Basic Trope: A portable light source has an extremely short battery life.
- Straight: Alice turns on a flashlight to help her see around her extremely dark basement, but the flashlight batteries die after only a few seconds, and the light flickers out.
- Exaggerated: The flashlight is only able to make a brief flash of light before the batteries die.
- Downplayed:
- The flashlight stays on for a couple minutes, before it goes out.
- The light from the flashlight slowly fades out, but still hangs on long enough for Alice to finish and get out.
- Justified:
- Alice has used the flashlight a lot previously, and hasn't replaced the batteries.
- Alice is using cheap batteries.
- Zinc batteries had only just been introduced, it would still take a while for them to reach their full potential.question
- The flashlight is a tiny keychain-sized light, with a very small battery.
- Inverted: Infinite Flashlight
- Subverted:
- After the light goes out, Alice smacks it against her hand a few times, and the light turns back on.
- Alice brought a spare flashlight, which she turns on once the first one goes out.
- Double Subverted: The flashlight goes out again soon after.
- Parodied: Alice goes to buy a flashlight and sees one advertised as being ultra long-lasting, guaranteed to have a battery life of a full minute.
- Zig-Zagged: The flashlight goes out repeatedly, and Alice uses various tricks to get it to go back on.
- Averted:
- The flashlight stays on without issue.
- Alice doesn't need a flashlight to see in the basement.
- Enforced:
- Alice is supposed to get attacked by a monster in the basement, but because the special effects budget limits the monster's screen time, the attack needs to happen in the dark.
- It may be hard to believe, but the work was made when this was Truth in Television.
- Lampshaded: "Darn flashlight batteries!"
- Invoked: Alice buys extra cheap batteries, knowing they don't last very long.
- Exploited: The monster in the basement sees Alice struggling with her flashlight, and decides to ambush Alice while she's distracted and in the dark.
- Defied: Alice replaces the batteries first, and uses high grade ultra long-life batteries to make extra sure the flashlight will stay on. Also, she brings a spare flashlight if even those fail.
- Discussed: "Are you sure you have good batteries in this thing? I don't want to be lost in the dark if the light goes out."
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Alice is seen going through the door to the basement, carrying a flashlight. She quickly returns and asks a friend where the spare batteries are.
- Played for Horror: Soon after the batteries go out, Alice screams, and we hear her struggling as she gets brutally mauled to death by the monster.
You should get back to Ten-Second Flashlight, while you still have enough light to find your way there.
