History Main / ExpositionBeam

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'' During one of the dream segments in [[spoiler:The World That Never Was]] Sora sees [[spoiler: Roxas, who proceeds to transfer EVERY SINGLE memory from his life over to the poor kid just by grabbing his hand. It nearly gives poor Sora a seizure.]]

->'''Lady Trieu:''' The pills, they’re passive-aggressive exposition. If you want her to know who you are, just tell her.\\
'''Will:''' She’s not gonna listen. She has to experience things by herself.\\
'''Lady Trieu:''' It’s still too cute by half.
-->-- ''Series/Watchmen2019''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** This was parodied in the form of "Layla MacGuffin" in [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/251383 this]] web animation by Matt Gardner.
--->"My name is Layla [=MacGuffin=], and I have the power to advance slow moving [[PlotThreads plotlines!]]"
* During Grant Morrison's run on the ''Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}'', ComicBook/MartianManhunter had this ability. He once shoved Martian piloting skills into Batman's brain so he could handle a Martian ship. One may be surprised to find out Batman hadn't [[CrazyPrepared already learned how to pilot one just in case]].
** He had, he was just being nice to J'onn and letting him show off his powers.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/8454/running-from-myself Running From Myself]],'' Blanchette uses a spell to show Rarity her memory of when Princess Celestia came to her house to meet with her parents and suspend her because she had bullied Twilight.

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', as a reward for bringing back the skull to its body Irina wanted it to “show me everything.” [[MySkullRunnethOver That]] [[LiteralGenie did not]] [[YourHeadASplode end well]].

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* HeroAntagonist Michael Kappel from ''Webcomic/{{Collar 6}}'' takes advantage of a PsychicLink between himself and some of his worst enemies to mentally tell them his life story. The experience leaves them more than a little rattled but inclined to sympathize with his intentions. Then Laura shares his memories with the entire world...
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the Uryuoms can transfer any language (but only languages, no other type of knowledge) to or from anyone else by rubbing their antennae on the other person's forehead.
%%* deadlink equals ZCE [[http://www.starslip.com/archive/20090504.shtml Subverted]] in ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'' (for bonus points, that's the guy who's responsible for enforcing their version of the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Prime Directive]])

* Used in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 "The Return Of Harmony"]] to undo the effects of Discord's corrupting influence; Twilight Sparkle first gets a load of flashbacks to moments of friendship via letters being returned to her, which undoes her own BreakTheCutie, then uses magic to force those flashbacks on her brainwashed friends to free ''them''.

** Pearl has frequently used her gem as a MentalPictureProjector to [[ExpositionDiagram explain things]] (plans, events, concepts related to Gems) visually.
*** This reaches its heights in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E18ASinglePaleRose "A Single Pale Rose"]], where Pearl, physically incapable of communicating [[spoiler:Pink Diamond's true fate]] to Steven ([[spoiler:Rose Quartz having supposedly shattered Pink]]), sends him into her gem to "find her phone". There, Steven meets various other versions of Pearl who also send him into ''their'' gems and further into the past. This culminates in Steven finding himself in Pink Diamond's palanquin, where he observes [[spoiler:Rose instructing Pearl to shapeshift into her and pretend to shatter (but really just poof) Pink. Cue Rose shapeshifting back to her true form — that of Pink Diamond, revealing the two to be one and the same.]]

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* In ''Literature/DownAndOutInTheMagicKingdom'', where brain uploading is a reality, the keepers of Disney World are working on a more {{Exposition Beam}}-like version, where you can go to the Hall of Presidents and come away with the impression of having ''been'' Abraham Lincoln.
* Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'' has "godshatter", which is basically a massive ExpositionBeam from SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. It would probably be super helpful if the [[BlessedWithSuck seemingly random jumble of information]] didn't [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity turn the person into an erratic, drooling savant]] for most of the time.

* Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' {{Trilogy}}: ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'' has "godshatter", which is basically a massive ExpositionBeam from SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. It would probably be super helpful if the [[BlessedWithSuck seemingly random jumble of information]] didn't [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity turn the person into an erratic, drooling savant]] for most of the time.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]]: One of these is a major element in the story's immediate {{backstory}}: [[spoiler:The villain, Reverend Golightly, is a HalfHumanHybrid who grew up unaware of his true identity. When he got really angry for the first time in his life, confronting two boys who were burglarizing his church, he began to transform into his true alien form, which activated a psychic recorder in the possession of his birth mother, Lady Eddison, that then beamed him his true identity into his head. Unfortunately, because Lady Eddison, fangirl of the works of Creator/AgathaChristie, was (re)reading ''Literature/TheMurderOfRogerAckroyd'' at the time, it also accidentally brainwashed the reverend into believing that the world worked like one of Agatha's murder mysteries, leading him to begin killing at Lady Eddison's house party.]]

