Have an idea for a new trope, but don't know for sure if it's a good idea? Did Trope Finder give you similar concepts, but not exactly what you wanted? Are you just looking for a focus to a broader idea?
You've come to the right place!
On this thread, you can share your ideas with the masses before making that TLP draft, so if there's any lingering uncertainty about the validity of your idea or you just want some help pinning down a good idea, ask away and help others out, too!
A related sandbox I need to pitch is the Trope Idea Salvage Yard. If you've an idea but can't personally work on it, you can add it to the yard and let someone else create the draft. Or you can browse it yourself if you need more draft ideas, whether or not you feel they should be mentioned here first.
Got ideas for non-trope pages you need help with? Never fear, the New Page Workshop Thread
is here!
With that out of the way: Let's discuss some ideas.
Edited by MacronNotes on Feb 27th 2022 at 1:49:11 PM
SMILE!
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We already have Fast-Food Nation; not sure if your idea is distinct or not.
See The Same, but More Specific. Narrowing it to burgers doesn't make a unique trope.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallJust because many of the examples involve Self-Deprecation doesn't make it geographically-restricted. I'd argue that the burger already is symbolic; it's commonly depicted as a fatty, unhealthy food, and thus tends to be used to represent the stereotype. Out of the few examples you listed, Rammstein and the Trump example are the only ones which appear to be distinct from the stereotype; the former might already be covered by America Takes Over the World, and the latter Colbert Bump.
I noticed that in fiction, whenever some short tempered, trigger-happy world leader wants to unleash Atomic Hate on another country, they press the nuclear button. By "nuclear button", I don't mean the figurative term for exercising the power and authority to launch nukes. I mean a literal button. One often big and bright red in color, installed on the world leader's desk in their office, conviniently within arm's reach. I like to call it the Presidential Nuke Button.
There's no lengthy procedure the world leader has to do before launching the attack, which would give them time to really think it through. There won't even be any failsafes put in place to prevent accidental launches. All they have to do is push the button, and the sky will be instantly filled with the lights of a dozen nuclear missiles rising from their silos, while the horizon is soon decorated with ominous mushroom clouds. Cue World War III.
Need a demonstration? Gumball
, Stimpy
, and George Bush
are happy to help.
This imagery obviously had its origins in the Cold War, when the idea of nuclear armageddon starting at any moment was a real and frightening possibility. The phrase "finger on the button" was commonly used in political discourse to refer to somebody being ready to start a nuclear warfare at the time. Thus, the Presidential Nuke Button thus became a symbol of the looming threat of the Cold War going hot at any moment's notice, and at the whim of an irate world leader from either side of the conflict, who might one day wake up and decide that world peace is overrated.
Maybe the page for Big Red Button covers this already. But still, I can't help but feel the "president with a nuclear button on their desk" trope should have its own article because of how common it is. These days, no political cartoonist worth their salt would go their entire career without making at least one satirical cartoon about the Presidential Nuke Button.
^ Covered by A Nuclear Error, which has a section detailing president's having a big nuclear button.
- Trope Name: Lions Represent Africa.
Fiction tends to imply that Africa Is a Country, amongst other stereotypes. One common stereotype is that Africa is full of wildlife, mainly snakes, giraffes and most importantly, the lion.
This is somewhat Truth in Television - lions used to span all over the African contintent. However, as of the 1960s, they have been extinct in Northern Africa (except Sudan), and you're most likely to encounter them in specific regions in East and West Africa.
Historical records show that lions also existed
in Iran, Pakistan, Southern Europe (Ancient Greece) and India, though sadly most of these countries state that the lion population has been greatly reduced. India is the only country where the Asiatic lion survives.
- Daltanious: The titular Super Robot is comprised of a Humongous Mecha, Atlaus, a Cool Plane, Gunper, and an robot lion, Beralios. According to Earl, Beralios was taken "from Africa" to Helios where he was then artificially modified into a Robeast.
- Persia, the Magic Fairy: The main character, Persia Hayami, was born and raised in Africa, hence her Wild Child nature. When she's repatriated to Japan, she brings her pet lion, Simba, with her. When Persia is gifted with Magical Girl powers, the first thing she does is turn Simba into a Talking Animal.
- Legend has it that the founder of the Waalo Kingdom (modern day Senegal) was raised by lions and guided his people using the lion's wisdom.
- Isaac Samz is an African YouTuber who makes videos satirizing stereotypes of his continent. In the video What people think when I say am African💀😂
, he's depicted as having a pet elephant, Jumbo, threatening to cook his pet lion, Simba, hunting with spears for food and drinking contaminated water. All while Zamina mina (Zangaléwa) plays in the background.
Edited by deerhornsaresopretty on Feb 13th 2024 at 3:17:53 AM
^ I like your idea!
I'm however confused why you didn't included Lion King...
Filip 04, I actually considered adding TLK, but I thought that would be redundant since it uses many different animals, not just lions, to represent Africa.
Would A-Cup Angst be aided by adding an additional layer of other people shaming or teasing a character for not wearing a bra yet? I think that would be a useful expansion to the trope rather than having a whole separate trope listing for something rather common in media but it pretty close to it.
I focus on obscure 1990s or graphic Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls. (She or zie, not they.)In this case, they definitely feel bad about it. Would it be appropriate to add that to the trope then?
ETA: It also kind of falls under Uncool Undies, except it's a camisole, undershirt, or nothing where other characters are wearing a bra.
Edited by Nethilia on Feb 13th 2024 at 6:18:59 AM
I focus on obscure 1990s or graphic Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls. (She or zie, not they.)Thanks. I added some information to both pages regarding the "uncoolness" of not wearing a bra yet and the angst of being teased for it.
I focus on obscure 1990s or graphic Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls. (She or zie, not they.)Alright, I’ll get this out of the way: I’m not a Taylor Swift fan. However, I saw the track list for her upcoming album, and noticed there was a song titled “Florida!!!”. Which makes me wonder: is it worth having a trope for when additional explanation or question marks are utilized to express the intensity of a statement? It’s definitely a case of Seen It a Million Times for me, as the only other example I can recall is some children’s book I read long ago that I’ll never remember the name of.
Edited by jandn2014 on Feb 14th 2024 at 11:18:15 AM
Sounds like a natural addition to the Use These Tropes for EMPHASIS! index. Although I think it's the kind of concept the TLP might not like unless it's very fleshed out from the get go.
Yeah, that’s precisely the issue: it’s something so common that it’s difficult to think of any exact examples. Digging through the example sections on some other pages might help, though…
Though I’m wondering how broad it ought to be, exactly. Should it encapsulate every time more than one punctuation mark is used at the end of a line? Or should there be a minimum amount? The former might be bit too broad, but I don’t want to restrain it too much either. And while exclamation marks are more common, question marks would fall under the concept as well, and “??” tends to be seen less than “!!”.
I'm thinking about creating Dimensional Anchor, for objects that let something from a different dimension manifest in the current dimension. If the anchor gets destroyed or disconnected, they are sent back from whence they came. Sister concept to Soul Jar.
I only have 2 examples.
Teekle from Young Justice anchors Klarion on earth.
And Time Medallions from Danny Phantom, which anchor people who are in the wrong timeline.
Can anyone think of a third example?
Edited by IronAnimation on Feb 14th 2024 at 1:37:20 AM
The watch gizmos from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? You don’t get kicked out without one but you do “glitch”.
Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 14th 2024 at 4:43:13 AM
