This has ruined many movies for me.
But here's a thread that talks about movies/TV shows in which the gun was never fired:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/64x53j/whats_the...
Funny quote:
> Lost was a Chekhov's Gatling gun
Chekhov's Gun
41–50 of 71 posts
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
tvtropes covers so much ground, that I don't know where to start on this one, but maybe you can help me out. There is a category of story device that goes so far as to become more of a storytelling crutch. Or a wheelchair. Some examples from Star Trek that come to mind (since I'm re-watching TNG right about now): - Holodeck: Totally new environments on a whim! Just in case FTL travel wasn't enough! - Troi's empathy s…
There's definitely a middle ground with tropes, but I think it's also era dependent (and likely cyclical). Some tropes have periods in time when they come into heavy use because people are enjoying them (or there's a new twist to be done with new technological, cultural or social changes), and then become overused a too "tropey" because everyone starts recognizing them. I suspect there may have been a different level…
I agree. There may be tropes that right now we want to see more, but in a few years will be viewed as "tropey".
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#43I wonder if there's an analogy between a schizophrenic looking at reality and a savy movie goer looking at a movie. There's certainly something a bit deranged to "movie logic".
This random object can't be for nothing, it will be the linchpin later! Why would that street sign keep showing up if it wasn't incredibly important? Maybe the killer lives on that street!
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#44So one of the best books I ever read about storytelling is Orson Scot Card's Characters & Viewpoints. He points out that there are 4 types of stories.
- Milieu: Stories about a setting.
- Character: Stories about a person.
- Event: Stories about an event.
- Idea: Stories that explore an idea.
Each one has a different point and appeals to a different set of people. What he stresses is focus on what type of story you are trying to tell and stick with that, revolve around that. I think that Chekhov's Gun falls under the similar idea.
One of my favorite authors Brandon Sanderson has a books series that is a character story; however he often talks about seemingly insignificant world building details that don't seem relevant to the story, but he always manages to tie them back to how it effects the characters or what impact it has on their personality. Thus even though some people would consider random religious observances in the story Checkhov's gun they instead add to the story because they flesh out the characters and help make them more real.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#45Well, if you want a much more in-depth discussion (at least if you follow the links...) with examples than Wikipedia, you could do a lot worse than checking tvtropes.org.[1] P.S. Sorry in advance for the loss in productivity to anyone that clicks though and doesn't know what they're in for... 1: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsGun
tvtropes covers so much ground, that I don't know where to start on this one, but maybe you can help me out. There is a category of story device that goes so far as to become more of a storytelling crutch. Or a wheelchair. Some examples from Star Trek that come to mind (since I'm re-watching TNG right about now): - Holodeck: Totally new environments on a whim! Just in case FTL travel wasn't enough! - Troi's empathy s…
There is a wonderful humorous song about Star Trek and their solution to all problems.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#46I wonder if there's an analogy between a schizophrenic looking at reality and a savy movie goer looking at a movie. There's certainly something a bit deranged to "movie logic". This random object can't be for nothing , it will be the linchpin later! Why would that street sign keep showing up if it wasn't incredibly important? Maybe the killer lives on that street!
You are describing ideas and delusions of reference.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#47I wonder how this plays out in mystery stories where there is what seems to be intentional misdirection where you are lead to believe someone might be the killer, but they're not. Granted some things like "nobody liked him" could be still relevant to the overall story, but particularly in film or TV I find those bits of misdirection common, but also kind of annoying.
The trope has a way of becoming overly predictable. Whenever I'm watching a mystery and there is an inconsequential detail that seems to serve no purpose, I immediately know to focus on that.
Yeah, I'm starting to have this with all movies and TV shows. I mentally keep track of "inconsequential details", and get worried when some of them don't seem to be mentioned again for a while.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#48Interesting point about a style, but it sounds like the kind of rule that's meant to be broken.
The specific point about a gun seems even worse. It's cliche to show a gun early on that leads to some tragedy later, and bothers me when I see that done in a TV show/movie. It ties too much into an inanimate object when they could be developing a character. And in a lot of settings, guns are all around and have little to do with the actual story.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#49This annoys me greatly in commercial movies because often it makes the plot predictable. Most of the things that you see are consequential to the plot, so there are no surprises.
Re: Chekhov's Gun
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
tvtropes covers so much ground, that I don't know where to start on this one, but maybe you can help me out. There is a category of story device that goes so far as to become more of a storytelling crutch. Or a wheelchair. Some examples from Star Trek that come to mind (since I'm re-watching TNG right about now): - Holodeck: Totally new environments on a whim! Just in case FTL travel wasn't enough! - Troi's empathy s…
While those are plot conveniences, it's still possible to create a good story using those tropes. In fact, some would argue that some of those tropes are what make Star Trek great. Good episodes have come from including the holodeck, Troi(yes, I would say that "Face of the Enemy" was pretty good), time travel and multiple-universes, technobabble, and Q. Chekov's Gun can rarely, if ever, improve a story. While a lot o…
A lot of good series have this "open sandbox" format where the context of the show is just a vessel for whatever story the writer wants to tell.
Examples:
* Star Trek Holodeck * The various worlds in Sliders * The infinite worlds in Rick and Morty means there are no limits to what can be written in. * In Community, in a lot of episodes Greendale magically transforms in whatever setting is needed for the story: a court room where the murder of a yam is debated, a western/space battlefield where players duke it out for a grand prize, an entire city made of pillows and blankets, a zombie infested Halloween party etc.
The upside is anything goes, the downside is the perceived lack of consequences (especially in the extreme case of Rick and Morty).