Line #24 Main/ThePromposal


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/promposal.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:There's always one who takes it too far...]]
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4	They can be sweet and romantic. They can be cheesy. They can be over-the-top. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick They can outright fail and/or be a waste of money and a potential source of humiliation.]]
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6	Promposals [[{{Portmanteau}} (that is, "Prom" + "Proposal")]] are modeled on traditional stylized marriage proposals. Though besides Prom, they can be used for other kinds of {{High School Dance}}s. In these modern years, it's increasingly ''very'' TruthInTelevision for high schoolers, male and female, to do this. Compare WackyMarriageProposal.
7	----
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9	!!Examples
10	[[foldercontrol]]
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12	[[folder:Advertising]]
13	* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GPeJimtw_s one commercial]] for insurance company Allstate, mascot Mayhem takes the form of a promposal gone wrong, with the candles used to spell the word "Prom?" being blown by the wind onto leaves, setting them (and the house) ablaze. The father of the girl being proposed to subsequently runs out and extinguishes the fire with a fire extinguisher.
14	[[/folder]]
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16	[[folder:ComicBooks]]
17	* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': Shining Armor did something quite elaborate when he asked out Cadence. One wonders how he topped it for the actual ''marriage'' proposal.
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20	[[folder:Fan Works]]
21	* ''Fanfic/OhGodNotAgain'': Harry, Ron, and Neville ask Luna, Hermione, and Ginny, respectively, to the Yule Ball in elaborate fashions -- Harry has a female Crumple-Horned Snorkack deliver Luna a note, Neville gifts Ginny with some fine Honeydukes chocolate, and Ron has Hedwig deliver Hermione a bouquet of roses. The girls all say yes, but the rest of Hogwarts' male population is annoyed at the idea that they now have to do something of equal measure or above to ask out their dates.
22	-->'''Draco:''' WAY TO GO, POTTER. NOW WE'VE GOT TO PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO THIS!
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25	[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
26	%% Not a case of Exactly What It Says On The Tin, as it fails: "...the premise or plot of the story is ''all'' right there in the title."
27	* ''Literature/{{Promposal}}'', a YoungAdult novel by Rhonda Helms that, as the title indicates, a promposal. Part of the blurb says, "Camilla can't help hoping her secret crush, Benjamin, might randomly surprise her out of the blue with a promposal. However, when she's asked to prom by an irritating casual acquaintance--wearing a fancy tux and standing in front of a news crew--she's forced to say yes."
28	[[/folder]]
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30	[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
31	* In ''Series/{{Awkward}}'', we have "An Indecent Promposal", in which it's, well, Promposal season at high school. For example, Jake asks Gabby to prom by serenading her with an original song in the library.
32	* ''Series/TheBigLeap'': While visiting Gabby and Justin's old high school in episode five, a student asks Reggie to help him ask his girlfriend to Homecoming. Simon intervenes to make it a loud, over-the-top affair because he is "six for six" on proposals. At the end he's seven for seven.
33	* One episode of ''Series/ModernFamily'' had Mitchell and Cam planning a promposal for Luke. Cam wanted a big production, while Mitchell suggested that Luke try the simple approach.
34	* ''[[Series/OneDayAtATime2017 One Day At a Time]]'': Syd invites their girlfriend Elena to prom to the tune of [[Music/BillyJoel ''We Didn't Start The Fire'']]. [[HypocriticalHumor Amusingly]], this came right after Elena told her brother that he didn't need to do anything fancy when asking someone to a dance.
35	-->''Harriet Tubman, ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', Frida Kahlo, full respect,''\
36	''Queer theory, gender theory, notorious RBG,''\
37	''Women’s march, science march, labor march,''\
38	''Tax march, equal rights, bathroom rights,''\
39	''Diversity on TV,''\
40	''Slam poets, {{Series/Supergirl\|2015}}, you’re the cutest in the world,''\
41	''Bell hooks, {{Franchise/Pokemon}}, [[Series/SesameStreet cookie om-nom-nom-nom-nom]]!''\
42	''[[Series/TheLWord L Word]], Series/WillAndGrace, Series/RuPaulsDragRace,''\
43	''Shantay, you stay, what else do I have to say?''\
44	''You set my heart on fire,''\
45	''On that day when I didn’t know if you were gay,''\
46	''You set my heart on fire,''\
47	''So please say yes, you don’t even have to wear a dress.''
48	* In the season 1 finale of ''Series/TheRealONeals'', both Jimmy and Kenny want to do an elaborate promposal, Jimmy to his crush and Kenny to the only other (openly) gay student in the school, the Swedish exchange student. Unfortunately both of them get asked to prom by different people. Jimmy's crush gets asked by another guy, and the exchange student gets asked out by a newly out of the closet [[TransparentCloset Stuart]].
