History Main / CloserThanTheyAppear

* {{Music/MeatLoaf}} inverts the phrase as "Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are," describing old memories that are nonetheless very vivid.

* ''Film/JurassicPark'' (pictured above) is the TropeCodifier.

* ''[[{{Franchise/Terminator}} The Terminator]]'' didn't have the inscription, but Sarah glances at her driver's side mirror just as the T-800 fires at her reflection, shattering it.

* In WesternAnimation/AngelaAnaconda a character reads this off when their car is being chased by a rabid parent who wants to burn TheWizardOfOz because it promotes witchcraft. After they realize what it means, they panic more.

An interesting note: some examples of this trope (including the TropeCodifier) show this message on the driver's side mirror. In RealLife, it only ever appears on the ''passenger'' side mirror. In the USA and Canada, the driver's side mirror is required to be flat, so putting the warning message there would be inappropriate. In Europe, the driver's side mirror may also be convex, but the ''warning'' is not required. See TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_mirror#Planar.2C_convex.2C_aspheric for even more detail]].

** ''Film/JurassicWorld'' gives the trope an encode appearance.

* The ''Series/DawsonsCreek'' episode "Sex, She Wrote" (s2ep11) has a closer-than-they-appear shot when Pacey and Andie kiss in her car after admitting their love for each other.

* Played with in a strip of ''Webcomic/ThePerryBibleFellowship''.

* Seen in a ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' cartoon: The rear-view mirror shows the angry eye of an unspecified but huge creature.

Rear-view mirrors sometimes come with a warning: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."[[note]]These mirrors are convex, so they provide a wider field of view at the price of making the images of objects smaller, and therefore apparently farther away.[[/note]] This is not reassuring to the character who looks into the rear-view mirror [[Film/JurassicPark and sees, say, a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[Film/JurassicPark running after his car]].

* The ''Series/DawsonCreek'' episode "Sex, She Wrote" (s2ep11) has a closer-than-they-appear shot when Pacey and Andie kiss in her car after admitting their love for each other.

* In the 2008 short film ''Film/TheGerman'', a British fighter pilot [[WorldWarII in a dogfight]] glances [[RealityIsUnrealistic in his fighter's rear-view mirror]] and spots a German fighter moments before [[AntagonistTitle the German]] fires his guns and blasts the mirror off with a near-miss. The mirror lacks the warning text, but having a machine gun bullet knock the mirror off is as about as close as one can get.

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* In the 2008 short film ''The German'', a British fighter pilot in a dogfight glances [[RealityIsUnrealistic in his fighter's rear-view mirror]] and spots a German fighter moments before [[AntagonistTitle the German]] fires his guns and blasts the mirror off with a near-miss. The mirror lacks the warning text, but having a 20mm cannon round knock the mirror off is as about as close as one can get.

Rear-view mirrors sometimes come with a warning: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."[[note]]These mirrors are convex, so they provide a wider field of view at the price of making the images of objects smaller, and therefore apparently farther away.[[/note]] This is not reassuring to the character who looks into the rear-view mirror and sees, say, a ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' running after his car.

* In the 2008 short film ''The German'', a British fighter pilot in a dogfight glances [[RealityIsUnrealistic in his fighter's rear-view mirror]] and spots a German fighter moments before [[AntagonistTitle the German]] fires his guns and blasts the mirror off with a near-miss.

* The Dawson's Creek episode "Sex, She Wrote" (s2ep11) has a closer-than-they-appear shot when Pacey and Andie kiss in her car after admitting their love for each other.

* The "{{Series/Dawson's Creek}}" episode "Sex, She Wrote" (s2ep11) has a closer-than-they-appear shot when Pacey and Andie kiss in her car after admitting their love for each other.

Rear-view mirrors sometimes come with a warning: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."[[hottip:*:These mirrors are convex, so they provide a wider field of view at the price of making the images of objects smaller, and therefore apparently farther away.]] This is not reassuring to the character who looks into the rear-view mirror and sees, say, a ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' running after his car.

* [[Film/AceVentura "Warning! Assholes are closer than they appear!"]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/JurassicPark http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/T-rex2.jpg]]]]

* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' (pictured above) is the TropeCodifier.

** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' parodies this, using the meek Rex's reflection in the mirror of a toy car. (It also puts it on the passenger side, correcting JP's error!)

* Seen in a ''ComicStrip/FarSide'' cartoon: The rear-view mirror shows the angry eye of an unspecified but huge creature.

* [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos354.html As per trope]] in ''AMiracleOfScience''.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/JurassicPark http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/T-rex2.jpg]]]]

* ''Film/JurassicPark'' (pictured above) is the TropeCodifier.

* [[AceVentura "Warning! Assholes are closer than they appear!"]]

* ''Film/TheTerminator'' didn't have the inscription, but Sarah glances at her driver's side mirror just as the T-800 fires at her reflection, shattering it.

* The ''{{Eureka}}'' episode "One Giant Leap" has a brief closer-than-it-appears shot of a black hole in the mirror of Carter's jeep, right before it gets destroyed. [[ChronicallyCrashedCar Again.]]

* {{MeatLoaf}} inverts the phrase as "Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are," describing old memories that are nonetheless very vivid.

* {{They Might Be Giants}} - "She's Actual Size" averts this for the subject of the song: "Squares may look distant in a rear view mirror, but they're actual size, actual size to her."

* Seen in a ''FarSide'' cartoon: The rear-view mirror shows the angry eye of an unspecified but huge creature.

* Played with in a strip of ''ThePerryBibleFellowship''.

* "Objects may be less sexy than they appear" shows up on a high-tech clothes shop mirror in ''{{Futurama}}''.

** ''ToyStory2'' parodies this, using the meek Rex's reflection in the mirror of a toy car. (It also puts it on the passenger side, correcting JP's error!)