Editing Plot hole

{{Short description|Gap or inconsistency in a storyline}}
In [[fiction]], a '''plot hole''', '''plothole''', or '''plot error''' is an [[Consistency|inconsistency]] in a [[Plot (narrative)|storyline]] that goes against the flow of [[logic]] established by the story's plot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plot_hole|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213709/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plot_hole|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2017|title=plot hole {{!}} Definition of plot hole in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref> 

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.

Sometimes viewers disagree on whether a certain plot element constitutes an error.

==Types==
Types of plot hole include:

;Factual errors: Historical [[anachronism]]s, or incorrect statements about the world.<ref name=bookcave>{{Cite web|url=https://mybookcave.com/authorpost/6-types-of-plot-holes-and-how-to-catch-them/|first=Catia|last=Shattuck|title=6 Types of Plot Holes and How to Catch Them|website=Book Cave}}</ref>
;Impossible events: Something that defies the [[laws of science]], as established for the story's setting.<ref name=masterclass>{{cite news |last1=MasterClass staff |title=How to Fix Plot Holes in Your Story |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-fix-plot-holes-in-your-story |access-date=31 December 2021 |publisher=MasterClass staff |date=7 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=bookcave/>
;Out-of-character behavior: A character acting in a way that, based on their understanding of the options available to them, they would not realistically choose.<ref name=bookcave/>
;[[Continuity error]]s: Events in the story which contradict those established earlier.<ref name=masterclass/>
;Unresolved storylines: One of the plot lines is not resolved by the end of the story, or a character who is expected to reappear does not.<ref name=bookcave/>

==Examples==
* At the end of the ''[[Star Wars]]'' film ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]'', it is considered imperative to hide [[Luke Skywalker]] from [[Darth Vader]], but [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] does so in plain sight on Vader's home planet, even using Luke's real name. He himself only slightly alters his name and makes no secret of his Jedi heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a15336898/all-star-wars-movies-plot-holes/|title=A Comprehensive List of 'Star Wars' Plot Holes|first=Matt|last=Miller|date=Jan 19, 2018|website=Esquire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ranker.com/list/star-wars-plot-holes/nathan-gibson|title=14 Star Wars Plot Holes Bigger Than The Death Star|website=Ranker}}</ref>
* In the narrative [[Climax (narrative)| climax]] of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[Frodo Baggins]] and [[Samwise Gamgee]] are rescued from [[Mordor]] by three [[Eagles in Middle-earth|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-fellowship-eagles-fly-mordor-plot-hole/|title=Why The Fellowship Couldn't Use The Eagles in Lord of the Rings|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=23 September 2019}}</ref>
* The 1991 Disney film ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 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 [[Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)|2017 remake]] removed the rose reference and changed the lyric to "too long we've been rusting".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rowney |first1=Jo-Anne |title=Beauty and the Beast remake just solved a lot of the original film's plot holes |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/beauty-beast-remake-plotholes-solves-10050530 |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=The Mirror |date=18 March 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Idiot plot]]
*[[Continuity (fiction)]]
*[[Deus ex machina]]
*[[Retroactive continuity]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://screenrant.com/movie-plot-holes-not-real/ Screenrant's 16 Movie Plot Holes That Aren’t Actually Plot Holes]
*[http://epicstream.com/news/Star-Wars-Fan-Debunks-Huff-Posts-40-Unforgivable-Plot-Holes-in-The-Force-Awakens Star Wars Fan Debunks Huff Post's "40 Unforgivable Plot Holes in The Force Awakens"]
*[https://cinemaspotlightblog.com/2017/05/11/ten-debunked-movie-plot-holes/ Ten Debunked Movie Plot Holes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025173625/https://cinemaspotlightblog.com/2017/05/11/ten-debunked-movie-plot-holes/ |date=2021-10-25 }}

[[Category:Continuity errors]]
[[Category:Plot (narrative)]]
 
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