The Joy of Tropes

As anyone who has read my novels may be aware, I like toplay with tropes. I like to try at least to puncture expectations and point outthe kind of plots and characters a narrative tends to rely on with big fatsignposts. I don’t like to let the obvious and predictable pass by withoutcomment. Sad as it sounds, that’s my idea of fun. ;)

But – and here’s the thing – I point them out while tryingto adhere to a satisfying narrative structure myself. Stories where the badguys win and everyone dies horribly do exist, but they aren’t much fun for theaudience – there needs to be the escape, the payoff, the triumph in order toleave the reader smiling and satisfied. There needs to be victory overadversity, a price or a heroic sacrifice to make the moment hard earned – an easyvictory is no fun either, there has to be some drama or strife. That is whatmakes a tale worth telling.

So while I poke at tropes, oddly enough I don’t actuallyhave that much objection to them being used in the name of telling a fun story.It doesn’t interfere with my enjoyment. Indeed, sad nutter than I am, predictingthe plot to come – and being proved right – is just as fun for me as beingsurprised by an unexpected twist. And an absolute prime example of this?

The Jurassic Park/World films.

I have just seen the latest one and as we all must know, theseare as tropey as they come. Like most of you, I suspect, I also accuratelypredicted the fate (and manner of fate in several cases) of every singlecharacter in said film by using the below simple predictions – because the formulais always the same.

Male and female leads always survive. However imperilledthey seem, they ain’t for chomping.

Examples of this: Alan Grant, Ellie Satler, Ian Malcolm, SarahHarding, Owen Grady, Claire Dearing and [SPOILER FOR JWR] Zora Bennett, HenryLoomis.

Anyone under the age of eighteen is also safe as houses, ifprobably scarred for life. Their guardians are generally also pretty safe,unless they are evil.

Examples of this: Lex, Tim, John Hammond, Kelly, Eric,Amanda & Paul Kirby, Zach, Gray, Maisie and [SPOILER FOR JWR] the Delgadosand Xavier.

Anyone nefarious or greedy and self serving – especially ifthey endanger the kiddies - is not only doomed but will suffer the IronicDeath. You know they are dead from the outset and you can generally be prettysure who or what or under what circumstances they will be taken out. It’s justa matter of time.

Examples of this: Donald Gennaro, Dennis Nedry, DieterStark, Peter Ludlow, Hoskins, Eli Mills, Wheatley, Gunnar Eversol, RainnDelacourt, Lewis Dodgson and [SPOILER FOR JWR] Martin Krebs.

There will often be a secondary character, just below theleads, who will also be safe, although sometimes not before making an ultimatelysurvivable Heroic Sacrifice (see below).

Examples of this: Ian Malcolm (first film only), Nick VanOwen, Billy, Barry, Franklin, Zia, Kayla and [BIG SPOILER for JWR] DuncanKincaid.

There will also be what I call Character Disposables – they aredecent, probably harmless (though occasionally gun totting), they get somecharacter and a moment or two, but you know they are only there for one reasonand is to enter the dinosaur food chain.

Examples of this: Muldoon, Mr Arnold, Eddie, Burke,Udetsky, Cooper, Nash, Zara, Mr Lockwood (though not killed by a dinosaur, hewas killed because of them) and [SPOILER FOR JWR] Nina, Leclerc, Bobby

And then of course there are the Just Plain DisposableDisposables – anyone in a uniform generally falls into this category, certainlyanyone in black body armour and/or carrying a gun or anyone doing lesscharacterful nefarious things like chasing, buying or selling dinosaurs orshooting at them. They are literally just meat in clothing in the finesttraditions of their kind.

And then of course comes the Heroic Sacrifice. This always happensbut, despite seeming so, isn’t always fatal. Somebody will throw their life onthe line, being willing to die generally to save a kiddie or the leads bylighting a flare (that one’s common, see Ian Malcolm, Claire Dearing and [SPOILERFOR JWR] Duncan Kincaid) or dying or seeming to die while trying to preventothers from doing so (see Muldoon, Eddie, Billy, Paul Kirby and strangelyenough Blue the Velociraptor – twice).

Oh and there will always be a Tyrannosaurus Rex. That’s justbasic. It may seem to die but it never will.

And I knew all that was coming before I even went in andidentified each and every one long before it happened. Because sometimes it’skind of fun to be in on the trope and get what you anticipate – there’s asatisfaction in that. Sometimes an audience simply wants their straightforwardexpectations met. Because at the end of the day, it makes one feel a part ofthings and where’s the harm in that?

Unless one is a Disposable, being chewed by a dinosaur. Obviously.;)