Tropescilloscope: Lampshade Hanging

Pointing out something within the story, to strengthen the audience's Willing Suspension of Disbelief. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Not So Above It All Lock and Load Montage Disguised in Drag Fingore Adapted Out Scenery Gorn Author Appeal Becoming the Mask Military and Warfare Films Gilligan Cut Early-Bird Cameo Smug Snake Beauty Is Never Tarnished Christmas Movies Index Dressing as the Enemy Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Affably Evil Chewing the Scenery Heroes Want Redheads Fate Worse than Death Cool Guns Silence Is Golden Suspiciously Specific Denial Handicapped Badass Fat Bastard Big Brother Instinct Nice Hat Immune to Bullets Scary Black Man Pet the Dog Funny Foreigner Badass Longcoat Toplessness from the Back In Name Only Annoying Younger Sibling Ambiguous Disorder Affectionate Parody Hypocritical Humor All for Nothing Took a Level in Jerkass Spiteful Spit No OSHA Compliance Spiritual Successor Music Stories The Brute Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Peek-a-Boo Corpse I Need a Freaking Drink Damsel in Distress Actually Pretty Funny Deconstruction Blonde, Brunette, Redhead 20 Minutes into the Future Foil Reasonable Authority Figure One-Man Army Pretty in Mink Humans Are Bastards Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Body Horror He Knows Too Much Foregone Conclusion Hidden Depths Funny Background Event Eagleland And the Adventure Continues Framing Device Bowdlerise Historical-Domain Character Berserk Button Parental Neglect Black Dude Dies First What Happened to the Mouse? Male Gaze Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Bond Villain Stupidity I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Evil Counterpart Chiaroscuro Slashed Throat Mistaken for Gay Smoking Is Cool Asshole Victim Not Even Bothering with the Accent Big Applesauce A God Am I Setting Update Unspoken Plan Guarantee Spared by the Adaptation Chuck Cunningham Syndrome For the Evulz Sadistic Choice Eiffel Tower Effect Daddy's Girl The '70s BFG The Dog Bites Back Accidental Misnaming '80s Hair Soundtrack Dissonance Break the Cutie Domestic Abuse Everyone Has Standards Genre Throwback Vampire Fiction Politically Incorrect Villain Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! The Mafia Stealth Hi/Bye The Alleged Car Even Evil Has Loved Ones Papa Wolf Large Ham Real Life Serial Killer Green-Eyed Monster Unwitting Instigator of Doom Ominous Latin Chanting Guile Hero Adaptation Dye-Job Self-Deprecation Never Trust a Trailer Italian Films The Place Arch-Enemy Dull Surprise Gainax Ending timeperiod Big Bad Duumvirate Does Not Like Shoes Needs Wiki Magic Love Light Is Not Good Heroic BSoD Sole Survivor Sci-Fi Horror All There in the Script Artistic License – Law Captain Obvious Tap on the Head Catch-Phrase Eureka Moment The Faceless Fantastic Racism Evil-Detecting Dog You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Knife Nut Badass Bookworm The End... Or Is It? Bloodless Carnage Hypocrite Trailers Always Spoil Adorkable Dramedy Works Set in World War II Serious Business Almost Kiss Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Contrived Coincidence Dirty Old Man Only in It for the Money Dramatic Gun Cock Training Montage Diabolus ex Machina Overprotective Dad You Have Failed Me Really Gets Around Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Take a Third Option Frame-Up Bring My Brown Pants Composite Character Faux Affably Evil Room Full of Crazy Cruel and Unusual Death Translation Convention Broken Pedestal Chekhov's Skill Missing Mom Epic Movie Eye Scream Double-Meaning Title Not Quite Dead Mood Whiplash The X of Y The Sociopath Decoy Protagonist Shoot the Shaggy Dog Department of Redundancy Department Improvised Weapon Agony of the Feet Tranquil Fury Death by Adaptation Ironic Echo Last-Name Basis Comically Missing the Point No Antagonist Totally Radical Camera Abuse All Men Are Perverts The Atoner Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Evil Is Petty Boom, Headshot! Those Two Guys Alas, Poor Villain Token Minority Dark Action Girl Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Bland-Name Product Chekhov's Gunman Race Against the Clock Hoist by His Own Petard Reality Is Unrealistic Man on Fire The Cameo Failed a Spot Check British Films Expy Dirty Cop Gratuitous English Adaptation Distillation Offscreen Teleportation Instant Death Bullet Jitter Cam Disney Death Kick the Son of a Bitch Genre Shift Stepford Smiler Artistic License – Military Your Head A-Splode An Axe to Grind Closed Circle Vacation