History Main / GlassesPull

A subtrope of CharacterTics. See also TheGlassesComeOff.

'''{{Nerd}}:''' But you ''can't'' use a nuclear missile, General! (whips off his glasses) It's immoral!

'''HollywoodNerd:''' But you ''can't'' use a nuclear missile, General! (whips off his glasses) It's immoral!

->''"The only advantage to wearing glasses is being able to do that dramatic removal. ''[removes glasses]'' My God! Holy mother of God... I can't see a thing. [[BlindWithoutEm Guess that's why I wear 'em]]."''

A [[LamePunReaction gut-wrenchingly horrible]] {{pun}} optional [[note]]YYYEEEAAAHHH!!![[/note]]

* ''Film/HotFuzz'' parodies the hell out of this in one scene where some form of eyewear is removed for basically every line. That one scene is the peak of it, but most of the times the detectives speak they remove some eyewear. However, for that scene, the detectives had multiple lines- so they were wearing riot helmets as well as their sunglasses, just for the sake of this trope.

* This trope is parodied in ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve''. The preteen son of the hero is wearing a pair of sun glasses with the tag still on, whilst in a Yellowstone gift shop. After he gets a call from mom, he takes off said glasses (cue dramatic zoom in of his face) and says, "mom wants us home".

** The series as a whole would be exaggerating this trope to the point of satire if not for one major justification: The cool sunglasses are used to block the effects of the [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Neuraliser]].

* Alternately played straight and {{inverted|Trope}} by ''Series/CSIMiami'''s [[LargeHam Horatio Caine]], who punctuates every dramatic pronouncement by either removing his CoolShades before he speaks or putting them on afterwards -- most famously, his horrendously (and hilariously) over-the-top QuipToBlack at the end of any given ColdOpen (cue Music/TheWho's [[BigYes YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!]]). Special mention goes to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d54Ok6Uz_A this scene]], which features Horatio taking off his glasses as he's coming out of a car...for the sole purpose of pulling this ''mere seconds later'' as the [[EveryCarIsAPinto car explodes]] [[UnflinchingWalk behind him.]] Caine's version of this trope probably deserves its own page by now -- [[MemeticMutation there are references to/jokes about it everywhere]]. The glasses "pull" has become such a signature for the character that when A&E began running reruns of the series, their promos had the announcer giving the name of the series and announcing its times...while all they showed on screen was the sunglasses sitting on a table.

* Creator/JimGaffigan's bit about this trope provides the page quote.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' had Jimmy constantly putting on [[CoolShades sunglasses]] just to invoke this trope.

* Inverted towards the end of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, it was beginning to look like the makeshift government wasn't going to be able to pay the army for its service. UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington's officers called a meeting to discuss possible retaliations, which included pulling out into the backwoods and letting Congress defend itself, or even turning against it outright. Washington made a speech to them about how this would totally suck and they shouldn't do it, which they were not in the mood to hear. Then at the end he pulled out a letter from Congress explaining the government's financial problems, along with his reading glasses, and reportedly said something like, "Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have grown not only gray but half-blind in the service of my country." [[ShamingTheMob This served as a massive guilt trip]], and after he'd read the letter and left, the officers unanimously voted to accept Congress's leadership and forget the idea of rebellion. A rare instance of this trope working because it makes the invoker look ''weaker''.

** Cronkite was also genuinely affected by the events that he was covering--events that he was learning of at the same time he was reporting them. He wasn't intentionally invoking this trope, but it nevertheless helped to highlight the seriousness of each development.

* Parodied when Jack In the Box introduced their bacon and cheddar potato wedges and jalapeno poppers, running a television ad featuring a "doctor" extolling the wonderful health benefits of these new appetizers. He enters every single shot with his glasses on, then dramatically whips them off as he delivers his conclusions, at least five or six times total. And is never actually seen putting them back on during the course of said commercial.

* On ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'', the vice principal always wears the same white suit and sunglasses (he's a parody of Crockett and Tubbs on ''Series/MiamiVice''). If he shows up in an episode, you can guarantee he will whip them off before the end of his dialogue, then replace them and walk away as he finishes speaking. Truly hilarious when he has many scenes in a single episode. Will also use them to glare dramatically after, yes, whipping them off.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. In "Changing Channels" the Winchester brothers are stuck in what appears to be different TV shows, and upon entering a CSI-esque setting they begin to imitate Horatio Cane, with GlassesPull and DramaticPause. It is hilarious...

->''"The only advantage to wearing glasses is being able to do that dramatic removal. ''[removes glasses]'' My God! Holy mother of God... I can't see a thing. Guess that's why I wear 'em."''

