The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to You Know That Show and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
The hand brushing over wheat/grass/etc. Film
Do we have this? This is a very specific type of shot apparently pioneered by Terrence Malick, but used most obviously in Gladiator (2000). A shot of a hand brushing along the tops of wheat stalks, tall grass, or the like. The camera and the tops of the plants are more or less at waist level. Been used to death lately, even in commercials. A trailer for the film Christopher Robin has Pooh's hand doing it!
Work's equivalent for CounterpartComparison? Film
To quote myself from Ask the Tropers, who advised me to ask here:
Hey!
I put up a Counterpart Comparison example on the YMMV page
for Christopher Robin, comparing it to another movie (and other people expanded it). It got deleted under the reasoning that this is for characters, not works.
Well, is there any equivalent trope for works?
N00b question Film
Where a depressed/stressed out character washes his face in a bathroom skin and then slowly looks at his own reflection in the mirror, his hair dripping wet
Secretly Hunted By Your Own Kind Film
A trope for where the leader of a certain group or race of people is revealed to be one of them.
Example 1: In Ultraviolet, Daxus, the leader of the people tasked with hunting down and eliminating all the vampires, is revealed to be the very first vampire, having used the fear spread by vampires to rise in power.
Example 2: In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Judge Doom, who plans to destroy Toon Town to build a freeway, is revealed to be a Toon masquerading as a normal human.
Edited by JohnShel91
You have n hours Film
The boss asks technicians how much time they need to complete a task. They honestly answer they need like two days. Their boss says they have only one day, and nobody complains. (Generally they manage to do said task in that arbitrary shorter time due to the power of doing their jobs).
(I think Mad Max the Road Warrior did that, and Speed Racer the film played with that).
Edited by gropcbf
In the middle of nowhere - let's shout Film
I think I've seen this in enough films and tv shows for it to count as a trope. Two (or more) people are out in the middle of nowhere, often in a dating montage, and because of the secluded nature of where they are, one of them decides to shout. Usually a "woo."
I saw it today in Adrift. I'm not sure anybody has ever actually done it, but it's fairly common in media.
TheCaper fails but the thief walks away with $ Film
I feel like the ending of this work is a trope but I'll be darned if I can figure out what it is. An old crook organizes a casino heist. His job is to be the lookout on the casino floor, but he's The Gambling Addict, so his buddy tells him not to gamble. He's supposed to meet the rest of his gang at the front at 5 am, and they'll rob the place. Unfortunately the cops have been tipped off. They meet the old crook's gang at the front of the casino and most of the gang gets mowed down in a shootout. However the old crook gave into temptation, gambled anyway, and won a shitload of money. And he got so caught up in gambling that he forgot to go out front and meet his buddies. He races out the front door just as the others are getting mowed down by the cops. Because he wasn't actually there when the shootout started, and wasn't actually seen to do anything illegal, he's actually going to get a Happy Ending where he walks away with his winnings. Is there a trope here? For the old crook's ending, that is? It's not Gone Horribly Right, it's not Sweet and Sour Grapes, I don't think. Anticlimax would apply in that the big heist that one would think would be the climax of the movie doesn't happen.
Edited by jamespolk
Straying from a beautiful wife Film
Is there a trope for a character who is constantly straying or tempted to stray from his (or her) spouse, even though said spouse is not only sympathetic but ridiculously attractive?
When the villain attempts to place responsibility on the hero Film
Very often in action films, there will be a scene where the villain has captured some hostages, or is about to release the super-weapon, and says that the The Hero will be morally responsible for all these deaths unless The Villain gets what he wants. This is obviously wrong as The Villain is both practically and morally responsible for their own actions.
Is there an existing Trope that describes this? It is similar to Accomplice by Inaction, but it is more about displaced morality/responsibility.
Edited by Strange
dumb lazy teens Film
is there a trope for the general characterization of teens as apathetic towards school/grades? live action tv and movie examples would be great also
Race to the weapon/s Film
Couldn't find this one in the search. Combat scene. A 3-person confrontation where the one with the upper hand (probably holding the other two at gunpoint) suddenly leaves. The other two must then race for the nearest weapon/s to battle each other. I noticed it in the recent Star Wars film 'Solo' where it's used to great effect. It also felt very familiar but I can't place it anywhere else.
Wise leader dies, a power struggle and/or much worse leadership follows Film
The setup is that there's some group of people with a wise, even-keeled, respected leader who has no obvious flaws. The leader then dies—perhaps while heroically sacrificing himself for his people—leaving no one of comparable competence and maturity to fill his shoes. The personal shortcomings and rivalries of his subordinates are no longer held in check, and there is either a power struggle between two claimants, or a new leader who is obviously inferior takes over. In any case, the group dynamic worsens and more problems occur.
This played out in "Sunshine" (2007) when Captain Kaneda died, and in "Alien" (1979) when Captain Dallas died.
Pulling someone away from brutally beating someone Film
it's a trop where someone takes a weapon or simply just punches someone into a bloody pulp,usually to the person that either kidnapped them or caused them harm..so they give them a senseless beatdown.
