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Ambiguous Name: Down On The Farm

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Deadlock Clock: Jan 5th 2021 at 11:59:00 PM
nw09 Since: Apr, 2018
#1: Sep 23rd 2020 at 10:36:07 AM

Down on the Farm is supposed to be about rural life in general, not specifically about life on the farm, but the title doesn't indicate this. Lots of examples are just about people living on farms in general. The description also implies that it's specifically about farms in the Midwest, but not all examples are like that.

    Wick check 
Sergeant York: The whole first half of the film is York's life in the mountains, romancing his sweetheart Gracie (Joan Leslie) and trying to buy a better patch of land. This sounds more like Arcadia

State Fair: The Frakes are farmers. Abel has a prize pig that he wants to put in competition at the fair. Farms

Charlotte's Web: The Zuckerman's Farm is the main setting of the story but early on Wilbur is born on the Arable farm. Farms

Sunnyside: Charlie is not having a very happy existence. No context

Leaving Iowa: In the past and present trips through Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, most of the stops are either small towns or lonely farms, and the climax occurs at a hog farm near Lebanon, Kansas. Correct usage

James Jones: Some Came Running No context

Fatty Arbuckle:

  • Leading Lizzy Astray finds Fatty a simple farmboy, in love with a local girl.
  • Fatty and Mabel's Simple Life features a similar setup with Fatty and Mabel on the farm, in love. Describes where the setting takes place, not how the "rural living" tropes applies

Garfield: Jon takes Garfield to his parents' farm from time to time. One notable instance was during Christmas, as covered by one of his TV specials. Farms

Knights of the Dinner Table: KODT is set in Muncie, Indiana but largely averts this trope as it is portrayed as a typical mid-sized city: albeit one with more than its fair share of quirky inhabitants. However, every so often there are references to bizarre goings-on in the rural areas outside the city. These were more common when Bob was working for Harness & Hoe Insurance. It is worth noting that strip creator Jolly Blackburn attended Ball State University in Muncie. Ambiguous, says it "largely averts" the trope

Best Seller: Cleve's white picket fence home in Oregon, where his family still lives. No context

Chang: Or the southeast Asian equivalent thereof, as Kru and his family work their little farm in the jungles of Siam. Farms

City Girl: The Tustine's family farm. A Deconstruction of the idea of bucolic rural life, in which Mr. Tustine is a cruel tyrant and the farmhands are crude and leering towards Kate. Doesn't explain how it's a Deconstruction

Down on the Farm: How did you guess? No context

Days of Heaven: Rural Texas can have adultery, betrayal, and murder just as well as big cities can. Not what the trope is

Hoosiers: Small town Indiana, populated by nothing but farmers. Correct usage

Looper The film takes place mainly in (future) Kansas, with nearly everything outside the unnamed city being nothing but farmland. Correct usage

The Word and the Void: Hopewell is the cynical version of this, being a dried up, poor Midwestern town with no future, and residents whose morals are slowly decaying at best. The steel mill is the only source of income, and farming just doesn't pay like it used to. The town slogan of "We're Growing Your Way" is a bad joke at best. Correct usage

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear: Kumade Village is located in the Tohoku region, surrounded by forests, agricultural fields, and mountains — very far from urban civilization. There are few young adults, and most the townsfolk are either elderly or middle-aged. With few tourism opportunities (Machi vehemently disagrees to be used as the town's mascot), there's really not much incentive for young people to stay in town too, enough that it's often brought up by the Women's Association and the Town Hall. Correct usage, but this sounds more like Small Town Boredom

Non Non Biyori: Asahigaoka is a rural community that is six hours from Tokyo by train. The community school only has five students, buses have an hourly schedule, and there are no conveniences stores; in its place is a 24-hour vegetable stand that works on an honour system. Correct usage

Tim McGraw: His 1994 song of that name details the goings-on in a party in this scenario. No context

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S4 E8 "Pangs": Lampshaded by Riley when he describes the farm he grew up on, and admits he's making it sound like a Grant Wood painting. No context

Family Guy S 11 E 20 Farmer Guy The Griffins move to a farm for this episode. Farms

