History Main / OpenTheIris

* Tweaked in 2004's ''Film/{{Dawn of the Dead|2004}}''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* Tweaked in 2004's ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* Tweaked in 2004's ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* Tweaked in 2004's ''Film/{{Dawn of the Dead|2004}}''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* Tweaked in 2004's ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* In ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' this happens to Penny Ling at times, but for the most part everyone's eyes are already so huge that this trope is almost unnecessary.

** In general, this is the way Simpsons characters show that a psychoactive drug/medication is kicking in. Futurama uses the trope in the same way.

* In the end-of-Act-5 flash, Rose comes to a sudden realization about [[BatmanGambit the nature of The Tumor]]. Her eyes widen as the camera zooms in on them for dramatic effect, and then everything goes ''wrong''.

* In J.R.Ward's BlackDaggerBrotherhood paranormal romance series, the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] {{seer|s}} [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast character]] [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Vishous]] has this happen to his left eye whenever he deliberately tries to look into someone's future or to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia bury their memories]].

* The animation style of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' usually shows an all-black pupil/iris with the anime-standard lens flair and a cresent of color near the bottom of the eye. When a character is shocked, scared, or incredibly pissed off, you can see the iris all the way around. [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises Their eyes kind of shrink, too.]]

* It happens occasionally to Sousuke from ''FullMetalPanic'', though not too often, considering how normally [[TheStoic unphasable]] he is. He's shown doing this more often during ''TSR'', and it's noticeable in the ''Sigma'' manga [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/full_metal_panic_sigma/v02/c007/21.html as well]].

* In {{Paranorman}}, Norman gets a vision of the famous witch trial of Blithe Hollow, in the position of the accused. Norman tries to defend himself, until he hears someone behind him, crying. His irises narrowing in shock is a nice touch to TheReveal that [[spoiler:the "witch" was a little girl who talked to ghosts]].

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[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spike_eyes_3010.jpg]]]]

* The animation style of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' usually shows an all-black pupil/iris with the anime-standard lens flair and a cresent of color near the bottom of the eye. When a character is shocked, scared, or incredibly pissed off, you can see the iris all the way around. [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises Their eyes kind of shrink, too.]]

** Similarly used in GhostHound, by the same director.

* In J.R.Ward's BlackDaggerBrotherhood paranormal romance series, the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] [[{{Seers}} seer]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast character]] [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Vishous]] has this happen to his left eye whenever he deliberately tries to look into someone's future or to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia bury their memories]].

* [[ChisSweetHome Chi]]'s irises got HUGE when she saw a shopping bag filled with kitty toys. Of course, [[MundaneObjectAmazement she went straight for the bag.]]

* People in GundamSEED who enter SEED Mode have much larger irises, though their emotional range typically doesn't change much.

--> '''Kageyama''': "... you like Takasaki-san, don't you!?"

Opening the [[TeleFrag iris]] in ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'' has nothing to do with this trope.

Normally, the eye filters light by widening or closing the hole in the centre of the iris, called the pupil. Emotional reactions can achieve this as well: shock might narrow the pupil, while relaxing could widen it considerably. However, in animated fare or ComicBooks, this can be very hard if not impossible to show, since a typical human pupil, at its widest, is 3-4 millimeters.[[hottip:*:For the metric-impaired, that's 0.12-0.16 inches.]] This trope is a way to sidestep that difficulty. Instead of just changing the size of the ''pupil'', you change the size of the ''iris'' (the colored ring surrounding the pupil) as well.

Opening the [[TeleFrag iris]] in ''StargateSG1'' has nothing to do with this trope.

* This is used along with HellishPupils in ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' - probably because [[spoiler:any character with this effect is usually in the grip of some serious paranoia]].

* In ''{{Naruto}}'', this is what the 9-Tailed Fox looks like when [[spoiler:it's being controlled by someone with the Sharingan]].

* Common trope in WesternAnimation, especially happening to children when they are surprised by something (to the perspective of a kid) mortifying. Used at least once in nearly every {{Nickelodeon}} and CartoonNetwork show.

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''

* In ''KimPossible: So The Drama'', Kim's iris and pupil go bigger, then smaller when she is shocked [[spoiler: by her android boyfriend who works for Drakken and Shego]].

* Since just about every main character in ''PeacemakerKurogane'' spends a lot of time indulging in {{Wangst}} over past and/or current traumatic events this happens often. (The most notable characters who do this are Tetsunosuke and Suzu.)
* Name an anime. Go on. When the MoeBlob cries her irises will become HUGE.
** Also used for expressing joy, when this trope is played for laughs often they iris fills the entire eye (no whites), with the eyes also given an odd shape, like wavy lines.

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Your iris is no more capable of growing than your bones are of [[RubberMan stretching like Gumby]], but since they are by far the largest feature of an eye other than the whites, it's easy for artists to "expand" them to get the desired emotional reaction across.

** Similarly used in GhostHound, by the same director.

[[folder: Film]]

* Happens a lot in horror movies, when a person who's a vampire/possessed/under a spell goes from looking normal human to looking like they're a vampire/possessed/under a spell.

[[folder: Music]]
* A prominent visual in [[LadyGaga Lady Gaga]]'s video "[[BadRomance Bad Romance]]."

** "Lake Laogai"

---> '''Jet:''' I am honored to accept his invitation.

* ''{{The Spectacular Spider Man}}'' plays with the trope. Curt Connors' iris ''narrows'' to a vertical slit, then opens back up to a normal human one. Well, sort of. None of the people in this AnimatedSeries ''have'' pupils, just iris.

* Happens to [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks Bruce]] in ''FindingNemo'' as a result of him suddenly reverting back into "a mindless eating machine" after accidentally sniffing Dory's blood.

* In ''RustyAndCo'', [[rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-25/ even in minature, we can see how white Madeline's eyes get what she sees what Cube is doing.]]

* Tweaked in 2004's ''DawnOfTheDead''. When the anonymous woman reanimated, we got a closeup shot of her eye turning from normal human green to that freaky occluded color.

* Happens to ''KateBeaton'' when she's [[http://beatonna.livejournal.com/83621.html traumatized by James Joyce's love letters.]]

* Common trope in Western Animation, especially happening to children when they are surprised by something (to the perspective of a kid) mortifying. Used at least once in nearly every Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network show.