Annoying Plot Conventions, Devices, Contrivances - Revision history

Khym Chanur: Making a female character helpless simply by grabbing her arm; some links to more detailed TvTropes articles

2008-02-17T07:00:53Z

Making a female character helpless simply by grabbing her arm; some links to more detailed TvTropes articles

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:00, 17 February 2008
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	* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in [[Frank Mille]]r's "[[Sin City]]" (she liked it); [[Rob Reiner]]'s "[[The Princess Bride]]" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.		* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in [[Frank Mille]]r's "[[Sin City]]" (she liked it); [[Rob Reiner]]'s "[[The Princess Bride]]" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.

	* The female member of the team whose skill or superpower is (by comparison) passive, defensive, weak, or <I>underutilized</I>; her real role is as [[token]] or [[love interest]] to the leading male characters		* The female member of the team whose skill or superpower is (by comparison) passive, defensive, weak, or <I>underutilized</I>; her real role is as [[token]] or [[love interest]] to the leading male characters. (See TvTropes' [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girl])

	* The trade-in granddaughter or descendant: A long-lived or immortal male starts a relationship with the hot young descendant of his former lover (or occasionally his own hot young descendant)		* The trade-in granddaughter or descendant: A long-lived or immortal male starts a relationship with the hot young descendant of his former lover (or occasionally his own hot young descendant)

			* Simply grabbing the upper arm or shoulder of a superheroine or female fighter renders her helpless. (See TvTropes' [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StandardFemaleGrabArea Standard Female Grab Area])

	===Contiguous lists and related rants===		===Contiguous lists and related rants===

75.69.231.7: more

2007-06-13T20:13:32Z

Glory: links and cat

2007-05-02T20:43:18Z

links and cat

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	* the competent female needs rescuing by the man		* the competent female needs rescuing by the man
	* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued		* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued
	* ~~women~~ in refrigerators (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger		* [[Women in refrigerators]] (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger

	* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel (TV series)]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.		* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel (TV series)]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.

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	** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)		** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)

	* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in Frank ~~Miller~~'s "Sin City" (she liked it); Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.		* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in [[Frank Mille]]r's "[[Sin City]]" (she liked it); [[Rob Reiner]]'s "[[The Princess Bride]]" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.

	===Contiguous lists and related rants===		===Contiguous lists and related rants===
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	[[Category:Plot]]		[[Category:Plot]]
	[[Category:Plot devices]]		[[Category:Plot devices]]
			[[Category:Lists]]

74.65.247.118: /* Contiguous lists and related rants */ cat plot devices

2007-02-15T00:24:38Z

Contiguous lists and related rants: cat plot devices

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:24, 14 February 2007
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	[[Category:Plot]]		[[Category:Plot]]
			[[Category:Plot devices]]

Ide Cyan: disambig. link

2007-02-10T22:44:38Z

disambig. link

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:44, 10 February 2007
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	* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued		* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued
	* women in refrigerators (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger		* women in refrigerators (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger
	* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.		* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel (TV series)]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.

	* alien women of ANY species will inevitably be irresistably attracted to the only mid-30s male on a particular starship ([[Star Trek]], I'm looking at YOU) - even if it causes an interstellar incident		* alien women of ANY species will inevitably be irresistably attracted to the only mid-30s male on a particular starship ([[Star Trek]], I'm looking at YOU) - even if it causes an interstellar incident

128.122.73.84: damsel in distress, women in refrigerators

2007-01-26T18:51:14Z

damsel in distress, women in refrigerators

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:51, 26 January 2007
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	* the competent female needs rescuing by the man		* the competent female needs rescuing by the man
			* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued
			* women in refrigerators (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger
	* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.		* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.

Lquilter: see also gendered plot devices

2007-01-09T19:22:00Z

Lquilter: cat plot

2006-12-06T05:45:13Z

cat plot

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:45, 5 December 2006
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	[[~~category:Analysis of Works\|Plot]]~~		[[Category:Plot]]
	~~[[category~~:Plot]]

Lquilter: more detail

2006-07-14T00:13:50Z

more detail

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:13, 13 July 2006
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	** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)		** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)

	* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in Frank Miller's "Sin City" (she liked it); Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies.").		* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in Frank Miller's "Sin City" (she liked it); Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.

	===Contiguous lists and related rants===		===Contiguous lists and related rants===

Lquilter: added slapping

2006-07-14T00:10:18Z

added slapping

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:10, 13 July 2006
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	** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)		** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forhead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)

	*		* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in Frank Miller's "Sin City" (she liked it); Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies.").



	===Contiguous lists and related rants===		===Contiguous lists and related rants===

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:22, 9 January 2007
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	* "[[The Clichés from Outer Space]]" ([[1984]]), by Joanna Russ.		* "[[The Clichés from Outer Space]]" ([[1984]]), by Joanna Russ.

