5 TV Tropes We Want More of… and 5 We Never Want to See Again

Tropes We Never Want to See Again

1. Funny Fat Friend

This trope has also been offensive since its origin. “Fat characters” are used for comic relief 99% of the time and are rarely made fully-formed and dynamic. A person’s size shouldn’t determine their role in the narrative.

Let characters represent a variety of body types, and let them be smart, and sexy, and creative, and strong, and successful. Let them be main characters on shows that aren’t sitcoms, let them be the love interest, let them be the leader. People come in all shapes and sizes, and they all have different personalities. What we see on television should reflect exactly that.  

2. Men Don’t Cry/Real Men Hate Affection

The concept that men don’t cry and aren’t allowed to show vulnerability and affection feeds right into toxic masculinity, and it has got to stop. Men have been watching themselves portrayed in media as the big, strong hero, who never shows weakness, for years.

As a result, things like vulnerability, emotion and gentleness have become inherently associated with femininity, and as such, taboo for men. Men should be allowed to cry, to care, to show love and be vulnerable.

One thing The 100 does really well is to allow its male characters like Kane, Bellamy, Murphy, Jasper, and Monty to be unapologetically emotional. We’ve made progress in showing female characters as strong and independent, but we need to do just as much to show male characters being emotional and gentle.  

3. Manic Pixie Dream Girl

We get it, you love Zooey Deschanel and the pretty girl who works at Game Stop, and sure she’s absolutely in love with you despite your many, many flaws, because you’re a Nice Guy.

No. Stop, please. I don’t know a single real-life woman who’s ever existed solely to make the man in her life feel good about himself. Writers need to stop pretending she’s a person that exists, and men need to stop seeing her in every nerd girl they’ve ever met.

4. Stuffed into the Fridge

Similar to the Manic Pixie, characters (often female) brought on briefly and then shortly after killed to further a hero’s emotional development are pointless and unrealistic. The 100 did it with Bellamy’s three-episode girlfriend Gina, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fridged Constance Zimmer’s character in order to motivate Coulson.

There are a variety of ways to show growth and emotion in your characters and to change them for better or worse. There are even ways to briefly bring in a new character to change someone’s perspective that don’t involve killing the newbie. Resulting to fridging is both overdone and un-creative and we’d rather not see it happen anymore. 

5. Bury Your Gays

With the death of the iconic Commander Lexa, as well as several others including Root from Person of Interest, and Poussey from Orange is the New Black, this trope has been everywhere this past year, and it breaks my heart.

I’d like 2016 to be the last year this trope was ever used. Let your LGBT+ characters have happy endings, let the lesbian get the girl, let the boys be bisexual. Let LGBT+ characters be in charge. Let them be the hero, the love interest, and the genius.

It’s time to stop portraying a character’s sexuality as a weakness or a flaw that leads to their untimely death. LGBT+ fans deserve better.

Do you agree with our picks? Which TV tropes are your favorite? Which ones are you tired of? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

More