Plot armor is a term on the internet, it refers to a metaphorical invisible "armor" that the main characters essential to a story's plot wear, characters that have plot armor survive dangerous situations as the story needs them to survive because they are necessary for the plot to continue. [1][2][3] Plot armor can come in a variety of different forms such as a new character saving the main character from death or an object the main character obtains that saves them from a dangerous situation, such as a gun for example, It can also appear in video games as the infinite health the NPCs contributing to the plot have.

On the Internet

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Plot armor is a popular internet expression found in multiple apps such as Reddit, YouTube or TikTok, an example of plot armor in internet culture is the "the cameraman always survives" meme where the person filming a dangerous scene is said to always survive because they are the one filming and are therefore important to the video's plot. The origin of the expression "plot armor" is unclear but the expression was first defined on the Urban Dictionary on April 23rd, 2008, since then it became widely recognised and used, probably becoming popular on forums such as 4chan and Reddit. [2]

By march 2023, there are around 35.4 million Google results with the words "plot armor",[4] This suggests that the concept of plot armor is widely discussed and debated among fans and critics of various forms of media, including books, movies, TV shows, and video games. While some argue that plot armor can make stories less engaging and predictable, others believe that it's a necessary element of storytelling that helps to keep the plot moving forward. [5]



References

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  1. ^ "Definition of plot armor | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  2. ^ a b Isaac (2022-01-20). "Plot Armor – Meaning, Origin, Usage". DigitalCultures. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  3. ^ danigirl71 (2020-02-21). "The Ultimate Guide to Plot (Part 5): Beware of Plot Armor and Plot Holes". Danielle Adams. Retrieved 2023-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "plot armor - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  5. ^ "Plot Armor". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2023-03-22.