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Ambiguous Name: Did I Mention Its Christmas

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Deadlock Clock: Apr 7th 2015 at 11:59:00 PM
SvartiKotturinn Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
#1: Dec 22nd 2014 at 11:57:08 AM

The name is misleading: all other tropes with ‘Have/Did I Mention’ refer to excessive mentioning, while this refers to the polar opposite. Motion to change it to Happens to Be Christmas, or something.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#2: Dec 22nd 2014 at 1:16:37 PM

Boo. Underused line of dialogue title ahoy. Yep, rename it.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#3: Dec 23rd 2014 at 1:18:18 AM

Evidence? Perhaps of underuse.

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#4: Dec 23rd 2014 at 1:24:04 AM

45 wicks and 30 inbounds. They aren't very much. Line of dialogue titles tend to have underusage problems.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Darksilverhawk Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#6: Dec 24th 2014 at 11:50:58 AM

Does it really have to be Christmas?

plesiobeast Since: Oct, 2014
#7: Dec 26th 2014 at 3:14:14 PM

This trope is also very broad, which makes it harder to name. There are examples of stories where a christmas tree is seen once in the background and that's the only reference to the season. There are also examples that very obviously take place entirely on christmas but simply aren't narratively about the holiday, and there are examples of stories that span long periods of time but have a small portion of the plot set during christmas (like many stories that chronicle a year).

I also feel like maybe this shouldn't be only about christmas. Maybe it could be called 'Background Holiday', though admittedly it seems to happen most often with christmas. But i can think of a few examples where it just happens to be Halloween, but there's nothing Halloween Special or Horror about the work.

CaveCat One cool canine Since: Apr, 2011
One cool canine
#8: Dec 28th 2014 at 2:40:02 PM

Maybe Ambiguous Holiday for a better name?

Sometimes, you just can't win them all.
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#9: Dec 29th 2014 at 8:02:55 AM

No. Not Ambiguous Holiday. That sounds like something that it's hard to tell what holiday they're celebrating. It's not ambiguous that it's a holiday. It's just not the focus of the work.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
CaveCat One cool canine Since: Apr, 2011
One cool canine
#10: Dec 29th 2014 at 9:37:58 AM

Unnoticed Holiday?

Sometimes, you just can't win them all.
ObsidianFire Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Darksilverhawk Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
CaveCat One cool canine Since: Apr, 2011
One cool canine
#13: Dec 29th 2014 at 10:25:27 AM

Out Of Focus Holiday sounds like it would work too.

Sometimes, you just can't win them all.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#14: Jan 29th 2015 at 1:39:56 AM

Clock is set.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#15: Jan 29th 2015 at 2:07:00 AM

[up][up][up] Holiday Backdrop sounds like the work is not afraid to show off the holiday but isn't focused on it like say Lethal Weapon 2, the opposite of what this trope is.

It Was A Holiday According The Supplemental Materials Is the best I can think of..

GewoonDaan Since: Oct, 2013
#16: Jan 30th 2015 at 6:32:44 AM

I like Out of Focus Holiday

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#17: Mar 1st 2015 at 2:31:33 AM

Extending clock.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
gallium Since: Oct, 2012
#18: Mar 2nd 2015 at 10:01:28 AM

Some of these examples don't seem to fit very well. Just looking at the Film section...Three Days of the Condor, ok, that's a good example, it's set at Xmas but that has zero to do with the plot. Die Hard...that even provides the page quote but that doesn't seem to me like an example. The fact that the movie's set during the Christmas season is why they're having the party there in the first place and why Bruce Willis is visiting. The Sure Thing...well, the Christmas holiday is why they're on break and free to travel cross-country. I guess there's a YMMV element to this. Does a movie set in December have to feature Santa and gift-giving to avoid this trope?

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#19: Mar 2nd 2015 at 11:11:06 AM

How about Irrelevant Holiday? or to be more precise, "Plot-Irrelevant Holiday"

edited 2nd Mar '15 11:11:52 AM by Madrugada

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#20: Mar 2nd 2015 at 7:16:54 PM

It's not so much as a plot irrelevant holiday so much as its invisible, as not even say decorations are seen in the work, it might as well be any other day of the year but nope it's X day.

Maybe Invisible Holiday?

gallium Since: Oct, 2012
#21: Mar 3rd 2015 at 5:56:35 AM

[up]Well then how do you tell it's Christmas at all, if there's no sign of the holiday? In Three Days of the Condor we can see it's Christmas because there are trees and decorations up everywhere. Ditto the opening scene of Psycho.

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#22: Mar 3rd 2015 at 6:06:27 AM

Well there might be two tropes here

1) It is only in the supplemental materials does one find out that it is Christmas or another holiday. Take the Gundam entry for instance, the final battle for 3 separate series happen on Christmas. There isn't a tree or light in sight, one of them's date is revealed in the Supplemental Materials the other two it's revealed in the sequels.

2) Holiday Backdrop for stuff like Lethal Weapon 2 and those ones you brought up, where it's the Christmas season and it's well announced but the plot has nothing to do with Christmas.

edited 4th Apr '15 9:36:38 AM by Memers

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#23: Apr 4th 2015 at 3:40:18 AM

Clock is set.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#24: Apr 4th 2015 at 7:25:58 AM

[up][up] Sounds like two different tropes to me. One trope has a holiday, but the work is focused on something else, the other trope has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference, which makes the holiday more of a Shout-Out than a setting.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#25: Apr 4th 2015 at 9:24:36 AM

Yeah, I think it's two different tropes as well, and the split will make naming them easier.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Total posts: 34
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