Needs Help: Reality Is Unrealistic

Reading the description and the examples this sounds pretty clearly YMMV. The first paragraph is "When exposed to an exaggeration or fabrication about certain real-life occurrences or facts, 'some people' will perceive the fictional account as being more true than any factual account. " (emphasis mine) The recent Interstellar example actually starts as "Some find " and, in the discussion page to Reality Is Unrealistic, a troper questioned "Are in-universe examples fair game?" and other troper questioned "Should this be considered Trivia, and not on the main page of works? I don't know if there are any pages where this is particularly cluttering, but it still seems as though it's less of a "Media convention" and more of a "Factoid about the real life repercussions of such conventions." "

edited 13th Mar '17 8:42:47 PM by MagBas

Opening and clocking.

The RealityIsUnrealistic.General page, coupled with the RealityIsUnrealistic.Real Life redirect to the trope page, doesn't appear to be helping this confusion. Especially since it looks like much of the General examples are actually Real Life examples.

I always thought this was the inverse to Aluminum Christmas Trees, where it was "an element that does not exist in real life but is assumed to be real by audiences." The examples in the second paragraph seem to support this (e.g. the audience assuming characters could survive being shot in the shoulder when in reality they very well could die from such an injury).

edited 14th Mar '17 9:04:35 AM by WaterBlap

I've always thought this trope and Aluminum Christmas Trees are YMMV. Plus I still can't get my head around the difference between both tropes; keep confusing them. The laconics are not helping matters:

RIU laconic: "Something that doesn't seem real, but is." ACT laconic: "Sounds fictional, but does (or at least did) exist."

The laconic of Reality Is Unrealistic was changed unilaterally without an edit reason, so I don't think it'll be really helpful (though it does help explain some of the confusion).

It used to be "Thinking that something isn't real because of how it's portrayed in fiction," which is basically what I thought in .

RIU: Something fictional is assumed to be realistic.

ACT: Something that's real is assumed to be fictional.

Does that help?

edited 14th Mar '17 12:04:19 PM by Madrugada

So RIU is when the audience thinks that inaccurate content in fiction is like the real thing, while ACT is when they think accurate content in fiction is fake. Makes sense, but the articles for both tropes would help avoid confusion if they were rewritten (the Russian Reversal pothole in Reality Is Unrealistic's fourth paragraph and the RIU pothole in Aluminum Christmas Trees's first paragraph come to mind).

edited 14th Mar '17 1:36:24 PM by Gosicrystal

It's more like "people think that the fictional thing is the way it actually is/works/happens in reality." So people think horses walking go "clip-clop" (like you always hear in the movies) when that's actually only the way they sound on;y if they're both 1) shod and 2) on a hard surface like asphalt or concrete. In reality, a horse walking can sound all sorts of different ways, depending on the surface.

edited 14th Mar '17 2:00:58 PM by Madrugada

Isn't that analogy covered by The Coconut Effect?

That particular one is. The Coconut Effect is a subtrope of Reality Is Unrealistic, dealing specifically with special effects.

edited 14th Mar '17 3:57:19 PM by Madrugada

The description for RIU reads as very YMMV but a lot of the examples, especially in General, do look a lot like tropes.

Like the example about dogs being portrayed as being totally colorblind in fiction when in reality, it's more that they see yellow and blues, but not really reds. Ask a sample of people and most are probably going to say that dogs are colorblind because it's what they've seen on film/TV.

There might need to be a cleanup, as some of the entries seem to fall more in line with one of the subtropes like Aluminum Christmas Trees, which honestly looks like it isn't a sub-trope of this as it's pretty much the opposite deal. The Wandering Son example under Anime for example reads much closer to ACT to me.

I think the issue is that some of the entries seem more YMMV than others which is almost based entirely off how ingrained the misconception is in our culture, though it seems iffy to have to try and weed out which ones are more 'well-known' than others.

