Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** This actually is a part of the whole show - the entire cast is always fawning over CM-9, whether he's singing, playing a celebrity, or playing a UPS delivery guy.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
* BreakTheCutie: The Girl. She starts off as a WideEyedIdealist, until her online boyfriend is revealed to be cheating on her, and she gets bullied so hard she has to transfer to a different school. [[spoiler: From there, the bullying only gets worse, until eventually she's DrivenToSuicide. Thankfully, though, [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding her attempt fails]] and she is [[HealTheCutie metaphorically]] and [[CrowdSurf literally]] supported by her peers]].
to:
* BreakTheCutie: The Girl. She starts off as a WideEyedIdealist, WideEyedIdealist new to the internet and excited about its possibilities, until her online boyfriend is revealed to be cheating on her, and she gets bullied so hard she has to transfer to a different school. [[spoiler: From there, the bullying only gets worse, until eventually she's DrivenToSuicide. Thankfully, though, [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding her attempt fails]] and she is [[HealTheCutie metaphorically]] and [[CrowdSurf literally]] supported by her peers]].
Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
* DisproportionateRetribution: After stealing shoes from a classmate, [[spoiler: Joe is implied to have been shot and killed]].
to:
* DisproportionateRetribution: After stealing shoes from a classmate, [[spoiler: Joe is implied to have been shot and killed]].killed in prison]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 20 (click to see context) :
* CerebusSyndrome: After [[spoiler: Joe dies]], the show goes from a {{Comedy}} that happens to deal with dark subjects into a full on psychological drama.
Added DiffLines:
* FirstLawOfTragicomedies: After [[spoiler: Joe dies]], the show goes from a {{Comedy}} that happens to deal with dark subjects into a full on psychological drama.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* BreakingTheFourthWall: After the person finishes saying the opening announcements, they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
to:
* BreakingTheFourthWall: After the person finishes [[NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning saying the opening announcements, announcements]], they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
** The Girl, while being one of the "named characters", is also an example of this, as she is referred to by everyone as just "The Girl".
to:
** The Girl, while being one of the "named characters", is also an example of this, as [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep she is referred to by everyone as just "The Girl".Girl"]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* BreakingTheFourthWall: After the person finishes saying the opening announcements, they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
Deleted line(s) 35 (click to see context) :
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After the person finishes saying the opening announcements, they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. This show takes bullying very seriously, whether it's The Girl, who was [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of it]], Joe, when all of the bullies pretend they were his friends after [[spoiler: his death]], or CM-10, who has a monologue about how growing up as a "weird kid" and the bullying that followed affected them.
to:
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]].[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. This show takes bullying very seriously, whether it's The Girl, who was [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of it]], Joe, when all of the bullies pretend they were his friends after [[spoiler: his death]], or CM-10, who has a monologue about how growing up as a "weird kid" and the bullying that followed affected them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
-> ''Distracted from distraction by distraction.''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguousGender: Most of the chorus members are written with one so they can be played by any gender.
to:
* AmbiguousGender: Most of the chorus members are written with one so they can be played by any gender.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* PoliceBrutality: It is implied that [[spoiler: Joe is shot and killed [[DisproportionateRetribution for stealing a pair of shoes]] because he's black.
to:
* PoliceBrutality: It is implied that [[spoiler: Joe is shot and killed [[DisproportionateRetribution for stealing a pair of shoes]] because he's black.black]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with The Girl, who is [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of the effect the bullying had on her]].
to:
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with Averted]]. This show takes bullying very seriously, whether it's The Girl, who is was [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of it]], Joe, when all of the effect bullies pretend they were his friends after [[spoiler: his death]], or CM-10, who has a monologue about how growing up as a "weird kid" and the bullying had on her]].that followed affected them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
''Left To Our Own Devices''[[note]] Full title ''Left To Our Own Devices - Staying Connected in the Digital Age''[[/note]] is a one-act {{Dramedy}} written in 2012. The play was written and performed in collaboration with Santa Fe University of Art and Design students, who originated the show in April of 2014.
The play is a look at [[SocialMediaIsBad the negative affects of social media]] [[PhoneaholicTeenager on teens nowadays]]. It dives into dark topics like suicide, bullying, and racism in today's society. It's mostly told from the perspective of three teens in "[[InsistentTerminology detention]]", Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana, as they recount stories from their high school and try and connect.