Coraline: The barn area near the Pink Palace was opened up in the console game as a means of Adaptation Expansion. No context

Thumbelina (1994): Where Thumbelina initially lives with her mother. No context

Swooner Crooner: Porky, running a chicken ranch. (A real one!) Farms

  • Tropes C to E:
    • The Valley of the Four Winds is the breadbasket of Pandaria, with the Heartland section having several farms right next to each other. Almost every quest here has something to do with food except the west which has Master Bruised Paw, the latest Nesingwary expedition, and a Mantid invasion; the latter of which is attacking a farming community.
    • You can also become a farmer yourself if you wish, and grow ingredients for cooking recipes that give you temporary stat buffs. It also gives you reputation with the Tillers faction, which offers some fun but totally optional rewards. First example yes, the second is a different trope

A Prairie Home Companion: Lake Wobegon No context

Earth (1930): Namely, a Soviet collective farm in Ukraine. No context

My Sweet Little Village: Down On The Collective Farm, being a story of a sleepy Czech village organized around a collective farm, and the people who live there and support each other. Correct usage

National Lampoon's Vacation: Cousin Eddie and his family live on a farm in Kansas. Farms

Twister: The events of the movie mostly take place in a rural area. No context

Two Soldiers The family farm, which doesn't appear to be thriving. When Pete's father says that he could fall behind if Pete leaves, Pete says "You've been behind all your life." Farms, also looks like a different trope

Way Down East: Squire Bennett's farm. Anna gets a job there as a domestic. Farms

Without Seeing The Dawn: The Filipino version; in this case, it covers the lives of poor hacienda farmers (think a Lighter and Softer version of black plantation slaves in The Deep South, since here the farmers aren't technically enslaved—though they are paid very minimally, and often endure abuses from their landlords anyway). Correct usage

  • Places in the Heart: Edna has to do some fast thinking to save their farm, which is no easy task in 1935 when farms are being foreclosed everywhere due to the Depression. Different trope

Ordet: Morten is very proud of his farm. No context

Forbidden Games: The quiet, small Dollé farm. No context

Faces Places: Much of the film is shot in rural France; specifically they visit a farm and two different goat ranches. The first goat ranch makes a practice of removing the horns from the goats, something the owner of the second goat ranch disapproves of. Correct usage

Give Us the Earth!: A documentary about farming in rural Mexico. No context

The Final Plague: The Michaels family's farm, which is stated to be located near the town of Leigh, Iowa. Farms

Edited by nw09 on Sep 23rd 2020 at 10:44:21 AM

Berrenta How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
How sweet it is
#2: Sep 23rd 2020 at 1:13:35 PM

Much better than the last attempt. [tup] Opening.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
naturalironist from The Information Superhighway Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#3: Sep 23rd 2020 at 1:22:14 PM

I don't really see a difference between the "farms" examples and the correct wicks except for the "correct" examples have a bit more context. Other than a moderate ZCE issue, I don't understand what exactly the problem is here.

Isn't this trope just "farm or farm country as a setting"? That's what most of the on-page examples are.

I agree that this isn't limited to the Midwestern US and the description should be updated to reflect that, and be clarified in general. The first and second paragraphs sound rather like this Old-Fashioned Farm TLP, but that's not how its used at all.

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"
GastonRabbit Cake's just a shot away. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
#4: Sep 23rd 2020 at 5:14:24 PM

Rural Life is a redirect. That name is kind of plain, but it gets the meaning across better than the current name.

Also, while it doesn't appear to be mentioned in the description, I'm pretty sure the trope name comes from the slogan for Bob Evans restaurants (though I don't think they use it anymore), unless they got it from somewhere else. As someone from the southern part of the Midwest, I'm quite familiar with Bob Evans, but I don't know how well known it is in parts of the country other than the Midwest and maybe also the South, and I'd imagine it's unknown in other countries (which could probably be causing people to miss that it's about rural life in general instead of specifically referring to farm life). Either way, this might be another case of a trope name being influenced by Creator Provincialism.