I'll do a wick check for this later tonight if nobody else has already done one. I am seeing a lot of poorly made examples on the page, so this may just get moved to Short-Term for a clean-up at the very least.

Should we integrate the RealityIsUnrealistic.General page into the description (for tropers' reference when making examples? idk) or cut that subpage outright?

I expect a wick check to show misuse considering the fact that people in TRS were having difficulty, but if it doesn't then at least we can start scrubbing the page clean.

Instead of finishing this wick check, I need to know what the difference is between this and Truth in Television, because their laconics are almost identical and TIT lists RIU as its opposite. Is it just that one is for tropes that are believed to be made up and the other is for everything else?

Below is a tentative wick check of 26 wicks. I believe this tentative wick check shows that we should discuss the connection with Truth in Television and the dreadful possibility that tropers might be misusing this as a stockphrase pothole.

Criteria My definition of a "good" or "good bpwe" example is any example that essentially followed Madrugada's definition of "something media made up is assumed to be the way it really is." In other words, "the audience thinks this is how it really is when in reality it is not like this." I also included parodies (there were none) and In-Universe examples. I also included wicks from trope descriptions, so long as it fit the aforementioned definition.

Note that I did not include Truth in Television here, but I did look at it, and it looks to be misuse (which is why I asked my question above).

My definition of "bad" (i.e. "misuse") is any example that essentially was not Madrugada's definition. This includes Aluminum Christmas Trees (i.e. "the audience thinks this is not how it really is when in reality it is like this," or "the audience thinks this doesn't exist when it does"). The Coconut Effect (there were none). Art Imitates Life or Truth in Television. And, people using Reality Is Unrealistic when they are trying to say "let's agree to disagree."

Descriptive Statistics (26 wicks total)

• Good
  • Good: 2
  • Good (but poorly written example): 3
    • This is listed below as "good bpwe"!
  • Description: 2
• Bad
  • As Evidence in an Argument: 2
  • Misuse: 6
  • Possible Misuse: 1
  • Vague Description (unclear how it relates to the article): 1
  • ZCE: 2
  • Art Imitates Life: 1
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: 6