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%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to discuss a new image.

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* Dr. Manhattan was given ExpositionBeam as a superpower for the [[Film/{{Watchmen}} movie version of]] ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', so that exposition could be delivered more quickly.

* ''A Fire Upon the Deep'' from Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' {{Trilogy}} has "godshatter", which is basically a massive ExpositionBeam from SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. It would probably be super helpful if the [[BlessedWithSuck seemingly random jumble of information]] didn't [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity turn the person into an erratic, drooling savant]] for most of the time.

** Garnet can temporarily bestow her [[{{Seers}} Future Vision]] on contact. In "Jail Break" she used this to show Steven where Amethyst and Pearl's were.
** In "Same Old World", Lapis shows Steven how she was trapped in a mirror by projecting images into water.

Compare UpgradeArtifact, which gives a character whole new abilities, and StoryboardingTheApocalypse, where a villain will have their planned doomsday appear in surreal slide show form.

** Pearl has frequently used her gem as a MentalPictureProjector to explain things (plans, events, concepts related to Gems) visually.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger "The Lodger"]] involved the Doctor pretending to be human. When his flat-mate catches him and demands to know what's going on, the Doctor telepathically fills him in by smacking their foreheads together.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]

[[folder:Audio Drama]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Dumbledore spends the year using his MemoryJar to show Harry parts of Voldemort (then Tom Riddle)'s childhood.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger "The Lodger"]] involved the Doctor pretending to be human. When his flat-mate caught him and demanded to know what was going on, the Doctor telepathically filled him in by smacking their foreheads together.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Pearl has frequently used her gem as a MentalPictureProjector to explain things (plans, events, concepts related to gems) visually.
*** This reaches its heights in "A Single Pale Rose", where Pearl, physically incapable of communicating a Pink Diamond's true fate to Steven (Rose Quartz having supposedly shattered Pink), sends him into her gem to "find her phone". There, Steven meets various other versions of Pearl who also send him into ''their'' gems and further into the past. This culminates in Steven finding himself in Pink Diamond's palanquin, where he observes [[spoiler: Rose instructing Pearl to shapeshift into her and pretend to shatter (but really just poof) Pink. Cue Rose shapeshifting back to her true form-- that of Pink Diamond, revealing the two to be one and the same.]]

* Vulcan Mind Melds on ''Franchise/StarTrek.'' '''A lot.''' Specifically, [[spoiler:Spock Prime does it to Kirk on the ice planet ]]in the new ''Film/StarTrek'' movie.

* Both Pearl and Lapis in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' have used this to show Steven events from the rebellion.

* In the ''Owl'' trilogy of the ''Liturature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the protagonists are allies of a species of [[IntellectualAnimal sentient, telepathic deerlike creatures]] called ''dyheli''. Their PsychicPowers are such that their leader can download an entire language into a character's head, granting instant fluency. The languages conveniently come with memories for explaining context, and the ability is occasionally used with other information as well. The lesser [[{{Telepathy}} Mindspeech]] used by Heralds and their [[BondCreatures Companions]] is usually straightforward mental communication, but they can read surface thoughts or implant memories more quickly than speech at need.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* [[ArtifactOfDoom The Book of Darkness]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' did an accidental one to Hayate [[spoiler:when it awakened and took control of her]], letting the latter gain insight on what had been really happening behind her back and figure out how to put a stop to the entire mess.
* When Goku finally reaches Namek in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', he's able to initiate a mind-meld with Krillin to catch up on the arc's events in this way. This ability [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands has never been mentioned before and never will be again.]]
** Korin and Master Roshi use similar powers after Goku's first fight with Tao Pai Pai and during the first tournament, respectively.
* Later chapters of ''Manga/DGrayMan'' have [[spoiler:the Noah of Wisdom, Wisely]] using one of these to show Kanda's memories to [[spoiler:Alma Karma, in an attempt to wake him up,]] and accidentally making [[spoiler:Allen and Road]] watch the backstory too. [[NightmareFuel/DGrayMan This being DGM]], it rapidly becomes clear why [[JerkAss Kanda]] [[TheStoic won't talk]] [[FreudianExcuse about his past]].
* When reporting back to the BigBad after his first appearance in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ulquiorra plucks out one of his eyes and crushes it into shards of dust, which everyone present absorbs to see what he's seen.
* In the first episode of Anime/CodeGeass R2, C.C. [[spoiler: undoes Charles's Geass and restores Lelouch's memories of being Zero]] by kissing him.

