History Main / FauxlosophicNarration

* While all of Creator/TerrenceMalick's films are noted for their use of philosophical voiceovers, ''Film/ToTheWonder'' [[UpToEleven took this so far]] many critics accused it of this. Reportedly, some audiences [[{{Narm}} straight up laughed]] at certain sequences.

* {{Discussed|Trope}} and PlayedForDrama in the ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'' episode "Omelet", as out of nowhere, the {{Narrator}} begins a long, ambivalent digression on the pointlessness of ascribing traits to the night sky, which is a void of nothingness. Though she self-deprecatingly notes that the listener can ignore her, she says that humans are also nothing. Abruptly, she reveals that she witnessed a HumanoidAbomination casually murdering a man, which gives her prior nihilistic musings context as a coping mechanism for her fear.

* The 1981 movie ''Lifepod'' (not to be confused with the [[Film/{{Lifepod}} 1993 TV movie]]) riffs on this trope appearing in BMovie ScienceFiction when it opens with a narrator blathering on about the wonders of space travel in TheFuture, only it's an advertisement for tickets on the [[{{Exposition}} space cruiser whose destruction sets off the movie]].

* The TV movie ''Film/{{Lifepod}}'' riffs on this trope appearing in BMovie ScienceFiction when it opens with a narrator blathering on about the wonders of space travel in TheFuture, only it's an advertisement for tickets on the [[{{Exposition}} space cruiser whose destruction sets off the movie]].

->'''Max's voice''': The bartender is shiny stuff and dreams are made of stooped necromancers. He sings like a banana wrist, having strayed too close to the constellation on their shaved skulls. The rain of frogs ended--\\

* The narrator from ''Anime/ArmoredTrooperVOTOMs'' displays some of the funniest and yet most entertaining examples.

Keep in mind, on the [[NotSoDifferent other end of the spectrum]], that more cynical or attention-span lacking audience members may often call on this when bashing something for petty reasons, wishing to appear down to Earth and wise in their own way, "seeing through the bullshit" when they're really just bashing things they don't wish to take the time to analyze, or have some other gripe with.

* ''Videogame/KingdomHearts'' opens with Sora's disembodied voice saying "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real? Or not?" which sounds deep, but has no connection to story itself. Director Tetsuya Nomura even admitted that the line was originally from a scenario that didn't make it into the final game, but he kept the quote because it sounded cool.

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has a few of these, with one of the main characters, Mohinder, starting and ending each episode with a philosophical note that extrapolate on the events of that episode (and some that merely capitalize on the mood). Occasionally other characters, such as Linderman or Sylar, got in on the act, usually exhibiting their own dark tones to deviate from Mohinder's (usually) more positive narration.

* The entréee of each and every serving of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise.
** Cutscenes are riddled with existential positing on the subject of hearts, darkness, power, light, [[DontExplainTheJoke nothingness]], or [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic destiny of the heart of darkness against the power of light and destiny]].
** The first game opens with Sora's disembodied voice saying "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real? Or not?" which sounds deep, but has no connection to story itself. Director Tetsuya Nomura even admitted that the line was originally from a scenario that didn't make it into the final game, but he kept the quote because it sounded cool.

* ''Druuna'': Some of the more elaborate philosophical meanderings of various characters can come across as overwraught attempts to pad out the more action- or sex-focused parts of the comic.

* ''Anime/DigimonTri'': Most of the movies begin with a narrator rattling off philosophical stuff which has nothing to do with the film's events. The final one, meanwhile, isn't this, it's just the narrator saying "everything will turn out fine" in the most flowery way possible.

* ''Film/TheNakedWitch'' opens with strange narration musing on the nature of good and evil, and what lurks beyond edge of life. It makes little sense, especially as the witch was seemingly just a wronged widow before she was killed and rose from the dead, and did not indulge in any of the acts the narration is rambling on about.

* This applies to ''Series/TheXFiles'', where it was common either for Mulder to go on at length about how there are more things in heaven and earth etc., or Scully to lecture about how science is the only reliable guide to the truth without which nothing makes sense yada yada.
** These voiceovers are most often framed as being readings of the case reports Scully (and sometimes Mulder) are seen writing. It's interesting to think what Skinner's feelings were about all the pretentious quasi-philosophical stuff in what should have been straightforward accounts of events.

* Terry Pratchett does this occasionally, especially at the beginning of books, sometimes introducing a later-important ChekhovsGun at the same time (just look at Discworld/InterestingTimes and the Quantum Weather Butterfly, which ends up saving Rincewind's life.)

** Played straight in Discworld/RaisingSteam, where the plot grinds to a screeching halt and the scene shifts to an irrelevant character in a very different country so that said character can whinge about how terrible cultural assimilation is.

* In the GameMod ''VideoGame/BatmanDoom'', the text screens that pop up a few times throughout the game are filled with Batman's {{Narm}}ful musings about how he's "the chosen one" to fight evil. In fact, the text screens are probably only there because there's no way to remove them from the game, so the modding team decided they might as well fill them with something vaguely relevant.

* The entréee of each and every serving of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise. Cutscenes are riddled with existential positing on the subject of hearts, darkness, power, light, [[DontExplainTheJoke nothingness]], or [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic destiny of the heart of darkness against the power of light and destiny]].
** In particular, the first game opens with Sora's disembodied voice saying "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real? Or not?" which sounds deep, but has no connection to story itself. Director Tetsuya Nomura even admitted that the line was originally from a scenario that didn't make it into the final game, but he kept the quote because it sounded cool.

* Parodied by ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' at the end of every chapter.
** Then parodies itself at the end of "Judy gets a kitten"

* ''Series/MacGyver'' usually starts an episode with some unrelated adventure backed by a fauxlosophic voice-over by the man himself.

* Tends to pop up in the opening video packages for Wrestling/{{WWE}} pay-per-view events, probably somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of them.[[note]]It behind around 1996 and is pretty prominent during the Attitude Era.[[/note]] The rest are pretty blatant, "Hey, come check out grown men hitting each other with chairs and throwing each other around to make it look like it hurts without actually breaking their necks! Only this time ON A LADDER!!!"

* Tends to pop up in the opening video packages for Wrestling/{{WWE}} pay-per-view events, probably somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of them. The rest are pretty blatant, "Hey, come check out grown men hitting each other with chairs and throwing each other around to make it look like it hurts without actually breaking their necks! Only this time ON A LADDER!!!"

'''Note: This trope has been subjected to misuse. [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Do not simply add philosophical narration that you don't like.]] Also, do not just add any contemplative speech that you can find. If it has a clear relation to the plot, it is not this trope. [[TropesAreNotBad Philosophical musings are not inherently bad]]. If done well, they should enhance the work.'''