As things often happen in our social media age, it all started rather simply. One Twitter user and college professor named Rory Turnbull posted the following tweet, in which he very accurately calls out a very common trope in practically every movie and television show that has a scene with a professor giving a lecture in it.
Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I only reach the main point of my lecture right as class is ending. Then I yell at students about the reading / homework as they leave.
— Rory Turnbull (@_roryturnbull) January 1, 2019
Ok, he’s not wrong. Even Indiana Jones got caught with this trope more than once.
After this post, it became a meme, and dozens of other people made similar posts, calling out lazy tropes in movies and TV, that are, by now, very well worn.
Here’s one that should be very familiar to anyone who ever watched Sex and the City.
Hello, I’m a writer in a movie. I write one piece a week and live in a two bedroom New York apartment with a walk-in wardrobe. Also I never actually pitch anywhere, the jobs just come to me. https://t.co/YyuPjYgEyP
— Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) January 3, 2019
This is every single court room television series and film ever made at this point.
Hello, I’m a lawyer in a movie. Every case is a lengthy jury trial where I’m totally outmatched & losing the entire time. Then, at the final possible moment I have a stroke of genius that no one ever thought of & win the case hands down. https://t.co/JjvS7Aa42O
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) January 3, 2019
This tired-ass trope started with Basic Instinct probably…and probably should have ended with it too.
Hello, I’m a bisexual woman in a movie. I’m evil, sexy, slutty, and hit on everything that moves. I prey on vulnerable young women, seduce upstanding guys with my wiles, and cheat on all my partners. You’ll know I’m bi bc I’ll mention or show it roughly every 2 second. https://t.co/7gN6efxPgm
— Faerunner (@ElfFromDenerim) January 3, 2019
Did this start with Rain Man? Not sure, but it’s also time to retire this one.
Hello, I’m an autistic person in a movie. I’m really good at counting cards and literally nothing else. I’m a guy, the actor who plays me totally met an autistic person once, and I don’t have feelings. https://t.co/Jjmo1T1ueV
— Sara Luterman (@slooterman) January 3, 2019
Yeah, and these can be retired yesterday as well.
Hello, I’m a woman over 35 in a movie. I play a teenager’s mom but am considered too old to be the male lead’s love interest, despite him being more than ten years my senior.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) January 3, 2019
Hello, I’m a woman in a movie. I could be any age from 15 to 42 but you’ll have no way of knowing because I’ll be portrayed by an actress aged between 20 and 33. I may even have children portrayed by actors of an age that would be biologically impossible or at least improbable. https://t.co/OwGfi6NsY1
— Charlotte Camilleri (@CharlotteCam3) January 3, 2019
Shades of Clueless?
Hello I’m a high school teacher in a movie. I never hand out tardy slips to students out in the hall when the late bell rings or worry about dress code violations. I never, ever say, “The bell does not dismiss you. *I* dismiss you.†https://t.co/8Ik3BIr9dA
— sally kilpatrick (@SuperWriterMom) January 3, 2019
This was also once every movie ever made for the Lifetime network
Hello, I’m a graduate student in a movie. I obviously sleep with my dissertation adviser and then murder someone, probably that adviser. https://t.co/awkCRTbz7X
— Wes Burdine (@MnNiceFC) January 3, 2019
I don’t know about you, but this one personally drives me crazy and shouting “who does that??” every time I see it.
Hello. I am a person using a phone in a movie. I don’t say goodbye before I hang up, the way literally every human being on Earth does. I just stop talking and put the phone down and the person on the other end somehow just knows I’m not there anymore. https://t.co/0IE8ezJue3
— Matt Singer (@mattsinger) January 3, 2019
#RedShirt
Hi, I’m the youngest member of this special ops team. My wife just gave birth and I’m nervous about my first mission, but confident nothing terrible will happen to me in the first scene.
— Dennis ⚡️ (@DennisRossdale) January 3, 2019
This one is right on, but forgot to mention the house is haunted AF.
Hello, I’m a couple in a movie. We need a fresh start in a new home due to a trauma in our past. I will make sure my SO and/or children have never seen this new home that we barely did any research on. We will also spend every last cent we have on this move. https://t.co/6hx5eEWgf1
— Matt McMuscles (@MattMcMuscles) January 3, 2019
Beware of any Sharp Objects.
Hello, I’m a reporter in a movie. I have three months in which to file a story and it’s about the person I’m falling in love with. My editor is as much a mentor as a boss.
— KP Jordan (@failingjordan) January 3, 2019
hello I’m a fruit cart vendor in a movie. I hope no one fucks up my fruit today!!
— You, 23andMe, and Dupree (@killakow) January 3, 2019
And since we started with a well worn professorial trope, we shall end with one as well
Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I have an uncanny knack for picking on Mr/Ms Who-isn’t-paying-attention at this moment (I know the names of every student in my 200+ lecture) without looking up. The student is a genius who instinctively knows the answer.
— Prof Andrew Scholey (@Scholey) January 3, 2019
Image: Paramount Pictures
