Tropes and Clichés

There's always a book someplace with all the information in it. It's always some old book written by a monk that went crazy.

TedTheewen said:

There's always a book someplace with all the information in it. It's always some old book written by a monk that went crazy.

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This same book, despite being very old and very rare, is always available in a nearby library.

Niccolo said:

This same book, despite being very old and very rare, is always available in a nearby library.

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And there's always somebody in the group who just happens to know how to read the Latin.

And even reading just the first word causes a thunderstorm to appear overhead.

TedTheewen said:

And there's always somebody in the group who just happens to know how to read the Latin.

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The fact that the old book is invariably in Latin is also a trope, in that the evil in question invariably needs to be viewed or dealt with from the perspective of Catholicism.

JimRac said:

The fact that the old book is invariably in Latin is also a trope, in that the evil in question invariably needs to be viewed or dealt with from the perspective of Catholicism.

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Now THAT'S a plot bunny...

An ancient evil from a religion that's been long forgotten, that takes the combination of several different current religions in order to stop it...

But...omg....the studying involved to write something like that...

Or piety is a measure of the ability to defeat the evil.

The main character is a Skeptic who has Lost His Way, and meeting the Devil allows him to regain his faith, which is all the stronger. I have yet to see an exorcism movie that doesn't follow this exact plot. It's why I call them the Lifetime Original Movies of horror.

ETA: I will say, in the vein of Not All Religion is Catholic, that I've seen a couple attempts to bring Judaism into the forefront of those kinds of movies. One of them was better than I expected (The Unborn); the other suuuuuuuuuucked (The Possession). But "dybukk" is just such a fun word, doncha think?

The Possession really bugged me. I mean, they had some cliche preacher (we first see him playing basketball so we know he's a cool guy) throw his own religious practices away instantly in favor of an obscure form of Judaism few outside that culture understand.

Religious tropes always seem to me to have a value system within them. One religious practice and faith is always greater (and more valid) than another.

ShaunHorton said:

Now THAT'S a plot bunny...

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I must admit that I had to google Plot Bunny.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

The main character is a Skeptic who has Lost His Way, and meeting the Devil allows him to regain his faith, which is all the stronger. I have yet to see an exorcism movie that doesn't follow this exact plot.

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Is that because all exorcism movies are derived from Blatty's The Exorcist? Or was there something even before that one?

JimRac said:

Is that because all exorcism movies are derived from Blatty's The Exorcist? Or was there something even before that one?

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Good question. I've wondered that myself.

There is only one weapon available to kill a specific monster/demon/ghost, yet the person who fashioned that weapon never thought to do the grunt work himself and save a couple thousand lives.

The person with a mental disorder or disability turns out to be the bad guy.

Clichéd characters always bug me because it means the writer is either lazy, politically correct, or no real bright. Clichéd plots do not bother me, as long as they're well done, and as long as they're true. This is rare.

Jamesaritchie said:

Clichéd characters always bug me because it means the writer is either lazy, politically correct, or no real bright.

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I totally agree. Sometimes the writers are just pretentious.

NateSean said:

The person with a mental disorder or disability turns out to be the bad guy.

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Variant: The person with the mental disorder/disability is secretly magic/the only one who can save them/gets to live.

I dunno if all exorcism movies are based on The Exorcist or not, but since there's an obligation to accept that A) demons exist in this universe, B) exorcism is a known way to fight them, and C) there's a precedent for how said exorcism must be performed, I'd say it's not necessarily Blatty's fault. Perhaps Catholic dogma in general? I dunno. But they are pretty homogenous.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

Variant: The person with the mental disorder/disability is secretly magic/the only one who can save them/gets to live.

I dunno if all exorcism movies are based on The Exorcist or not, but since there's an obligation to accept that A) demons exist in this universe, B) exorcism is a known way to fight them, and C) there's a precedent for how said exorcism must be performed, I'd say it's not necessarily Blatty's fault. Perhaps Catholic dogma in general? I dunno. But they are pretty homogenous.

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I have a question:
Do demons really exist?
And if they do, what does this do to evolution? Science? The study of physics? Space time considerations?

^I think that's a better question for a religion forum than this one, honestly.

On the subject of religious horror, I have a plot bunny incubating in my brain about the End of Days as told by the Satanists, and how glorious an occasion it would be for them.

I'm not sure how to work it just yet, but it's there cooking.

TedTheewen said:

On the subject of religious horror, I have a plot bunny incubating in my brain about the End of Days as told by the Satanists, and how glorious an occasion it would be for them.

I'm not sure how to work it just yet, but it's there cooking.

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Do your research on Satanism and you might have something.

NateSean said:

Do your research on Satanism and you might have something.

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Oh, I have been. That's part of the problem. Most of the Church of Satan folks are really advocating varying degrees of atheism. Nobody really wants the world to end.

I mean, but for the band Ghost and a few hard-core nutters.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

Variant: The person with the mental disorder/disability is secretly magic/the only one who can save them/gets to live.

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Yes! That one is usually a blatant and obvious plot point.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

I dunno if all exorcism movies are based on The Exorcist or not, but since there's an obligation to accept that A) demons exist in this universe, B) exorcism is a known way to fight them, and C) there's a precedent for how said exorcism must be performed, I'd say it's not necessarily Blatty's fault. Perhaps Catholic dogma in general? I dunno. But they are pretty homogenous.

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It doesn't bother me seeing the Exorcism process played out in similar fashion across movies/books, for the reasons you mention. But as you pointed out in a prior post, it seems there is always a character who is a Skeptic who has Lost His Way and then regains his faith due to the exorcism experience.

I think we can blame Blatty for that particular character arc.

Ted, Have you read Pratchett's Good Omens​?

Not yet.

ETA: Holy Crap! I just checked it out and it looks not only awesome but as if it had been totally ripped off by Supernatural. Damn!

Good Omens is fabulous! I don't know Supernatural well enough (hardly at all, really) to say whether it's a rip-off or not, but it strikes me as too distinctly British for that to be a thing.

ETA: Also, just pointing out it's Terry Pratchett AND Neil Gaiman.