! ''Left To Our Own Devices'' provides examples of:
* AesopAmnesia: After having to transfer schools and delete all of her accounts because of the ruthless bullying The Girl was facing, what does she do? [[TemptingFate Why, join social media again, of course]]! [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she only joins because [[IJustWantToHaveFriends she wants to fit in]].
* AmbiguousGender: Most of the chorus members are written with one so they can be played by any gender.
* AnachronicOrder: The story is made of many circulating, related anecdotes all told through the FramingDevice of a conversation between Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana.
* AsideComment: The chorus members frequently go off on tangents of comments to the audience about the internet and social media.
* BilingualBonus: Chorus member 6 (CM-6) speaks Spanish and English, and often will intersperse the two languages in their dialogue.
* BittersweetEnding: Doubles with SurprisinglyHappyEnding because of [[spoiler: The Girl's failed suicide and Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana finally connecting]], but the chorus members deliver some closing thoughts that end on a melancholy tone.
* BlackComedy: Immediately after a girl's cat gets hit by a truck, the entire cast turns out to the audience and yells "Oh no! [[HashtagForLaughs #roadkill]]!!"
* BreakTheCutie: The Girl. She starts off as a WideEyedIdealist, until her online boyfriend is revealed to be cheating on her, and she gets bullied so hard she has to transfer to a different school. [[spoiler: From there, the bullying only gets worse, until eventually she's DrivenToSuicide. Thankfully, though, [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding her attempt fails]] and she is [[HealTheCutie metaphorically]] and [[CrowdSurf literally]] supported by her peers]].
* TheCastShowoff: CM-9 sings a song called Blue, a [[StealthPun blues]] song about the blue light from cellular devices.
* CerebusCallBack: During a scene early in the show, Advil is mentioned, comparing it favorably to the internet. [[spoiler: Later in the show, this is twisted, as various chorus members interject with wishes to overdose on Advil]].
* CerebusSyndrome: After [[spoiler: Joe dies]], the show goes from a {{Comedy}} that happens to deal with dark subjects into a full on psychological drama.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The Blue song, which repeats the word "blue" over, and over, and ''over again''.
* DisproportionateRetribution: After stealing shoes from a classmate, [[spoiler: Joe is implied to have been shot and killed]].
* DistractedByTheSexy: One skit features a woman being distracted by the hot UPS delivery driver and not noticing until too late that her cat is escaping the house.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: The fate of The Girl. Thankfully, [[SubvertedTrope she survives the attempt]]]].
* EnsembleCast: The show is written in a way that the chorus members are essential to telling the story, and in stagings, hardly anyone will leave the stage over the course of the play.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: CM-9 notes that people often spiral into completely different topics through the use of hashtags. The story from then on is frequently told through anecdotes, some recurring, split up by flurries of hashtags rocketing you to the next.
* FramingDevice: Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana are placed in "[[InsistentTerminology detention]]" to [[NoodleIncident work some unspecified differences out]]. The story is told mostly from their perspective, as they recount various local stories as they try to connect.
* FreudianExcuse: Joe stole a kid's shoes because he was tired of people making fun of him for having holes in his shoes. Of course, [[DisproportionateRetribution that doesn't mean he deserved what he got at all]].
* HashtagForLaughs: The chorus members frequently speak in hashtags, often that derail the subject of the current story.
* HypocriticalHumor: Lyle says he was supposed to be reading Literature/AsILayDying, but got stuck looking at his phone for 5 hours. Later, [[DeadpanSnarker Briana]] interrupts him in the middle of complaining about how long reading the book would take to say that the book takes about 5 hours to read.
* IWantMyMommy: A heartbreaking example: During [[spoiler: Joe's interrogation]], his one request is a phone call to his mom.
* InsistentTerminology: Nicolai and Lyle insist that being told to stay after school to work things out is really detention.
* InternetJerk: The people that bully The Girl definitely count as this, so much so that [[spoiler: she's DrivenToSuicide]].
* {{Irony}}: The Girl trying to fit in by joining social media to make friends leads to [[spoiler: her attempted suicide]].
* JoinsToFitIn: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by some bullies when they say they only bullied The Girl because it's what everyone else was doing.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After the person finishes saying the opening announcements, they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
* {{Minimalism}}: The show is only about 60 minutes, and the set typically contains just 14 chairs, one for each cast member. There's only four named characters, and one of them doesn't even really have a name.
* {{Motifs}}:
** The word "Blue" recurs through the story, typically referring to the blue light cellular devices give out.
** The theme of distraction also is featured regularly.
*** Many times, the characters are too distracted to work on an essay or read a book because they get distracted by their phones.
