Lab: Week 14

TV Tropes

I've actually visited the TV Tropes site a few times in the past. Since I watch way too many tv shows and movies, it's a perfect way to kill time and learn about patterns and plot devices seen in different types of media. This time, I clicked the "random trope" button to generate the first trope to look into. Then I clicked on referenced links in each article to dive further into the topic.

Icarus Allusion - A stock shout-out (see below) to the myth of Icarus meant to highlight a character's dangerous ambition. I'm already aware of the story of Icarus and can immediately recognize when it is alluded to in a story. But I enjoyed looking at the examples they provided. In the first Iron Man movie, Tony flies too high in the night sky and his suit starts building up ice. In Kansas' Carry on Wayward Son, one of the lyrics is "I was soaring ever higher, But I flew too high."

Stock Shout-Out - Example of pop-cultural osmosis (see below). A shout-out (or reference) that pops up in a lot of places. Some instances are popular references are the Abbey Road crossing, Breakfast Club homages, iProducts, "Luke, I am your father."

Pop-Cultural Osmosis - Various bits and pieces of high culture are most widely known through their use in pop culture. Ill-informed people might even think these bits and pieces are original to the popular work. Examples include some of the ones from the previous section, "Beam me up, Scotty," the sled from Citizen Kane, and the chest-burster scene from Alien.

Television (Pixabay)