History Main / ExpositionBeam

* Vulcan Mind Melds on ''Franchise/StarTrek.'' '''A lot.''' Specifically, [[spoiler:Spock Prime does it to Kirk on the ice planet]] in the 'Film/StarTrek2009''.
* In the original ''Film/TotalRecall1990'', Kuato does this to unlock Quaid's [[LaserGuidedAmnesia locked memories]]. In a sense, the story itself is set in motion because the [[FakeMemories Fake Memory]] implanting machines in the Rekall center jostle Quaid's hidden memories (or worked perfectly).

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** 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.]]

** One book features the [[ProudMerchantRace Iskoort]], who buy and sell memories (among other things). It basically involves copying somebody's mind and then letting other people download it. The Animorphs plus [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Erek]] see some [[KillEmAll Howler]] memories and wind up selling their own to get by. [[spoiler:These memories are later used to give the Howlers a species-wide HeelFaceTurn, since [[OmnicidalManiac Crayak]] had previously kept them ignorant of other species' sapience]].

* In the ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' 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.

[[folder: Music]]

It's worth noting though that the differences between this and [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwashing]] are few. If instead of real memories they beam FakeMemories, coupled with LaserGuidedAmnesia, then the receiver may just ''think'' they've only been targeted by an Exposition Beam that served as EpiphanyTherapy.

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

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

* ''Film/{{Underworld}}'': Vampires gain some memories from those whose blood they drink; if they feed their blood to another vampire, they can transmit specific memories, though the technique is difficult. Selene tries this when she wakes an elder from hibernation in an emergency and the elder is quite annoyed by how garbled her bloodborne debrief is.

Compare UpgradeArtifact, which gives a character whole new abilities, PensieveFlashback, where a flashback is fully visible to the characters, and StoryboardingTheApocalypse, where a villain will have their planned doomsday appear in surreal slide show form.

[[quoteright:349:[[Webcomic/SleeplessDomain https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sd_exposition.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:349: Hopefully nothing dramatic happens while neither's looking, otherwise they'll have to do it all over again.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/SleeplessDomain https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sd_exposition.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Hopefully nothing dramatic happens while neither's looking, otherwise they'll have to do it all over again.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/SleeplessDomain https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sdeb3.png]]]]

* 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.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' [[InvokedTrope invokes this]] when Negi decides to tell Asuna about his past. It's then subverted, as the resultant PensieveFlashback takes longer than if he would have just told her. Of course, actually ''watching'' what happened is much more interesting and the in-story time may well have been shorter.

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon''

* Part of Pakunoda's Nen ability in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' is the Memory Bomb, which lets her fire memory bullets into people's heads to quickly transfer information to them that she has learned.

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' [[Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019 Crisis on Infinite Earths]]: [[spoiler:After the multiverse is destroyed and recreated, Martian Manhunter restores the characters's memories of their pre-Crisis lives in [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS5CrisisOnInfiniteEarthsHourFive Part Five]].]]

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'': Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019: [[spoiler:After the multiverse is destroyed and recreated, Martian Manhunter restores the characters's memories of their pre-Crisis lives in [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS5CrisisOnInfiniteEarthsHourFive Part Five]].]]