Plot armor

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Plot armor is a plot device wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm due to their necessity for the plot to proceed. [1] The Oxford English Dictionary identified the term as originating in the 2000s, with its first reported use on the Usenet forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap. [2] While protagonists and heroes within fictional works are often shielded from destruction by plot armor, their deaths in certain works function as a plot twist. [3]

Within certain works of fiction, elements of the story can provide an explanation for why the protagonist is protected. [4] Various iterations of James Bond have been cited as defining examples of plot armor. [5] Other works eschew plot armor for main characters. The deaths of Ned Stark and other main characters within A Game of Thrones and its television adaptation have been considered examples of protagonists defying expectations that their role in the plot protected them from harm; [3] [6] a battle where many main characters escaped harm within the same series has also been cited as examples of plot armor. [7] [8] [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Plot armor". Dictionary.com . Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "plot armor" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/3086855677 . Retrieved 31 January 2024.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. 1 2 Somers, Jeff (September 2023). "Twisty Business". Writer's Digest . Vol. 103, no. 5.
  4. ↑ Handley, Brandi, ed. (2021). The Navigator: Excellent Writing Across the Disciplines. p. 22. JSTOR   31795394.
  5. ↑ Lovinger, Caitlin (28 May 2021). "Low-Key: Adam Aaronson sneaks up on us with a subtly strenuous Saturday puzzle". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Chu, Andrea Long (Spring 2018). "Bad TV". N+1 (31): 10.
  7. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (29 April 2019). "'Game of Thrones' Close-Up: To Kill a King". Rolling Stone .
  8. ↑ Chokshi, Niraj (30 April 2019). "'Game of Thrones' Fans Are Thrilled, Confused and Setting the Internet on Fire". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Schmidt, Kilian (2023). ""What Should Have Been, But Sadly Wasn't". Commoning HIV/AIDS History in "Pose"". Femina Politica. 32 (2): 87. doi: 10.3224/feminapolitica.v32i2.07 .


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