Films Famous Last Words Psychological Thriller Recycled IN SPACE! Soft Glass The Vamp "The Reason You Suck" Speech Shown Their Work Mercy Kill Nice Guy Ungrateful Bastard Bullying a Dragon Enemy Mine Love Triangle Facial Horror Interrupted Suicide He Who Fights Monsters Danny Peary Cult Movies List Rule of Funny Catapult Nightmare Super Strength Bound and Gagged Show Within a Show Sanity Slippage Half the Man He Used to Be Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas I Have Your Wife Blatant Lies Manic Pixie Dream Girl Laser-Guided Karma Death of a Child Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Offscreen Moment of Awesome Action Prologue The Voiceless Artistic License – Gun Safety Beard of Evil Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Zombie Stories Artistic License – Geography Slasher Movie Four-Temperament Ensemble Motor Mouth Adaptational Attractiveness The Oner A Father to His Men Mind Screw Not So Different Daylight Horror Retired Badass Brother–Sister Incest Malevolent Masked Men Anguished Declaration of Love Loophole Abuse The Cavalry Corrupt Corporate Executive Shut Up, Hannibal! Arranged Marriage Implacable Man Bittersweet Ending Leave the Camera Running Credits Gag Mooks Action Girl Vitriolic Best Buds Film Noir "Awesome McCool" Name The Chick Meaningful Name Dropped a Bridge on Him "Shaggy Dog" Story Narrator Driven to Suicide Dual Wielding Sequel Hook Ripped from the Headlines Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Apocalypse How Blood from the Mouth Big-Bad Ensemble Artistic License – Physics Paper-Thin Disguise Developing Doomed Characters Car Fu The Quiet One Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Hollywood Darkness Have a Gay Old Time Drugs Are Bad The Ghost Stuff Blowing Up Parental Abandonment Chase Scene Tempting Fate Crazy-Prepared Faking the Dead Abhorrent Admirer Air-Vent Passageway Cloudcuckoolander Ax-Crazy Rape as Drama Gold Digger The '80s Love at First Sight An Aesop Animal Motifs Honor Before Reason Would Hit a Girl Downer Ending Cat Scare Getting Crap Past the Radar Taking You with Me Happily Married Bolivian Army Ending Epic Fail Properly Paranoid The '60s Crucified Hero Shot Cluster F-Bomb Kids Are Cruel Eldritch Abomination Brutal Honesty All There in the Manual Animal Title Index Manly Tears Made of Iron Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Country Matters Every Car Is a Pinto The Load Meaningful Echo Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Bond One-Liner Not Using the "Z" Word Black Best Friend All Girls Want Bad Boys Wham Line What You Are in the Dark Taking the Bullet The Lancer Attempted Rape Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Artistic License – History The Lost Lenore Bury Your Gays And I Must Scream Batman Gambit Only Sane Man Take That! The Stoic Only One Name Redshirt Army Adaptation Expansion Hollywood Law No Name Given Darker and Edgier Exact Words Parental Incest Never My Fault Dirty Coward Cool Shades Empathic Environment Ghost Fiction Loads and Loads of Characters Demoted to Extra The Power of Love I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Index of Film Westerns Rasputinian Death Pragmatic Adaptation Big Fancy House Mr. Fanservice Fanservice Extra All Just a Dream Earn Your Happy Ending Unusually Uninteresting Sight Idiot Ball Throwing Your Sword Always Works Heroic Sacrifice Only a Flesh Wound Manipulative Bastard Dissonant Serenity Hero of Another Story The Bad Guy Wins Ambiguous Ending May–December Romance Pragmatic Villainy Visual Pun Our Vampires Are Different Canadian Movies Video Credits Obviously Evil Make It Look Like an Accident Historical In-Joke Book-Ends Brick Joke Horror Films Obfuscating Stupidity Despair Event Horizon Creepy Child Fish out of Water Maybe Ever After Dark and Troubled Past Villain Ball Historical Villain Upgrade Irony Celebrity Paradox Insistent Terminology Spanner in the Works Disproportionate Retribution Morality Pet Back from the Dead Made of Explodium Does This Remind You of Anything? Meet Cute Cool Old Guy Big Bad MacGuffin Took a Level in Badass Truth in Television True Companions Chekhov's Gun Broken Bird From Nobody to Nightmare Dark Reprise Determinator Off with His Head! My Beloved Smother A Minor Kidroduction Superhero You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Five-Man Band Casting Gag Greater-Scope Villain Shipper on Deck Character Development Kubrick Stare Rule of Symbolism Imagine Spot Rated M for Manly Cool Car Friend to All Children Extremely Short Timespan Film Noir Index Actor