Odds are good that everyone has watched a scene in a film or TV show where a character says, “They’re right behind me, aren’t they?” after talking badly about another character. Any given movie-goer has probably watched a geek to chic transformation or heavy rain at a funeral from their television screen.

What do these classic movie moments have in common? They are all tropes.

Movie tropes are commonly-used storytelling devices that may show up through repeated characters, settings and situations. Tropes may also be defined as motifs, or even clichés once they become overused. Most tropes have been around for decades, connecting the films of years ago to the newest releases of today.

One of the main reasons that so many filmmakers choose to include tropes in their work is the familiarity of them. Giving the audience a storyline or image they recognize can help keep them engaged with the movie. Additionally, tropes can be used to communicate something figurative or give the story a more complex meaning.

Take horror movies, for example, as this genre is chock-full of tropes and familiar themes. Spooky, abandoned buildings or haunted houses are commonplace and create a sense of uncertainty that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. These settings, dark and eerie in nature, add a layer of depth to the darkness of death and gore that fills a horror film.

Romantic comedies, too, feature many tropes. For example, two characters falling in love somehow always manage to meet for the first time in an adorable way. A “meet-cute” is designed to give the audience a warm and fuzzy feeling, and paints the picture of spontaneous love that could happen to any person at any moment.

Tropes aren’t all fun and games, though. Throughout cinematic history, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination have appeared as common themes and images in popular movies. These tropes can be very harmful to anyone watching them, as well as the groups of people they target.

Female characters are frequently displayed as the damsel in distress, needing a man to come along and save them. This trope is especially popular in fairytales. Making women seem weak (and men strong in contrast) perpetuates gender roles that, by no fault of the viewer, will remain engrained in the minds of those consuming that media until they are taught otherwise.

Similarly, racist stereotypes appear in films, a popular one being the white savior. This trope portrays people of color as helpless on their own, needing a white person to assist them with any struggle they might face in a given film. These ideas of BIPOC inferiority and white superiority strengthen the grasp of racism on today’s society.

When it comes to movie tropes, it’s important to be careful that the clichés being presented to the audience aren’t harmful or stereotypical to the point of being damaging to a certain group of people. When used properly, though, tropes can add laughs, scares and sobs to a film through images, words and actions. Tropes can deepen the meaning of a certain scene and add to the thematic elements of the storyline.

Though many will groan when they see a common theme repeated again and again, classic tropes shape the movie-going experience and bring people together across generations.