Through body language, people communicate in many effective, non-verbal ways. Add an accessory into the mix and it gets better. Since a lot of emotion rides on a person's face, what better accessory is there than thick-rimmed spectacles or a spiffy pair of shades?
The Glasses Come Off - A device used by a character to heighten the intensity or seriousness of a situation, to further initiate an intimate scene, or to let the audience know that someone's about to get their butt kicked.
Want your character to be an intellectual (or give your audience or other characters that notion)? Slap one of these on him! Whether they can see fine without or not is up to you. But when they come off - that's when the fireworks happen!When someone cries for help, what's the first thing Clark Kent does before heading to the nearest phone booth?
Superman's coming for you, Mr. Luthor!
When's Superman's done saving the day, he checks on Miss Lane, but those glasses can sure get in the way!
But why all the dramatics? So a character takes their glasses off. So what? For one thing, good glasses aren't cheap. It makes sense to take them off before getting into a situation that could scuff or damage them. Or get them lost. Or steam them up. You get the idea.
On rare occasions, putting glasses on might stir the hornets' nest (in Mr. Hunt's case, reveal the bad guy).
Others are doomed to wear glasses forever. If they take them off, they could very well blow up your house.
When a character doesn't take a situation or a line of dialogue seriously, they might give a Partial Removal.
Oh, really?
And if the glasses never come off? That means the character is too cool or too tough to be bothered.
This trope is literally everywhere. Glasses are masks. Take them off and you reveal the eyes, the window to the soul. Maybe that's why taking glasses off is a more sleek and intimidating gesture than taking off a hat or jacket. The look in a character's eye dictates the rest.
Ever write a character with glasses? Did they take them off? The beginning of something or a casual gesture?
I'm David, and I'm taking my glasses off now!
Great post! I have never written a character with glasses...hmmm :)
ReplyDeleteHey come on that's totally cliche, as illustrated by the number of movie examples.
ReplyDeleteWho knew glasses were so integral to making a character?
ReplyDeleteSo much awesome in these pictures. Blade 2, The Social Network (premiere, I would guess), Smallville, Mission: Impossible, Cyclops, CSI, The Matrix!
ReplyDeleteI wear glass, but I still have a pair of silver frame sunglasses with blue lenses from my days wearing contacts. I often think about wearing contacts again just so I can wear them.
You know, I never thought about it before, but you're absolutely right! The really funny thing is that people do this in real life too. I've seen people do it when giving lectures.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Now I feel like one of my characters needs glasses...hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI guess everyone in my universe has great vision. Or they wear contacts!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about this one David! Is that ridiculous or what? I think it is. But it is perfect! Glad you shared this one today :D
ReplyDeleteI've never written a character with glasses. But this post was hilarious! lol :)
ReplyDeleteI have one character with glasses. Then she goes to a fantasy world and doesn't need them anymore. I wish that would happen to me!
ReplyDeleteYou forgot one thing, when the ugly girl become pretty she loses the glasses. That one is a must!
ReplyDeleteI love this post, David! I've never had a character with glasses...but now I'm getting some ideas...
ReplyDeleteI wear glasses only at home...I will never have a character with normal glasses because they are a painful reminder of taunts in childhood, hell, even my ex husband used them as an emotionally abusive weapon..which is why I loved Harry Potter's image.But I often wondered, couldn't those powerful wizards have found an alternate to it just as muggles have, by now. At the most I will give it a magical or technological edge.
ReplyDeleteLove this post, David, and I really like your visuals on this.
ReplyDeleteHa! This is hilarious because glasses feature prominently in my WIP. Since my immortals are "undead," their pupils are constantly dilated, so they need sunglasses most of the time. :)
ReplyDeleteI write historical fiction, and I'm currently working on my first ms even modern enough to have glasses--after much thought, I decided my main male character needed some. And I like them. :)
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite glasses-wearing characters is Meg Murray in A Wrinkle in Time. L'Engle used them as a device so well.
One of my characters has to wear sunglasses for a while to hide the color of his eyes. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteAnd while I read this I kept thinking... he better mention Cyclops. When you did, you got a very approved head nod from this blogger :)
The moment I started reading this I thought of CSI: Miami. Mr. Redhead always zips his shades from his face and stands like Mr. Cool, or crouches close to the body, so he can say his spiffy one-liner.
ReplyDeleteGlasses cliche, but it's a signature maker too.
It's funny you mention this because I use computer glasses at work and take them off every time I talk to people, so my co-workers joked I was getting "serious." I find that rising from a chair or sitting upright does that in plots as well, i.e. notice in Star Trek that the captain always rises from his/her chair needlessly to look at the enormous view screen, but it tells the audience that he or she is really concerned about something. Food for thought:)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments, everyone! Thank you for taking a moment to stop by. :)
ReplyDeleteGrumpy Bulldog - Some tropes (or many, I should say) ride on the edge of cliché. In this case, the "take the glasses off" device teeters either way. I never think about it when characters take their glasses off, but I do if the story starts with them waking up.
J. A. Bennett - I thought so too at first, but it turns out that's a whole other trope. I'll have to highlight that one sometime.
I wear glasses (in my house only) and contacts otherwise, but have never written a character who wears them. My story is post-apocalyptic so I figure they couldn't get glasses if they wanted, they're all just running around blind :)
ReplyDeleteFirst you have Mr. Smith in the line up. SO you are cool. LOL. I just re-wrote a character and gave him glasses. I liked the idea of him tilting his head down and looking over them at my MC.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I wear glassed but I never take them off for a fight. I'm just that cool.
I hadn't put much thought into it but you're right. I love the trope's...have I mentioned that? Of course I have but do I mention it too often? Maybe I should limit it to once a month?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting in my opinion that all of the people taking their glasses off or staring over the rims are men.
ReplyDeleteI've never written a character with glasses. It's an interesting idea!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, people who wear glasses are just a little bit cooler than the rest of the world...
ReplyDeleteNone of my characters where glasses even though I do. I'll have to add that. It does give it a different dynamic.
ReplyDeleteHa! Love it. I didn't realize they could convey so many things. I haven't written anyone who wears glasses yet. But you betcha I will now!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post. I think that physical actions can speak as loud as words-not just a crude one like a slap in the face, but as you say, taking off glasses, and taking off a hat. I think we need to avoid the cliches like when there's work to be done rolling up sleeves. Judiciously used actions can underline the words and amplify the scene.
ReplyDeleteLol no I have not, but it does give me a 101 ideas for lampshading. ;-)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I have glasses, but I only wear them for driving, especially at night. I once wore them for a job interview and got the job. :)
ReplyDeleteI've also got an MC who wears sunglasses to hide her particular eye features. It's so funny that you did this as a trope now!
ReplyDeleteHeh I found out the superman disguise first hand. Yet I've never tried to write a character with specs.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between a trope and a cliche is how meaningful it is to the story. Every single story written (or filmed) has tropes. These are the universal themes we recognize. Ingrained in us. Archetypes.
ReplyDeleteA trope ventures into cliche territory when the device is meaningless and boring. Overly predictable.
I know you did that Superman link for me! :)
ReplyDelete-Wendy
*sigh* when I take my glasses partially off and stare over the rim and raise my eyebrows, it comes off as cute. There's some sort of secret to this I haven't found.
ReplyDeleteNote: I just noticed this was posted in January, I'm a bit late :P