Category "trope"

Why are animals in cartoons shown having spirals for eyes after a camera's flash goes off?

I have seen many cartoon movies, scenes where when the animals are photographed, they get stunned after they see a camera flash which is expressed by spirals ov

Is there a trope where a group of people get splattered with blood?

I'm looking for a trope where there is a group of people and someone kills one person and blood/guts go everywhere and it splatters all over the audience.

Why are films where the bad guy "wins" at the end so rare?

It seems that there is a rarity in films where the bad guy wins at the film's conclusion ("bad guys" being defined by the culture of the movie

“Buddy cop show” without two cops?

"Buddy cop show" is a common trope; but so is a partnering of a cop and a civilian, and especially a cop and an extraordinary civilian (a mentalist in The Menta

What is the point of the Red Thread/Tape around evidence or newspaper clippings?

I have seen in a lot-lot of movies that the person who searches for a crime or another person creates a web of red tape or wire around the newspapers and eviden

Why do freight trains never stop after smashing through something on the tracks?

In almost every movie that I can think of that involves a train crossing with someone getting stuck/pushed onto the track the freight train always comes along t

Cop chasing thief silent film trope

I'm looking for an example of a trope I know clearly in my mind but can't find a specific example to. I feel like I've seen it in numerous silent films but can'

Who came up with the "death trap" concept?

The Big Bad has caught the dashing hero. But he's not going to simply shoot him, oh no, he'll place him in some sort of convoluted death-trap (generally unatten

Banana peel trope: where does it come from?

I read on TV Tropes that: The use of a banana peel as an injurious prop is actually alarmingly realistic and a reference to its ubiquity on the streets of

Why does a character talk to the back of another character?

This seems to be commonplace in action TV series in movies: our hero talks to the villain, there is some exposition and instead of facing each other as civilise

Origin of movie trope where impaled character pulls/pushes blade/spear further into body?

Over the years there have been a number of films where the villain (e.g., Artemisia in 300: Rise of an Empire) or the hero (e.g., Arthur in Excalibur) have been

What's the first appearance of Becoming the Costume that happens on Halloween?

What's the first appearance of Becoming the Costume that happens on Halloween? Something turns people into whatever costume they are wearing.

Are there any Indian movies which contain breaking the fourth wall?

India produces the second most movies after Hollywood. So does the trope of breaking the fourth wall exist in Indian movies?

What is the origin of the Canadian Girlfriend trope?

Its a common occurrence in various stories that a character who wishes to impress their friends will claim to have a girlfriend living in Canada. Obviously thi

Is there a trope for people that are quite harmless on their own but when paired with 'this guy' they could make a chaos towards their surroundings?

For example Jesse and Walter from Breaking Bad, on their own they are not so 'catastrophic', but every time they are working together, they always seem to bring

Ants are stealing our picnic!

So we often see scenes in cartoons in which a nice picnic is laid out with all sorts of tasty food, and all of a sudden, we see half a sandwich moving away, fol

What's the first use of the "power walk"?

I'm curious how the "power walk" originated, where characters walk inline (or sometimes in a triangle with the middle furthest towards the camera) towards the c

Which movie first did the chase sequence/pane of glass gag?

There's a common gag/cliche/trope/whatever in chase sequences in movies/tv/cartoons where two people are carrying a window/mirror/pane of glass across a road th

Is there a name for the trope of a friend who gradually turns into an enemy as a war develops?

There are some war/dystopian movies when, as some sort of violent regimen grows, former friends or acquaintances - who usually have opposing viewpoints to the p

First appearance of a bizarre/opposite version of the original character?

Many of the shows/movies sometimes have a character which is the counterpart of a certain character. Both characters' appear in the same show/movie. The bizarr