* ''Anime/MekakucityActors'': Used at the last possible moment when [[spoiler:Kuroha has Mary convinced [[GroundhogDayLoop she must turn back time to save her friends]], and [[PhotographicMemory Shintaro]] and [[EmotionBomb Ayano]] combine their powers to give Mary the memories of all past time loops, so she would know [[TakeAThirdOption what to do next]]]]. Cue VillainousBreakdown.

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In the MarvelUniverse Crossover event ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the entire world is "reformatted", and everyone on Earth has their memory altered so that they don't remember the world as it once was. Conveniently, somebody finds a mutant whose power is to restore people's memories back to normal by touching them.

* In ''Manga/LetterBee,'' Lag Seeing has a unique power, apparently from the Spirit Amber in his eye, that enables him to view and show others' memories by firing heart bullets. Typically, this results in him learning the conflicts behind a letter sender, and helping someone else realize the truth (for example, that Jiggy Pepper didn't abandon his friends, but worked to build a church in their Yodaka town). He also sometimes ends up showing his own past, such as when he showed Gauche his mother's abduction.

[[folder: Film]]

* In the movie version of ''Film/TheGreenMile'', John Coffey does this to Tom Hanks' character by grabbing his hand and showing him a vision of what Wild Bill did.
* In ''Film/BattlefieldEarth'' the feral humans are educated with an alien device, nominally to assist them in mining valuable minerals but in reality giving them knowledge of the alien language, care and feeding of advanced weapons as well as the means to engineer their oppressor's downfall.
* The pensieve in ''Film/HarryPotter'' lets a wizard store their memories for safe keeping or for anyone else to see. More like an exposition chafing dish, but it generally serves the same function.
* In ''Film/{{Tron}}'', and especially in ''Film/TronLegacy'', the identity discs contain the knowledge and personality of their user, and they can transmit this information to anyone holding it or through certain interfaces.. The plot revolves around [[spoiler:Clu trying to get Kevin Flynn's disc so that he can use the information coded on it to invade the real world]].
* ''Film/MenInBlack II'' has the Deneuralizer, which undoes [[LaserGuidedAmnesia what the Neuralizer does]].
* A ''lot'' of films about invading aliens or monsters use this trope to explain what's going on, given that the invaders aren't likely to offer an accounting of themselves to humans. Often this involves an accidental or intentional MindMeld with one of the aliens/monsters, as per ''Film/IndependenceDay'', ''Film/{{Slither}}'', or ''Film/PacificRim''. Used as TheUnreveal in ''Film/JeepersCreepers 3'', in which two of the ''characters'' receive visions of what the Creeper actually is, but the ''audience'' isn't shown what they've seen.

[[folder: Literature]]
* In the ''[[Literature/HumanxCommonwealth Flinx and Pip]]'' series, Flinx does this on several occasions when characters ([[SarcasmMode for some reason]]) stubbornly refuse to believe his claims not only to know about an UltimateEvil approaching the galaxy from megaparsecs away, but to have ''seen it in person''. Fortunately, his unique PsychicPowers enable him to carry doubters along for the ride, bringing them up to speed very quickly -- when it doesn't [[GoMadFromTheRevelation destroy]] their [[MindRape minds]]. In fact, he earns a [[Awesome/{{Literature}} CMoA]] in ''Flinx Transcendent'' for doing this to the [=AAnn=] Emperor and his entire high council.
* ''Literature/RevelationSpace'' by Creator/AlastairReynolds. The female protagonist has an implanted memory that activates at a suitable moment of the plot.
* In the ''Owl'' trilogy of the ''Liturature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the protagonists are allies of a species of [[IntellectualAnimal sentient, telepathic deerlike creatures]] called ''dyheli''. Their PsychicPowers are such that their leader can download an entire language into a character's head, granting instant fluency. The languages conveniently come with memories for explaining context, and the ability is occasionally used with other information as well. The lesser [[{{Telepathy}} Mindspeech]] used by Heralds and their [[BondCreatures Companions]] is usually straightforward mental communication, but they can read surface thoughts or implant memories more quickly than speech at need.
* In ''Literature/DownAndOutInTheMagicKingdom'', where brain uploading is a reality, the keepers of Disney World are working on a more {{Exposition Beam}}-like version, where you can go to the Hall of Presidents and come away with the impression of having ''been'' Abraham Lincoln.

