Entertainment Defaults

[jennythe_reader]

I was thinking about this the other day, and I realized that when it comes to TV and movies, I have a set of default assumptions I make unless something in the show contradicts it.

1) Movies are set around the year they come out. TV shows air (more or less) in real time. Obviously, this doesn't have to be explicitly contradicted. Clothing/

Comments

[seawasp]

My assumptions all boil down to two: Characters are me, until I'm presented with things that modify that. The world is mine, until I'm presented by things that modify that.

Most authors usually present me with things that modify these assumptions within the first sentence or two, and it goes downhill from there.

[shannon730]

I usually make most of the same assumptions. Unless something makes me think otherwise. Like the all characters are straight thing...I don't need it to explicitly say they're LGBTQ, if the character's actions/characteristics seem that way (and it doesn't have to be stereotypical. I rarely consider someone Trans though. I think that's hollywood's fault though, they need to incorporate a more realistic number of LGBTQ people into movies and television.

LGBTQ (I think I got the order of the acronym wrong) You got it right. It can actually be that way or GLBTQ. It tends to just depend on who you're talking to. But both are right.

[finding_helena]

What percent of the general population is trans? I think that needs to be considered in the evaluation of stuff to see if there are enough trans characters? And also, what percent of the population is *recognizably* gay or trans? Because some trans people have a goal of "passing" and so it could be arguable that maybe a peripheral character is trans but you just can't tell. Though I imagine most of the time this does not actually happen much in Hollywood. I bet sometimes a character's sexual orientation or whether they're cis or trans is not really actually plot-relevant.