Dead Trope Cleanup Thread (Dead Horse, Discredited, Unicorn, etc.)

Take That! probably does need to be sent to TRS if the examples of people taking a shot at things that aren’t another work of fiction (I.E. A movie that has a Take That! directed at Donald Trump) are misuse.

Why waste time when you can see the last sunset last?

Interestingly, the description indicates it must be another work of fiction.

I think a TRS (and maybe an expansion) might be in order. With 20,916 wicks, I doubt any other option would be feasible. Although be aware that we'd be checking 145 wicks if we did.

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I think expanding it to fit misuse is a good idea.

Why waste time when you can see the last sunset last?

I wouldn't be surprise if a lot of the wicks are actually conversational misuse, the way Exactly What It Says on the Tin gets used.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

Even if Take That! is just for when a work makes a joke at the expense of another work of fiction, I doubt there are people out there who think that it's "overly edgy" to make such a joke.

While there's a point that many instances of Take That! can be seen as annoying and cheap, I wouldn't call it a Dead Trope since it's not the trope itself that is considered dead. It can be mentioned in the trope description that some instances are met with a roll of eyes, but that would be it.

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I'm inclined to put Interchangeable Asian Cultures under Discredited Trope. Africa Is a Country, which describes the same thing but to African cultures is already listed as such, and I don't see a reason why Interchangeable Asian Cultures should be treated differently. People are becoming more exposed to East Asian individual cultures and histories, and that is being reflected in works. Scrolling through the trope, most examples from the 21th century are aversions, cases where an In-Universe reason exists, sarcastical, or about characters expressing this attitude In-Universe and called out as racist/ignorant. And when the trope is still played straight, it usually becomes a negative mentioned in reviews.

For example, Big Hero 6 and Kung Fu Panda take place in distinctly Japanese- and Chinese-influenced worlds, with very little else taken from other cultures; Mortal Kombat has been gradually emphasizing the different Japanese and Chinese character of Scorpion and Sub-Zero respectively; the fact that Raya and the Last Dragon mixes up South-East Asian cultures in an incoherent way was specifically mentioned in reviews as a bad point; etc; media about The Vietnam War (Apocalypse Now or Cobra Kai) add this attitude to emphasize American ignorance over Asia; etc...

Edited by gc10 on Oct 28th 2022 at 1:18:33 PM

that's a pretty compelling case and i support adding it.

(aversions aren't supposed to be listed, though, so if there's a bunch of them that's a problem)

Yeah. Though, to correct any confusion, the examples of Big Hero 6 and Kung Fu Panda are not listed in Interchangeable Asian Cultures, it's examples I personally mentioned regarding the change of attitude towards Asian cultures.

Adding it seems reasonable to me. Good explanation.

Go ahead and add Interchangeable Asian Cultures to Discredited Trope. Your argument is sound and makes sense, and I have seen it myself with the Raya discourse.

Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Oct 28th 2022 at 11:40:54 AM

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Re: Raya, I don't think constructed Fantasy Counterpart Culture comprised of Culture Chop Suey fall under this (Black Panther (2018) with its mishmash of African cultures was widely praised in execution) but I agree with the rest of the points.

If Tandem Parasite now isn't about literal bikes, or rather bikes being just specific examples, I guess it's not a Dead Horse Trope then?

Edited by Amonimus on Oct 29th 2022 at 3:10:06 PM

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That sounds right. I torched that line since it's now a more general trope about a member of a team holding the team back.

The trope already isn't listed on the Dead Horse Trope and/or Dead Unicorn Trope index(es), so removing that line is all that had to be done.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Oct 29th 2022 at 8:38:47 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.

• Wax On, Wax Off: More likely to be spoofed than played straight, especially considering that the popularity of traditional Eastern martial arts has waned in the West in favor of mixed martial arts.

Seems like a shallow understanding of the trope.

More than any I'd say the trope is just slightly less used than the past, rather than being frequently Discredited or the like. Subversions and other Played for Laughs instances are rising, but I wouldn't say it's to the point that the trope on itself is considered overused when played straight. So, I'd be inclined to cut it from Discredited Trope or Dead Horse Trope.

I brought up 3D Comic Book at Image Pickin', I think it might be a Forgotten Trope, since it was a brief fad. Wick count is certainly low enough.

Edited by FernandoLemon on Feb 6th 2023 at 2:45:31 PM

I'd like to apologize for all this.

I don't know if I already posted about this in this thread since I forgot I ever posted in it at all, but I think Cold Cash (which I brought up after Fernando brought up the above in the TRS meta thread) is in a similar situation as 3D Comic Book by being a Forgotten Trope that isn't indexed as such. It was featured in an issue of Trope Report due to a lack of wicks, but the description gave me the impression that it's a Forgotten Trope after I checked out the page, meaning I don't think the lack of wicks is an issue.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 6th 2023 at 2:06:16 PM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.

I mean, we can still plug them. I once spotlighted Satyr Play, even though it's well-known to be a Forgotten Trope.

But yes, I'm fine with adding that one too.

I'd like to apologize for all this.

Caustic Critic as a whole is listed yet the trope itself really isn’t discredited. Negative reviews making fun of something terrible is still a pretty popular style of review, as shown by content creators like Saberspark and Cynical Reviews. The “Angry Reviewer” subtrope definitely is on account of being listed under Condemned by History.

Edited by TheLivingDrawing on Feb 6th 2023 at 5:18:53 AM

Why waste time when you can see the last sunset last?

That Makes Me Feel Angry is listed as a Dead Unicorn Trope, but I don't think it counts. The trope is about a specific bad writing practice that often gets parodied, not about a common trend or stereotype. I'd argue it's not even dead, since it's a common rookie mistake.

I'd like to apologize for all this.

We're in the process of reformatting Jiggle Show in TRS to fit the offsite definition of a TV fad from the 70's and 80's. As cleanup went on, I wonder if we have a Forgotten Trope here.

Edited by Berrenta on Feb 15th 2023 at 8:07:41 AM

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Probably.

I'd like to apologize for all this.

(x3) That Makes Me Feel Angry sounds like it can be cut to me (partly because I feel I've seen it in recent works). That said, I'd wait for more input.

Welp, it's been like a week and no other input. I guess I'll cut it.

I'd like to apologize for all this.

And since it's also been long enough, I added 3D Comic Book to Forgotten Trope.

I'd like to apologize for all this.