Evidence

• American Truck Simulator : good ; Several players complained that the GPS on trucks gave the speed limit as 55 MPH, when the posted speed limit was different. However, in some U.S. states (such as California, included in the game), there are laws that require truckers to drive at 55 MPH on the highways, even if the speed limit that is posted on roadside signs are higher.
• Ashes To Ashes : evidence ; "That's your epileptic tree, not necessarily canon, and it's not a satisfying excuse for lacksadaisical writing. On topic, some people genuinely don't toughen up or grow like that; it's a bit of a case of Reality Is Unrealistic." ; "Further to Reality Is Unrealistic above; Some people have phobias. Most people know somebody who freaks out at the sight of a spider; maggots are less common, but this troper knows one person who is so disgusted by them that they can't even look at a picture of a maggot without feeling unwell. Also, when Chris is going to a crime scene, he knows it's a crime scene and has time to steel himself; when he finds the rabbit, he has no warning whatsoever."
• Black Vikings : good bpwe ; At least once, the African-American soldier Gabe Jones, of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, impersonated a German soldier. He appeared to have no greater or lesser difficulty pulling this off than any of the white Howlers, which is actually a case of Reality Is Unrealistic. Gabe's presence in the Howling Commandos is itself an example, though, as the US Army was segregated during World War II. The same can be said of Jackie Johnson in Sgt. Rock's Easy Company.
• Bridge to Terabithia : evidence ; "it doesn't excuse either that, apparently, Viewers Are Morons is in such effect that the author felt Reality Is Unrealistic should have been taken into account. "
• Cassandra Truth : description ;
• Catapult Nightmare : misuse? ; Hell, even Data got one of these in the episode "Phantasms". Granted, he may have programmed himself to react to nightmares in the way he thought humans do.
• Demythtification : vague description ; This is complicated by the fact that Reality Is Unrealistic, not to mention less dramatic, and so, in the course of taking some of the more fantastic elements out, a certain amount of Hollywood History must be added in.
• Diamond in the Rough (Touhou) : misuse ; The expectations regarding Flandre extended beyond just the story itself since many viewers were caught off-guard by the fact Flandre fights by Spell Card Rules: some fans even decried the fact that Flandre should have remained a homicidal maniac and ignored spell card rules, thinking that to be closer to canon.
• False Camera Effects : description ;
• Fiction 500 : misuse ; Most of the families in Totally Spies!!. All three protagonists are shown to be rich, while their rival, as shown when her mother bought an entire high-end shoe company chain simply to get one pair, is hinted to be even richer. Very much living proof of Reality Is Unrealistic, given that it is set in Beverly Hills.
• For Want of a Nail : good ; This is a case of Reality Is Unrealistic, as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom can be impeached. Nonetheless, its more practical and common to just hold a vote of no confidence.
• Game Grumps : ZCE ; April Fools' Day: "For 2016, Game Grumps implemented Face Cam! But there's no room for the game footage, so it's 10+ minutes of two guys sitting on a couch. (See Reality Is Unrealistic.)"
• Godzilla (2014) : good bpwe ; Yes actually. This is a case of Reality Is Unrealistic, most big bridges are design to handle that. After all it would be shitty construction done if an entire bridg were to fail just because one cable snap when their are hundreds more holding the weight of the bridge.
• Golden Mean Fallacy : Art Imitates Life ; "… and given the wealth of Real Life examples of The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized, this might simply be a case of art imitating life."
• Hi-de-Hi! : misuse ; "Many former UK holiday camp workers (both from the time the series was set and more recently) have noted that the series was toned down from the reality of working in holiday camps."
• Holes : misuse ; Artistic License – Law: That said, there have been juvenile court judges who have been removed after it was found they took bribes from owners of abusive juvenile camps and were accordingly much more likely to sentence juvenile offenders. This might a case of Reality Is Unrealistic that explains the Kangaroo Court trail for Stanley, especially if the family dismissed the public defender for deliberately not doing a good job, and why Zero never even got a hearing.
• Homicide: Life on the Street : good bpwe ; Black Vikings: Or, at least black Italian Americans, in form of Giardello and his family. Actually, a case of Reality Is Unrealistic as there are in fact pockets of mixed race peoples in certain parts of US who are African American in appearance, but identify with a European immigrant ethnic group, such as Italians, Croats, etc.
• I Love You Phillip Morris : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; Refuge in Audacity: Steven's prison-break record runs on this. And it's not even as crazy as some of Steven Jay Russell's actual escapes.
• Lethal Weapon : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; The Mythbusters tested the scene where Riggs and Murtaugh survive the toilet bomb by diving into the tub with a bomb blanket. The method would have worked, however, it was found that spraying the bomb with nitrogen would have given the characters a full fifteen minutes of time.
• Live Action Film : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; """The Idiot Ball was bouncing off every character in that courtroom. ... Could be a case of Realityis Unrealistic. Stand your ground laws came into existence in the US after a black man, in self-defense shot dead one of two racists who ambushed him while he was minding his own business."""
• Live-Action TV : misuse ; "The writers were retired civil servants, and many of the more "unrealistic" storylines - for instance, smuggling alcohol into a reception held in an Islamic country - are based on events that actually occurred in 1970s British politics."
• Lost : ZCE ; "Guyliner for Richard Alpert—though he's not actually wearing any at all; Nestor Carbonell's eyes are naturally like that."
• Mythbusters : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; Reality makes a crappy special effects crew.
• Mythbusters : misuse ; """By busting myths, they / Reject your reality, /

• Need for Speed : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; Being based on a game series known for ridiculous stunts, this should be taken with extreme awesome.
• One Hit Polykill : Aluminum Christmas Trees ; This can happen when one uses armor-piercing rounds on soft targets, but it is more Truth in Television than you might think, even without rifles explicitly using high-powered armor piercing rounds.

edited 3rd Apr '17 2:59:43 PM by WaterBlap

Truth in Television: This really happens, this way.

