Subverting expectations refers to a misdirection in literature or cinema that is withheld from the viewer or reader till the last minute with dramatic effect. Today, the term is usually used to mock a particular trend in Hollywood storytelling; however, in the past and even now, “subverted expectations” have been used with good or even impressive effects. Subverting expectations in cinema has now become part of the everyday vocabulary associated with pop culture.
Although the term has a long history, it entered the modern public consciousness around the time that the second installment of Disney’s Star Wars: Episode VIII by Rian Johnson and after the disappointment of the finale season of GOT.
There has been much controversy associated with the term. Some see it as necessary to challenge common or worn-out tropes in modern cinema or literature. Others see it as a cheap and lazy substitute for good storytelling.
In this article, we discuss how subverting expectations can be used effectively and the difference between when it works and when it does not using relevant examples.
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What Does Subverting Expectations Mean?
Subverting expectations is a technique in literature and film that misdirects the reader into misunderstanding the significance of a narrative’s events before dramatically revealing this misdirection and presenting a novel and transformed understanding of prior narrative developments.
This strategy of narration was probably present since the beginning of human storytelling. However, today, it has hardened into a recognizable trope in cinema used to challenge readers’ perspectives, social expectations, and values.
The effectiveness of a tool is based on how well it is wielded by its user. And when used properly, subverting expectations can entertain viewers or readers with sensational plot twists or revelations. It can also challenge readers to question accepted norms, values, prejudices, and expectations.
However, when used wrongly, it may come across as poor, lazy, and even pretentious writing, as well as unconvincing storytelling.
A Brief History of the Trope
Subverting expectations, as mentioned earlier, is likely very old. However, in Western literature, it is somewhat difficult to trace the establishment of this technique as a device or trope. If subverting expectations can be described as plot twists that shock the reader, perhaps this can be traced back to the detective novel in the middle of the 19th century.
The plot twist in the detective novel made a debut in short stories such as “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) and “The Purloined Letter” (1844) by Edgar Allan Poe. These plot twists were implemented as clever devices to entertain and shock readers.
Today, the use of the device has become more sophisticated and involves challenging the values, prejudices, and other tropes that viewers or readers are used to or hold dear.
Psycho: Pioneering Subverted Expectations
One could argue that subverting expectations entered the public consciousness with Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film Psycho. In this movie, there are two aspects in which we see subverted expectations occurring:
First, the main character, Marion, is killed off halfway through the plot after we are made to invest heavily in her attempt to pull off a theft from her company.
Second, the identity of the killer is revealed to be a man taking on the faux persona of his own domineering but dead mother, after we are misdirected into thinking of the mother as the villain and killer.
The movie’s plot twist is of course shocking and entertaining. However, the filmmaker uses these subverted expectations to question the established norms of the time. For example, the film featured cross-dressing and a seemingly incestuous mother-son relationship, all of which were revealed with the dramatic plot twist.
At the time, these ideas would have been not only shocking but very much a challenge to the values and thinking of a 1960s cinema audience. Today, subverting expectations is typically used similarly, and even more often, results in much public controversy in terms of the reaction of audiences.
Examples of Subverting Expectations in Modern Cinema
Psycho was among the first film to use subverted expectations. However, the term entered pop culture lingo as a sarcastic term after the release of Disney’s latest Star Wars Trilogy, which started in 2014.
However, despite the sarcasm or even mockery associated with the trope, a number of movies or TV dramas had used it before then with positive audience reactions. We will take a look at a few movies or shows that subverted expectations for better or for worse here:
1. Game of Thrones
One of the most shocking scenes of GOT is that of Ned Stark getting beheaded. It is a great example of subverted expectations because Ned Stark was portrayed as the lead hero, who we all could root for and who we expected to eventually triumph and set all things right in the disturbed kingdom.
Instead, his death leaves us with a cold lesson in how cold and calculated politics work. According to Cersei, “When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.” These are the stakes that players in the world confront. Ned Stark was too traditional and naive in his code of honor. And for that, he lost his head.
The show works because viewers are taken out of a fantasy world genre, which has often been described as too tropey and unrealistic, into a more interesting world of political drama. It’s a world, where political ineptitude has consequences, even if it’s full of magic and dragons.
However, by the final season, the sheen had worn off the show. After the dozenth death of main characters, it was clear that major characters being killed off was no longer a subversion, but a worn-out trope and even a slog.
Moreover, the principle laid by the death of Ned Stark — poor political decisions always lead to death — was continually violated. Characters kept making lousy decisions, and far from losing their heads, get rewarded for their bad decisions.
2. Westworld
Westworld was another HBO series that did a good job of subverting expectations, at least in its first season. The show uses a non-linear time structure t tell its story and does a wonderful thing with it in regard to two characters, the mysterious “Man in Black” and William.
The Man in Black appears to be an older and cynical epitome of evil, whereas William is innocent, naive, and kindhearted. It is finally revealed that William and the Man in Black are the same people. The Man in Black is simply the aged version of a disillusioned and cynical William.
This non-linear timeline is used quite well by Westworld. Similarly, the show plays with switching between existing in the real world and the virtual world, as much as it does with switching from past to present.
Viewers are often confused as to whether they are witnessing events in the past or present or in the real or virtual world. However, by the end of Season 2, things became too confusing and the show suffered from it.
3. No Country For Old Men
No Country For Old Men has all the elements of traditional Western film, except that justice is not served. The Western genre is typically defined by the righteous sheriff or lone cowboy who helps tame the unruliness of the frontier being harassed by evil ruffians, who need to be brought to heel.
However, for better or worse, our expectations are subverted when the lone sheriff Ed Tom Bell does not even come close to holding the evil serial killer Chigurh accountable for any of his heinous crimes.
