Wordsmith collection

Culture, Media & Critique

by Wordsmith @wordsmith

87 words for reviewing and analysing film, books and media — trope, auteur, diegetic, gravitas and the critic's toolkit.

• trope Something recurring across a genre or type of art or literature; a motif.
• formulaic Closely following a formula or predictable pattern, as:
• franchise The right to vote at a public election or referendum; see: suffrage.
• poignant Sharp-pointed; keen.
• parody A work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony.
• avant-garde Innovative and pioneering, especially when extremely or obviously so.
• theme A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
• editing An act or instance of something being edited.
• over-the-top Alternative form of over the top (see usage notes).
• absurdist Of, or relating to absurdism.
• pacing The act of moving in paces, or their arrangement or timing.
• symbolism Representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities.
• audience surrogate A character who serves to express the questions and confusion of the audience, such as a detective's assistant who asks for clarification regarding how a case was solved.
• narration The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
• original Relating to the origin or beginning; preceding all others.
• cinematography The art, process, or job of filming movies.
• experimental Pertaining to or founded on experiment.
• controversial Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.
• gravitas Seriousness in bearing or manner; dignity.
• insightful Possessing insight; percipient.
• diegetic Of or relating to diegesis; existing within a fictional universe (rather than as background), and able to be perceived by the characters.
• cerebral Of or relating to the brain, cerebrum, or cerebral cortex.
• plot The course of a story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.
• groundbreaking Innovative; new, different; doing something that has never been done before.
• subplot A plot within a story, subsidiary to the main plot.
• atmospheric Of, relating to, produced by, or coming from the atmosphere.
• resonate To vibrate or sound, especially in response to another vibration.
• supporting That supports.
• understated Restrained and unpretentious.
• ensemble A group of separate things that contribute to a coordinated whole.
• convention A meeting or gathering.
• campy Characterized by camp or kitsch, especially when deliberate or intentional.
• characterization The act or process of characterizing.
• cliffhanger An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.
• cut Having been cut.
• tongue-in-cheek Not intended seriously; jocular or humorous.
• antagonist An opponent or enemy.
• edgy Nervous, apprehensive.
• spoof Fake, hoax.
• utopian Of or pertaining to or resembling a utopia.
• titular Of, relating to, being, derived from, or having a title.
• representation That which represents something else.
• bleak Without color; pale; pallid.
• antihero A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals.
• derivative Obtained by derivation; not radical, original, or fundamental.
• score An acknowledgement of success.
• genre-bending Characterized by subversion of generic tropes or fusion of disparate genres.
• homage A demonstration of respect, as towards a person after his or her retirement or death.
• surreal Resembling a dream: fantastic and incongruous.
• provocative Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.
• visceral Of or relating to, made up of, or positioned among or within, the viscera (“internal organs of the body, especially those contained within the abdominal and thoracic cavities”).
• protagonist The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.
• portrayal The act of portraying.
• censorious Addicted to censure and scolding; apt to blame or condemn; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners.
• storyline The plot of a story; one of several within a story, usually interwoven.
• escapist Intended for or tending toward escape; especially, used to avoid, deny, or forget about reality, as through fantasy.
• allegorical Of, relating to, or containing allegory.
• melodramatic Of or pertaining to melodrama; like or suitable to a melodrama; unnatural in situation or action.
• narrative Telling a story.
• satire A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or highlighting a shortcoming in the work of another. Imitation, humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.
• motif A recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.
• pretentious Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.
• narrator One who narrates or tells stories.
• reboot An instance of rebooting.
• dystopian Of or pertaining to a dystopia.
• innovative Characterized by the creation of new ideas or inventions.
• didactic Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
• breaking the fourth wall present participle and gerund of break the fourth wall
• polarizing Characterized by strong, divided opinions among people; divisive.
• moralistic Characteristic of or relating to a narrow-minded concern with the morals of others; self-righteous
• whimsical Given to whimsy.
• genre A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
• haunting Remaining in the mind; not easily forgotten.
• iconic Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
• cliché Clichéd; having the characteristics of a cliché.
• gritty Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit; caused by grit; full of hard particles.
• adaptation The process of adapting something or becoming adapted to a situation; adjustment, modification.
• inclusive Including (almost) everything within its scope.
• auteur A creative artist, especially a film director, seen as having a specific, recognisable artistic vision, and who is seen as the single or preeminent ‘author’ of their works.
• nuanced Having nuances; possessed of multiple layers of detail, pattern, or meaning.
• stereotype Of an edition: printed in stereotype.
• immersive Tending to immerse.
• camp Theatrical; making exaggerated gestures.
• sentimental Characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion; appealing to the emotions (especially tender emotions) rather than reason, morality, aesthetic taste, etc.
• pastiche A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way.
• archetype An original model of which all other similar concepts, objects, or persons are merely copied, derivative, emulated, or patterned.
• diversity The quality of being diverse or different; a difference or unlikeness.

Definitions from Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).