We know it. We love it. But you probably didn't know there was a term for it: "competence porn."
Coined by American screenwriter John Rogers of Michael Bay's Transformers and Leverage fame, "competence porn" (otherwise known as "competency porn") refers to any form of film/television media in which the audience derives a deep sense of pleasure from a character's proficiency.
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The term doesn't just refer to your obvious acts of testosterone-fuelled badassery, either, i.e. the clinical way in which John Wick (Keanu Reeves) executes henchman after henchman; Top Gun fighter pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) pulling 12Gs in aheatn F/A-18 Hornet; literally anything Denzel Washington did in the Equalizer trilogy. It's more cerebral than that. It's about cunning and the showcasing of genuine expertise.
We're talking about the political maneuvering of Kerri Russell's Kate Wyler in The Diplomat (or as spicy as it may be to say right now: Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood in House of Cards); the spycraft showcased in so many John le Carré adaptations such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager; the entrepreneurial instinct of Jessica Chastain's Molly Bloom in Molly's Game; as well as the ensemble excellence of the Ocean's Trilogy.
Check out some of the greatest feature-length examples of "competence porn" below (according to Reddit).
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