History Main / UndeadHorseTrope

* CausticCritic: One of the most infamous critic stereotypes that has yet to die. Despite most UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era critics that popularized this trope being either dead or retired and most 2000s-early 2010s internet critics that resurrected this trope having mostly grown out of it (aided by higher political sensitivity giving trouble to the EqualOpportunityOffender status most Caustic Critics run on), it's still common among some critics (both professional ''and'' internet-based) and is still the ''modus operandi'' of the [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Golden Raspberry Awards]].

* IrisOut: An old movie and cartoon tool that became so cliché that variations and parodies were inevitable during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, and there are time it's played straight in contemporary media.

* LaughTrack: Parodied and mocked very often, to the point of being a tell for the genre. Most modern sitcoms avoid them as much as possible and the few {{Long Runner}}s who were able to get away with it, such as ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' which used a StudioAudience, have since ended. And yet despite this, some sitcoms still use laugh tracks or a StudioAudience, in particular {{BritCom}}s due to the prevalence of panel shows with these traits (such as ''Series/WouldILieToYou''), along with {{Revival}}s of older sitcoms that used them. However, it firmly remains a DiscreditedTrope in WesternAnimation, where it doesn't even make sense to keep the illusion of a live studio audience; it's now seen as one of the many things wrong with UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation.

* PaperThinDisguise: While this was once mostly played straight in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation because of RuleOfFunny, newer works seem to be split between {{subvert|edTrope}}ing it and playing it straight.

* StarTrekMovieCurse: Not taken seriously anymore in regards to the TropeNamer after the lackluster reception of the 10th film, ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', and the massive success of the 11th film, ''Film/StarTrek2009''. Though some joke that the UsefulNotes/TurnOfTheMillennium actually ''reversed'' the curse, given the lukewarm reception to the 12th film, ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', and the critical ([[AcclaimedFlop if not commercial]]) success of the 13th film, ''Film/StarTrekBeyond''. Others try to list the AffectionateParody ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' as part of the lineup to keep the pattern consistent. In regards to other media, this trope still persists depending on the franchise.

* AWinnerIsYou: Most endings of classic games from UsefulNotes/{{NES}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} era were extremely simplistic. As time went by, the endings became more developed and even games with {{Excuse Plot}}s started having elaborate endings, but even in the modern generations, there are still UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} games that have endings in the same vein as 8-bit games. Even blockbuster games sometimes have it; some games with MultipleEndings have this as EasyModeMockery.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: This carries some questionable implications[[labelnote:Examples]]Attractive people are inherently more moral than unattractive or even ordinary-looking people, [[ViewersAreMorons viewers can't tell if a character is good or evil without obvious visual cues]], etc.[[/labelnote]] and thanks to HollywoodBeautyStandards, even villainous characters are often above-average in looks nowadays; but this has existed in stories for millennia and will likely continue to be used for as long as humanity exists. After all, humans like to fantasize about characters who are both [[NiceGuy kind]] and beautiful.

* ArabOilSheikh: While straight examples of the trope in fiction has been frequently criticized for playing into [[{{Orientalism}} outdated Western perceptions of the Arab world]], what keep it from being a completely DiscreditedTrope is the fact that the RealLife Arab countries in the Gulf region (UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia, UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates, UsefulNotes/{{Bahrain}}, UsefulNotes/{{Kuwait}} and UsefulNotes/{{Oman}}) are monarchies with oil-based economies. That being said, these countries have, in TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties, sought to diversify their economies (ironically using the revenue from said oil and gas resources) by encouraging Western businesses outside of the oil and defense sectors to invest in the Gulf countries.

* ArabOilSheikh: While straight examples of the trope in fiction has been frequently criticized for playing into [[{{Orientalism}}|outdated Western perceptions of the Arab world]], what keep it from being a completely DiscreditedTrope is the fact that the RealLife Arab countries in the Gulf region[[note]]UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia, UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates, UsefulNotes/{{Bahrain}}, UsefulNotes/{{Kuwait}}, UsefulNotes/{{Oman}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Oman}} - are monarchies with oil-based economies. That being said, these countries have, in UsefulNotes/TheNewTens and UsefulNotes/TheNewTwenties, sought to diversify their economies (ironically using the revenue from said oil and gas resources) by encouraging Western businesses outside of the oil and defense sectors to invest in the Gulf countries.

