Dear Hollywood and whatever city it is
that makes TV shows,
There was a time when fish out of
water comedies were funny. There really was. That time has passed
by about 40 years. Stop with this garbage.
Yes, the person in a brand-new
environment is an easy dramatic tool. It allows the audience to come
to understand the environment through the actions of the fish.
However, by this point, it is mostly lazy. Exposition and revelation
can be handled in many more ways than by plunking down someone in the
middle of an unfamiliar situation and following their difficulties in
adapting to it.
Yes, it can also be well done
(extremely well, in fact; see Due
South), but unless you are
going to do it extremely well, don't bother. The bumbling idiot that
doesn't seem to comprehend that their surroundings have changed, and
seems to be totally unfamiliar with the basic human function of
adaptation and learning, or who refuses to fit into the new
environment, is a thing that really happens. So are car chases.
Neither one should be used casually in a piece of fiction.
The
times that this trope
is used in a divisive situation simply makes things worse. When the
fish is in fundamental conflict with the out-of-water situation
(woman in a man's world or vice versa, conservative vs. liberal,
etc...) one side or the other simply ends up being parodied to the
point of unbelievable characterization, which completely kills the
value of telling the story in the first place.
Now,
don't get me wrong. There are dramas (and some comedies) that are
entirely about that conflict, at which point, the trope is being used
appropriately (and sometimes well). Questions of social integration
and prejudice are legitimate places for this trope to show up. But
as the basis for an ongoing source of tension in a story which
otherwise does not concern itself with such things just gets tired,
old and boring fast. Not to mention insulting to its audience.
When
New Character shows up in Unfamiliar Situation, it works. When,
three episodes/sequels/books later, New Character is still incapable
of dealing with Unfamiliar Situation, we have a fail.
The
classic in the genre is The
Odd Couple. OCD Felix moves
in with slovenly Oscar and hilarity ensues. But the humor resolves
itself within the context of the play/movie. The entire arc is
displayed, including a scene which is both funny and touching which
has Felix and Oscar yelling at each other about how they admire and
respect each other, and how much each values their friendship.
As an
arc, fish out of water and its related situations can work. But if
you don't resolve it, if the characters refuse to adapt and change
because of the Unfamiliar Situation, then you aren't telling a story.
You're telling a series of jokes or anecdotes that happen to use the
exact same characters.
So,
Hollywood, how about treating me like I can handle something a little
more complex than this?
502
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