The concept of cliché has several uses in our language, while it is a concept that comes from the French language but has managed to establish itself as one more in our language as a result of its widespread use.
The term is used in Spanish with several senses, the same ones used in French.
Concept of French origin used to name various issues: piece of film developed and with negative images, plate on which it is engraved in printing presses, and ideas or repeated expressions
At the behest of photography, the cliché is the piece of film already developed and with negative images.
On the other hand, in the field of printing, the cliché designates the plate on which what will be printed will be engraved.
And finally the concept is used to refer to that idea or expression that appears very often in a literary work for example.
This is undoubtedly the most widespread use of this term.
Cliche it is that phrase, expression, idea or action that has been overused, to the point of losing strength and originality, especially if it initially appeared as something new and innovative in its category.
When an idea or manifestation is repeated and repeated with recurrence, it ends up being accepted as valid by most people and there the famous cliché is generated.
Synonym of stereotype
Likewise, the concept is used as a synonym for stereotype.
A stereotype is a simplified perception that one has about a person, thing or group and that they share certain characteristics.
In other words, it consists of a preconcept that acts as a prediction of the behavior that those people or groups will observe precisely.
Meanwhile, the concept derives from the lead mold that was used in printing presses instead of the original mold and which also led to the creation of a metaphor to indicate the possibility of transferring pre-established ideas from one place to another.
The media play a special role in the creation and reproduction of stereotypes, who disseminate them through their content, while the public accesses these pre-established models and internalizes them.
Application in literary fiction, in the cinema and even in countries
It is something quite recurrent and common that the authors of stories, novels and even speakers at the request of an oral discourse fall into clichés; most of the time the use of cliches will involve the lack of originality, creativity and innovation in the work, story or speech in question and of course it will not be well seen by the public at all, since such a situation will be considered as a deficiency when formulating an own idea.
In the world of cinema, clichés are frequent elements in stories, for example, the ugly girl whom nobody looks at and that suddenly when she begins to dress up and dress differently, the most popular boy falls at her feet. How many times have we seen this scene in the movies, especially in those romantic comedies intended for adolescent audiences.
Although the use of clichés is not always considered a sign of lack of creativity, since in some situations it can be used to establish harmony with the audience, that is, through the tools of speech. The use of clichés at the service of a story in many cases allows the simplification of what is being told and then makes it easier for the entire public to understand what is being communicated.
Another beneficial use that can be attributed to the cliche is when it is used in the cinema or in a play and then broken, presenting a reality completely opposite to that proposed by the cliché.
So, sometimes the excessive use of clichés can cause annoyance to the viewer, although, in some situations, a cliché can add to the understanding of a story and also be an inspiring element of reality.
And it is also common for the cliché to be used when talking about countries and their respective uses and customs and cultures.
For example, Argentines are said to be superb, that they love tango, barbecue, soccer, while Spaniards often hear that they are passionate about bullfights, flamenco dances and very entertaining and affable in the deal.
On the other hand, Italians are usually classified as seductive, elegant, and of course lovers of pizza and pasta.
Meanwhile from North Americans who are very formal, who love junk food and are quite chubby.
Of course all this falls within the universe of clichés and stereotypes. There are questions that are true and others that are not so true and that may be more exaggerated.
