Not Tropeworthy: Bacon Addiction

This is basically a meme-based "trope"amounting to "bacon is really popular". Pretty much the exact same situation as the recently cut Pumpkin Spice Everything.

Opening, and noting this was already discussed here.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Maybe, like those "everything is better with X" tropes, the work has to show that said X is awesome and is making things better. Lampshading, in other words. Like the X given flair by storytelling techniques (the narrative shilling it, or having it glow and float) or by having people really like the X.

Just "X appears in this work" is not a trope, and "X appears in this work and it makes things more awesome" without the flairs I said above would be just Audience Reaction.

We don't need justice when we can forgive. We don't need tolerance when we can love.

If this is really just about how bacon is portrayed as an awesome food, then it needs a rename at minimum.

If it's actually about being addicted to bacon, then it's too specific to really be a separate trope. Characters can be addicted to all sorts of foods: cookies, hamburgers, donuts, hot chilies, granola, Coke Zero™, or even spinach.

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

I don't know, there are a lot of bacon specific stuff like gratuitous bacon, bacon giving buffs, and characters demanding or bingeing on bacon and such on the page.

edited 8th Jan '17 10:29:32 AM by Memers

Agreed; a glance through the examples seems to give it some merit for existence.

edited 8th Jan '17 11:20:48 AM by Willbyr

So it's not about addiction to bacon, then.

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Reading though the examples, this seems to include anything that's tangentially related to bacon. (although now I'm hungry...). Now what to do about it.

If we were to redefine it: Bacon addiction is too narrow, bacon buffs is too narrow, characters who like bacon is not meaningful, media about bacon is silly, ships about bacon...why?

I say cut it. It only has 900 inbounds, and less than 200 wicks.

Its original title was Everythings Better With Bacon which is actually a preexisting term for this, I can think of at least 2 games that use this Halo and World Of Warcraft.

Gratuitous Bacon I think might work.

Apparently the rename was made without much thinking. (Or at least without the cleanup followup.)

As said it's the issue of "Everything's better with X", that is Garnishing the Story. (Bacon does it, in this instance.)

We don't need justice when we can forgive. We don't need tolerance when we can love.

The Everything better line was snowclones however this one has been kinda a thing outside that snowclones.

I mean works are pulling things like this

Bump.

Gratuitous Bacon seems too likely to attract random mentions of bacon. ("In Work X, they mentioned bacon as a possibility while discussing breakfast plans, even though they totally didn't have to!")

Of the all various ways bacon appears in fiction, I think the most tropeworthy is its portrayal as an awesome food of the gods. Which would suggest names like Bacon Is Awesome or Bacon Is The Food Of The Gods or Bacon Is Better Than Perfect Happiness or Bacon Is The Best And If You Disagree Ill Punch You. Though maybe not any of those exact names. :D

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Yup, Bacon Is Awesome seems to be what the meme is aiming to be, and so the trope should follow on that.

Of course, care should be taken; should note that "this is not when bacon just appears in a work without much flair. Because that means bacon is not awesome in that instance."

We don't need justice when we can forgive. We don't need tolerance when we can love.

We could have a crowner to pick a meaning, and then another to pick a name to match that meaning.

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Bacon Addiction found in: 198 articles, excluding discussions.

Since January 1, 2012 this article has brought 957 people to the wiki from non-search engine links.

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Ok, I went ahead and made the first crowner: deciding what this should be about. I think there's only one reasonable option, but adding a crowner helps ensure this moves along. My comments on the options:

• Bacon is awesome: this seems to fit the examples better; it's a pretty common meme, picked up by a lot of writers. This would be my preference.
• Actual addiction to bacon: this would save us a rename, but doesn't seem to have many existing examples. Might even be too rare to trope.
• Gratuitous bacon: too vague and unnecessarily specific at the same time.

I think those are the only options mentioned. If I missed one, feel free to add it.

Crowner is here. Hollering for a hookup.

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Ok, looks like (as I expected) we're probably going with Bacon Is Awesome, so we should start considering names. Bacon Is Awesome is ok, but might be too likely to attract "bacon occurs" examples. If anyone can think of a better name, I'm all for it!

Edit: might be too obscure a reference, but Bacon Is Ambrosia might work. (Reference to Greek Mythology.)

edited 16th Feb '17 12:25:59 PM by Xtifr

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.

Bacon Is Ambrosia works. I doubt it would attract the feared misuse with a name like that.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?

for Bacon Is Ambrosia.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report

I fear underuse more than misuse if we're gonna use "ambrosia".

We don't need justice when we can forgive. We don't need tolerance when we can love.

Better underuse than misuse. Bacon Is Ambrosia works for me.