Sci-Fi clichés

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Sci-Fi clichés

    Hello, all. Curious to know what are some of your pet peeves about Sci-Fi scripts regarding commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs, or clichés.

    In Sci-Fi scripts, movies, scenes, and plots, what are some of the most overdone, obvious, predictable, and ridiculous ones that make you groan?

    (Reach as far back as movie history permits.) Thanks!
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

  • #2
    Re: Sci-Fi clichés

    The sentient AI that turns out to be the villain and wants to subjugate or destroy humanity. It's a compelling idea but it's been done too many times. On that note- I don't know if anyone has played the old PC game System Shock 2 but the AI Shodan and her hive minded creation The Many are two of the coolest villains in any story (cooler than HAL and Skynet). That would've made a great horror movie had the concept not been done to death.

    A post-nuclear apocalypse.

    Stories revolving around artificial bodies, downloading consciousness, etc. Also a cool idea that's been done to death.

    That classic cyberpunk aesthetic, while awesome, is starting to become stale (Altered Carbon and BR2049 come to mind, though the latter had an amazing soundtrack and visuals). The novel Neuromancer and many great animes, like Akira, have been doing this since the 80's.

    I'm sure at some point someone will put a new spin on one of these ideas and make a great story, though. Mad Max Fury Road is fairly recent and I enjoyed the hell out of that.
    Last edited by DDoc; 04-11-2020, 12:36 PM.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Sci-Fi clichés

      Thanks! Hope more people chime in on this.
      “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Sci-Fi clichés

        I don't know if it's technically a cliche but I'm tired of dystopia in general. We're living that stuff. I am a child of Star Trek, I envisioned a brightly lit, ethnically diverse, prosperous future where everyone is sexy, educated and well-fed.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Sci-Fi clichés

          Regarding dystopia: 100% agree. Regarding Star Trek: Me, too. It sounds nice, but then again, we’re dealing with humankind. Genetic modification of greediness, hatred, and inconsideration genes need weeded from the garden for humans to be fruitful.
          Last edited by Clint Hill; 06-10-2020, 07:48 AM.
          “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Sci-Fi clichés

            This detailed list seems to kill almost any chance of even having a science fiction premise:

            “The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés”
            “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Sci-Fi clichés

              One that immediately comes to mind is twists where "reality" turns out to be a simulation. It's really stale to me, though two of the top scripts on the industry black list last year had this trope, so I guess it can still work if done well.

              I'd be reluctant to do anything that feels too similar to Mad Max or Blade Runner. They're iconic and it's easy to fall back on those world types when you are coming up with a sci-fi setting (desolate wasteland or gritty urban techno noir hell). If you set your story in that type of world then I think you really want to have a fresh take in some way.

              At this point I'm over the Groundhog Day type of setup where someone has to repeat the same day over and over. Source Code knocked that to the ground in the sci-fi genre and then Edge of Tomorrow really dropped the elbow from the top rope. Similarly, Moon/Oblivion stories where the protagonist (SPOILER ALERT) realizes he's just a robot replica labor slave have been done enough that it wouldn't feel fresh.

              I'm not a HUGE sci-fi fan. I'd say I'm middle of the road in terms of familiarity with and affinity to the genre, but IMO the most interesting sci-fi stuff I've read/seen in recent years has been things like "Her", "Dune" (I only read it for the first time in 2016), and "Inception" that either deviate enough from genre conventions or innovate enough in their setting/world as to feel distinct from all the Blade Runner/Mad Max/Alien/Star Wars knockoffs.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post
                One that immediately comes to mind is twists where "reality" turns out to be a simulation. It's really stale to me, though two of the top scripts on the industry black list last year had this trope, so I guess it can still work if done well.
                Yes. I’ll avoid this. Thanks.

                Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post
                I'd be reluctant to do anything that feels too similar to Mad Max or Blade Runner. They're iconic and it's easy to fall back on those world types when you are coming up with a sci-fi setting (desolate wasteland or gritty urban techno noir hell). If you set your story in that type of world then I think you really want to have a fresh take in some way.
                Not going there, but thanks.

                Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post
                At this point I'm over the Groundhog Day type of setup where someone has to repeat the same day over and over. Source Code knocked that to the ground in the sci-fi genre and then Edge of Tomorrow really dropped the elbow from the top rope. Similarly, Moon/Oblivion stories where the protagonist (SPOILER ALERT) realizes he's just a robot replica labor slave have been done enough that it wouldn't feel fresh.
                I agree with you on the Groundhog Day scenario, and Edge of Tomorrow was the best of them to date. This: “... dropped the elbow from the top rope.” — had to look up that one! Ha!

                Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post
                I'm not a HUGE sci-fi fan. I'd say I'm middle of the road in terms of familiarity with and affinity to the genre, but IMO the most interesting sci-fi stuff I've read/seen in recent years has been things like "Her", "Dune" (I only read it for the first time in 2016), and "Inception" that either deviate enough from genre conventions or innovate enough in their setting/world as to feel distinct from all the Blade Runner/Mad Max/Alien/Star Wars knockoffs.
                I liked Arrival, and I’m an old-school Star Trek fan ,too, but loved the Star Trek (2009) version, too.

                What I’m out to create is a comedy, something like Galaxy Quest; similar but different (and with a heart).
                “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                  Anything with amnesia, or MC not knowing what they really are, cue big dramatic reveal that deflates like a balloon. "For you see, you are a princess of the royal blood. And also a battle robot."

                  G A S P

                  Then again, in comedy/parody, those would probably work, so shrug. Anything can work if you subvert the trope and sprinkle something new and shiny.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                    Originally posted by dpaterso View Post
                    Anything with amnesia, or MC not knowing what they really are, cue big dramatic reveal that deflates like a balloon. "For you see, you are a princess of the royal blood. And also a battle robot."

                    G A S P

                    Then again, in comedy/parody, those would probably work, so shrug. Anything can work if you subvert the trope and sprinkle something new and shiny.
                    So true. Thank you. It’s the novelty part that seems most difficult. Ecclesiastes 1:9: “The thing that hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.”

                    EDIT TO ADD: The trick is to find levity from somewhere within despite all that’s going on in the world.
                    Last edited by Clint Hill; 04-14-2020, 06:40 PM.
                    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                      I think variations on all of these ideas that have been mentioned are still welcome. I will gladly watch them, as will many others.

                      Sci-fi has many sub-genres. If you can bring some new blood to an established sub-genre, just knock it out. There is an existing audience for your work.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                        Agree with tuukka. I don't mind movies with cliches if they're done well. A good movie is a good movie, and there's always a way to make things interesting

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                          I'm not a big fan of films set hundreds of years into the future with elaborate new scenarios. It takes so long to describe the set-up that the story can get lost.

                          SciFi only really needs one "what-if" science moment to potentially be something. Years ago somebody saw a headline about something new in science called DNA splitting/sequencing. The "what-if" became Jurassic Park.

                          Many things that were near-future science fiction are approaching reality...AI, military drones, rich guys launching their own spaceships. Just look at the headlines for material...autonomous warehouse robots delivering things by AI drones? Brain transplants? One-way Mars Mission (it's being considered), Wooly Mammoths roam again, BitCoin manipulation, internet megalomaniac fills the world with fake news, voting by smart phone, futuristic virus escapes lab!

                          What could possibly go wrong!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                            Getting back on topic, I detest the super-obvious, melodramatic rescue part.

                            Going back in our SciFi Cliché time machine to Dante's Peak...I'm liking the Pierce Brosnan/Linda Hamilton dynamic until they save not only grandma but also the dog. In Weird Science they just freeze the grandparents, Real Genius kindly skips the saving of pets and grandparents completely.

                            There's a nice B&W from 1944 that has a simple SciFi sort of premise. A guy gets tomorrow's newspaper today. It Happened Tomorrow is the title. Just one simple "what-if" premise of a guy knowing the future one day ahead.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Sci-Fi clichés

                              Originally posted by RogerOThornhill View Post
                              I'm not a big fan of films set hundreds of years into the future with elaborate new scenarios. It takes so long to describe the set-up that the story can get lost.

                              SciFi only really needs one "what-if" science moment to potentially be something. Years ago somebody saw a headline about something new in science called DNA splitting/sequencing. The "what-if" became Jurassic Park.
                              Star Wars, Avatar, Matrix, etc. All did pretty good, despite elaborate world-building. You can explain the world while telling the story. You just have to dramatize the information. Same with fantasy films like Harry Potter, or LOTR, or Pirates Of Caribbean.

                              Now one can claim that with the exception of SW, all those films had a little bit too much of exposition. But you can make these kind of films streamlined and story-oriented. And when you build a film with unique lore and world-building, there is a chance that you create something truly special, that will get universal love from audiences.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X