Monday's Movie & Musical Clichés

There's a long-running thread at Quora relating to disliked movie clichés - most of the entries were TL;DR (too long; did not read) for me, on my way skimming through the website. A short one with several images to support it struck me as a good example, it came from one Daniel Andrew Lockwood:

In almost EVERY movie that has trains, somehow, for some reason, the lead character ends up on top of it. If there’s a good guy and a bad guy they end up in a fight on top of it.

Ain't that the truth?

A few regular groan-inducing clichés, in films and TV dramas, for husband and me include:

Scenes where a character is brutally attacked, hit on the head falls to the ground then is kicked mercilessly, but soon after can get up and act as though it was just a few grazes and bruises - instead of what must have obviously caused broken bones, internal bleeding or worse.

Scene where female character decides to chop off her long locks, for one reason or another - using a pair of kitchen scissors, possibly quite blunt. She hacks away indiscriminately. Next time we see her, she looks as though she'd spent a half day at some celebrity hairdressing salon.

My own pet hate: The Dog in Film rule: if there's a dog in a film, the cuter the better - the dog will die, one way or another.

Hacking with ease: character searching for password to access someone's personal computer data - a few random guesses and he's in! Or hacking into websites of huge corporations, this takes a bit longer but there's always a whizz-kid expert who can do it in a hour or so.

Husband's pet groan moment: in horror movies, character looks in a mirror, usually bathroom cabinet mirror, looks away for a moment - then the villain appears, in the mirror behind him/her.

An ever present scene these days, supposedly titillating, I guess, but because it's so common now it has become slightly ridiculous; we even start a count as to how long it will take for two characters to get into bed together, naked, or take some other, more athletic pose up against a wall etc. and perform sweatily for the camera! This often happens well within the first 20 minutes.

Finally, because it is Music Monday, a rundown of the top ten most used, and over-used, songs in movies. The video is 14 minutes long, but it held my interest - do give it a whirl:

A Rising Tide Lifts all Clichés

Well-worn phrases known as clichés are abhorred by the literary elite (and my husband). The word cliché came from the French language. In printing, a cliché was a printing plate cast from movable type, also called a stereotype. When letters were set one at a time, it made sense to cast a phrase used repeatedly, as a single slug of metal. "Cliché" came to mean such a ready-made phrase. Many authorities say that the French word "cliché" comes from the sound made when the molten stereotyping metal is poured onto the matrix to make a printing plate, including the statement that it is a variant of cliquer, "to click", though some authorities express doubt. (Wikipedia)

My own view on clichés is similar to that of British author Evelyn Waugh: "I think to be oversensitive about clichés is like being oversensitive about table manners". Occasional use of the wrong spoon or fork, or an accidental slurp of the soup can be forgiven, the offender might even be baiting the table manners police or cliché police!

Altitude is determined by attitude, I've no axe to grind, so I'll get off on the right foot, try to make an astrological killing, cliché-wise. Our zodiac signs are ripe for the picking. Let's get to it... hot to trot? Alrighty then!

Aries~ gunning for a fight - quick off the mark - eat my dust - skating on thin ice - when the going gets tough the tough get going - don't jump to conclusions

Taurus~ you can never be too rich, too blonde or too thin - what's cookin' good lookin'? - it's not over 'til the fat lady sings - strong as an ox

Gemini~ shootin' the breeze - put your money where your mouth is - talk the hind leg off a donkey - the writing's on the wall

Cancer~ the hand that rocks the cradle - home is where the heart is -
mi casa, su casa.

Leo~ the world's a stage - the show must go on - all dressed up and nowhere to go - glowing like a good deed in a naughty world - too many chiefs and not enough Indians

Virgo~ pure as the driven snow - leaving no stone unturned - mind your p's and q's - getting your ducks in a row

Libra~ smooth operator - give a little, take a little - on equal footing - but on the other hand

Scorpio~ scream bloody murder - no guts no glory - glass half-empty - keep your eyes peeled for trouble - always darkest before the storm

Sagittarius ~ the more the merrier - bitten off more than he can chew - hit the road - glass half-full

Capricorn~ lay down the law - time to pay the piper - oldie but goodie - a penny saved is a penny earned

Aquarius~ free as a bird - comparing apples to oranges - get down to the nitty-gritty - out where the buses don't run - born before his time

Pisces~ miracles will never cease! - out of the blue - there's something fishy about that - third time's a charm - he's sleeping it off.

Now, let me be clear about this - I know it was a half-baked idea, but it's right up my alley and I felt like rolling with the flow.

And, by the by - don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.....

3 November = Cliché Day

Who knew? On this day we are to use as many as possible of those well-worn phrases known as clichés, abhorred by the literary elite (and my husband). My view: altitude is determined by attitude, I've no axe to grind, so I'll get off on the right foot, make an astrological killing, cliché -wise. I've unearthed a few clichés to fit each zodiac sign.

Let's get to it... hot to trot and aiming for the full monty. Alrighty then!




Aries~ gunning for a fight - quick off the mark - eat my dust - skating on thin ice - when the going gets tough the tough get going - don't jump to conclusions

Taurus~ you can never be too rich, too blonde or too thin - what's cookin' good lookin'? - it's not over 'til the fat lady sings - strong as an ox

Gemini~ shootin' the breeze - put your money where your mouth is - talk the hind leg off a donkey - the writing's on the wall

Cancer~ the hand that rocks the cradle - home is where the heart is - mi casa, su casa.

Leo~ the world's a stage - the show must go on - all dressed up and nowhere to go - glowing like a good deed in a naughty world - too many chiefs and not enough Indians

Virgo~ pure as the driven snow - leaving no stone unturned - mind your p's and q's - getting your ducks in a row

Libra~ smooth operator - give a little, take a little - on equal footing - but on the other hand

Scorpio~ scream bloody murder - no guts no glory - glass half-empty - keep your eyes peeled for trouble - always darkest before the storm

Sagittarius ~ the more the merrier - bitten off more than he can chew - hit the road - glass half-full

Capricorn~ lay down the law - time to pay the piper - oldie but goodie - a penny saved is a penny earned

Aquarius~ free as a bird - comparing apples to oranges - get down to the nitty-gritty - out where the buses don't run - born before his time

Pisces~ miracles will never cease! - out of the blue - there's something fishy about that - third time's a charm - he's sleeping it off.


Now, let me be clear about this - I know it was a half-baked idea, but it's right up my alley and I felt like rolling with the flow.

And, by the by - don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.....