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Just a Face and a Caption: Unreliable Narrator

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jandn2014 Very Spooky from somewhere in Connecticut Since: Aug, 2017 Relationship Status: Hiding
Very Spooky
#1: Mar 26th 2020 at 5:38:47 AM

There’s little to indicate that this person is a narrator (aside from them seemingly reading from a book) and there’s basically no indication that they’re unreliable.

As a replacement, we could move this image from the Webcomics subpage to the main page:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unreliablenarrator-ma3_6986.png

back lol
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#2: Mar 26th 2020 at 6:00:38 AM

I'd be down with that. Also, is it just me, or does the MA 3 pic look grainy even though it's a PNG?

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#3: Mar 26th 2020 at 6:48:06 AM

I think it's the art style — half-tones and all that.

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Berrenta How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
How sweet it is
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#5: Mar 26th 2020 at 7:36:23 AM

[up][up] I just figured it out - it's not that it's grainy, the lines and edges of everything are really jagged.

WaterBlap Blapper of Water Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Blapper of Water
#7: Mar 26th 2020 at 11:27:53 AM

Some other options:

Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#8: Mar 26th 2020 at 11:49:19 AM

[up]The first one probably won't look that great at 350 and is really text-heavy.

The second one kinda works. Text-reliant, but every illustration for this will be.

petersohn from Earth, Solar System (Long Runner) Relationship Status: Hiding
#9: Mar 26th 2020 at 1:19:04 PM

[down] to 7.2, it's Talking Heads. 7.1 is better, but it's still too texty.

The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
Spark9 Since: Nov, 2010
#10: Mar 26th 2020 at 6:14:26 PM

7.1 doesn't work unless you're familiar with most of the work depicted.

[tup] to 1, and pull current as a textbook JAFAAC, regardless of replacement.

WarJay77 Discarded and Feeling Blue (Troper Knight)
Discarded and Feeling Blue
MurlocAggroB from the second-most ridiculous province of Canada Since: May, 2015
#12: Mar 27th 2020 at 3:52:10 PM

Does the current qualify as JAFAAC if it's a joke? The joke is the narrator (caption box) is obviously lying and the picture is completely unimportant. I would say that falls under the same JAFAAC protection as My Greatest Failure, where the image and caption work in concert.

I wouldn't mind a replacement because I prefer something from a work generally, but nothing in this thread is better.

Edited by MurlocAggroB on Mar 27th 2020 at 4:52:28 AM

neoYTPism Since: May, 2010
#13: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:19:59 PM

Eh, OP still relies on us taking the boy's skepticism at greater face value than the girl's story. To those not familiar with the comic it could be a fantasy comic for all they know.

I'd like to reiterate my suggestion of this Simpsons example:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unreliablnarrator1.png

Does its value to this page hinge on what I propose as a replacement for Crazy Memory or no?

WarJay77 Discarded and Feeling Blue (Troper Knight)
Discarded and Feeling Blue
#14: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:21:15 PM

[up] Decent concept, but my god is it blurry...

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
neoYTPism Since: May, 2010
#15: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:23:36 PM

[up] I can quality-swap it after if enough people like the concept.

WarJay77 Discarded and Feeling Blue (Troper Knight)
Discarded and Feeling Blue
#16: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:24:17 PM

...Why not just start with a better-quality version?

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
neoYTPism Since: May, 2010
#17: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:33:21 PM

Because I'm not yet sure where to find higher-quality screenshots of that scene.

Incidentally, this is the weekend of a road trip prior to a new job, so I'm not sure if/when I'll get the time to look, but I'd need some indication of whether or not it's conceptually worth the time.

naturalironist from The Information Superhighway Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#18: Mar 27th 2020 at 4:42:03 PM

I don't really like any suggestions.

This page has also had multiple threads.

I think the current is funny. Just A Face and A Caption is for images that rely on your understanding of the work. The current is Self-Demonstrating.

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"
petersohn from Earth, Solar System (Long Runner) Relationship Status: Hiding
#19: Mar 28th 2020 at 12:42:46 AM

[up]Actually, that's true. The current works can be understood without knowing anything about the guy.

The Simpsons example could work too, but that's also on Crazy Memory, and I think that works better there.

The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#20: Mar 28th 2020 at 2:23:05 AM

Current a Self-Demonstrating image, and I think it works just fine. [tdown] to all the suggestions so far.

WaterBlap Blapper of Water Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Blapper of Water
#21: Mar 28th 2020 at 11:46:34 AM

The joke is the narrator (caption box) is obviously lying and the picture is completely unimportant.
It may not be JAFAAC, but I would argue that if the image doesn't matter, then we should replace it with one that does, i.e., an illustrative image. It may not be just a face and a caption, but if it relies on the caption to work then it is necessarily weaker than an image that does not require a caption.

Also, the image on My Greatest Failure at least shows someone who looks like they regret something, making that particular image not wholly reliant on the caption. That is not the case here, though, where the caption is the unreliable narrator itself. I mean, we could then use literally any image so long as the caption utilizes Blatant Lies. That doesn't seem kosher, does it? Clearly there is something wrong with this situation — if we could replace the image with an octopus and say "this is the person who coined the term," then clearly the image is weak as all get-out.


Regarding 7.2, I fail to see how it better illustrates Talking Heads, since it was obviously created to illustrate the concept and nothing else. I suppose I'll reetract 7.1 on account that it spoils some of the works, but I disagree that you have to be familiar with the works to understand this very basic and self-explanatory image. Maybe if someone wants to crop the image in some way it'll be better, idk.

Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
jandn2014 Very Spooky from somewhere in Connecticut Since: Aug, 2017 Relationship Status: Hiding
Very Spooky
#22: Mar 28th 2020 at 12:07:31 PM

I honestly didn't even realize that the image and caption was self-demonstrating at first. Maybe change the caption a bit to make the self demonstrating part a bit more obvious? Like "Shown above is W. Booth, who coined the term, wearing her trademark hat."

(Sometimes jokes like this do go over my head, so I'm not sure if this is an issue for everyone or just me)

back lol
petersohn from Earth, Solar System (Long Runner) Relationship Status: Hiding
#23: Mar 28th 2020 at 12:09:12 PM

[up]The current may not be that good, but all the suggestions are even worse.

The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
WaterBlap Blapper of Water Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Blapper of Water
#24: Mar 28th 2020 at 12:57:06 PM

Can you please explain why the others are worse? I fail to see how OP, for example, is necessarily worse. (And sometimes people forget that we could find a quality upgrade...)

Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
WarJay77 Discarded and Feeling Blue (Troper Knight)
Discarded and Feeling Blue
#25: Mar 28th 2020 at 12:59:19 PM

[up] OP, for one, is too text-based.

Granted, I'm not a huge fan of the current partially because I think the joke is too subtle and went over my head, but yeah; people usually prefer non-text-based images, and OP is very text-based.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

ImagePickin: UnreliableNarrator
15th Apr '20 5:56:21 AM

Crown Description:

Nominations for replacement images:

Total posts: 46
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