Edit: Apparently the phrase "down on the farm" is used in contexts other than Bob Evans advertisements based on search results, but I live in a rural area and there are plenty of farms near where I live, and I've only ever heard the phrases "on a farm" and "on the farm" used without the word "down" before them. Is the phrase "down on the farm" a dialectal and/or dated phrase? Either way, perhaps I was wrong with what I previously said (hence the strikethrough markup) and this isn't another Olive Garden situation (i.e., a restaurant-based trope name with Creator Provincialism attached to it). Either way, if anyone thinks I didn't think that part through, it's because I didn't (I haven't been feeling the best lately, and when I don't feel good, my train of thought gets derailed easily).

Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 23rd 2020 at 1:52:20 PM

You can't always get what you want.
SeptimusHeap MOD from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#5: Nov 2nd 2020 at 3:13:42 AM

Clock is set.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Spark9 Gentleman Troper! from Castle Wulfenbach Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Gentleman Troper!
#6: Nov 2nd 2020 at 4:14:21 AM

Looking over the trope, I think we should move all non-farm examples to Arcadia (if they aren't already there) and restrict this farm-named trope to farm-specific examples only.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#7: Nov 2nd 2020 at 5:38:50 AM

Added banner to the page.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
FernandoLemon Nobody Here from Argentina (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: In season
Spark9 Gentleman Troper! from Castle Wulfenbach Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Gentleman Troper!
#9: Nov 2nd 2020 at 8:31:00 AM

[up] Or that could also work.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
naturalironist from The Information Superhighway Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#10: Nov 2nd 2020 at 8:40:25 AM

Disagree with merging with Arcadia. That trope has fantastical utopia connotations that are not appropriate for the mundane realism of many of the examples of Down on the Farm. Not sure much needs to be done here.

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"
FernandoLemon Nobody Here from Argentina (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: In season
GastonRabbit Cake's just a shot away. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
#12: Nov 2nd 2020 at 1:17:25 PM

Edit: Never mind... I need to think about this one a bit more.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Nov 2nd 2020 at 3:18:10 AM

You can't always get what you want.
Spark9 Gentleman Troper! from Castle Wulfenbach Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Gentleman Troper!
Berrenta MOD How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
How sweet it is
#15: Nov 6th 2020 at 1:30:24 PM

Hooked; I'll also shut off the clock.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
Berrenta MOD How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
How sweet it is
#16: Nov 9th 2020 at 3:27:56 PM

Calling in favor of restricting to farm examples.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#17: Nov 10th 2020 at 11:15:20 PM

It looks like the description needs to be rewritten anyway due to Fan Myopia. I'll create a Sandbox.Down On The Farm to rewrite the description and sort examples. Please gather all the examples in wicks into the sandbox.

I'm back!
Logan-Sheppard Rules Lawyer from My House Since: May, 2019 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Rules Lawyer
#18: Nov 26th 2020 at 1:11:31 PM

So, this isn’t about the Midwest? How confusing.

Logan ~~~~~
WarJay77 Bonnie's Artistic Cousin from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Bonnie's Artistic Cousin
LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#20: Dec 3rd 2020 at 11:28:49 AM

Does anyone have points that can be included in the new description? I note that Flyover Country will need TRS as well because it is written entirely as a Useful Note, not a trope. A bit like the case I encountered at Suburbia.

Edited by LaundryPizza03 on Dec 3rd 2020 at 1:30:54 PM

I'm back!
Berrenta MOD How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
How sweet it is
#21: Jan 2nd 2021 at 12:26:46 PM

Clock is ticking!

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report
LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#22: Jan 2nd 2021 at 2:06:23 PM

Does anyone have any points for the new description?

I'm back!
GastonRabbit Cake's just a shot away. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
#23: Jan 3rd 2021 at 2:07:36 AM

I think the sandbox's description looks good.

You can't always get what you want.
LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#24: Jan 3rd 2021 at 11:09:27 AM

[up] Okay, it's in; it can be improved later. Let's go through the on-page examples now.

I'm back!
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#25: Jan 15th 2021 at 1:24:30 PM

I've done animated films and crosswicked from the western animation namespace for the sandbox.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

PageAction: DownOnTheFarm
5th Nov '20 9:01:42 AM

Crown Description:

Despite the title, Down On The Farm is not limited to farms, and there may be some overlap with Arcadia.

Total posts: 35
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