Allusion Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Dying Moment of Awesome Non-Indicative Name The Remake Reality Ensues Those Wacky Nazis Demonic Possession As You Know Stealth Pun Never Found the Body Rewatch Bonus The Bully I'm a Humanitarian Villain with Good Publicity Villain Opening Scene Anti-Villain Mythology Gag Match Cut My Greatest Failure Karmic Death Jump Scare Heel–Face Turn Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy It's Personal Heterosexual Life-Partners Killed Mid-Sentence Due to the Dead In the Back Anyone Can Die Anti-Hero Crapsack World Animated Credits Opening Laughing Mad Wrong Genre Savvy Betty and Veronica Advertised Extra The Ditz Cassandra Truth Dogged Nice Guy Ms. Fanservice Creator Cameo NO INDOOR VOICE Freeze-Frame Bonus Russian Films Shell-Shocked Veteran Darkest Hour The Ace Vomit Indiscretion Shot Fatal Flaw Gorn Manchild Expository Hairstyle Change Dumb Blonde Red Eyes, Take Warning Bloodier and Gorier There Is No Kill Like Overkill The Mole Hell Is That Noise Important Haircut Plot Hole Extreme Doormat Sexy Discretion Shot Storming the Castle Action Genre Evil vs. Evil Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Call-Forward The Reveal Awesome, but Impractical Genre Savvy Central Theme Black and Gray Morality Calling the Old Man Out Ass Shove Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Evil Sounds Deep Knight Templar Well-Intentioned Extremist Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Accidental Murder Jerkass Did Not Get the Girl Villain Song Get Out! Wicked Cultured Protagonist Title Mystery and Detective Films Foreshadowing Retcon Early Installment Weirdness Evil Is Hammy Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Children Are Innocent Black Comedy Rape Insane Troll Logic Male Frontal Nudity Fourth Date Marriage Outrun the Fireball La Résistance Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Defiant to the End Thriller Hate Sink Mexican Standoff Abusive Parents Shower Scene Meaningful Background Event Let's Get Dangerous! Fun with Acronyms Break the Haughty Redemption Equals Death Be Careful What You Wish For Mad Scientist The Chessmaster Author Avatar I Did What I Had to Do Henpecked Husband Grievous Bottley Harm One Steve Limit Biopic Kill 'em All Coming-of-Age Story Shout-Out Eyepatch of Power Face–Heel Turn Red Herring Too Dumb to Live Heel Realization Blood Knight Madness Mantra Small Name, Big Ego Married to the Job Auto Erotica And Starring Vomit Discretion Shot Red Right Hand Overly Long Gag Playing Gertrude Suddenly SHOUTING! As Himself Cat Fight Reckless Gun Usage Japanese Films Wounded Gazelle Gambit Adaptational Badass French Films Insult Backfire Curse Cut Short Anachronism Stew Woman in White One-Word Title Fantasy Films As the Good Book Says... Groin Attack Badass in a Nice Suit Fake Shemp Crazy Jealous Guy Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Villain Protagonist Unusual Euphemism Leitmotif Spell My Name with an "S" She Cleans Up Nicely Flipping the Bird Adaptational Villainy Destination Defenestration Market-Based Title Evil Plan Posthumous Character Very Loosely Based on a True Story Death Glare From Bad to Worse Costume Porn Left the Background Music On Intrepid Reporter Product Placement "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Sir Swears-a-Lot Homage Poor Communication Kills Defrosting Ice Queen Nothing Is Scarier Hero Antagonist Revenge The Musical Punch-Clock Villain Mugging the Monster The Great Depression Age Lift Fiery Redhead The Dreaded Retirony Riddle for the Ages Jerk Jock Easily Forgiven Bad "Bad Acting" The Un-Reveal Alliterative Name Beta Couple Documentary Horror Comedy In Medias Res Kill It with Fire Stylistic Suck Same Language Dub Mundane Made Awesome Lighter and Softer Intergenerational Friendship Dark Is Not Evil Death by Irony Refuge in Audacity No Good Deed Goes Unpunished You Killed My Father Belligerent Sexual Tension Science Fiction Films Final Girl Straight Gay Red Shirt Call-Back Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Bait-and-Switch Reality Has No Subtitles Adaptation Name Change Together in Death Would Hurt a Child Pretty Little Headshots Novelization Here We Go Again! Karma Houdini Word of God Woman Scorned Jerk with a Heart of Gold Obstructive Bureaucrat World of Ham Continuity Nod Skewed Priorities Deliberately Monochrome The Dragon Those Two Bad Guys Naked People Are Funny Anachronic Order Put on a Bus The '90s "Well Done, Son!" Guy O.O.C. Is Serious Business Jerkass Has a Point Cool Old Lady Drill Sergeant Nasty Amoral Attorney Fanservice Pre-Mortem One-Liner The