When you become a diehard fan of a type of media or genre (really any of them), you notice patterns. I’ve spoken before about storytelling patterns in the wider construct of narratives, but what I mean this time is tropes. Tropes are—for those unaware—recurring types of moments/situations/characters/etc. that hold across many, many stories. Sometimes, whole subgenres are almost entirely defined by the tropes they feature.
Let’s take a haunted house story as a classic example. There are creepy dolls, imposing mansions, and worrying paintings. You could probably “direct” a haunted house movie in your head with a little prompting. Or, how about a story about a child who finds an animal (magical or otherwise) that’s injured, and they nurse it back to health? That plot practically writes itself.
And while this might annoy some, I find tropes to be a wonderful thing in media. Learning about them has made media so much more fulfilling to watch—like knowing the intricacies of cooking when eating somewhere fancy. I glanced at the recent show Lockwood & Co. (which might get a review once I actually watch it), and from what I can tell, it’s “paranormal investigators” trope soup. Filled to the brim with almost-kisses after danger, the newbie learns the ropes via exposition, and multilayered conspiracies. And that’s almost assuredly why so many like the series.
Tropes are often a big part of why new shows get popular. Stranger Things used nostalgia and tropes simultaneously to renowned effect. Wednesday is made of almost nothing but them—and a lot of people love it for that.
Almost everyone I know has a few they can’t resist. Personally, I like the “secret magical/supernatural world” stories like Men in Black or the Percy Jackson books. I love seeing how the secret world is kept secret and the weird ways the supernatural and the mundane interact. I’ve read or watched so many stories in that vein I know the steps—so I’m never surprised—but I like the rhythm.
Tropes are like favorite songs in so many ways. You can sing along to them for the fiftieth time with abundant joy. I am and always will be a fan of originality and new takes on established things, but sometimes—just sometimes—familiar tropes are exactly what’s needed for a good viewing/reading/listening experience. If you haven’t already, try to find the tropes you like (and for ease of searching find out if they have a catchy name). They can be a ticket to finding your next comfort media—or maybe even your new favorite thing.
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