Authority figures like a ScaryLibrarian might look over the tops of their reading glasses, or carefully take them off, in order to give that person a more effective [[DeathGlare steely glare]].

* In ''DemonHunters'' there is the part where Silent Jim whips off his sunglasses only to have another pair underneath.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Homer does this from time to time when shown wearing his reading glasses.

** Also lampshaded in "All the Way" when Xander/Anya start snogging passionately to celebrate their engagement.

** It all becomes too much for Buffy when she's caught in a GroundhogDayLoop -- she snatches them from Giles' hand and crushes them underfoot.
** In the season 2 finale, a smirking Angelus cleans Giles glasses for him while he's tied to a chair and tortured by having his fingers broken.
** Noticably averted in the finale of Season 5. When Giles [[spoiler:murders Ben]] he makes a point of putting his glasses ''on'', as if refusing to spare himself the horror of what he's about to do.

* Cobra Bubbles on ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' first takes off his shades when he tells Nani that he's "the one they call when things go wrong".

* ''Webcomic/BiggerThanCheeses'': [[http://www.biggercheese.com/index.php?comic=701 This infamous parody strip]] singlehandedly catapulted the ''CSI Miami'' opening across the internet in a vengeful maelstrom of [[ImageBoards infernal]] [[MemeticMutation memetic virulence]]. Note the [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments second pair of sunglasses]] in the third panel.

In RealLife, not many people with glasses whip them off after delivering a dramatic line, although some might remove their glasses if they spot something unusual due to [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyopia presbyopia]], just to double-check that they're seeing correctly. Optometrists will warn against removing them with one hand as it could damage the frames.

* Towards the end of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, it was beginning to look like the makeshift government wasn't going to be able to pay the army for its service. UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington's officers called a meeting to discuss possible retaliations, which included pulling out into the backwoods and letting Congress defend itself, or even turning against it outright. Washington made a speech to them about how this would totally suck and they shouldn't do it, which they were not in the mood to hear. Then at the end he pulled out a letter from Congress explaining the government's financial problems, along with his reading glasses, and reportedly said something like, "Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have grown not only gray but half-blind in the service of my country." This served as a massive guilt trip, and after he'd read the letter and left, the officers unanimously voted to accept Congress's leadership and forget the idea of rebellion. A rare instance of this trope working because it makes the invoker look ''weaker''.

In RealLife, not many people with glasses whip them off after delivering a dramatic line, unless they're doing it on purpose, and optometrists will warn against removing them with one hand as it could damage the frames.

In RealLife, not many people with glasses whip them off after delivering a dramatic line, unless they're doing it on purpose, and optometrists will warn against removing them with one hand as it could cause damage.

* [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/522607 Replaying :the game:]] parodies this at the end of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}} :the game:'' with Horatio putting on new glasses ''[[HurricaneOfPuns over the previous ones]]''.
-->'''Horatio:''' Well... good night... ''(puts on glasses)'' sweet prince.
-->'''''YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!'''''
-->NOW LET'S JUST '''KILL''' THE '''''[[{{Pun}} HORATIO]]''''' '''[[{{Pun}} CAINE]]''' JOKE
-->'''Horatio:''' King Hamlet... talk about... ''(puts on glasses)'' sibling rivalry.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->Looks like it's curtains... ''(puts on glasses)'' for Polonius.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->Rosencrantz and Guildenstern... the check's... ''(puts on glasses)'' in the mail.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->Looks like Ophelia... ''(puts on glasses)'' was drowning her sorrows.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->Laertes... ''(puts on glasses)'' got the point.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->Queen Gertrude... wine... ''(puts on giant glasses on top of all the other stacked-up pairs)'' and dyin'.
-->'''''YEEEAAHHH'''''
-->King Claudius... double... ''(presses button, millions of glasses fall from ceiling)'' the trouble.
-->'''''YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!'''''
-->HORATIO THEN BECAME FORTINBRAS'S ADVISOR OF COOL

->''"The only advantage to wearing glasses is being able to do that dramatic removal. ''[removes glasses]'' My God! Holy mother of God.... I can't see a thing. Guess that's why I wear 'em."''

A Glass Pull should not be confused with an AssPull.

!!Examples

* Played with in ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho''. While answering the mayor's "hypothetical" question, Dr. [=LaRue=] whips off her safety glasses on the obvious dramatic line. In a later scene, she whips them off on an innocuous word so she can put them back on for the most dramatic line.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The L.A. Policeman Johnny investigating Kramer in the two part ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Trip".