But then someone else pulls them away from the beating to calm them down usually saying "Stop!, Stop!"
perfectexample was in the last of us, where joel pulled away ellie after smashing her attacker in the face with a mchete
VILLAIN IS SHOWN MERCY, ATTACKS ANYWAY, GETS KILLED Film
This is a trope I've seen at least twice, and I'm wondering if it's already listed on this Wiki. The Hero and the Villain have their final fight, the Villain is defeated, but still alive (usually lying on the ground in pain), and instead of killing him, the Hero makes the wrenching but moral decision to spare his life. Momentarily, it seems as if the Villain might accept the offer, but then he shows he is irredeemable by attempting a sneak attack on the Hero. Either the Hero or some third person then kills the Villain.
This occurs in the final battles in "The Postman" (1997) and "Hook" (1991), and I'm sure many more films.
I understand Wookie Film
Is there an existing trope for a character that can understand an otherwise unintelligible creature's language? Some examples are:
Han Solo understands Chewbacca perfectly despite him speaking entirely in growls.
Luke Skywalker can also understand R2-D2's random beeps as an actual language.
Rocket Racoon understands Groot's "I am Groot" language.
Edited by aozgolo
Radio giving away your position Film
The hero is trying to hide from the enemy, then someone pipes up on his radio, giving away his position at the worst possible time.
Basically the same principle as Sneeze of Doom
Prophesied thousand years Film
Does Thousand Year Reign apply when the duration is prophesied by Seers?
Is this the correct trope, or use another one? Film
After I split off Characters.MCU Black Widow from Characters.MCU Avengers Initiative, I noticed this trope on her examples list:
- Waif-Fu: In Iron Man 2, she blows through a building with a combination of non-lethal weaponry and improbable martial arts — all in the time it takes Happy Hogan to take down one guard with conventional boxing technique.
I commented it out, because the context seems to be that it must be the trope because her fighting style was more effective than "manly" boxing, instead of being able to fight despite lacking an athletic figure.
So am I correct that the trope is being misused? And if so, what trope should this be listed as an example of?
Men enjoy very unmanly music Film
Is there a trope for when at least 2 guys are in a car/enclosed space, and a girly song comes on - they initially react with disgust, but none of them change it, and we eventually see them all singing loudly? It happened in Harold & Kumar ("Hold On" by Wilson Phillips), Tommy Boy ("Superstar" by the Carpenters), and a commercial that's out currently with 3 workmen (I forget the song).
i believe you, but i will shoot you anyway Film
What is the trope for a dialogue which goes something like: - Where is my nemesis hiding? tell me! - I swear I don't know! - Tell me or I kill you like I killed you friend over there! - He hides in the old house in the address this and that, Please! Please! I swear I'm telling the truth, I swear! ... ... - I believe you. * BUT HE SHOOTS HIM IN THE HEAD ANYWAY CAUSE HE'S A BADASS! * end scene. ?
Looking for examples of fantasy-forbidding fathers or mothers Film
I've been reading about the trope of the fantasy-forbidding father and was wondering if anyone can think of any films that feature this trope? It is defined as:
'A father, mother, or guardian disapproves of their child or ward reading "fairy stories", playing fantasy or sci-fi games, sports, and even such "useless" hobbies as astronomy, boxing, and being literate. In extreme cases, anything the child likes that isn't directly and concretely tied to whatever it is their parent does for a living (or that they wants them to do for a living) is seen as an utter waste. The parent may even break, burn or sell anything of this nature their child owns, possibly even punishing or locking them up.'
I'm particularly interested in scenes where a parent confiscates or destroys an object that's associated with the thing the child is passionate about. I feel like I've seen this scene play out in film so many times but I'm struggling to come up with any examples that fit the bill. Any help would be much appreciated!
Asian Oddity Merchant Film
i was looking around on the site, but I couldn't find articles for this. A couple of examples of it:
Gremlins - The story is kicked off by the Mogwai being stolen from a Chinese merchant.
Little Shop of Horrors - Audrey II appears at a Chinese merchant's shop after a strange and unexpected total eclipse.
I'm sure I've seen more examples of this. It's clearly closely related to Orientalism and perhaps more distantly to the Magical Asian. It seems like it might also have shades of the Silk Road and the Intrepid Merchant.
Edited by LinkerError
Hostile police interviewee Film
What's that trope where the police/detectives are interviewing the bereaved loved one of the recently deceased, and they ask some obvious question ("Did he have any enemies?", "Was there any trouble at home?"), and the interviewee acts like it's the most ridiculous thing they've ever heard? Typically they're utterly convinced that the death was totally natural (when in fact it was some horrible werewolf murder or something), and are incredibly offended that the police would even ask such a thing.
Boombox serenade Film
Seen It A Million Times.
Bob stands outside his love interest (Alice)'s window playing a romantic song (sometimes the couple's song) on a boombox held high over his head. Often comes at a dramatic moment near the climax when Bob has a Love Epiphany or Alice is about to run off with the Romantic False Lead and he has to win her back before it's too late. Often an allusion to the famous Balcony Scene, and may involve throwing pebbles at the window.
Edited by naturalironist