*** The story is also told this way. Various ensemble members shift from anecdote to anecdote by interjecting with related topics and shooting us into a different story.
** Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana "balancing the space". Once, in the prologue, but the energy is awkward and they break their gaze. The second time is in the middle of the story, but they sense there's still work to be done and sit back down. [[RuleOfThree And the third and final time]], around the end, [[spoiler: when they finally are no longer at odds with each other, they are able to balance the energy]].
* NoNameGiven:
** Rarely is a chorus member given a recurring character with a name.
** The Girl, while being one of the "named characters", is also an example of this, as she is referred to by everyone as just "The Girl".
* PhoneaholicTeenager: Given that this is a play about the effects of social media on teens, [[DiscussedTrope it explores this trope deeply]].
* PoliceBrutality: It is implied that [[spoiler: Joe is shot and killed [[DisproportionateRetribution for stealing a pair of shoes]] because he's black.
* RuleOfThree: Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana attempt to "balance the space" thrice. [[spoiler: It finally works out the third time]].
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with The Girl, who is [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of the effect the bullying had on her]].
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism:
** Most of the characters are very much on the cynical side, except for [[TheIngenue The Girl]], who is a WideEyedIdealist who [[IJustWantToHaveFriends just wants to fit in with her peers]]. [[BreakTheCutie And guess what happens to her]]?
** The story is also pretty cynical, especially with [[spoiler: [[BreakTheHaughty Joe's fate]]]] and the treatment of The Girl mentioned above. [[spoiler: At the end, though, we have a SurprisinglyHappyEnding, with The Girl [[HealTheCutie being supported by her peers]] and Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana working it out]].
* SocialMediaIsBad: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. The text shows many positive aspects of social media, but overall, it is shown to be more of a detriment to the characters.
----
-> It was hard to form a coherent thought in there without somebody else going into something related cuz of all those damn hashtags.
----
The play is a look at [[SocialMediaIsBad the negative affects of social media]] [[PhoneaholicTeenager on teens nowadays]]. It dives into dark topics like suicide, bullying, and racism in today's society. It's mostly told from the perspective of three teens in "[[InsistentTerminology detention]]", Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana, as they recount stories from their high school and try and connect.
! ''Left To Our Own Devices'' provides examples of:
* AesopAmnesia: After having to transfer schools and delete all of her accounts because of the ruthless bullying The Girl was facing, what does she do? [[TemptingFate Why, join social media again, of course]]! [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she only joins because [[IJustWantToHaveFriends she wants to fit in]].
* AmbiguousGender: Most of the chorus members are written with one so they can be played by any gender.
* AnachronicOrder: The story is made of many circulating, related anecdotes all told through the FramingDevice of a conversation between Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana.
* AsideComment: The chorus members frequently go off on tangents of comments to the audience about the internet and social media.
* BilingualBonus: Chorus member 6 (CM-6) speaks Spanish and English, and often will intersperse the two languages in their dialogue.
* BittersweetEnding: Doubles with SurprisinglyHappyEnding because of [[spoiler: The Girl's failed suicide and Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana finally connecting]], but the chorus members deliver some closing thoughts that end on a melancholy tone.
* BlackComedy: Immediately after a girl's cat gets hit by a truck, the entire cast turns out to the audience and yells "Oh no! [[HashtagForLaughs #roadkill]]!!"
* BreakTheCutie: The Girl. She starts off as a WideEyedIdealist, until her online boyfriend is revealed to be cheating on her, and she gets bullied so hard she has to transfer to a different school. [[spoiler: From there, the bullying only gets worse, until eventually she's DrivenToSuicide. Thankfully, though, [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding her attempt fails]] and she is [[HealTheCutie metaphorically]] and [[CrowdSurf literally]] supported by her peers]].
* TheCastShowoff: CM-9 sings a song called Blue, a [[StealthPun blues]] song about the blue light from cellular devices.
* CerebusCallBack: During a scene early in the show, Advil is mentioned, comparing it favorably to the internet. [[spoiler: Later in the show, this is twisted, as various chorus members interject with wishes to overdose on Advil]].
* CerebusSyndrome: After [[spoiler: Joe dies]], the show goes from a {{Comedy}} that happens to deal with dark subjects into a full on psychological drama.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The Blue song, which repeats the word "blue" over, and over, and ''over again''.
* DisproportionateRetribution: After stealing shoes from a classmate, [[spoiler: Joe is implied to have been shot and killed]].
