Trope Talk: Realism

It's time for trope talk number 2! Red discusses what the heck "realism" even means and why its functionality has been flattened into nonstop misery and too many face-lines. There are a lot of superheroes in this one.

WARNING! This video contains opinions on the DC cinematic universe. If your opinions differ from those expressed in this video, I respect that completely, and frankly I'm overjoyed that you can actually wring some enjoyment out of watching those movies. Good on you, man. Having fun is a good thing and I'm not gonna tell anyone they're wrong for doing it.

MERCH LINKS:

[captainbirch]

My favorite realism is small human details, like miles mumbling the words to the songs in spiderverse because he doesn't know all the lyrics. Small imperfections that make characters seem real. That's the realism I love, not just depression and rain

[casualcraftman]

“And just because a story is depressing that doesn’t mean it’s deep or complex” Ben Yahtzee Croshaw

[Stratelier]

"Comparing dressing up like a bat and fighting crime to repeated acts of domestic terrorism (each with absurdly high body counts) is not fair! One of those things is psychotic; the other's a thing that every kid wants to do ... *you decide which is which."*
That last part was the best.

[KPTG]

"I'm sorry, that's not Batman, it's The Punisher in a silly hat." Man, I love this channel.

[Mr_Maiq_The_Liar]

I miss when realism meant believability.

[neutronalchemist]

Superman in five words:
"Are you afraid of bullets?"
"Only when they miss me".

[VirtuesOfSin]

"Could you see this Batman comforting a crying child?"

Rest in peace Ace...

[pisscvre]

Nihilism isn't realism
to quote the best thing said in bojack horseman "stop fetishizing your misery!"

[arrionarchie]

"Can you imagine your Batman comforting a scared child? If yes, congratulations, that’s a genuine Batman! If no, you haven’t written Batman, you’ve just written Punisher in a funny hat."
i'm quoting you forever.

[ianr.navahuber]

3:36 I once heard of a good batman story that, while i havent read it, i loved it summary: To Kill a Legend
In that story, Batman is sent to an alternate universe, where there is no heroes. Sent especifically to the moment where his ciunterpart is gonna lose his parents. He is put in the position of either save those waynes and let the world suffer without a hero, or let things play out like they do. Batman says "Screw it" and saves those Waynes.
I don't remember well if Batman is aware or told of the consequences of his actions BUT the audience is told about the reactions his actions would have on that world: that Bruce Wayne, inspired byt the actions of that man dressed as a Bat who saved his parents, would decide to become a Batman to protect everyone on the world
Essentially, a Batman made out of gratitude, hopes and dreams, instead of vengueance of trauma.

I am sad that story doens't get more recognition

[Blizzic]

"You're a menace to society"
"Of course ma'am."

[Arowrath]

"punisher in a silly hat" is the best description for Batman in BvS I have heard to date

[moonkingdomify]

Old Bernie is also white while young Bernie is black. Today this wouldn't seem like much but racism was much worse back when Watchmen originally came out. Having an old white man attempting to save the life of a black teenage boy would have been a lot more heartwarming then because it not only bridges the gap between race, but generations. Alan Moore is honestly a master of his medium.

[penguinivana]

This is a bit off topic, but when red talked about Superman, it reminded me of a trope that I really really liked. It's when a dark person, who is pressumed tainted or evil, interact with a small, untainted, pure sunshine filled child. In Superman's case, if they have done what Red had said, Superman would be the unrelenting loyal sunshine personified child trying to motivate this grim-dark populace. And honestly, it sounds like a wayyyy better thing to watch than the original 'everyone is salty' thing.

[sflaningam]

Joker: Why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?
Batman: Because I've heard it before and it wasn't funny the first time


PROOF

[rebelbeammasterx]

You know what I can't stand? That all movies nowadays decided that undersaturating that color makes it "darker." Sure that can be an excellent story telling device, but now it's Used terribly because Hollywood thinks that makes it dark. It's dark when combined with dark story telling elements. This doesn't make TMNT dark, it's just jarring.

[GriffinPilgrim]

I forget the exact quote but Alan Moore did once comment regarding people trying to make everything into Watchmen with something along the lines of "It was just a fucking comic book, I wasn't trying to tell everyone what to do."

[elizabetheowynbelle]

While we're on the subject, why is it now the accepted trend to frame Batman as a sulky loner who trusts no one, while Superman is overly trusting? Okay, first off, the idea that Batman doesn't trust anyone is positively absurd and just wrong; what about Alfred? Commissioner Gordon? Robin? Batgirl? Leslie Tompkins? Harvey Bullock? Batman's no social butterfly, but he does have close ties and people he cares about. Batman is also not this naval-gazing, brooding narcissist; yes, he has a dark world view, his parents' deaths undoubtedly haunt him, but he genuinely cares about others, and, in the animated series, even offers to rehabilitate some of the criminals he fights (quite frequently, now that I think about it). As for Superman, maybe he's more trusting BY COMPARISON, but he's not an idiot; he knows there are criminals in the world, and that he has enemies who wish him, his loved ones, and the world harm (Lex Luthor, anyone?). Superman may be happier than Batman, more conventionally likable, but that doesn't make him an unworldly bumpkin; otherwise, he'd be Clark Kent all the time.
And what's with this obsession of making Batman and Superman be at odds with each other?! On the surface they're different, but they're actually more similar than you realize! They both have experienced the loss of their parents, the difficulty of maintaining two separate identities, the struggle to have normal relationships (even Superman isn't an island), and they both have a strict no-kill policy! Hell, even Alan Moore dared to recognize this in his Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"! In that one, Superman is rendered catatonic by the evil Mongul, and while Wonder Woman tries to fight Mongul, Batman shows nothing but the utmost concern for Superman while trying to snap him out of it, and even comforts him by calling him "Kal" and "old friend".Why oh why can't we see more of THAT dynamic??

[shingen]

You know, this is why I refer Reconstructions over Deconstructions. Deconstructions always give the consequences and turn the story dark and depressing and call it realism, basically saying "this is why 'x' doesn't work."
Reconstruction looks at that and then says "Now that we know the flaws in 'x' lets put it back together in a way that will work and keep the original themes."

[TyphinHoofbun]

I had a roommate who bought into "Reality is misery" mindset, and it was awful. We couldn't watch *anything*, because if it was at all light-hearted or hopeful, she'd loudly complain "God, why can't real life be like THAT? I can't take this reminder of how far this is from real life!" And if it was grimdark or gritty or anything, "Oh good, another reminder of how much life sucks! I wanted to be distracted, not reminded!" The worst part was that it wasn't just that we couldn't watch anything with her, it was that we couldn't watch anything at all. She'd wander out of her room for a drink or to use the bathroom, stop and see what we were watching, and then proceed to loudly complain.

When she moved out, one of the reasons she gave was that "It was depressing to watch us mope around and be without hope." When she never did any work on improving her own situation, and actively sabotaged our attempts to help her because she'd rather complain than fix things. Stick a light bulb up her butt, because she's projecting.