	''See also [[Clichés, Archetypes, Stereotypes of Female Characters in SF]]''		* ''See also [[Clichés, Archetypes, Stereotypes of Female Characters in SF]]''
			* ''See also [[Gendered plot devices]]''


	[[Category:Plot]]		[[Category:Plot]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:13, 13 June 2007
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	* a female character dies in childbirth		* a female character dies in childbirth

	* "convenient" circumstances prevent a female character from going through with her decision to have an abortion (cf. Robin in ''[[V]]'', whose alien hybrid fetus's invasive vascularisation made it impossible to remove without killing her; spontaneous miscarriages and so forth) -- therefore rendering women's reproductive choices inconsequent when that oh-so-controversial subject is broached		* "convenient" circumstances prevent a female character from going through with her decision to have an [[abortion]] (cf. Robin in ''[[V]]'', whose alien hybrid fetus's invasive vascularisation made it impossible to remove without killing her; spontaneous miscarriages and so forth) -- therefore rendering women's reproductive choices inconsequent when that oh-so-controversial subject is broached

	* using female characters to voice misogynistic and/or patriarchal ideas because it would be "too obvious" to use male characters -- victim-blaming, in short		* using female characters to voice misogynistic and/or patriarchal ideas because it would be "too obvious" to use male characters — victim-blaming, in short

	* using evolutionary biology or the selfish gene theory as the primary reason a male and female character are drawn together sexually (''Darwin's Radio'' by Bear), or why a female character cannot possibly resist the man's man that will make the best sire of her children (''Lucifer's Hammer'' by Niven)		* using evolutionary biology or the selfish gene theory as the primary reason a male and female character are drawn together sexually (''Darwin's Radio'' by Bear), or why a female character cannot possibly resist the man's man that will make the best sire of her children (''Lucifer's Hammer'' by Niven)
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	* the competent female needs rescuing by the man		* the competent female needs rescuing by the man
	* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued		* damsel in distress / perils of Pauline - women set up merely to be rescued
	* [[Women in refrigerators]] (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) - female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger		* [[Women in refrigerators]] (see http://violetcorona.blogspot.com/2006/10/women-in-refrigerators.html ) — female characters of whatever level of characterization depicted as more apt to be rescued, more in need of rescuing, more often in physical danger, deaths or physical assaults more horrible or graphically described

	* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel (TV series)]]) - correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.		* innocent and universally loveable female characters that do not develop a sex drive or sex appeal until they turn evil (Doppleganger Willow from earlier in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], Fred from [[Angel (TV series)]]) — where the sex drive is correlated with the amount of cleavage/leg shown.

	* alien women of ANY species will inevitably be ~~irresistably~~ attracted to the only mid-30s male on a particular starship ([[Star Trek]], I'm looking at YOU) - even if it causes an interstellar incident		* alien women of ANY species will inevitably be irresistibly attracted to the only mid-30s male on a particular starship ([[Star Trek]], I'm looking at YOU) — even if it causes an interstellar incident
	** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, ~~forhead~~ ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)
			** related: females of alien species always have extremely large breasts, located in the exact same location as those of human females (i.e. they look exactly like human women except for a charming set of pointy ears, forehead ridges or swirly haircut that serves only to make them more exotic to the male characters)

	* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in [[Frank Mille]]r's "[[Sin City]]" (she liked it); [[Rob Reiner]]'s "[[The Princess Bride]]" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.		* a man's casual slap (or threatened slap) of a woman that is scarcely worth mentioning again in the story and apparently does not actually bother the woman; or maybe she likes it because he has now shown himself to be a real man. Seen in [[Frank Mille]]r's "[[Sin City]]" (she liked it); [[Rob Reiner]]'s "[[The Princess Bride]]" (He raises the back of his hand threateningly; she flinches. "That was a warning, Highness. The next time, my hand flies on its own, for where I come from, there are penalties when a woman lies."). This is entirely distinguishable from a man and a woman involved in a physical fight, as in [[Joss Whedon]]'s "[[Firefly]]" between Mal and Saffron, or Buffy and Spike, or any slayer and various villains. "The Slap" is often stated plainly as a representation of patriarchy, as when the woman has crossed a boundary; the man may say he doesn't like to hit women but he'll make an exception, or she's crossed a line, etc. An obvious use of gendered violence to police patriarchal rules, present in both representations of the protagonists and villains.

			* The female member of the team whose skill or superpower is (by comparison) passive, defensive, weak, or <I>underutilized</I>; her real role is as [[token]] or [[love interest]] to the leading male characters

			* The trade-in granddaughter or descendant: A long-lived or immortal male starts a relationship with the hot young descendant of his former lover (or occasionally his own hot young descendant)

	===Contiguous lists and related rants===		===Contiguous lists and related rants===