected to any computers let alone the internet.

And somewhat on the subject on computers -

People in movies NEVER play video games right. They're given a paddle and asked to just mash away at the buttons in spite of what they're playing. As a result, "Final Fantasy VIII" suddenly becomes a 2-player game, little kids can figure out where the secret flute in "Mario 3" is on the first try, and Game Gears don't need games to operate (but still produce a lot of noise and frustration.)

Datadog wrote:People in movies NEVER play video games right. They're given a paddle and asked to just mash away at the buttons in spite of what they're playing. As a result, "Final Fantasy VIII" suddenly becomes a 2-player game, little kids can figure out where the secret flute in "Mario 3" is on the first try, and Game Gears don't need games to operate (but still produce a lot of noise and frustration.)

Notice how only children play video games in movies. How often have we seen an adult -- one who isn't portrayed as a perpetual child -- sit down and play a video game? I can't think of a single one.

This only enforces the perception that "gaming is for kids." It'd be nice if video games could be played on screen by someone other than a child or an irresponsible teen/college student.

The woman and man who argue the most at the beginning of the movie get together by the end of the movie.

Archaeologists recognize every cultural relic they encounter and can translate every ancient language they see. It really doesn't work that way. Generally, you specialise in a specific culture area or a limited number of cultures and languages.

An archaeologist who puts on a fedora and picks up a bullwhip becomes invincible! INVINCIBLE, I tells ya! Ahahahahaha... ahem.

a man releasing a flock of doves is instantly identified as a Good Guy(TM) and/or a Man of Peace(TM) and can be relied upon to spout all kinds of stuff about passive resistance, the relationship between power and responsibility, and Cosmic Karma Cookies. (Bet you can't eat just one!)

Any time a Good Guy(TM) dies, particularly if he's a friend of, instructor of, or even an acquaintance of the Hero(TM), said hero must either brood or lift his face to the skies and scream "Noooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Any time a Bad Guy(TM) dies, particularly if he's a friend of, instructor of, or even an acquaintance of the Villain(TM), said villain can do anything he likes. Even have Cosmic Karma Cookies and Milk. (Though that rarely happens).

1. One shot instantly kills anyone except the hero. In reality, most gunshot wounds aren't fatal (although extremely painful) unless the bullet hits specific areas. In addition, the times where a gunshot wound can kill instantly are few and far between.

2. If a airplane or helicopter run out of fuel and crashes, it'll explode immediately upon impact. In reality, the explosion would be caused my fuel, but if that's been drained, the most the aircraft should do is crumple up and fall apart.

3. The hero, if a military pilot, can always perform amazing maneuvers. He'll usually get two enemy planes to crash into each other or my favorite, "hit the brakes" so the enemy flies past him. I'm talking to you, Top Gun.

4. Dogs always know who's bad (see The Terminator).

5. If someone is drunk (or has a hang over), all that's needed to render them sober is some strong coffee (usually black) or a splash of water to the face.

6. More often than not, bombs will have timers associated with them and the hero will stop the timer several seconds before detonation. If the bomb does not have a timer, a single explosive will be enough to bring down a large skyscraper.

7. The hero narrowly misses getting blown up and jumps for cover just as the explosion occurs. We can then see the explosion behind him and he comes out unscathed.

8. Drivers can manage stunts that would either cripple or kill a normal person. The cars go flying over hills (any chase scene in San Francisco) or can jump from a two-story parking garage, landing safely on the ground without damage or injury to the driver.

9. Girls who can't find a date in high school are usually the girls who, in real life, would have nearly every male there asking her out.

10. Alien worlds have one language and one ecosystem.

11. When fleeing a murderer or psycho who's entered the house, the target (usually a female babysitter) will run upstairs in her attempt to escape.

12. All phone numbers begin with 555.

13. Police captains or lieutenants are always angry at their best detective and threaten to relieve him of his badge. Of course, the detective only solves the case after he's no longer allowed to pursue it and therefore, gets recognition and is taken off suspension.

14. Pregnancy is always denoted by uncontrollable morning sickness (usually while at work).

15. Women will always have shaved legs and underarms, even if the movie is set in a time period where that was highly unlikely. If a woman hasn't shaved, she is portrayed as "ugly and disgusting" or as a joke.

16. If the woman is getting rescued by the hero, she sits there watching the fight ensue and doesn't attempt to help her rescuer. If she does help, she'll inevitably hit the hero instead of the villain.

17. If the woman is a feminist, she'll initially hate the hero for his sexist attitude until such time she is rescued by the hero. After this happens, she'll become completely traditional and dependent on him. Somewhere along the way, the hero will then open up to her and explain the reason behind his attitude.

18. Cars and wood provide excellent cover for the hero if he's getting shot at. Those items will also prove to be bulletproof, as well.

19. If a character has a photo of their loved ones with them or is near retirement, they will be killed before the movie is over.

20. No matter where they live (i.e. New York City), the hero will always have a large apartment, even if the money he'd make wouldn't be able to cover it.

Love it, keep 'em coming !

- when a person (usually a clumsy guy) has to take care of a baby or an animal, it's always hate and a mess in the beginning and pure love at the end.
- when a hero-dog dies at the end of the movie, it always turns out he made sure to have a large offspring.
- psychopathic murderers WANT to be caught, but only on their conditions, and so it happens.
- Ripley always wins
- Rocky too, even when he loses
- Infidelity strengthens the relationship if somebody ends up in the hospital.
- Only kids can hack high security computers.
- When there's competition between companies, the CEO of the losing company ends up either in jail or as a traffic controller.

Am I missing something, as I understand it most of the things posted are cliches and not stereotypes. Or is my english of?