Line #47 Tropers/Naturalironist


1	No longer active on TV Tropes.
2
3	[[folder: Old bio]]
4	Here because, despite my claims to the contrary, I guess I really did love high school English class. In real life I am a paleontologist. I'm interested in entry-pimping lesser-known works and helping improve [[Sandbox/AppearanceTropesCleanup appearance]] and MusicTropes. I am most often found in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=renames Trope Repair Shop and the left side of the forums.]] One of the last remaining with [[JustForFun/TheArchiveOfBellicoseLexiconEntities FORKS]] leanings.
5
6	Very gradually splitting off works by Creator/DanielPinkwater to their own pages.
7
8	Troping philosophy: I believe that there is an optimal trope description length: 3-5 paragraphs, 300-500 words. Too short and you can't tell what the trope's about, too long and readers don't read it (and tend to misuse it).
9	[[/folder]]
10
11	[[folder: Stuff here I've done]]
12	!!Works pages:
13	* ''Film/TheLivingEnd''
14	* Music/FuckedUp
15	* ''Literature/LuckyJim''
16	* ''Literature/TheMarkAndTheVoid''
17	* ''Literature/SnarkoutBoys''
18	* Creator/LyndaBarry
19	* ''Radio/MoonOverAfrica''
20	* ''Literature/BeautifulLosers''
21	* ''Series/{{Burnistoun}}''
22	* Music/HoboJohnson
23	* ''Literature/{{Eileen}}''
24	* ''Film/HorseGirl''
25	* ''Film/{{Atlantics}}''
26	* ''Website/TheHardTimes''
27	* ''Manga/SingYesterdayForMe''
28	* ''VisualNovel/{{Psycholonials}}''
29
30	!!Tropes launched (incomplete)
31	* MovieMakingIndex
32	* BalconyWooingScene (took over draft)
33	* KidsDrivingCars (wrote description, took over and launched).
34	* JudgementOfTheDead
35	* UsefulNotes/KoreanWave
36	* CreepyJazzMusic (heavily involved in construction). Provided page image.
37	* SmartJerkAndNiceMoron (took over draft)
38	* ToiletHorror (took over draft)
39	* ArtsyBeret
40	* ScienceHerosBabeAssistant
41	* MartialArtsForMundanePurposes (supplied description, eventually launched)
42	* PrincessProtagonist
43	* GratuitousPrincess
44	* IHateSong (took over draft)
45	* FolkPunk
46	* DropInLandlord
47	* FoodAsCharacterization
48	* SitcomTropes
49	* LandlineEavesdropping
50	* FrenchAccordion (adopted)
51	* AbortionFalloutDrama
52	* EmasculatedCuckold
53	* ASideOrderOfRomance
54	* FemaleRockersPlayBass
55
56	!!Repair Shop (incomplete)
57	* KidsPlayMatchmaker
58	* ObaSan
59	* ManInWhite
60
61
62	!!Re-written/wrote the description for :
63	* TwoDecadesBehind
64	* KnightOfCerebus
65	* SetBehindTheScenes
66	* FunnyAfro
67	* DemographicallyInappropriateHumor
68	* AnimatedShockComedy - rewrote description
69	* DownOnTheFarm - rewrote description
70	* JailBaitTaboo - provided description
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	!! Some of my favorite pages on the wiki (not tropes, just overall page quality):
74	* ManIFeelLikeAWoman
75	* FatSweatySouthernerInAWhiteSuit
76	* RuleOfPool
77	* WildTeenParty
78
79	!!PetPeeveTrope
80	* AllJustADream
81	* AlwaysSaveTheGirl
82	* GranolaGirl
83	* MenActWomenAre
84	* MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial
85	* SheCleansUpNicely
86	----
87	Tropes that tend to have problems:
88	* Appearance Tropes: Attract ZCEs
89	* EnsembleTropes: People tend to ignore any of the actual personality requirements and just pick examples based on the number of characters, regardless of whether they fit
90	* {{Settings}}: A lot of these pages are underused and written like useful notes where they just describe something that exists in real life.
91	* {{Villains}}: People really like to gush about villains and shoehorn tropes for them. Not sure why.
92
93	----
94	!!Sliding scale of likelihood of MeaningfulAppearance
95	# '''{{Literature}}''': Books don't need to tell you anything about what a character looks like. If they do, it's almost certainly important.
96	# '''{{Fan Fiction}}''': Similar to literature, although fanfic writers do love SelfFanservice and CostumePorn, making meaning slightly less likely.
97	# '''ComicBooks''': A highly visual medium with little text and a tendency towards BlackAndWhiteMorality (traditionally), so using visual shorthands for characterization is common.
98	# '''Anime and Manga''': The medium is prone to AdaptationDyeJob and YouGottaHaveBlueHair, with character appearances chosen to give characters unique looks despite OnlySixFaces. But the medium is also characterized by a high degree of creative control over characters appearances, heightening the likelihood that appearance and characterization and linked. The number of anime-specific appearance+characterization tropes (ShyBlueHairedGirl, CherryBlossomGirl, etc) suggests that YouGottaHaveBlueHair can be used meaningfully. However, due to {{Mukokuseki}} character appearances are often not literal in-universe, and so be careful about any tropes that rely on a difference between the real world and fiction.
99	# '''{{Webcomics}}''': Similar to Comic Books and Anime, although the wide range of styles in webcomics, including the StickFigureComic, often means that certain appearance tropes are not possible and colors may simply exist to provide contrast.
100	# '''WesternAnimation''': A mixed bag. Anime-type usage sometimes appears, particularly in higher-budget full-length (Disneyesque) films and modern CGI or anime-influenced productions. However, a long history of LimitedAnimation, particularly in UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, led to a convention of character designs being chosen for visual distinctiveness rather than meaning (see PieEyed, WhiteGloves). Add that to a historical focus on FunnyAnimals and older cartoons being in black and white, and you get a tendency towards non-meaningful or aesthetics-driven character appearances.
101	# '''Live-Action Film and TV''': While filmmakers do work to create a visual look that may tie to the script, they have many limitations. Characters' appearances are largely determined by actors' appearances, which due to AbilityOverAppearance may differ from the script. Additionally, the bold [[MovieSuperheroesWearBlack color contrasts seen in animated media often don't work]] in live-action. That said, appearance tropes relating to costuming, makeup, and color saturation are often meaningful for characterization.
102	# '''VideoGames''': MeaningfulAppearance may show up in series with an iconic protagonist or a small cast of recurring characters. However, several features of the medium conspire against appearance being used meaningfully:
103	** Older games had graphics too poor to provide much detail on characters appearances. Colors are likely to have been chosen for color contrast.
104	** Cut scenes and different types of sprites may modify minor details of character appearances such as eye color, body type, etc.
105	** Some games don't focus much on characterization, making the "meaningful" aspect difficult. Tropes such as HeroicMime and first person perspective make the protagonist's personality and/or appearance difficult to glean.
106	** Many games feature customizable or randomly chosen character appearance that necessarily isn't linked to characterization.

Context Tropers / Naturalironist