Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Needs Help
, started by Wuz on Mar 25th 2016 at 3:45:47 AM
Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Needs Help, started by captainpat on Jun 21st 2016 at 4:44:12 PM
Have to say, I don’t think the Hunch of Notre Dame clip in the video examples fits the trope. The trope is mentioned as strictly an audience trope, so Frollo revealing he killed Quasimodo’s mother doesn’t fit, since the audience already knew that he did, it was shown back at the start of the movie.
Pirate AND writer!
Quick question: would something count as a Wham Line if the surprise has to do with who is saying the line, rather than the line itself? And if not, what is the trope for that?
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Seriously? No Real Life Examples Please for this? What the hell could the reason possibly be?
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The reason given on the No Real Life Examples Please page is simply that "real life isn't scripted. Which is a stupid reason if you asked me, because there can still be shocking lines and events without scripting.
Edited by Protar
I agree, we really need to bring back the real life section. One of my favorite things about this site is reading how the various tropes can be found throughout history.
Uhhh... how exacly can this trope aply to Real Life? I mean the Wham Line is supposed to shock the audience and Real Life doesn't have it unless you cound God (and what God would allow himself to be shocked anyway?) or we're watched by the aliens or something. The second case would fail Examples Are Not Arguable anyways. If it only shocks other characters, rather than the audience it's Dropping the Bombshell
Edited by NNinja
Everybody's dead, Dave.
Not sure it is even a thing.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
All of the examples are just the line itself, with no context. None of them make any sense.
Is this deliberate?
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It comes off to me as if this page got a bad example writing style that got perpetuated through imitation. I would recommend it for the trope repair shop.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Should spoilers remain on the example pages? Some, like the Animated Film folder, have their spoilers removed. But others, such as the Video Games folder, still retain their spoilers.
Is this considered a Wham Line? (The line in question is from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.) ""Working good. Erase Connors. Connors no more. Lizard forever!" The problem is though, we have Spidey questioning why the machine isn't working before this line happens, so I don't know if that invalidates it or not.
Edited by 216.99.32.42
"If there is Foreshadowing, the line is the result of events or conversations that are clearly shown on screen, or it's a Foregone Conclusion, then it is not a Wham Line. The line itself has to be completely unexpected."
If we want to eliminate every line that's foreshadowed, about half of the examples will have to go.
Oh geez, I just realized, Wham Line and Punch Line are sibling tropes. A Punchline is just a Wham Line in a comedy routine.
Dropping the quote to discussion — it does not seem to encapsulate the trope, just "kinda-sorta related".
- Ground control to Major Tom.
Your circuit's dead. There's something wrong.— David Bowie, "Space Oddity"
Maybe this has been answered before, but I haven't found an answer: Why exactly does "you know there's no such thing as stars?" from Doctor Who's "The Big Bang" not count as a Wham Line? Yes, we already know there are no stars from the shot of the sky outside Amelia's window, but the fact that no one believes in them and that they never existed is, I would argue, a Wham Line moment.
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Firstly, the viewer is still piecing together the results of "The Pandorica Opens," in which the TARDIS's explosion caused every star to have no longer existed. The absence of stars fits in with that, especially since we already saw the scene of Amelia praying (sans Doctor this time), demonstrating, "Yes, Earth exists in this episode, but it's an altered timeline." This was the second thing we knew about the micro-universe of "The Big Bang," the first being "no stars."
Second, and more important, is the dialogue leading up to the line in question:
There's nothing special about those last two sentences except in that they serve as a memorable capstone to the rest. The rest of the scene — two adults not recognizing stars in a painting, an adult expressing exasperation at a child's mention of stars, and the rational adult demonstrating their absence — establishes all the relevant details: On this Earth, as you might expect from the end of the previous episode, "stars" are regarded as no more than something a kid made up, like (appropriately enough) an imaginary friend. (The mention of "star cults" a minute later notwithstanding.)
The end of that exchange doesn't remotely fit the definition. It's not a sucker punch at all. It's nothing like the Haruhi Suzumiya, Code Geass, or Narbonic examples. It's the same sort of thing as "I am Godzilla" (see above). Where's the case for it being a Wham Line?
Edited by ShayGuy
Here's an example of a powerful, memorable line that accompanies a major revelation (namely, that the one who created The Plague for the Friend was Kiriko), but is not one of these. It's from Twentieth Century Boys volume 11: "I am Godzilla. I trampled 150,000 people to death." The entire chapter builds up to it, and the protagonist (along with most of the audience) realizes it several pages earlier — she'd been looking for pieces of the puzzle, and realized then what picture was forming. The next few pages are her desperately trying to find evidence that it isn't true; the aforementioned line is just confirmation that it is.
This concludes my rambling for the evening.
Hello world!
I don't think the Toy Story 3 line counts as a wham line, I mean, I thought that Lotso said it after it was revealed he was a bad guy and it was just him gloating, but I don't remember, someone correct me if I'm wrong, if not then cut it. I have a crap memory.
Edited by piearty
I know it's spoileriffic, but what do the Wheel of Time pot holes mean?
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I'll try to explain this. Short version: the Aes Sedai are magically bound to "speak no word that is not true". The only exception is the Black Ajah, who have been freed from that oath in order to maintain secrecy. While I don't remember the context of that line, from the pot holes it would seem that the speaker is revealing that she is actually Black Ajah, and has very likely been lying her face off during the entire discussion.
Uh...is there supposed to be a Western Animation folder? If not, why not, and if so, where'd it go? O_o
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Misuse and Overuse
, started by MrDeath on Jun 20th 2011 at 7:44:38 PM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman