In fiction, a plot hole, plothole, or plot error is an inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot.
Plot holes are usually created unintentionally, often as a result of editing, or the writers simply forgetting that a new event would contradict previous events in the storyline.
Sometimes, viewers may disagree on whether a certain plot element constitutes an error.
Types
Types of plot hole include:
;Factual errors: Historical anachronisms, or incorrect statements about the world.
;Impossible events: Something that defies the laws of science, as established for the story's setting. This plot hole was caused by the fact that Star Wars movies weren't released chronologically.
- In the narrative climax of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee are rescued from Mordor by three giant eagles after destroying the One Ring. Some readers and viewers of the film adaptation have regarded this as a plot hole because the eagles could have flown a suitable Ring-bearer directly to Mordor in the first place, obviating much of the story's plot. Craig Elvy of Screen Rant believes the perception of a plot hole might be due in part to the significantly compressed space and time dimensions of the film version, compared to the books.
- The 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast includes a line about a rose blooming until the prince's twenty-first year, and a song in which Lumière the candelabra sings "ten years we've been rusting" – implying that the Prince was 11 when the curse was placed upon the castle, despite a painting showing him to have been older than this. The 2017 remake removed the rose reference and changed the lyric to "too long we've been rusting".
See also
- Idiot plot
- Continuity (fiction)
- Deus ex machina
- Retroactive continuity
References
External links
- Screenrant's 16 Movie Plot Holes That Aren’t Actually Plot Holes
- Star Wars Fan Debunks Huff Post's "40 Unforgivable Plot Holes in The Force Awakens"
- Ten Debunked Movie Plot Holes