** Here is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948 You Tube]] clip that collects several dozen examples.

** And ''WebComic/{{xkcd}}'', [[http://xkcd.com/626/ here]] and [[http://xkcd.com/524/ here]].

* Parodied on an episode of ''Series/BurnNotice'' by [[Creator/BruceCampbell Sam Axe]] posing as a crime scene investigator, complete with horrendous QuipToBlack. Made funnier because the show is set in Miami.
** Also done [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwGlL3hxaCY here]] by ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. In "Changing Channels" the Winchester brothers are stuck in what appears to be different TV shows, and upon entering a CSI-esque setting they begin to imitate Horatio Cane, with GlassesPull and DramaticPause. It is hilarious...
-->'''Dean:''' Calm down?! I am wearing {{sunglasses at night}}! Know who does that? [[TakeThat No-talent douchebags!]]

* Using these clips was a recurring bit on [[Creator/ConanOBrien Late Night With Conan O'Brien]], on par with the ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' lever for a time.
* ''Series/TheDailyShow'' used this too in a segment about Pope Benedict forgiving the Jews for killing Christ
-->Y'know, if the Jews didn't kill Christ... You know what this means? The real killers are still out there. Time for ''CSI: Nazareth.'' Looks like the Son of God... got double-crossed.
-->'''YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!'''
* On ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'', the vice principal always wears the same white suit and sunglasses (he's a parody of Crockett and Tubbs on ''Series/MiamiVice''). If he shows up in an episode, you can guarantee he will whip them off before the end of his dialogue, then replace them and walk away as he finishes speaking. Truly hilarious when he has many scenes in a single episode. Will also use them to glare dramatically after, yes, whipping them off.
** At one point, he took off a pair of glasses to reveal ''another pair of glasses underneath them''.
* When attempting to seem sophisticated in order to impress Becky, Jesse practices this on ''Series/FullHouse.''
-->'''Joey''': Well, if anything else comes up, just take your glasses and say, "Interesting but terribly overrated."
-->'''Jesse''': Thanks. I'll try that. Okay. "Interesting, but terribly overrated."
-->'''Joey''': Congratulations, Jess. You are now a sophisticated intellectual.
* On ''Series/TheDailyShow'' and ''Series/TheColbertReport'', people do this all the time, sometimes putting on glasses beforehand in order to whip them off. At one point, Stephen Colbert actually put on a pair of glasses ''over the one he was already wearing,'' citing the theory that, if taking off glasses automatically makes things serious, putting on another pair should lighten the mood.
** During a rant on the January 21, 2010, episode of ''Series/TheDailyShow'', Jon puts on and removes six different pairs of glasses, mostly one at a time, as he turns from camera to camera emphasizing almost every sentence, culminating in a pair of reading glasses worn over some novelty 2010 New Year's glasses, removed one after the other to emphasize two consecutive statements. He was making fun of [[Series/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann Keith Olbermann]], who made a point of doing this when responding to the rant the next day.
** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZABknwBlfk this sketch]] on ''TheLateShowWithStephenColbert'', Stephen does the dramatic glasses pull only for them to be back on his face in the next shot. He does it ''eight times'' during one scene.
* In ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', "City Limits", Tom Servo notes that Kim Catrall's character in the movie is only wearing glasses so she can pull them off dramatically.
* Giles does this frequently in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. He even lampshades it in a tie-in comic when he has his arm in a sling and is unable to remove them.
** Also lampshaded in "All the Way" when Xander/Anya start snogging passionately to celebrate their engagement.
-->'''Buffy:''' Is that why you're always cleaning your glasses? So you don't have to see what we're doing?
-->'''Giles:''' Tell no one.
** It all becomes too much for Buffy when she's caught in a GroundhogDayLoop -- she snatches them from Giles' hand and crushes them underfoot.
** In the season 2 finale, a smirking Angelus cleans Giles glasses for him while he's tied to a chair and tortured by having his fingers broken.
** Noticably averted in the finale of Season 5. When Giles [[spoiler:murders Ben]] he makes a point of putting his glasses ''on'', as if refusing to spare himself the horror of what he's about to do.
* On ''Series/TheWestWing'', Josh Lyman threatens a Congressman over a vote.
-->'''Josh''': President Bartlet is a good man. He has a good heart. He doesn't hold grudges. ''(whips out sunglasses, puts them on, walks off, then turns back)'' That's what he pays me for.
** President Bartlet also has a tendency to whip off his glasses whenever Leo tells him anything dramatic. (Or when Charlie informs him that the [[MundaneMadeAwesome Butterball has a hotline]].) Of course, he wears reading glasses, so he's usually looking up from whatever dramatic memo Leo put in his hands.
* Parodied in ''Series/{{MASH}}'' by the infamous Colonel Flagg, who whips off his sunglasses only to reveal a second pair of sunglasses.
* Oh, so often on ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. Roslin and Adama are particularly fond of the trope with their spectacles, and lawyer Romo Lampkin does much the same with his [[SunglassesAtNight usual sunglasses]].
** Seeing as Romo has rather piercing eyes, it's clear he does this for effect (along with everything else he does).

