History Main / Pixellation

* Played for laughs in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s ''Openbound'' sequence, where Horuss holds up a dildo and the pixellation takes a while to catch up to actually censor it properly.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' plays this for comedy. If you try to cook something using ingredients that are incompatible, the resulting "dubious food" is so gross that it gets pixeled out.

Large pixels look plain ugly because of the chunkiness, so the pixels may be made smaller-- perhaps so small as to just be a "fog" over the offensive material. Fogging like this may be a reversible transformation. A sufficiently skilled person with the appropriate software can, given a blurred image, reconstruct the original without blurring. Very large pixels make the reversal more difficult, and a solid block is of course impossible to reverse.

* An early example of this appeared in 1936's ''Franchise/CharlieChan At The Olympics'', which were, of course, held in [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Berlin]] that year; all the numerous swastikas that appear (including on the ''Hindenburg'') are carefully [[NoSwastikas blotted out]].

It's interesting that a movie may have given impetus for another practice: blurring people's lips when they say an obscenity that has been "beeped" over. In the movie ''Film/TheBestLittleWhorehouseInTexas'' his deputy tells the sheriff how a local TV station broadcast a tirade the sheriff made when he came in contact with the reporter: "They bleeped you out but my momma read your lips on every 'hell', 'goddam' and 'shit'." So now, a number of programs not only 'bleep' someone's bad word, they also blur the area of their lips so you can't read them.

* To learn a new spell, Kukuri in ''Anime/MahoujinGuruGuru'' must watch the Kita Kita dance because the hip movements trace out a [[GeometricMagic magic circle]] she can use. Unfortunately, the only person around who knows this dance is an old man who wears a grass skirt. Fortunately, when Kukuri forces herself to watch the dance is pixellated for us viewers. Unfortunately, this is the only time this happens and the Old Kita Kita Man becomes a recurring character.

* Helix from ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' has PG-13 vision system -- he sees black bars in place of "inappropriate" body parts.

* Parodied by the card "Censorship" from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s joke expansion set ''Unglued''. This card also parodies the CensorBox (which, in a lot of cases, is used in similar fashion to pixellation[[note]]obscuring obscene words, nudity, offensive gestures, and product names that haven't been given permission to be used[[/note]].

* In ''Toys/TheGrosseryGang'' webseries, when Pizza Face ends up losing his toppings (from fear), his bottom crust ends up pixellated. Oddly, they're the part of his crust that's always without toppings to begin with.

** Likewise, in a TV edit of ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod is thrown into a giant blurred red-and-white Times Square advertising sign. In a shower of equally blurred sparks.

* Used in the ''TotalDrama'' series either to cover up an offensive body part or whenever someone [[FlippingTheBird flips the bird]], which happens a lot more often [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids than you might think]].

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' normally use BarbieDollAnatomy, except when Chisame walks in on [[RatedMForManly Jack Rakan]] [[FanDisservice while he's taking a shower]].

** [[Manga/ExcelSaga The manga]] occasionally uses pixellation for [[LawyerFriendlyCameo lawyer-friendly cameos]]. Volume 19 had Gojō Shiōji wearing a pair of [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts circular black ears]], which were obscured with pixellation. An earlier volume featured a similarly-obscured [[SuperMarioBros tortoise-dragon creature]], as part of a joke about why "Teriha" kept getting kidnapped.

** They're shown in the manga to be [[spoiler: advanced-technology electronic devices]]

* In an episode of ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'', the class president tries to explain to Kaname why Sousuke had a reasonable excuse for blowing up the school's shoe lockers when he noticed they'd been tampered with. He asks Kaname to imagine what her reaction would be if she discovered a suspicious package in the mail with a "foul stench" and that's slightly damp. While he's doing this, Kaname has an ImagineSpot of her coming to the door and discovering the package--she drops it on the ground, which causes the package to open slightly. The contents are pixellated, but between the president's description and the reddish color of the pixels the viewer sees enough to be {{squicked}} out.

* In the Manga/RurouniKenshin manga, VillainousCrossdresser Kamatari flashes Misao when she mistakes him for a girl. He is shown from behind, pulling his kimono open and up, and there's some pixellation over his naughty bits.

* ''Series/MythBusters'' will (over)do this with the names of hazardous chemicals used in experiments that they don't want the viewers to know and, summarily, use to [[DontTryThisAtHome recreate the experiment.]] Also, when part of the process that uses such chemicals is needed to be stated in a scene, a variety of humorous sounds (from a cat's meow to a firetruck siren) will [[SoundEffectBleep play to block over]] [[AndSomeOtherStuff the chemical's name]], and - if the Mythbuster's face is being shown as they explain what they're doing, their mouths will be masked over by a graphic of whatever sound is being used to cover the chemical name, just in case any of the viewers can read lips.
** This was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Adam: "This ingredient is made of blur. Ha! And this has blur in it too. Blur is very dangerous. You don't wanna mix blur with blur."

** And their survival instructor in the Arctic episode, a former special forces guy, is described as "a man with a pixelated face".

* Buster's stump on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Instead of creating a fake stump for Tony Hale to wear, they just made him hide his clenched fist in his sleeve and pixelated it. In some episodes, you can recognize fingers on Buster's "stump".

