Tropescilloscope: Meaningful Background Event

Something plot-relevant happens onscreen, but not as the focus (read more at tvtropes.org)

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