List of SFF Clichés

[Delvo]

Originally Posted by HappyHippo

Alien races are 'haughty', or 'warlike' or peaceful'.

Well, unless they're just like us, they'd have to appear to be something other than normal from our perspective, closer to one end or the other of some spectrum that we perceive ourselves in the middle of.

The intriguing thing is that it would mean we'd seem abnormal in some way to them...

[Kitera]

One of the most common ones: good verses evil

[mutant_elf]

This is a fantastic thread!
I can't think of anything to add, just emphasize the cliche of a reluctant hero who comes from some small town as an orphan, fights all odds to save the world against some evil dude with the help from his bumbling sidesick, beautiful girl/handsome dude and wise, old man.

[HappyHippo]

Originally Posted by Delvo

Well, unless they're just like us, they'd have to appear to be something other than normal from our perspective, closer to one end or the other of some spectrum that we perceive ourselves in the middle of.

The intriguing thing is that it would mean we'd seem abnormal in some way to them...

oooh, good point.

I'm not sure if it's a cliche, but why are dwarves always miners, or at the very least subterranean? Is it a height thing?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by HappyHippo

oooh, good point.

I'm not sure if it's a cliche, but why are dwarves always miners, or at the very least subterranean? Is it a height thing?

This comes from their ancient role in folklore:

Norse dwarves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and the conflation of the term with the German Kobold:

Kobold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[HappyHippo]

thank you for the info!

[j. d. worthington]

You're quite welcome!

[apokalypsis]

How about Good vs. Evil > Good and Evil are inextricably mixed up in each other > Hero absorbing both good and evil into himself and "canceling the equation/debt" to save the world?

[jackokent]

The hero or heroine dies right in front of us and then miraculously after a bit of pleading or a majic word, or someone noticing that they are wearing the vest of enlightenment, they just suddenly get better. They don't even seem to have a headache afterwards.

[Azathoth]

Here's one I've been noticing lately (sorry if someone already mentioned):

Wispy and thin heroine who weighs perhaps 90 lbs and stands a mere 5'5" just so happens to be a master swordswoman/martial artist, and she can kick the butt of any 6'8" man weighing 250 lbs of pure muscle. Because she knows kung-fu or whatever, and is faster than the man.

[apokalypsis]

Violence is a good way to solve nearly any problem.

[Thadlerian]

The accelerating development of gender roles in fantasy:

Then:
Girl gets captured by antagonist and boy comes to the rescue.

Now:
Girl spends half the book telling everyone how independent she is, gets captured by antagonist and boy comes to the rescue.

[mosaix]

Aliens are intelligent enough to build star ships, cross the galaxy, invade and enslave Earth, but don't recognise a human infiltrator disguised as one of them.

[jackarcalon]

-The movie "Strange Days": Impossible technology, but society made no progress. In reality, it was easier to emancipate women and end segregation than build flying cars. The most dramatic future changes may be social.
-Characters look too cool. If we could see real humans from the future they would look bizarre.
-It's dark in here, and grimy.
-No one has to fill out paperwork.
-Characters have to solve unknown phenomenon themselves, without trying to alert every scientist and journalist on earth. They should call the media.
-Galaxies and nebulas are clearly visible to the unaided human eye.
-Spaceships that accelerate but don't decelerate.

[andrew.v.spencer]

The villain is always played by a Brit or a Brit playing a European. This is true for most blockbuster movies.

The government is always evil, always has more resources and always has black SUVs.

On a far future Starship representing earth, the crew is always predominantly American. Clearly the Chinese and Indians will suffer some terrible space sickness which prevents them from crewing.

Aliens are never alien, their motives are always distinctly human.

Human weapons are frequently ineffective against alien death bubbles or whatever.