Even worse, our closest thing to a good guy Llewelyn Moss does not get away with the money, does not have an ultimate showdown with Chigurh, and even gets unceremoniously killed off-screen. As to whether or not these subverted expectations were frustrating or fulfilling remains a matter of debate up to this day.
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi remains a controversial film. The film sought to challenge and question many of the tropes of the genre, such as that of the chosen and often hereditary hero. Luke Skywalker is obviously the chosen one, carrying on the complicated legacy of his father to bring balance to the universe.
While “I am your father” is likely one of the most iconic and unexpected plot twists in cinema, in The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson seeks to subvert expectations by suggesting the force is not something that you are born into, but something that anyone can inherit.
The movie also seeks to question or challenge the traditional hero trope personified by Luke Skywalker by portraying him as cynical and bitter and uninterested in helping.
While one may question the credibility of Luke’s character motivations and development, one can see how an old trope was being challenged with this approach.
5. Blade Runner
Blade Runner is another movie that subverted the old chosen one trope. The film seemingly sets us up for the big reveal that K is the offspring of Deckard and his replicant lover Rachel. However, we do not get who we expected to be that special progeny.
Instead, K is a regular individual who makes meaningful changes without hitting the genetic jackpot. Also, Deckard and Rachel’s offspring is Dr, Ana Stelline, who only gets a few minutes of screen time.
Subverting Expectations: A Hit or Miss
Subverting expectations in modern pop culture is now almost always used sarcastically to mock movies that are deemed to be failures in terms of storytelling efficacy. However, when done right, it can lead to several satisfying effects.
Subverting expectations when used to good effect can:
Deliver exciting and entertaining plot twists, as in the original detective stories that featured it so heavily
Successfully challenge and subvert audience norms, values, and prejudices to bring the audience to a new understanding
Impress an audience with a fresh take or perspective
However, as mentioned earlier, a tool or device is as good as how well or proficiently it is used. When used poorly, subverted expectations can lead to high levels of dissatisfaction and disappointment in the audience.
When not handled properly, it can result in:
Massive plot holes that make the plot twist unconvincing
Heavy-handedly introducing social or political themes into the story that are distracting
Unconvincing character development and behavior to support the twist ending
Therefore, subverted expectations should be used judiciously. Alot of care should be taken that plot twists and unexpected events don’t come from nowhere. For example, the audience after a reread or review of the book or film should be able to recognize clues that hint at the plot twist.
How Subverting Expectations Work
The key to making subverted expectations work is to ensure that the story that is eventually told is superior to the one being subverted. In other words, make sure that the story you end up telling is better than the one that the audience initially believed they were getting.
This can be seen in the example of Psycho. At first, we are drawn in by Marion’s story. She’s in love and partaking in an illicit affair. Her genuine care and affection for her lover drive her to steal a huge money on his behalf and run away.
This alone is story enough to drive the plot and keep us interested. However, less than 1/3 through the story, we are left in shock by the infamous shower scene, where Marion is brutally stabbed to death with a large knife.
Subverted expectations in Psycho works because the filmmaker gives us a story that is far more interesting than the one in which we were originally invested and expected to get. The story we eventually get is nothing short of bizarre and spectacular.
It begins with us suspecting the jealous mother of a repressed son, who actually turns out to be a serial murderer and crossdresser, who takes on the persona of his own mother after having killed her sometime before.
Knives Out: A Triumph In Subverted Expectations
In Knives Out, there’s a murder mystery, which at first appears to be a suicide by the famed mystery novelist and family patriarch, Harlan Thrombey. Then, it is revealed to be early on a noble self-sacrificing act by Harlan — a kind of falling-on-the-sword if you will.
All our expectations are subverted in a flashback. Marta, Harlan’s kind-hearted immigrant nurse from Argentina and just about the only likable person in the cast of characters who make up Harlan’s household and family, accidentally killed Harlan with a too-heavy dose of morphine.
After this reveal, we now have a movie in which we are rooting for Marta to get away with manslaughter. The murder has been revealed to us as onlookers, and we are actively rooting for Marta. The movie shows that all the family members of Harlan are entirely too dependent on him.
Despite all their success and privilege, they keep relying on the self-made fortunes of Harlan as a novelist and publisher to support their lifestyles. Marta is portrayed metaphorically as the only one worthy because of her kind heart of inheriting Harlan’s fortune.
Indeed, that much is shown after a reading of Harlan’s will. Everything is left to Marta, and Harlan’s sprawling and broken brood of children, in-laws, and grandchildren receive nothing. This in and of itself is an interesting story enough.
A Twist Within a Twist
However, after much entertaining drama, it is revealed that Marta was innocent after all. It was one of Harlan’s family members, his grandson Ransom, who attempted to poison and frame Marta after finding out Harlan had changed his will to make her the sole beneficiary.
He switched the morphine label with that of a more benign anti-inflammatory drug in the hope that Marta would poison Harlan without knowing. However, it turns out that Marta being a good nurse and relying on routine, had instinctively chosen the morphine despite the wrong label. So, it’s a twist within a twist. Marta is revealed to be the accidental killer, only for us to find out that she was the victim of an attempted frame-up.
Subverting expectations, as we have said earlier, is as good as how well it is used in a film or literature. It works best when the story that readers or audiences eventually get is better than the one that they were expecting to get. It should not be simply used as a cheap trick. When the audience is made to question their deeply held values, instead of empty and sensational plot twists, they are left with a new way of seeing things.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, October 08). Subverted Expectations: A Clever Trope or Played Out Gimmick? https://www.eminentediting.com/post/subverting-expectations-a-clever-trope-or-a-played-out-gimmick |
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