* Richard Hammond of ''Series/TopGear'' does this during the American Road Trip special, upon [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2syY12OPkwI#t=7m03s seeing New Orleans one year after Hurricane Katrina.]]

-->'''Ted''': We can't control what kind of husband he'll be...
-->'''Janitor''': (pauses) Lloyd, give me those glasses. Say that again in exactly the same way. (puts on glasses)
-->'''Ted''': We can't... CONTROL what kind of husband he'll be...
-->'''Janitor''': (removes glasses) Or can we?
* ''Series/TheITCrowd'': "Hang on, let me put on some slightly larger glasses..."
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': guest Alec Baldwin, on Mike Myers' "How to Be a Handsome Actor" instructional, demonstrates the fine points of spinning in an office chair to face the camera, whipping off one's glasses, signing a paper without looking at it, and picking up a ringing phone and immediately talking into it.
* From ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' we have Barney's video resume. Between questions from the interviewer (Barney with an accent), Barney puts on his glasses just so he can take them off when he's answering the next question.
* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' DCI Keats ''loves'' doing this with his glasses - mainly to look cool, but also to underscore how much more human he appears without the glasses.
* A variant was used on ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', where Stringfellow Hawke would pull off his glasses and not say a thing.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Tenth Doctor does this on occasion--though he's more known for whipping his glasses ''on'' when something's important.
* In a ''Series/MrShow'' sketch, a documentary show host takes his glasses off whenever he makes a statement. When the camera cuts back to him, they're back on again.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Reno 911}}'' had Dangle [[NoFourthWall taking a dramatic pause]] then lampshading it. Everybody else hams it up for the rest of the scene, with Jones doing this apropos of nothing.

* In 'The Sky Lift' episode (season 5) of ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'', protagonist Larry does this when accusing Richard Lewis' nurse of hiding Mickey Mantle's 500 homerun ball inside her ample vagina.

* An episode of ''Series/LateNight with Creator/JimmyFallon'' had Jimmy and guest Jeff Daniels play a MadLibs-like game called "Dramatic Turns" where they would take turns saying "That may be, but…", pulling off their own glasses, and dramatically reading an audience-written cue card.
* On ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' if Jessica is wearing her reading glasses at the end of an act she will usually take them off to express shock.
* Atsuko from ''Series/MajisukaGakuen'' takes her glasses off in a dramatic manner whenever she's going to fight.
* Spoofed in ''Series/AngieTribeca'' when Angie puts her sunglasses on to deliver a snappy one-liner, then whips them off again.
* In "The Date" episode of ''Series/{{Blossom}}'', the titular character is assaulted by her date when she refuses to have sex with him. When she confides in her father, he takes off his glasses while declaring in a [[TranquilFury chillingly calm]] voice, "I'm going to kill him."
* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': A key way to tell when Shades means business is when he pulls off his signature Ray-Bans in the midst of a conversation.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In the first episode, when Matt is conversing with Karen on the couch about his blindness, he temporarily removes his glasses when he tells Karen that he'd give anything to see the sky one more time. Here, the moment highlights the sexual tension between Matt and Karen, given Matt's apartment is being lit only by the neon billboard across the street and [[SexyShirtSwitch Karen is wearing one of his dress shirts]].

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' uses a nonverbal variation: a number of Peppermint Patty strips have the last panel with Marcie moving her glasses to the top of her head and as she rolls her eyes at Patty's antics - probably because the OpaqueNerdGlasses mean we wouldn't see the eye roll otherwise.
[[/folder]]

---> '''Female Trainer dressed like Catherine''': Smells like something here... is fishy...
---> '''YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!''' ''cue imagination montage as trainer and sea lion shuffle across the stage, striking poses as the sea lion grins and winks at the audience.''

* ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''. The police commissioner has a habit of polishing his glasses, and the detective protagonist thinks it's a good way of appearing to be busy while he's actually trying to think of what to say. Unlike lighting a pipe which would be too expensive in a [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap future where tobacco is rare]]. [[spoiler:It also keeps the glasses in the audience's mind, as they're an important clue.]]

* ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''. The police commissioner has a habit of polishing his glasses, and the detective protagonist thinks it's a good way of appearing to be busy while he's actually trying to think of what to say. Unlike lighting a pipe which would be too expensive in a [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap future where tobacco is expensive]]. [[spoiler:It also keeps the glasses in the audience's mind, as they're an important clue.]]