Not Tropeworthy: Phone Booth

A phone booth, by itself, is People Sit on Chairs, but there seem to be several tropes buried in this mess. From 50 wicks compiled at Phone Booth Wick Check:

• 8 used as changing room (16%)
• 1 used as a disguise (Mobile Shrubbery; 2%)
• 8 used as a trap (16%)
• 5 used as a hiding place (10%)
• 1 used as something outdated (various tropes; 2%)
• 27 chairs or other usage (54%)

I'm back!

Sorry for the delay, ~Laundry Pizza 03. Opened!

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

Cut (and maybe salvage yard).

Edited by callmeamuffin on Feb 9th 2021 at 7:38:13 PM

Come play Character Uplift Game!

Cut. I'm not sure "phone booth for privacy/trap" is even tropable.

Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 9th 2021 at 10:38:56 AM

Cut. If there's anything to salvage, then it can be added to the Salvage Yard.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 9th 2021 at 12:18:31 PM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.

Cut as PSOC.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

Cut and take what can be salvaged, if anything, to the Salvage Yard.

TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall

Split the page into tropeworthy subtropes. It also might be worth keeping the main page but moving to Useful Notes — phone booths were once a ubiquitous feature of life that are now almost entirely gone, and may be alien younger generations.

In addition to the noteworthy uses identified by OP, I can think of a few other tropeworthy concepts hidden within. Some of these are found within the People Sit On Chairs category but I don't think are actually chairs.

• Pay Phone as Portal: A lot of phone booths serve as some sort of Portal Door (or interdimensional travel device)
• Anonymous Pay Phone Call: The older sister trope to Burner Phones. Often highly impactful on the plot - it complicates Phone-Trace Race, is the only way to trace people who have gone missing on a road trip, and is a medium for placing harassing or Prank Calls.

I'm willing to sponsor these drafts if no one else is.

Edited by naturalironist on Feb 9th 2021 at 3:40:36 PM

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"

My concern with the "portal" one is, well...what's the narrative significance to it being a pay phone?

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

This is also the reason I don't think it's tropeworthy (same for "pay phone as trap"). Sure, there's possibly a trope in mundane stuff on the street as a portal, but would it be any different if it were... a fire hydrant? A topiary bush? (Beyond the Doctor Who reference, of course.)

"Anonymous pay phone call" sounds yardable.

Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 9th 2021 at 2:48:10 PM

• It's in in a public space so theoretically anyone could could stumble on it. As opposed to a portal hidden in a cave or in someone's house.
• Gives a distinct Urban Fantasy and modern feel as phone booths are usually found in The City or at least populated areas and an item of technology.
• The Trope Codifiers (Doctor Who and Bill & Ted) so iconic that most uses are probably a reference to some extent. Just as I think most of the "phone booth as changing room" examples are a reference to Superman.

The difference is that a phone booth has a door and you can fit people inside. Makes a lot more sense as a portal than a fire hydrant or whatever. Metaphorically speaking, it's a communication device that allows you to connect with people in other places. Doesn't it make sense for it to allow you to literally travel there? It's a similar idea to Television Portal.

Edited by naturalironist on Feb 9th 2021 at 3:51:17 PM

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"

Cut.

In that case, can't we just cut the current trope and Salvage Yard the ideas you have?

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I agree that Phone Booth as is isn't tropeworthy. My proposal was to split into subtropes (willing to sponsor this) and move the main page to Useful Notes. So Main.Phone Booth would still get cut.

---

Edit: Realizing that we also have a page for Pay Phone. This seems equally un-tropeworthy and would be covered by most of the subtropes I've brought up. Should that page be brought up as well?

Edited by naturalironist on Feb 9th 2021 at 6:09:10 AM

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"

The issue is that TRS-drafts in TLP don't always go so well, so we typically just Cut/Yard now over sending things to TLP as part of the effort, since it forces the threads to stay open longer and makes everything hinge on the success of the draft. If you want to make the draft, by all means, go for it, but it should be external to the actual TRS effort.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

Pull both Pay Phone and Phone Booth.

I don't know, I've done TLP drafts as part of a TRS effort twice, and things went pretty smoothy both times.

True, but still, I guess I just personally prefer it when the TLP drafts aren't done as part of the TRS thread, since history has shown it can delay threads, create issues on the TLP, and often can leave to stray, abandoned drafts, some of which still exist today.

Hence why I'm not opposed to going to TLP but that I don't think this thread should hinge on the existence of the draft. It should be treated as an individual project; it wouldn't change anything other than that this thread can close faster.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

Phone booths as portals sounds The Same, but More Specific to Cool Gate (despite the name, the gate doesn't have to look cool).

Since phone booths have doors, that might as well be the same trope as the recently retooled Portal Door (doors as portals; a subtrope of Cool Gate), since Tropes Are Flexible.

Edit: Also, I think Pay Phone is also Chairs, but that might be outside the scope of this thread, which is only for Phone Booth.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 9th 2021 at 9:13:42 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.

Made a crowner. I think I got everything that was suggested, but I'm not positive.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 28th 2021 at 9:50:29 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.

Thanks! Hooked and shut off clock.

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

Can this be added to Trope Epitaph?

135 - 169 - 273 - 191 - 188 - 230 - 300

We could.

As for wicks: 66 need to be dealt with.

If there are any wicks that can be salvaged, I'll set up a sandbox here.

Edit: Okay, sandbox is set up!

Edited by Berrenta on Mar 14th 2021 at 5:36:16 AM

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