Reality Is Unrealistic: The way it happens in media is not the way it really happens, even if a lot of people don't realize that.

Both of them are misused. A lot. Interchangeably, to mean "This can happen in Real Life. Maybe. "

edited 2nd Apr '17 5:42:54 PM by Madrugada

Both (and Aluminum Christmas Trees) have a certain "baffling truth" element in it. Just that the kind of "baffling truth" in each are different.

I think with Reality Is Unrealistic there is also the implication that the real thing is wacky enough that people think it's unrealistic.

That's actually Aluminum Christmas Trees.

Reality Is Unrealistic is more a catch-all for when people think that the way it works in fiction is the way it works really, to the point that they don't believe that it isn't. For instance, The CSI Effect is a specific subset of Reality Is Unrealistic. People thinking that shooting someone in the shoulder is both easy and relatively harmless, compared to shooting them elsewhere or that when someone is shot, they'll be blown back off their feet by the impact; or that all you have to do after a fight is say "But it was self-defense, officer!" and the nice cop will pat you on the shoulder and let you go home.

edited 3rd Apr '17 8:04:03 AM by Madrugada

These tropes need to be on Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions and Laconical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions.

We have Truth in Television paired with Justified Trope on Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions, but these three ought to be explained together, I think.

edited 3rd Apr '17 10:20:48 AM by WaterBlap

Seconding. After cleanup, that'll be helpful in the long run.

Here's the wick check. There is a lot of misuse confusing this with ACT and a decent amount of misuse confusing this with Truth in Television. That said, there is more general misuse than confusing RIU with TIT. (ACT > general misuse > TIT)

edited 3rd Apr '17 4:42:53 PM by WaterBlap

Blap, what does "bpwe" mean when you use it in these breakdowns? (And by the way, I really like the way you do those. Very thorough!)

I'll work on the Canonical and Laconical list entries.

Canonical:

Aluminum Christmas Trees vs Reality Is Unrealistic vs Truth in Television

• Aluminum Christmas Trees is when something mentioned in a fictional work is so goofy or ridiculous-sounding that people think it has to be made up. However, it really does exist or existed in Real Life at the time the work was made.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: A trope has become so pervasive that people assume that it's the way something really happens in Real Life to the point that they expect Real Life to follow the trope.
• Truth in Television: A trope accurately portrays the way something happens in Real Life, at least under certain circumstances or in certain situations.

Suggestions for tweaks are welcome. Are those acceptable as working definitions for this thread?

edited 3rd Apr '17 4:31:29 PM by Madrugada

And for the laconical...

Aluminum Christmas Trees vs Reality Is Unrealistic vs Truth in Television

• An element of a work...
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: ...sounds so ridiculous that people think it's fake, but it's real.
  • Reality Is Unrealistic: ...is so ingrained in people's minds that they expect real life to be like that, but it's not.
  • Truth in Television: ...is presented just like it happens in real life.

Overall, that's a good start.

For Aluminum Christmas Trees, the only change I'd suggest is replacing "But" with "However,".

For Reality Is Unrealistic, there's something off about the abruptness of the last sentence in comparison to the previous one, and the first sentence could do with a bit of a rewording.

Truth in Television is good as is.

Perfect.

edited 3rd Apr '17 4:27:09 PM by Willbyr

"bpwe" means "but poorly written example." It's good, but breaks How To Write An Example in one or multiple ways. I included this because of my observations of the examples on the page of Reality Is Unrealistic. Essentially, I wanted to see if this was a problem on the page or throughout the wiki with this trope. This sample only has 6% (of the sample) "good bpwe" and so it's probably not as bad as the page itself implies.

Also, I'm good with both and

edited 3rd Apr '17 4:44:00 PM by WaterBlap