What do you *not* want to see in a story?

[Link Antilles]

*points to subject* I was wondering what you guys don't want to see in a story, being in books, movies, anime, comics, video games, TV shows... etc. Do clichés bother you, or can you live with them? Would you even favor something déja vu instead of something original?

And what about stereotypes? Are you tired to always see the young and brash do-gooder as the hero of a story, accompanied by the usual strong but dumb Big Guy(tm) or old but wise magician? I want to know what you'd rather have instead...

That's an awful lot of questions

[Lochaber Axe]

There is one thing that ticks me off in American films now. Kids saving the world... I hate it. Horribly unrealistic to me when used in live action. This trend should just be left to books and Anime where it really doesn't matter if it is unrealistic or not.

[EireWolf]

Hmmm... Interesting question. I like to see fresh new ideas, or even tried-and-true old ideas presented in a fresh new way. I don't think stereotypes are always bad, though, unless they're obvious. And character depth is a good thing.

I guess one thing that irks me in stories is shallow characterization.... for example, if a main character has only one character trait. ... like brash, or wise, or dumb, or strong. Most real people are deeper than that.

[Lochaber Axe]

Don't blame the characters if they have only one characteristic. They are cursed with having bad writers. Stereotypes should be used as only if it is crucial to the plot. Better yet, use it to redirect the audience away from the truth. It works in suspense stories all the time.

[ShiroiHikari]

I get tired of the hero always having to be some seemingly faultless, fearless gun-toting action dude...you won't find those in my story XD! (My main character is anything BUT that...:p)

I don't like it when characters are too stereotypical...although in my story I did kinda do the "he's the angry one, he's the quiet one, and that guy over there is the happy one" kinda thing...is that too stereotypical? I mean, there's more to them than just those characteristics...(PM me about it so this thread doesn't get de-railed ^_^; )

I know what you mean about kids saving the world, Lochaber...that's annoying in anything but anime.

[mechana2015]

royally bugs when a series complely rips itself off...

oh and that 4 minute review of the last episode in most animes....

[NightHedgehog]

I wanted to post a thread simialer to this asking if it was sacrireligious to make a story where the characters believe in multiple dieties I think up on the fly.

Anyway, what should not be in a story is having every single character be some angst-ridden wimp. That ruins so many good shows. You won't find any of that in my story, I'll tell ya that boy!

[cbwing0]

I don't mind stereotypical characters, but I am annoyed by predictable plots. Even one-dimensional characters are acceptable, as long as they aren't main characters.

[SwordSkill]

i don't mind cliche themes unless they're presented in a way never presented before or if they're self-consciously presented to be satirical.

and sometimes stereotypes ARE necessary...for example, once again, it would be near impossible to write satires without using flat characters because that's the whole point.

[DrNic]

I'd like to see them make a movie where the bad guy is the hero (or at least the character that the camera follows around most). You know what I mean? That would just be something...different.

I.E Got bored with the power rangers always winning. Deep down inside I always wanted to see them all get kaned into the ground by some evil monster.

[CDLviking]

You know, I've always thought that it would be a nice change of pace if the hero didn't successfully disarm the timebomb at the last moment and it blew up anyway.

[ShiroiHikari]

"And then the world blew up. The end." XD

[uc pseudonym]

I'm not going to list all my many pet peeves. However, many of them are in the long to be coming "Tic Tac Toe Joe" which is a satire manga in the works. Enough of that.

Here's the one that really annoys me: Deus Ex Machina.

These can get really obnoxious, especially with a great problem set up. Literary laziness/cowardice.

[ShiroiHikari]

What does "Deus Ex Machina" mean?

[CDLviking]

"God out of the Machine." It comes from ancient Greek and Roman plays where they would literally use a polley system to lower a god onto the stage to save the hero from the problem at hand.

[ZiP]

I hate those stupid, kids rule movies,
"I'm a smart little brat! hehehehehe!"

[uc pseudonym]

"God out of the Machine." It comes from ancient Greek and Roman plays where they would literally use a polley system to lower a god onto the stage to save the hero from the problem at hand.

I generally interpreted it as "God by Machine" but I think he's probably more correct in this situation.

To be more specific and give an example: say everything is going wrong on many different levels, and things look hopeless and just when the hero is about to die something conveniently happens to fix everything. That's Deux Ex Machina. The ending of Huckleberry Finn is an example.

[ShiroiHikari]

Hrm, that does sound like it would be kind of on the annoying side. Thanks for the explanations, guys.

[Saint Kevin]

i don't mind cliche themes unless they're presented in a way never presented before or if they're self-consciously presented to be satirical.

Don't you mean if instead of unless?

Anyway, Dr. Nic's power rangers comment inspired me to add something here: repetitive battles. There is a logic out there that says the only way to keep people interested is to have a battle during every episode of every anime or tv show. This is just ridiculous. These kinds of battles make a series way too tedious and predictable. It's good every once in a while to include a different kind of action instead of a battle into an episode, or just take a break for a while to develop characters. Characer development, yeah, what a concept..