* HollywoodAtheist: Despite atheism becoming more common in real life than it used to be, and atheists who are preachy {{jerkass}}es are a VocalMinority at best in real life (much like [[TheFundamentalist religious fundamentalists]]), atheists in fiction are still portrayed in a negative light more often than not; possibly since a) theists (or at least non-atheists) are still the majority in most countries, b) media made by atheist creators tend to play it straight, since these creators are often outspoken atheists themselves (Creator/SethMacFarlane for example), and c) more outspoken atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens [[CondemnedByHistory have fallen out with favor with those who aren't outspoken atheists/skeptics]] due to their controversial views and statements, most notably their blatant misogyny (such as the [=Elevatorgate=] fiasco) and their attempts to normalize and even defend blatant Islamophobia as "criticism of religion".

* BasementDweller: In first world countries, the ever-increasing cost of living combined with low wages for entry-level jobs is making it nearly impossible for young, single adults to afford housing, leaving them with little choice other than to stay with their parents for a while (and many who were able to move out ended up having to return to their parents' house anyway after being wiped out by a recession). Despite this, the negative connotations of adults still living with their parents haven't completely faded away, either in fiction or in real life, especially in cases where the adult in question [[{{NEET}} has no job and is not making any effort to get one]]. There's also a bit of DoubleStandard at play, since men who still live with their parents are a lot less likely to be portrayed in a positive light than women who still live with their parents. This is largely due to men having long been expected to be able to take care of themselves financially and it was common in the past for adult women to still live with their parents until they got married. Additionally, the long-standing tradition of women being caregivers would lead many to assume (rightly or wrong), that an adult woman still living at home is taking care of her old, sick parents or at least contributing to the household in some way. And since men are stereotyped as avoiding household duties as much as possible, a man still living with his parents is usually seen (again, rightly or wrongly) as a lazy {{manchild}} whose parents are still taking care of ''him''.

* MonochromeCasting: In spite of increased demand for diversity and representation in media, tthere are some factors that have kept this trope around: First, the trope has managed to survive in {{PeriodPiece}}s -- especially ones set in Europe, Asia, or Africa -- in which [[JustifiedTrope it would make sense]] for most if not all of the main cast to be the same race. Second, this trope has stuck around in stories centered on people of color and [=/=] or set in non-Western localities (e.g., ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'').

* SympatheticSlaveOwner: Though one would have expected this to immediately be discredited after Emancipation, lingering racism and Lost Cause mythology kept it alive for a century, and even after then, it’s such a useful way of showing GreyAndGreyMorality to have a character own slaves because they were indoctrinated into such a culture, that it stays alive. There is also a kind of a double standard in fantasy settings [[MuggleInMageCustody when it comes to an ordinary human enslaved by a magician or a divine being]], since it fits the religious archetype of the relationship between humans and God, and is often seen as a MiseryBuildsCharacter moment. Namely, if a {{Jerkass}} ends up a slave to a benevolent supernatural being, the servitude may be a way [[CharacterDevelopment to help them become a better person]]. More recently, there was the spike in popularity of the HerosSlaveHarem trope in Japanese media.

* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Despite numerous studies proving that a man's penis size has little impact on women's sexual pleasure[[note]]Only around 25% of women can climax from vaginal penetration alone.[[/note]], the trope is still alive and kicking (especially in porn, where it's practically omnipresent) and will probably be for a long time. Then there's personal preference to take into account.

Compare and contrast CyclicTrope and EvolvingTrope; contrast DeadUnicornTrope (which is mostly played for laughs or subverted, but unlike a DeadHorseTrope was never actually played straight to any significant degree).

* CardCarryingVillain: Bad guys who proudly flaunt their evil nature are seen by many as silly and unrealistic, yet are still among the most popular kinds of villains to this day. Even in works with serious tones and[=/=]or aimed at older audiences. It should be noted in that case, Card-Carrying Villains tend to boast about their evilness in a much more subtle way than ones appearing in child-oriented and comedic fiction. (Like instead of going "Heeheehee! How frightfully evil I am!", they say something like "But of course." when called out on their crimes.)

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: This carries some questionable implications[[labelnote:Examples]]Attractive people are inherently more moral than unattractive or even ordinary-looking people, [[ViewersAreMorons viewers can't tell if a character is good or evil without obvious visual cues]], etc.[[/labelnote]] and thanks to HollywoodBeautyStandards, even villainous characters are often above average in looks nowadays. But this has existed in stories for millennia and will likely continue to be used for as long as humanity exists. After all, humans like to fantasize about characters who are both [[NiceGuy kind]] and beautiful.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: This carries some questionable implications[[labelnote:Examples]]Attractive people are inherently more moral than unattractive or even ordinary-looking people, [[ViewersAreMorons viewers can't tell if a character is good or evil without obvious visual cues]], etc.[[/labelnote]], but has existed in stories for millennia and will likely continue to be used for as long as humanity exists. After all, humans like to fantasize about characters who are both [[NiceGuy kind]] and beautiful.