* Happens in two of the Jackie Chen sketches in ''Series/SzeUTonight''. Before a colleague allows Johnson to interview him on camera, he requests pixellation to be used. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint The first time, they pixellate his body; and the second time, Johnson's face is pixellated]].

** However, since you can easily add custom skins, it was literally a matter of days from the release of either game before this "problem" was corrected. And the noninteractivity of "[[UnusualEuphemism Woohooing]]" [[HotCoffeeMinigame got changed quickly too.]]

* The [[SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] implemented pixellation in hardware as a special effect (the "mosaic" effect), and several games used it for transitions, drunkenness effects, and such. Examples of this include ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', among many others.

* Occasionally, ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' would censor profanity with pixellation, but a black bar was used just as often. Naturally, this was parodied in [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=041201 this strip,]] in which an entire dialogue box is censored. Note that it usually [[ClusterFBomb didn't shy away from that]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has one example where Agent P is on a talk show with a pixellated face. The trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Agent P takes off in a hurry and leaves behind the pixellation, which the host then yells to him about.
* On the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode where Ned Flander's wife dies ("Alone Again, Natura-Diddly" from season 11), Homer videotapes Flanders showering as part of his dating video. Judging by how long the pixels extend, [[BiggerIsBetterInBed Flanders has nothing to be ashamed of]]..

** In "[[Recap/TheBoondocksS1E5ADateWithTheHealthInspector A Date with the Health Inspector]]", Tom [=DuBois=] had a nightmare about dropping the soap in a prison shower. An inmate calling himself "The Health Inspector" demands that he [[PrisonRape bend over and pick it up]]. [[GagPenis The pixellation went down to floor]]. [[note]]It should be noted that this only applies to the TV version. The DVD version does not have that luxury![[/note]]
* Used in the ''TotalDrama'' series either to cover up an offensive body part or whenever someone [[FlippingTheBird flips the bird]], which happens a lot more often [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids than you might think.]]

** [[Manga/ExcelSaga The manga]] occasionally uses pixellation for [[LawyerFriendlyCameo lawyer-friendly cameos]]. Volume 19 had Gojō Shiōji wearing a pair of [[ClassicDisneyShorts circular black ears]], which were obscured with pixellation. An earlier volume featured a similarly-obscured [[SuperMarioBros tortoise-dragon creature]], as part of a joke about why "Teriha" kept getting kidnapped.

** Gets taken UpToEleven in the story arc that has everyone suffering from a FreakyFridayFlip. [[ButtMonkey Hasegawa]] somehow transforms from a normal pixellated pile of poop into a pixellated, anthropomorphic pile of poop using his Yamazaki-possessed sunglasses. Then he gets pixellated vomit everywhere after witnessing a pixellated case of explosive diarrhea, which leads to Hijikata complaining about not being able to see anything due to all the pixels on top of pixels.

* Occasionally, ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' would censor profanity with pixellation, but a black bar was used just as often. Naturally, this was parodied in [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=041201 this strip]], in which an entire dialogue box is censored. Note that it usually [[ClusterFBomb didn't shy away from that]].

* Used several times to cover up especially horrible violence in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. This includes Fake!Kanon sticking his fingers into a gaping wound in his chest, six people [[CruelAndUnusualDeath having their stomachs ripped out and stuffed with candy]], and Rosa having her head impaled on a spiked fence. It's probably just a matter of time before they pull it out again; [[{{Gorn}} it's a bit of a violent show]].
** And the pixellation is removed in the DVD version.

* PlayedForLaughs in the VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry season 1 OVA, making one wonder just what exactly [[AllMenArePerverts Keiichi was fantasizing about]].

** On one occasion, the characters play a videogame that pixels out someone vomiting, turning the pixelated shapes into ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' blocks.

** And their survival instructor in the Arctic episode, an ex-special forces guy, is described as "a man with a pixelated face".

* Both pixellation and blurring were part of the game on ''HeadlineChasers''.

* [[http://www.hotcelebsmovies.com/brooke-burns-2541/3.jpg Brooke Burns opening ''Dog Eat Dog'']]

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' uses this from time to time, which makes sense given its mockumentary style. But it's quite hilarious in the episode ''Benjamin Franklin'' when a few characters visit an adult bookstore and pretty much the ''entire'' backdrop behind them is pixellated.

* In ''Series/CanadasWorstDriver'', stop signs cover the mouths of the contestants when they swear (along with the accompanying bleep). Punk rocker Jakob and his nominator Stacy from season five got anarchy symbols instead. Blur is also applied to license plates on the contestants' cars and on brand names (labels on fast food containers, for instance).

* ''[[Series/AnimalPlanetHeroes Animal Cops]]'' also often does the COPS style face blurring of criminals.

* ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' had an episode where prosecutor Tom [=DuBois=] had a nightmare about dropping the soap in the prison shower. An inmate calling himself The Health Inspector demands he [[PrisonRape bend over and pick it up]]. [[GagPenis The pixellation went down to floor]][[note]]It should be noted that this only applies to the TV version. The DVD version does not have that luxury[[/note]].