Welcome to another instalment of Irina defends things that don’t need defending. I find myself frequently commenting on the benefits of stereotypes. I understand that lack of novelty is a common complaint and that calling a show/character/premise “cliché” is an easy criticism to lob at a show we don’t have much to say about. It’s a kind of lazy way to say we think something’s boring without actually having to explain ourselves. I know, I use it all the time. Seriously, like almost every single review. But as the old saying goes “clichés are clichés for a reason”, that is so hackneyed…sorry.
Traditional tools
Stereotypes are a useful and powerful tool in any storyteller’s arsenal (next time we’ll talk about mixed metaphors – it’ll be fun!). By using a character or situation that is instantly recognizable to the majority of the audience, the narrative is then freed up for something else. The time used to really develop or explain said stereotype can now be used to add another interesting layer to a character or throw a few unexpected twists into the story or even flesh out the setting. Since every single narrative is finite and therefore limited, authors must careful choose what to give time and attention to. Clichés allow them to quickly settle some elements in order to concentrate on others.
Comfortable commonplace
Familiar elements and settings help orient a viewer or reader in an otherwise alien world. When we have something identifiable to latch onto we can much more quickly get into the proper mindset. We don’t spend as much time trying to figure out what’s going on, how to react or feel about what we’re seeing. We get the impression of being on solid ground. This becomes even more important in stories that are very surreal or unusual. A few mundane and well-established elements become absolutely necessary to give us a chance to wrap our minds around the weird. And I love weird but if one is not careful, it slips into nonsense.
Scary surprises
Tell me, how would you feel if you went into surgery and your doctor said, let’s try something new today? Or maybe if the engineer designing your new high-rise wanted to reinvent the concept of urban construction. Even if we pick a more artistic trade such as cooking, chefs test out new recipes before serving them to paying customers. That’s because straying from the established path always has an element of risk. Unfortunately, no studio can afford to put together a season of a show just to see if it works, so chasing after novelty means using audiences as guinea pigs.
Determined desires
And to develop on the previous point, sometimes you are pleasantly surprised but sometimes you want something specific. If you’ve been longing for a romantic comedy or an action shounen, you most likely feel like experiencing at least some of the tropes of the genre. I know you’re open minded and happy to discover a new take on a classic, but it still has to qualify as that classic in some way. If shows are endlessly and constantly changing or “revolutionizing” everything, how is one supposed to figure out what they want to watch. In fact, how can you even figure out what you actually like. I would find it exhausting if my partner was a new person every morning. I would be ok if they looked like a new person every morning as long as they were the same on the inside through. That was romantic, right? Not at all like I want a harem.
Tried & true
But of course, the most obvious reason why clichés are a good thing is that they’ve been honed to perfection. By using established stereotypes, story tellers have a wealth of past examples to base themselves on. They can glean what’s likely to work best in their scenario, benefit from the mistakes of their predecessors, gather all the information they need to create the best possible iteration of a trope. After all, no one gets it right the first time. How’s that for a platitude?
In the end cliché, stereotypical and standard are really just another way of saying classic, traditional and efficient. And if you just think I have a soft spot for repeating patterns because I get to drink to them, you are probably right!
Who is this moderation I am supposed to be drinking with?
Suggested drink: Classic Martini
- Every time a twintail is also tsundere – have a drink
- Every time someone walks with their arms behind their head – have a drink
- Every time a character has animal ears for cute – try and figure out if it actually is cute
- Every time there’s a beach/ hot springs episode – fan yourself
- Every time you see an aloof dark haired girl – have a drink
- Every time a character visibly blushes – smile
- Every time we’re introduced to a nutty professor/ mad scientist – have a drink
- Every time someone gives a thumbs up – have a drink
- Every time a character narrates their thoughts/actions – have a drink
- Every time a character eats unreasonable amounts of food – have a snack
- Every time an attack is shouted out – have a drink
- Every time a main character is unattractive – down your drink
This post would have been even
more clichédbetter if it were a barrage of links to TvTropes on each trope mentioned and executed. : 9Which also leads me to the main point I’d like to add here and that you explained thoroughly, but as a trope itself, namely “Tropes Are Tools”. People can do good work with it, or not, but it’s (at least mostly) not the fault of the trope itself. (Though I really dislike that it appears necessary to work down the check list of common tropes per genre sometimes.)
I think the biggest issue with “clichés”, i.e. works we end up describing as such, is less that they are present in those works, but that they are so egregiously present and standing out in them. If tropes are the only thing that is there or they get mechanically played one after the other (as mentioned with the check list) it “feels clichéd”.
There might also be a mix-up between “genres”/”styles” and “clichés”, though I honestly don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not. I’d just see the former more as a framework and the latter as the objects within said framework. And there can be new items or fast food. Fast food all the time is not a good thing. But best sellers can be a mass-produced and -consumed thing too, without being fast food.
One contra point regarding the lengths however: It has become the new standard that anime shows have to be aligned to specific season lengths, empowering clear-cut, easy-to-produce media with repetitive content since that will sell no matter the originality. Shows used to be of vastly varying lengths allowing very different paces and details and experimentations. Of course they had different issues or were beholden to other boundaries, but they were not stuck in boundaries set from an outside that controls the releases. (It was more about broadcast and slots back then, and not as centralised.) To quote someone else about “creative fatigue” but still fitting this topic:
> “Not at all like I want a harem.”
*TheRockVineBoom.m4a*
I don’t mind clichés. You can talk in cliches until the cows come home…
These are all excellent and true points. Let me also add that coming from an age where I grew up on slower entertainment you have far more time in a novel, for instance, than in a movie or one 30 minute episode of a series, to delve into the intricacies of any given character (yet even in novels, there are tropes and stereotypes). So to an extent this is shorthand so that the action can move on into the “meat” of the story that has to be covered in 30 minutes – it might be impossible to tell the story at all if each character or situation had to be explained in depth before getting into the main arc of the story. Some people might get bored and wander off before the story begins! So there is a place for these and while it’s easy to be critical and they can be overused, they have a legitimate place in literature and anime and all of the story telling arts.
Have to be careful about using cliches and stereotypes. It is tough enough to determine what might be offensive in one’s own culture. Coming from another culture, it is easy to step on a landmine.
People in Japan seem to be more willing to accept plot recycling than Americans. Admittedly, most American sitcoms or police procedurals are similar to each other, but if an American company ever made a TV show about someone dying and being reincarnated in another world no other company would dare re-use that setup for fear of looking like they were “ripping off” the earlier show. In Japan, of course, that’s a complete genre. And most Americans would be baffled by shows that are EXPECTED to reboot every year while remaining basically the same like the Super Sentai and Pretty Cure shows.
Yeah, for me anime cliche’ are the spice of life! A little bit in an anime is good, even great sometimes, but an episode can get quickly overwhelmed if used too much. Hmm, I think my favorite cliche’ is “Truck-Kun strikes again!” They’re the most notorious serial killer in anime and also the engine that begins some of the best isekai adventures.