The StormTrooper Effect: Silly Wikipedia Topics

1. This is one of my favorite silly Wikipedia topics;

   
   

   The Stormtrooper Effect

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   From wikipedia: 

   
   

   Principle of Evil Marksmanship

   
   

   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   
   

   The Principle of Evil Marksmanship states that, during a fight scene, antagonists in a work of fiction will be as incompetent as the plot demands, despite prior characterization or reputation. For example, marksmen in action films are often very bad shots and almost never harm the main characters. They are generally only capable of hitting a target if the target is either of no value to the plot or if their death will advance the plot. The term first appeared in film critic Roger Ebert's 1980 book "Little Movie Glossary",[1] and had been submitted by Jim Murphy of New York. It was defined as:

   The bad guys are always lousy shots in the movies. Three villains with Uzis will go after the hero, spraying thousands of rounds which miss him, after which he picks them off with a handgun.

   
   

   The theme is commonly seen in cowboy films, action films, martial arts films, and comics, and is often a source of mockery by critics, satirists, and fans. Ebert often uses the term in his reviews.[2]

   
   

   Imperial Stormtroopers in the original Star Wars trilogy possessed overwhelming numbers, professional military education and training, full armour, and military-grade firepower. At the beginning of the original 'Star Wars' movie, the Stormtroopers are portrayed as lethal when boarding a rebel ship, overwhelming it and killing most resistance in what seems like mere moments while taking only minimal losses themselves. At one point Obi-Wan Kenobi even comments on their effectiveness to Luke Skywalker when the pair find the destroyed Jawa sandcrawler, saying "These blast-points... Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise." Despite this, stormtroopers appear to be incapable of defeating the film's protagonists even when they heavily outnumber them.

   
   

   One-at-a-time Attack Rule

   
   

   Ebert also refers to the One-at-a-time Attack Rule (sometimes called Mook Chivalry) "In any situation where the hero is alone, surrounded by dozens of bad guys, they will always obligingly attack one at a time."[1] This can traditionally be observed in many martial arts movies. During a typical fight, the hero will engage against one opponent. 

   
   

   Upon knocking that man out, another will attack. The surplus enemies (mooks) will circle the fighting pair while striking fearsome poses, indicating willingness to fight at a second's notice, yet be unwilling to help the current aggressor attack the hero. The real world reason for this is that if the hero is simultaneously swarmed on all sides by enemies, it becomes difficult for the film director to frame the fight scene while still having an unobstructed shot of the action.

   
   

   The 1995 live-action adaptation of Fist of the North Star took this to extremes in a scene where Kenshiro defeated over thirty men in the span of a few minutes with the vast majority of them attacking one at a time and being knocked unconscious with a few strikes.

   
   

   In Austin Powers: Goldmember, Austin's father Nigel Powers is being held captive by Dr. Evil. Nigel quickly knocks out the guards, and when more begin to surround him he orders them to stop and says, "Oh, come now, is this your first day on the job? All right, look ... you all attack me, one at a time, and I knock you out with a single punch." They immediately do so, and he knocks them each out.

   
   

   This principle was also parodied in a 1993 Saturday Night Live skit, "Ninja Pep Talk".[3] Among other tips, the leader of a group of ninjas reminds the ninjas to attack "all at once", not "one at a time," using chalkboard diagrams to drive the point home.

   Terry Pratchett cited this rule in the introduction to his 1989 novel Guards! Guards!, stating that the role of guards in heroic fantasy is to "attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered".[4]

   
   

   Inverse Ninja Law

   
   

   Though depicted as nearly-invincible warriors (especially when they are the heroes of the story), ninja are often conversely depicted as disposable cannon fodder to be dispatched by the hero character, especially one who is a ninja himself. Thus, modern entertainment has shown ninja as either expendable, attacking in large numbers, or as nearly invulnerable solitary warriors (who are often unmasked in contrast). In effect of this common approach, a single/small group of protagonist ninja often easily defeat waves of incompetent enemy ninja on multiple occasions only to have far more trouble when facing a more competent lone ninja. This seemingly inconsistent portrayal is jokingly explained using the sarcastic "Inverse Ninja Law", (also called "Law of the Conservation of Ninjutsu" or the "Law of Diminishing Ninjas" or even the "Law of the Conservation of Whoopass") which states that ninja are weaker when they are in larger groups.[5][6]

   
   

   External links

   
   

   Conservation Of Ninjutsu, Mook Chivalry, and Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy at TVTropes

   
   

   References

   
   

   ^ a b Ebert, Roger. Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary. ISBN 0-8362-8289-2.

   ^ Roger Ebert's review of Rapid Fire

   ^ "Ninjas", SNL transcripts, JT.

   ^ Pratchett, Terry (1989), Guards! Guards!, Corgi.

   ^ Levy, Joel. Ninja: The Shadow Warrior Sterling (2008) p. 183-4.

   ^ Rehagan, Tony. "Revenge of The Nerds," Indianapolis Monthly, August 2006. p. 253.

   
   

   Principle of Evil Marksmanship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_Evil_Marksmanship

   [edit] Stormtrooper Effect. Imperial Stormtroopers in the original Star Wars trilogy possessed overwhelming numbers, professional military education and training, ...

   Stormtrooper Effect - One-at-a-time Attack Rule - Inverse Ninja Law - External links

2. Stormtrooper effect - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

   starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper_effect

   The stormtrooper effect, also called stormtrooper syndrome, is an expression used to describe...

3. Images for stormtrooper effect

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4. Urban Dictionary: stormtrooper effect

   www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stormtrooper%20effect

   In movies and film, the tendency of the hero's shots to hit more, and the enemy's to hit less. Summarized as: 1. The more outnumbered the heroes ar...

5. Family Guy - The Stormtrooper Effect - YouTube
   ► 0:15► 0:15	www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5oBV8J_XNsMay 31, 2008 - 15 sec - Uploaded by HaggyWaggy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormtrooper_effect From episode 305 - 'And The Wiener Is..'
   More videos for stormtrooper effect »

6. Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy - Television Tropes ...

   tvtropes.org/pmwiki/.../ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy

   Also known as the Stormtrooper Effect, this trope is named for an actual (optional) rule in the GURPS tabletop roleplaying game, which in turn is based off of a ...

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