Smurfette Principle Psycho for Hire Martial Arts Movie Say My Name How We Got Here Dwindling Party Black Comedy Up to Eleven Tagline Pimped-Out Dress This Is Gonna Suck Artistic License – Biology Guns Akimbo The Starscream More Dakka Plucky Comic Relief Rousing Speech Armor-Piercing Question A Date with Rosie Palms Older Than They Look Once More, with Clarity! Alpha Bitch Curb-Stomp Battle Evil Laugh Drives Like Crazy Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Neck Snap Flashback A.I. Is a Crapshoot The '50s Fatal Family Photo War Is Hell Award-Bait Song My God, What Have I Done? Our Zombies Are Different Corpsing B-Movie Death by Sex Brainless Beauty Oh, Crap! The Hero Ship Tease The Film of the Book Romantic Comedy Bi the Way Femme Fatale Death Seeker Race Lift Random Events Plot Bunny-Ears Lawyer The Big Guy Conspicuous CG Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Cain and Abel Better to Die than Be Killed Running Gag Camp Gay The Alcoholic It's All About Me No-Sell Based on a True Story Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Only Known by Their Nickname Grey and Gray Morality Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Red Oni, Blue Oni Not So Stoic Slasher Smile Deliberate Values Dissonance An Arm and a Leg Monumental Damage Gory Discretion Shot The Casanova What the Hell, Hero? Suspiciously Similar Substitute Cowboy Cop Big Damn Heroes Disney Villain Death Babies Ever After Distracted by the Sexy Line-of-Sight Name Bloody Hilarious Captain Ersatz Historical Hero Upgrade German Films Stalker with a Crush Adult Fear Unresolved Sexual Tension Covers Always Lie Undying Loyalty Bar Brawl Sacrificial Lion Adaptational Heroism Naïve Newcomer Canon Foreigner Depraved Bisexual Neck Lift Whole Plot Reference It Can Think Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Romantic False Lead Cold-Blooded Torture Off-into-the-Distance Ending Aluminum Christmas Trees Film Series Stock Footage She's Got Legs Pyrrhic Victory Precision F-Strike Improbable Weapon User Re-Cut Mighty Whitey The Smart Guy Establishing Character Moment After the End Major Injury Underreaction Didn't Think This Through Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Moment Killer Logo Joke Rule of Cool Victoria's Secret Compartment Antagonist Title Public Domain Feature Films Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Punny Name Wham Shot Real Life Writes the Plot Leaning on the Fourth Wall Action Survivor Even Evil Has Standards Deus ex Machina Sports Stories Fan Disservice Amusing Injuries The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Informed Ability Kick the Dog Title Drop Badass Grandpa The Stoner No Celebrities Were Harmed Hope Spot Double Entendre It Will Never Catch On Deal with the Devil Fire-Forged Friends Improbable Aiming Skills Mr. Exposition Bavarian Fire Drill Broken Aesop Humiliation Conga Star-Crossed Lovers Police Brutality Bad Boss Face Death with Dignity Big Eater Unreliable Narrator Twist Ending Adults Are Useless Deadpan Snarker Psychopathic Manchild Ascended Extra Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Slap-Slap-Kiss Sinister Minister Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Bare Your Midriff folderlabel Sealed Evil in a Can Breaking the Fourth Wall Lampshade Hanging Fainting The Stinger Arc Words Hair-Trigger Temper For Want of a Nail Worthy Opponent Combat Pragmatist Evil Brit Mama Bear Australian Movies Dies Wide Open Silent Movie Parental Substitute Hong Kong Films Ambiguously Gay Card-Carrying Villain Badass Normal As Long as It Sounds Foreign Blackmail Badass Boast Dramatic Irony Good Is Not Nice Big "NO!" Rule of Three N-Word Privileges Authority Equals Asskicking Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Villainous Breakdown Men Are the Expendable Gender Television Movie Index Rich Bitch Bottomless Magazines Butt-Monkey Exactly What It Says on the Tin Noodle Incident Not What It Looks Like Sequel Escalation Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Pay Evil unto Evil Gender Flip Scare Chord Bilingual Bonus Gone Horribly Right Police are Useless Sassy Black Woman Dutch Angle Aside Glance Roaring Rampage of Revenge Drowning My Sorrows Hooker with a Heart of Gold The Hero Dies Yandere Bald of Evil Names to Run Away from Really Fast Scenery Porn Creative Closing Credits Freudian Excuse Your Cheating Heart Disappeared Dad Shirtless Scene Wretched Hive No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Beware the Nice Ones Determinator aka: The Determinator Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Time Skip No Ending