Thursday Tropes: Week 48
I realize this week's tropes don't really match the festive season we are in now, but this is what came up on my randomizer. I could have picked others, but I liked these.
Descriptions will be pulled from TV Tropes and a link provided if you want more information.
The rules? They're simple. Write at least 250 words or create 2 icons/1 banner. Anything from suggestive to outright porn is allowed.
This week, there are 2 tropes
Science Hero: Oh no! The city is in danger! This looks like a job... For Science!
A hero who uses science, technology and/or super-science to save the day. A staple of science fiction and an expression of the faith that science will save us rather than doom us. The Science Hero is the third part of the Hero Triangle, alongside with Action Hero and Guile Hero.
This hero is one part Badass Normal, two parts The Smart Guy, with a hint of Wrench Wench and Gadgeteer Genius. They're defined mostly by being highly technically proficient scientists (often in all fields) and with a sense of adventure and curiosity. Plus, gadgets!
The Science Hero has become something of a Forgotten Trope with the onset of Postmodernism. Post-modernism rejected progress for progress's sake, which is a favorite motivation for a Science Hero, and allowed a resurgence of Science Is Bad, Nature Hero, and Rock Beats Laser.
It also demanded personal motivations for characters. Classic Science Heroes tended to do their science for the good of society/humanity/the universe/etc. or For Science!, and viewers were expected to be inspired by them. Modern Science Heroes are expected to have a personal or psychological reason for getting into science. Some reasons make the character a Mad Scientist, with all the craziness that implies. It's good craziness used for a good cause, but we're not supposed to take that kind of character as a role model! Other reasons allow the pursuit of science to end or be shoved in the background because it is a means to a reachable end or to an end that can be better reached some other way. And, in modern fiction, even a Science Hero can be thrown off track by The Power of Love - and more likely than not, this will be expected to be seen as a good thing...
For these reasons, it is hard to find new, unambiguous Science Heroes. It's a pity - we still need to inspire the scientists.
See also Giving Radio to the Romans. Compare Nature Hero, Badass Bookworm, Omnidisciplinary Scientist, and Celibate Eccentric Genius if the Science Hero rejects romantic love in favor for benevolent use of science. Contrast Science Is Bad and Mad Scientist though heroic mad scientists are becoming more popular. Often a champion of the Enlightenment in works featuring Romanticism Versus Enlightenment and opposed by an Evil Luddite. If the work portrays them positively, it likely also ascribes to Science Is Good and, depending on certain situations, Working-Class Hero.
Fire and Brimstone Hell: A Fate Worse than Death that in some stories happens after death, just as Fluffy Cloud Heaven is The Theme Park Version of Heaven, Fire And Brimstone Hell is the Theme Park version of Hell. Generally, if it isn't an Ironic Hell, Hell Is War, the Bloody Bowels of Hell or A Hell of a Time, it's this. And even then, you can expect the odd brazier and stalactite.
Common features of such a location include underground cavern-like decor, plenty of hellfire and lava, and red-skinned devils with horns and tails poking the souls of sinners around with their pitchforks. Sometimes, it's actually shown to be underground literally, but most of the time it's Another Dimension.
Note the curious discrepancy; despite rebelling against God, devils in hell are doing some kind of job with awe-inspiring diligence and consistency. This job arguably makes Hell someplace someone doesn't want to go; which theoretically helps God. Some theorize that Hell is thus part of God's plan and still under His employ, which may or may not put his infinite goodness into doubt depending on who you ask; or else devils get something out of torturing souls. Mana, perhaps. Or maybe they're just sadistically amusing themselves. Another popular theory in fiction is that it was originally a prison, but Satan took it over; subverting its mechanics.
In works that feature many Circles of Hell, the Fire and Brimstone Hell is often near the top, with other hellish realms below.
For information on how this trope came about, see the Analysis page. Note that brimstone is the old English word for "sulfur".
Descriptions will be pulled from TV Tropes and a link provided if you want more information.
The rules? They're simple. Write at least 250 words or create 2 icons/1 banner. Anything from suggestive to outright porn is allowed.
This week, there are 2 tropes
Science Hero: Oh no! The city is in danger! This looks like a job... For Science!
A hero who uses science, technology and/or super-science to save the day. A staple of science fiction and an expression of the faith that science will save us rather than doom us. The Science Hero is the third part of the Hero Triangle, alongside with Action Hero and Guile Hero.
This hero is one part Badass Normal, two parts The Smart Guy, with a hint of Wrench Wench and Gadgeteer Genius. They're defined mostly by being highly technically proficient scientists (often in all fields) and with a sense of adventure and curiosity. Plus, gadgets!
The Science Hero has become something of a Forgotten Trope with the onset of Postmodernism. Post-modernism rejected progress for progress's sake, which is a favorite motivation for a Science Hero, and allowed a resurgence of Science Is Bad, Nature Hero, and Rock Beats Laser.
It also demanded personal motivations for characters. Classic Science Heroes tended to do their science for the good of society/humanity/the universe/etc. or For Science!, and viewers were expected to be inspired by them. Modern Science Heroes are expected to have a personal or psychological reason for getting into science. Some reasons make the character a Mad Scientist, with all the craziness that implies. It's good craziness used for a good cause, but we're not supposed to take that kind of character as a role model! Other reasons allow the pursuit of science to end or be shoved in the background because it is a means to a reachable end or to an end that can be better reached some other way. And, in modern fiction, even a Science Hero can be thrown off track by The Power of Love - and more likely than not, this will be expected to be seen as a good thing...
For these reasons, it is hard to find new, unambiguous Science Heroes. It's a pity - we still need to inspire the scientists.
See also Giving Radio to the Romans. Compare Nature Hero, Badass Bookworm, Omnidisciplinary Scientist, and Celibate Eccentric Genius if the Science Hero rejects romantic love in favor for benevolent use of science. Contrast Science Is Bad and Mad Scientist though heroic mad scientists are becoming more popular. Often a champion of the Enlightenment in works featuring Romanticism Versus Enlightenment and opposed by an Evil Luddite. If the work portrays them positively, it likely also ascribes to Science Is Good and, depending on certain situations, Working-Class Hero.
Fire and Brimstone Hell: A Fate Worse than Death that in some stories happens after death, just as Fluffy Cloud Heaven is The Theme Park Version of Heaven, Fire And Brimstone Hell is the Theme Park version of Hell. Generally, if it isn't an Ironic Hell, Hell Is War, the Bloody Bowels of Hell or A Hell of a Time, it's this. And even then, you can expect the odd brazier and stalactite.
Common features of such a location include underground cavern-like decor, plenty of hellfire and lava, and red-skinned devils with horns and tails poking the souls of sinners around with their pitchforks. Sometimes, it's actually shown to be underground literally, but most of the time it's Another Dimension.
Note the curious discrepancy; despite rebelling against God, devils in hell are doing some kind of job with awe-inspiring diligence and consistency. This job arguably makes Hell someplace someone doesn't want to go; which theoretically helps God. Some theorize that Hell is thus part of God's plan and still under His employ, which may or may not put his infinite goodness into doubt depending on who you ask; or else devils get something out of torturing souls. Mana, perhaps. Or maybe they're just sadistically amusing themselves. Another popular theory in fiction is that it was originally a prison, but Satan took it over; subverting its mechanics.
In works that feature many Circles of Hell, the Fire and Brimstone Hell is often near the top, with other hellish realms below.
For information on how this trope came about, see the Analysis page. Note that brimstone is the old English word for "sulfur".