* In the ''Literature/{{Relativity}}'' story "Tempest", Phanthro shows some of his memories to Matt using one of his future-tech gizmos. The memory he shows him is an alternate future in which Matthew's son dies... as a consequence of a disease wiping out half the Earth's population.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}.'' In the episode "Relic", Jor-El stores his memories in a pendant that Clark calls a "type of journal". When Clark has it, touching something that Jor-El touched allows him to see parts of Jor-El's visit to Smallville in 1961.
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', O'Neill gets an entire archive of [[{{Precursors}} Ancient]] knowledge downloaded into his brain in a matter of seconds. Twice.
** The title artifact in ''The Ark of Truth'' [[spoiler: used to turn the priors away from the Ori through their telepathic network]] is either a weaponized form of this or {{Brainwashing}}.

* In the television series based on ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy,'' Arthur Dent is given this treatment during his trip to Magrathea.

** In "Galaxy Four", one of the Rills does this to show the companion Vicki how the Rills wound up stuck on the planet.
** In "The Three Doctors", this is how the Third Doctor gets his past self up-to-speed on the situation.
** "The Lodger" involved the Doctor pretending to be human. When his flat-mate caught him and demanded to know what was going on, the Doctor telepathically filled him in by smacking their foreheads together.

* Vorlons (and other telepaths) in ''Series/BabylonFive'' can do this. Kosh hits Sheridan with one in the second season, and Lyta does it to Number One in the fourth season.
-->'''Kosh:''' Sheridan. Learn.
* ''Series/AndyRichterControlsTheUniverse'' did it with ''food''.
--> "Eat this cupcake, it'll explain everything!"
* Kalem persuades [[Series/TheLegendOfWilliamTell Will]] not to go back home by showing him his dog's memories of his parents being killed.

[[folder: TabletopGames]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Instead of describing his vision of the destruction of Argus to his friends, Velen shares it telepathically.

* The gameplay of the first ''VideoGame/EchoNight'' has this as a major gameplay feature. Stranded on a FlyingDutchman populated by shades, Richard must experience their memories in order to determine how to solve puzzles and help them rest in piece.
* One village in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has been completely TakenForGranite, which makes the usual TalkToEveryone difficult to achieve... until you figure out how to experience their {{Flashback}}s.
* In ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', [[spoiler:Tyrael shows Leah the events that lead to his self-exile, including the part where he tore off his own wings]].

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'' During one of the dream segments in [[spoiler:The World That Never Was]] Sora sees [[spoiler: Roxas, who proceeds to transfer EVERY SINGLE memory from his life over to the poor kid just by grabbing his hand. It nearly gives poor Sora a seizure]]

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive,'' the Uryuoms can transfer any language (but only languages, no other type of knowledge) to or from anyone else by rubbing their antennae on the other person's forehead.
* HeroAntagonist Michael Kappel from ''Webcomic/{{Collar 6}}'' takes advantage of a PsychicLink between himself and some of his worst enemies to mentally tell them his life story. The experience leaves them more than a little rattled but inclined to sympathize with his intentions. Then Laura shares his memories with the entire world...

* [[ArtifactOfDoom The Book of Darkness]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha A's'' did an accidental one to Hayate [[spoiler:when it awakened and took control of her]], letting the latter gain insight on what had been really happening behind her back and figure out how to put a stop to the entire mess.

* A ''lot'' of films about invading aliens or monsters use this trope to explain what's going on, given that the invaders themselves aren't likely to offer an accounting of themselves to humans. Often this involves an accidental or intentional MindMeld with one of the aliens/monsters, as per ''Film/IndependenceDay'', ''Film/{{Slither}}'', or ''Film/PacificRim''. Used as TheUnreveal in ''Film/JeepersCreepers 3'', in which two of the ''characters'' receive visions of what the Creeper actually is, but the ''audience'' isn't shown what they've seen.