* DistractedByTheSexy: One skit features a woman being distracted by the hot UPS delivery driver and not noticing until too late that her cat is escaping the house.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: The fate of The Girl. Thankfully, [[SubvertedTrope she survives the attempt]]]].
* EnsembleCast: The show is written in a way that the chorus members are essential to telling the story, and in stagings, hardly anyone will leave the stage over the course of the play.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: CM-9 notes that people often spiral into completely different topics through the use of hashtags. The story from then on is frequently told through anecdotes, some recurring, split up by flurries of hashtags rocketing you to the next.
* FramingDevice: Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana are placed in "[[InsistentTerminology detention]]" to [[NoodleIncident work some unspecified differences out]]. The story is told mostly from their perspective, as they recount various local stories as they try to connect.
* FreudianExcuse: Joe stole a kid's shoes because he was tired of people making fun of him for having holes in his shoes. Of course, [[DisproportionateRetribution that doesn't mean he deserved what he got at all]].
* HashtagForLaughs: The chorus members frequently speak in hashtags, often that derail the subject of the current story.
* HypocriticalHumor: Lyle says he was supposed to be reading Literature/AsILayDying, but got stuck looking at his phone for 5 hours. Later, [[DeadpanSnarker Briana]] interrupts him in the middle of complaining about how long reading the book would take to say that the book takes about 5 hours to read.
* IWantMyMommy: A heartbreaking example: During [[spoiler: Joe's interrogation]], his one request is a phone call to his mom.
* InsistentTerminology: Nicolai and Lyle insist that being told to stay after school to work things out is really detention.
* InternetJerk: The people that bully The Girl definitely count as this, so much so that [[spoiler: she's DrivenToSuicide]].
* {{Irony}}: The Girl trying to fit in by joining social media to make friends leads to [[spoiler: her attempted suicide]].
* JoinsToFitIn: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by some bullies when they say they only bullied The Girl because it's what everyone else was doing.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After the person finishes saying the opening announcements, they turn to the cast, [[PhoneaholicTeenager who are all on their phones]], and say that the "no phones" rule applies to them, too.
* {{Minimalism}}: The show is only about 60 minutes, and the set typically contains just 14 chairs, one for each cast member. There's only four named characters, and one of them doesn't even really have a name.
* {{Motifs}}:
** The word "Blue" recurs through the story, typically referring to the blue light cellular devices give out.
** The theme of distraction also is featured regularly.
*** Many times, the characters are too distracted to work on an essay or read a book because they get distracted by their phones.
*** The story is also told this way. Various ensemble members shift from anecdote to anecdote by interjecting with related topics and shooting us into a different story.
** Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana "balancing the space". Once, in the prologue, but the energy is awkward and they break their gaze. The second time is in the middle of the story, but they sense there's still work to be done and sit back down. [[RuleOfThree And the third and final time]], around the end, [[spoiler: when they finally are no longer at odds with each other, they are able to balance the energy]].
* NoNameGiven:
** Rarely is a chorus member given a recurring character with a name.
** The Girl, while being one of the "named characters", is also an example of this, as she is referred to by everyone as just "The Girl".
* PhoneaholicTeenager: Given that this is a play about the effects of social media on teens, [[DiscussedTrope it explores this trope deeply]].
* PoliceBrutality: It is implied that [[spoiler: Joe is shot and killed [[DisproportionateRetribution for stealing a pair of shoes]] because he's black.
* RuleOfThree: Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana attempt to "balance the space" thrice. [[spoiler: It finally works out the third time]].
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with The Girl, who is [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide because of the effect the bullying had on her]].
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism:
** Most of the characters are very much on the cynical side, except for [[TheIngenue The Girl]], who is a WideEyedIdealist who [[IJustWantToHaveFriends just wants to fit in with her peers]]. [[BreakTheCutie And guess what happens to her]]?
** The story is also pretty cynical, especially with [[spoiler: [[BreakTheHaughty Joe's fate]]]] and the treatment of The Girl mentioned above. [[spoiler: At the end, though, we have a SurprisinglyHappyEnding, with The Girl [[HealTheCutie being supported by her peers]] and Nicolai, Lyle, and Briana working it out]].
* SocialMediaIsBad: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. The text shows many positive aspects of social media, but overall, it is shown to be more of a detriment to the characters.
----
-> It was hard to form a coherent thought in there without somebody else going into something related cuz of all those damn hashtags.
----
