Sci-fi is one of the most popular genres in media for its ability to create new worlds, offer new sets of rules, and provide imaginative narratives. Sci-fi has also been responsible for some of the best films and shows in pop culture, so It's no wonder it has amassed such large fan bases through popular titles like Star Wars and the hit Netflix show Stranger Things.

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Like other genres, sci-fi possesses trends that not only popularized it but became indicative of it. Unfortunately, however great some of these trends were, many have become outdated, overused, or just plain dull. For these reasons, many people will be glad to see certain trends fade into the background.

10 Useless Futuristic Fashion That Is Used For Aesthetic

Zorg pitches his newest gun in The Fifth Element.

Futuristic fashion is a style that catered to what many thought the future might look like. It could include metallic pieces, extravagant hairstyles, headpieces, bright colors, or capes that indicate a future era. In sci-fi media, this became a stylistic choice instead of attire that might be useful in a character's world.

Films Like The Fifth Element have shown attire considered fashionable and futuristic, but rarely ever logical. Over time, contemporary civilian clothing was favored over futuristic fashion, as viewers disliked over-the-top style that served no purpose other than to fit the futuristic aesthetic.

9 Giant Monsters That Randomly Attack A Major City

Godzilla Tears Through Tokyo In Godzilla 1954

Usually, in sci-fi, an unknown giant monster causing mayhem in a large city is enough to carry a film and fun to watch, especially when the action and special effects are top-notch. Unfortunately, films that use this trend often focus more on the action than the storytelling, leading to one-dimensional characters and superficial plot lines.

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Godzilla is popular within the sci-fi genre, and as popular as it is, it can also be quite surface-level in storytelling. Nowadays, viewers prefer films that focus less on the action spectacle, and more on developing the origins of a creature. In addition, viewers prefer information that guides the plot instead of senseless destruction.

8 The Chosen One (Who Isn't The Chosen One) That'll Save the World From a Terrible Fate

Neo stops bullets in The Matrix

"The Chosen One" trope is the idea of a prophecy and a fated person to fulfill it in order to save the world. Additionally, an element of subversion is added that'll make the narrative convoluted and pull the character from their savior status.

An example of this is Neo from The Matrix and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, characters that were destined to be a savior, but were later revealed not to be the true chosen one or the only chosen one. Overall, the trend has become overdone and disliked because the character loses what makes them so special.

7 Avant-Garde Sci-Fi That Challenges Typical Sci-Fi Conventions

Three figures sit underneath a tripod of sticks in front of a massive full moon

The experimental or Arthouse subgenre exists to create a visual work of art as opposed to mainstream entertainment. In sci-fi, it's a bit difficult to keep within the conventions while creating visual art, because while these types of films can be visually stunning, they can also fall very short in the plot element of the story.

Melancholia is an example of a visual piece that speaks of depression during the apocalypse. Keeping within the conventions of both genres, the visuals show the beautifully bleak parts of the human psyche during the apocalypse, but don't go much further into the science or the base plot. Films like this don't often do well, as they can leave viewers pretty confused.

6 Technobabble That Is Completely Made Up and Difficult To Understand

Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner as Spock and Kirk in the original Star Trek

At times, it can be difficult to understand realities with different scientific and technological processes in a fictional setting. This is because of the technobabble, a term used to describe nonsensical words or noises that sound like scientific jargon.

This is seen in shows like Star Trek, where there will be situations in which characters will say something that can be incredibly hard to understand, using terms for gadgets and systems that are made up. Dialogue made up of technobabble can quickly become exhausting to the viewer, and while in a fictional world, those terms can exist, they should still be comprehensible to the viewer.

5 Powerful Female Stereotypes Frequently Appearing In Sci-Fi

Sun in Sense8 holding rebar

Strong female characters in sci-fi are not uncommon; however, many of these female characters can still fall into stereotypes within the genre, such as the tough woman, the conniving woman, and the lonely heroine. Generally, these characters, while great, can still be sexualized and fall prey to their stereotypes' stigmas.

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An example is the character Sun Bak from the show Sense8, who is considered "the tough woman." Sun has traits deemed masculine, but caters to the feminine appearance of the male gaze, especially during her partially nude scenes. As progressive as it might be, viewers don't want women falling into stereotyped characters, good or bad; instead, they crave realistic characters they can resonate with.

4 Experiments Born In Labs And Obsessed Over By Their Creators

The Brundlefly halfway through his grotesque transformation in The Fly

One of the most typical conventions in sci-fi is having a lab where everything happens; some failed experiment or biochemical mistake. A common occurrence is having a scientist attempting to create something that goes against nature, and it consistently turns into a disaster until they have a breakthrough, purposely or accidentally.

Take the events of Splice or The Fly; both are films where a scientist exhibits some kind of inappropriate behavior due to their obsession with what they've created. It becomes a bit disturbing for viewers and even problematic when events take an extreme turn and end in violent or sexual behavior involving the scientist and their creation.

3 AI's Realization Of Their Sentience And Still Turning On Humankind

A close up of the Hal 9000 "eye" from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

There have been countless positive and negative representations of what it would look like if AI (Artificial Intelligence) gained sentience. A large focus is placed on the idea of evil AI with films that depict AI gaining the upper hand on humans and using their resources to eliminate them. This is usually the case with films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, with the character HAL 9000.

Although interesting, the trend does not do much to add to the AI's characterization and whether they would use the advantages they have against humanity. In short, viewers begin to notice that morality is lacking from machines that have gained sentience, which contradicts the plot and character story.

2 The Repetitiveness Of Dystopias and Utopias

The train from Snowpiercer making its way across the snow covered wasteland

Dystopias look into life on Earth after the collapse of civilization, showing the division of society, economic collapse, or environmental ruin in a future setting. Dystopias can also be disguised as Utopias, an ideal world or system that seems functioning, caters to the wealthy, but is actually doomed to fail.

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Regardless of the dystopian setting, the main issue and outcome are always the same. The dystopian film Snowpiercer, like any other film that is part of this trend, uses the same conventions in its narrative. Films that feature dystopias have lost popularity with viewers over the years because, as much as the plot changes, the patterns of this trend remain repetitive.

1 All Aliens Being The Same In Every Aspect

A close up of a xenomorph in Aliens

The design of aliens in media has been different with each project, but rarely different from each other. Humans are all very different in size, appearance, and beliefs, but aliens all look the same, act the same, and believe in the same cause, a cause that usually entails the destruction of humankind.

In the film Alien, almost all Xenomorphs are identical; the same goes for other extraterrestrial films. Most creatures in those films are homogenous and share a common goal. Over time, viewers have noticed that alien characters and designs rarely change from character to character. It's lazy filmmaking, especially when the characterization of the aliens is so important to the story.

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