Too specific?: Fatal Family Photo

There's nothing wrong with the trope or article in itself, but isn't this a smaller version of a much larger one? There are numerous variations of suspiciously sudden characterization followed by death that doesn't involve photos; they mention a past trauma, someone with a higher likelihood of survival mentions this characters till now unheard of "wife with a kid on the way", a sudden tendency to gab on about their lives goals, center screen-time with actual emoting, etc.

Basically, characters getting a humanizing spotlight in their general direction for the sole reason that they're going to die moments later. Rarely a sign of quality.

Does this already exist, is this an old discussion? Am i missing something, has it already been made? Too general?

Examples of the top of my head (Spoilers): Fringe, Det. Foyles brings up some recently (and suspiciously) promoted-from-extra labtechs expecting wife, who then proceeds to suffocate by way of face-melting literal minutes later, like the previously mentioned example.

Alien Resurrection, a sweet girl, with no particular reason for being there or previous notable screen time, is suddenly shown by way of a lingering camera feeling anxious at the prospect of a prolonged dive, is indeed the one to get dragged off and drowned/eaten by xenomorphs.

A Subversion, or possibly Played With, the last Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, where in the presence of deadly mermaids some guy tempts fate by deliriously stating how getting kissed by one of these was his one and only dream, but doesn't get eaten. And neither does the missionary. Dammit.

edited 25th Jul '11 9:44:46 AM by LE0Night

Fatal Family Reference does sound a more plausible cut-off than Fatal Family Photo.

Sudden Characterization Of Doom? Ominous something-something?

That would be a supertrope. We're finding a lot of "specific variants" — subtropes — that we don't have the "general situation" —supertrope — for.

For some reason, people like making very specific tropes much more than they like making general ones.

In this case the supertrope would be "characterization foreshadows death" and would cover Retirony (character is revealed to be looking forward to retiring soon), and If We Get Through This… (character talks about what they're going to do "once this is over") as well as Fatal Family Photo and other Fatal Mementoes (like letters, or anything a loved one gave me as a lucky charm or "to remember them by".)

Is making a supertrope frowned upon or something? I just would've expected this particular one to either a) have already been brought up and debunked or b) already exist...

edited 25th Jul '11 8:45:53 AM by LE0Night

Making a supertrope is encouraged, but people just don't tend to be good at spotting them because brains pick out closer similarities first.

Sooo... what now? Rename this thread? Discussion?

edited 25th Jul '11 9:36:05 AM by LE0Night

I'd say let's YKTTW Fatal Memento as the direct supertrope, and leave Fatal Family Photo as a subtrope.

Then someone can YKTTW the larger supertrope about Lethal Characterization, or something like that that would cover intangibles, like Retirony, finding out that the young soldier's (or cop's) wife is pregnant, and such things.

edited 25th Jul '11 10:45:39 AM by Madrugada

copied and pasted to YKTTW as Sudden Characterization of Doom, post and discuss at there now, should you be so inclined.

edited 25th Jul '11 11:37:12 AM by LE0Night

All right. I'll lock this up then as it's being handled on the YKTTW.