I've noticed a lot of cliches in TV and movies. Like when the hero doesn't wait for the cops but takes unilateral action, and it turns out that the villain was counting on him doing this all along. (It even turned up in one of the Harry Potter books!)
Or when a character has a change in his appearance at the same time as a change in his character. (That makes it easier for the less attentive in the audience.) Or even just with a change in how we're supposed to see the character! Like in Pretty Woman, which begins with hooker Julia Roberts working the streets in miniskirt and thighboots, but also a blond wig. In a later scene when we learn she's a nice girl at heart, the wig comes off and we see her real hair. Pretty Woman was directed by Garry Marshall, the world's expert on cliches, going back to sitcoms like Happy Days.
On Youtube there's a channel called Dating Beyond Borders, with videos showing what it's like to date people of various nationalities. I suppose these are stereotypes, but it's still fun. Like they say that if you date a German girl she'll be brutally honest with you. ("Don't you think you should get a haircut?") Or if you date a Mexican woman she'll expect you to be an old-fashioned gentleman and walk outside her on the sidewalk.
Your comment on the Mexican woman misses the point. She expects Old World, traditional courtesy, something that is sorely lacking today, when you have to remind folk of obligations. I have been walking on the street side of ladies since childhood. And you?
ReplyDelete