Subverting Expectations: The Megathread - Or How Baby Dick Creators ‘Sort of Forgot’ What an Anti-Climax Is

I think you can wring a good movie out of the Last Jedi if you 1) cut the number of gotchas in half, force the script to evaluate which are actually necessary 2) have a more kinetic final confrontation. You can keep Luke being an apparition if you want but have him at least damage the Walkers. With the force, making them fire on one another, and have him survive tight spots. This would make the reveal that he's a projection not obvious because it would be lampshaded by the tropes and approach to risky situations Star Wars usually takes.
Yeah, but that would be defeating the only redeeming quality of the film, which is the fact that it was a suicide bombing that destroyed the franchise.

In utmost seriousness, with no irony, I'm glad these films and TV shows that try to "subvert expectations" are so incredibly terrible, because if they were even mediocre we wouldn't be seeing even a fraction of the negative response to them we've seen over the last eight or nine years. I honestly hope they get worse and lay waste to even more properties and bank accounts, to the point where the phrase "subverting expectations" becomes so radioactive that you'll get thrown out of a board meeting instantly for even uttering it.
 
Yeah, but that would be defeating the only redeeming quality of the film, which is the fact that it was a suicide bombing that destroyed the franchise.

In utmost seriousness, with no irony, I'm glad these films and TV shows that try to "subvert expectations" are so incredibly terrible, because if they were even mediocre we wouldn't be seeing even a fraction of the negative response to them we've seen over the last eight or nine years. I honestly hope they get worse and lay waste to even more properties and bank accounts, to the point where the phrase "subverting expectations" becomes so radioactive that you'll get thrown out of a board meeting instantly for even uttering it.
Yeah I'm sure the jew board members will throw jew producers out when they say they want to something subversive.

--

Subverting expectations isn't a bad thing inherently. Every joke is a subversion of expectations where one thing is set up and then you are surprised. Almost every interesting development in a story is a subversion of expectation.

The problem people have with it, is the same problem people have with CGI. When you're noticing it, when you're thinking about it during the movie or series it's clear that it has gone very very wrong.

Take for example in better call saul where after the hundredth lie Kim tells Jimmy she can't do do it anymore. That they have to put an end to it before things break too badly..... or get married. It's a complete surprise.

But it doesn't get people riled up. It makes sense in the context of the story. Kim's concern is that she's liable for his crimes, but as his wife, she has the right not to incriminate him.

It's just the difference between a good story beat / dramatic pivot vs. a bad one.

Conversely the infamous one, game of thrones, has both good and bad versions of subversion of expectations. It built itself on subversion of fantasy trope expectations. It was such a meme that you can find thousands of reaction videos of people that knew a surprising moment was coming.

One other thing is that subversion of expectations has going for it, is that it will show you something new/fresh, which is why it particularly appeals to those overly exposed to media (which are also the critics/youtube video makers).

But like the class clown, it can quickly become just as predictable, like the way Kenny died every episode. You have to remain creative to stay ahead of your audience. Game of thrones managed for a while. South park managed for a while.

The thing is that subversion of expectations is never what you remember a work for. It is a short term payoff to keep people on the edge of their seat and engaged. But you have to engage them with something. And those things need to be more eternal, more enduring than "psyke!"
 
Yeah I'm sure the jew board members will throw jew producers out when they say they want to something subversive.
Well, I'm pretty sure if a Jew ever suggested something truly subversive, like making a product that isn't shit, then yeah the others would think they've gone crazy and their ass would be out on the street for sure.
 
Based on the recent Masters of the Universe trailer, it appears that the "subversion of expectations" shit is going to happen.

We just can't have anything nice anymore, can we?
What’s being subverted? He-man is actually fighting his own toxic masculinity?
 
What’s being subverted? He-man is actually fighting his own toxic masculinity?
The show's first trailer was basically bait for all of the fans of the Master of the Universe franchise-- it gave them everything they wanted.

The second trailer pretty much confirms a lot of the rumors being passed around: That Teela is actually the main character, and He-Man is going to play second fiddle to her.
 
Tempted to play Devil's Advocate with He Man revelations: He-man wins every fight easily so he has to be taken out (will likely be asspulled back to life anyway), even the old show knew this and the best episodes usually had him away or indisposed. And Teela's story was the big unresolved subplot from that same show.

But that would imply I've watched it and I haven't. Just a neat argument I find decently persuasive while ignorant of its veracity or the execution of everything so far.
 
The Masters of the Universe reboot is on Netflix, so really it'd be subverting expectations if it wasn't pozzed.

The one thing that comes anywhere close to being unexpected is that Hollywood somehow thinks He-Man and She-Ra are even worth a reboot in the first place.

IMHO the original shows from the 80's weren't that good to begin with, let alone the shitty Netflix reboots. But my own opinions aside, it's not exactly an A-Lister 80's IP compared to Star Wars, TMNT, or even Ghostbusters.

It just seems like Netflix was desperate to find another 80's cartoon to give yet another reboot to and could easily get the rights to.
 
The one thing that comes anywhere close to being unexpected is that Hollywood somehow thinks He-Man and She-Ra are even worth a reboot in the first place.
They were literally toy-selling shows, like G1 MLP and Strawberry Shortcake and Smurfs and all the other bullshit cartoons produced on shit-tier budgets that would have embarrassed Hanna-Barbera. This is manbabbies desperately trying to reclaim their 12 year old life because their current life is so utterly fucking dire and depressing it makes them fear their own mortality.
 
They were literally toy-selling shows, like G1 MLP and Strawberry Shortcake and Smurfs and all the other bullshit cartoons produced on shit-tier budgets that would have embarrassed Hanna-Barbera. This is manbabbies desperately trying to reclaim their 12 year old life because their current life is so utterly fucking dire and depressing it makes them fear their own mortality.

I honestly don't know what's worse. The fact that the manbabies are convinced these glorified toy commercials are worth rehashing or the fact they actually have positions at these companies where they have the power to actually do it.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: AnOminous
They were literally toy-selling shows, like G1 MLP and Strawberry Shortcake and Smurfs and all the other bullshit cartoons produced on shit-tier budgets that would have embarrassed Hanna-Barbera. This is manbabbies desperately trying to reclaim their 12 year old life because their current life is so utterly fucking dire and depressing it makes them fear their own mortality.
Semper Fi AND Mad Online.
Gentlemen, if your metrics don't look something like this you're not a maverick pushing the envelope.
 
I honestly don't know what's worse. The fact that the manbabies are convinced these glorified toy commercials are worth rehashing or the fact they actually have positions at these companies where they have the power to actually do it.
the message above all else
see this old thing, now it's mine
now it's used to push the message
 
It just seems like Netflix was desperate to find another 80's cartoon to give yet another reboot to and could easily get the rights to.
I would agree if not for the fact that the He-man and She-Ra Rights are apparently a massive Mess, hence why there is another reboot coming soon.
 
  • Lunacy
Reactions: Troonologist PhD
I would agree if not for the fact that the He-man and She-Ra Rights are apparently a massive Mess, hence why there is another reboot coming soon.
This reboot treadmill is making me hate everything and just instantly assuming that anything remotely related to a previously existing IP is going to be absolute garbage and that everyone involved with it should be forced to dig their own mass graves and shot into them before they can perpetrate whatever the next atrocity is.
 
Back