[Azier the Swordsman]

Cursing and sexual content. Extremely annoying, overused, and does absolutely nothing to better the plot whatsoever.

[DrNic]

I hate those stupid, kids rule movies,
"I'm a smart little brat! hehehehehe!"

Please don't get me started on child actors again
*gives the olsen twins the evil eye*

Anyway, Dr. Nic's power rangers comment inspired me to add something here: repetitive battles. There is a logic out there that says the only way to keep people interested is to have a battle during every episode of every anime or tv show. This is just ridiculous. These kinds of battles make a series way too tedious and predictable. It's good every once in a while to include a different kind of action instead of a battle into an episode, or just take a break for a while to develop characters. Characer development, yeah, what a concept..

*claps* Amen to that!

Cursing and sexual content. Extremely annoying, overused, and does absolutely nothing to better the plot whatsoever.

*claps again* Amen to that...aswell.

[RoyalWing]

what i don't like in an story is... sex. i do not like when there's a love story and they always have to sleep with eachother... i think it ruins the whole movie, even if they mention it. i don't like the relatively new "spy" fad either. expecially that most of them revolve around kid-spies or adolescent-spies! it gets REALLY annoying!!

and... something that had been in cartoons in a long time: angels/wings. it's becoming a bit cliché. i do like it when angels are featured, or winged characters, but only when it's necessary or extremely gorgeous drawing, or good to the plot development. i don't like it when it's overused in a (one) show. (card captor sakura... i thought it was really original the first form for the fly card, the wings coming out of the staff. but then she had to have these annoying wings coming out of her back, at the end. i thought it was unnessecary to make her look like an angel).

[CDLviking]

I generally interpreted it as "God by Machine" but I think he's probably more correct in this situation.

That would have to be "Deus ab Machina." The preposition "ex" always means from, or out of. That's your Latin lesson for the day.

[Ashley]

That would have to be "Deus ab Machina." The preposition "ex" always means from, or out of. That's your Latin lesson for the day.

Hey! Ille mihi officium!
[translation: Hey! That's my job!]

[YesIExist]

I don't like it when the characters act all tough, and no matter how often they fight, they never get their butt kicked, or even get hurt.

EDIT: I also find it annoying when a female falls for some obviously controlling, selfish loser. I don't like passive women.

[CDLviking]

Hey! Ille mihi officium!
[translation: Hey! That's my job!]

Geez, I hate to do this twice in one day, but it should be, "Illud est mei officium!" Leaving out est is acceptable, but mihi is the dative and ille should be nueter. A literal translation of what you wrote (with the missing verb) would be, "That's the job for me!"

[EireWolf]

You know, I've always thought that it would be a nice change of pace if the hero didn't successfully disarm the timebomb at the last moment and it blew up anyway.

Actually, this happened in one of the Lethal Weapon movies. Riggs and Murdock are disarming a bomb and *oops!* cut the wrong wire. We see a spectacular explosion as they are bookin' it out of the building...

I forgot to add earlier that flawless main characters annoy me. I love it when the protagonist is a *real person* with real faults. A great example of this is a book called "Crown Duel" by Sherwood Smith. The main character is wonderfully flawed, makes wrong assumptions all the time, and doesn't realize it until much later in the story. Of course, the reader is privy to this all along, and it's that much funnier when the main character begins to understand what's going on.

[Lochaber Axe]

What I don't like is something I call "Main-character-can't-die-no-matter-how-bad-circumstances-are" syndrome. As I have said before, Tom Cruise suffers this syndrome from time to time in his movies (think Mission Impossible and The Last Samurai). It draws realism away from an otherwise-realistic story.

And by not following in that trap, Saving Private Ryan became a instant classic to me. By having Tom Hanks die, you relate to Ryan's pain and see Hank's character as a true soldier who gave his life for friend and country.

Another movie that deserves praise for going against the norm for Westerns (and most movie genres in general) that have impossibly fast with a gun cowboys and act more like Western knights, is True Grit. John Wayne actually plays an ornery, one-eyed, old man as the protagonist. If that isn't going against the norm, then I am going senile.

[Mave]

Personally, I dislike the following plots:

1) The world is going to end, "earthquake, tsunami, meteor, you name it"...someone must save the world (no offence, but why must it always be Americans? Oh well, it's Hollywood). ^^;
2) Some monster has emerged and is killing everyone. Gigantic spiders, snakes, flying piranhas. I really love animals and hate it when movies misrepresent the true nature of an animal, making them "oooh so dangerous and will attack humans at first sight!" Just encourages ppl to hate certain animals.
3) Stereotyping. I've seen movies where Asians portrayed are lifeless, emotionless and brainless. Oh well, I mention other stereotyping as well...EX: African Americans stereotyped: "poor, ghetto, hostile, violent" >_< This deepens ppl's misunderstanding of other cultures/races.

already mentioned:

The main guy 'never' dies.
And the main guy 'always' gets the girl (*cough James Bond cough*). Oh pleeaaassee....

EDIT: There's a reason why I love Gladiator. ^^

[Fsiphskilm]

1 demsional cha