49	* ''Series/AmericanVandal'': Season one features a promposal in which a guy shoves his girlfriend into a pool and then holds out a towel to her as she swims out with the promposal spray-painted on it. This interaction becomes a key moment in the central mystery.
50	[[/folder]]
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52	[[folder: NewspaperComics]]
53	* A plot in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' has Jeremy brainstorm some ways to ask Sara to the prom. His successful attempt is making a print in her latte.
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56	[[folder: {{Radio}}]]
57	* ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'': [[http://www.npr.org/2016/05/14/477989374/whos-bill-this-time The 05/14/16 edition of "Who's Bill This Time?"]] had Amy Dickinson compare Paul Ryan waffling on endorsing Creator/DonaldTrump for president to a promposal.
58	-->'''Peter Grosz''': I would love it if, like, at the convention Trump gives a speech, and then just stands up and holds a boom box over his head that plays [[Music/PeterGabriel "In Your Eyes"]] and then there's, like, a light that focuses on Paul Ryan's seat, and he looks around, like "Me? Is it me?"
59	[[/folder]]
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61	[[folder: WebAnimation]]
62	* In Episode 10 of ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'', Mackenzie is asked out by her boyfriend this way when he tapes a giant red heart to her locker with the words "PROM?" on it.
63	* Season 2 of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has one bordering on LoveDodecahedron. Jaune tries to ask Weiss to the school dance with a guitar song. She slams the door in his face. He later asks Pyrrha for advice, and she tells him to just straight-up ask her normally. Of course, Pyrrha wants to go with him, though he thinks that being a renowned fighter she's inundated with proposals. In the meantime, Weiss asks Sun's friend Neptune.
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66	[[folder: WebComics]]
67	* ''WebComic/VampireCheerleaders'': During the "Vampire Cheerleaders Must Die!" arc, Katie and Leonard get roped into [[http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/same_bat_time going to the prom together]] as part of Stephanie's plan to get them in, so they could expose Lori and her Coven. Katie's forced to dress up [[Series/DoctorWho as a Dialek]] and carry a sign asking him out... [[http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/make_it_look_nerdy in front of the entire school.]] She's utterly humiliated even though he accepts.
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70	[[folder:WebVideos]]
71	* ''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz'': The "Homecoming" video has a section on how a big part of the homecoming dance was asking someone out, with Scott describing it as "flashiness over function." He says all you need is a memorable approach and a pun involved. Cut to Scott holding a stick of butter in his hand, holding a poster board reading, "You ''butter'' go to homecoming with me."
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74	[[folder: WesternAnimation]]
75	* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'' has an entire episode dedicated to promposals, with such memorable affairs as Nostradamus popping out of the chest of a horse holding a horse fetus, which then asks Helen of Troy if she would go the prom with him. This is considered mediocre by the standards of the school.
76	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'''s "Snow Job", Jonsey presents a wrist corsage to Nikki while asking her to be his date for their school's Winter Wonderland dance--just like how a man would present a wedding ring to his future wife. She accepts as she cries TearsOfJoy, and they embrace in a kiss (resignifying their status as a couple).
77	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'''s "Enchanting Grom Fright" uses this to reveal an important plot point going forward; Amity has a crush on [[spoiler:Luz]] and wanted to take them out to Grom with her. Of course, in this instance, Amity is actually inviting them to help her fight a demon that shapeshifts into peoples' fears and annually has to be fought back into it's containment before it escapes to wreak havoc, but the romantic meaning of prom is still there. [[spoiler:[[DramaticIrony Ironically]], Luz does see the proposal after Amity comes to help her fight Grom, but due to Grom tearing the proposal up, she doesn't see who it's addressed to. While she does dance with Amity, she remains unaware that Amity wanted to go to Grom with her.]]
78	** A more comedic example earlier in the episode has a student be announced by two paramedics as having a disease that can only be cured via a Grom proposal. In response, the student gives Skara a beating heart with "GROM" written on it in blood as a proposal. [[NightmareFetishist She accepts]].
79	* ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': In "Log Ride", a boy does this during the titular ride, holding a sign that reads "PROM?" while his picture is being taken.
80	* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': Kipo decides to throw a dance to mend relationships between humans and mutes, naming it P.R.A.H.M. (Party Reconciling All Humans and Mutes, pronounced "prom"). She also decides to stage an elaborate P.R.A.H.M.-posal, consisting of a parade float and song and dance routine, so that the mutes know they're serious.
81	** Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Benson]] worries about his own P.R.A.H.M.-posal to Troy, but ultimately decides to just ''ask.'' Troy's father then pops up with a large bouquet of roses, indicating that Troy was about to P.R.A.H.M-pose himself.
82	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ThePromposal