(no subject)

[apocalypsos]

You know what I would love to put a moratorium on in my entertainment?

-- I see this in books mostly, but when a female character insists on using the word "poop". God, that drives me nuts. Do you know anyone who stills uses that word? 'Cause I sure as hell don't. And as a curse word? ARGH. I might buy it from a character who's an upper-crust snobby Northeasterner, but please don't expect me to buy it from a city chick with no money. Trust me, we curse. We really curse. If adult men in stories don't say it, why the hell should a thirty-year-old woman who's supposedly had a hard life say it?

-- Heavily pregnant ladies in elevators. Dude, NO. Stop that. Nobody finds it funny, because it's the same dumbass jokes every time, and nobody watches a pregnant lady get into an elevator during an action movie and go, "Oh, no! She's getting into the elevator! Whatever will happen!" It's annoying, so stop that.

-- Any "I'm supposed to be a callous jerk" male sitcom-or-comedic-film character who says to a fat lady, "And when is your baby due?" Because at that point, I don't think he's a jerk -- I think he's either mentally handicapped or clinically insane, neither of which is amusing.

Anybody else want to put a moratorium on a stupid cliche or character trait while we're at it?

Comments

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

Any gay male is almost always:
A) a flaming, lisping queen/slut (sitcoms)
B) an asexual being gay in name only (sitcoms & dramas)
or C) a tragic & oppressed figure who's probably suicidal (dramas)

Can I PLEASE see a normal guy with a nice, healthy relationship who just happens to be gay? Please?

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

Can I PLEASE see a normal guy with a nice, healthy relationship who just happens to be gay? Please?

Well where's the entertainment value in that??

I don't think there are any nice, healthy relationships anywhere on TV! That would be boring to watch.

[marag.livejournal.com]

Oh no, healthy relationships don't have to be boring, even if many writers think so. Having a healthy relationship doesn't mean you can't have conflict. A healthy relationship doesn't mean that things can't go wrong and all kinds of things can't happen to the couple.

Believe me, I've in the healthiest marriage I know and that's never stood in the way of plenty of drama and conflict in our lives! (In fact, I'd be delighted for our lives to be boring for a little while. Just a month or so of boring would be quite restful, actually.)

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I know that and you know that but TPTB don't seem to know that.

I was being sarcastic - I don't really believe it!

[marag.livejournal.com]

::blush:: Sorry! I'm not feeling well and my sarcasm-meter seems to be broken ;)

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

That's okay!

I don't think there are any healthy relationships on TV anywhere... but I personally think its a shame. Any time a show finally lets a couple get together, they have to start throwing up road blocks because they can't be too happy or people won't want to watch. *sigh* They don't give us nearly enough credit.

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Can I PLEASE see a normal guy with a nice, healthy relationship who just happens to be gay?

Go rent "Four Weddings and a Funeral". :)

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, I so need to watch that when I get home. :)

[wal-lace.livejournal.com]

But... but... one of them died. That was the funeral.

Ye gods, I'm losing my Manly points by tearing up just thinking about it.

Still, I'm getting them back by plotting to kill Andie McDowell.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

No, no, that funeral is one of the exceptions! You don't lose your Manly points!

People who don't at least consider crying during that scene have no soul and therefore are inherently evil.

And yay for plotting to kill Andie McDowell. :)

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Ye gods, I'm losing my Manly points by tearing up just thinking about it.

I know. I've seen it, what, fifteen, twenty times? I still have tears rolling down my face every single time. ::sniff:: And I do not cry at movies.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I don't think Will from Will and Grace fits any of those stereotypes.

He was kind of in a closet with a revolving door, though. Like being gay was his secret identity.

[astaria51.livejournal.com]

Will NEVER keeps a relationship going for like...more than four shows. Neither Will or Jack get longerterm relationships. I'd say that qualifies under the snarky "asexual" definition. (Well, I haven't watched it for a while. Maybe I'm wrong about recent seasons. Am I wrong?)

Mwhaha, the secret identity thing is right on. That's hilarious. Pretty realistic, though: I think my closet door revolves too. I'm gay (well, bi, but in a relationship w/ a girl, so it's not really much different) to the people it's okay to.

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

I dunno... I'd class him as a combo of A&B: he's certainly fagtacular enough in his everyday life (tho nowhere near as flaming as Jack), but we almost never see him even expressing interest in other guys, much less trying to date one. Yes, I know that he does on occasion, but it's so rare that it's memorable. Like a "Man Bites Dog" story.

Like being gay was his secret identity.

*snerk* I'm SO stealing that line!

[miggy.livejournal.com]

While not guys, Carol and Susan on Friends had the longest-running relationship on the show, were great parents, were crazy about each other and had a healthy sex life, and were shown having a traditional wedding ceremony in 1995.

I miss my dead gay show.

[kattahj.livejournal.com]

I came to the conclusion at some point that gay men on TV come in singles, lesbians come in pairs. There are exceptions (Original Cindy comes to mind), but generally speaking, "lesbian" means being lesbian *with* someone, while "gay" for a man is just a state of being.

...Which is probably a cliché in itself and should be abandoned.

(Got here from metaquotes)

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I think the single gay/partnered lesbian dichtonomy is because "everyone knows that a single woman who says she's a lesbian is just fooling herself until she meats meets Mr. Right."

Disgusting, really.

[aka-twitch.livejournal.com]

No.

That would involve:
1) hard work
2) research
3) imagination

[missfahrenheit.livejournal.com]

I have a notebook of cliches to avoid in my Hypothetical Future Filmmaking Career, and this one's been in it from the start!