Tuesday, November 03, 2009

A Excellent Wiki Site: TV Tropes

A lot of sites on the web have taken the Wiki idea, and ran with it, none more successfully than Wikipedia of course. I have to say that I have visited a lot of these sites over the past few years, most of which are based on documenting a single topic in minute detail (especially the ones based on pop culture).

But I think one of the best wiki-based sites out there at the moment is TV Tropes, a place I didn't even know existed until it became the basis for an XKCD strip.

And the strip gets it right... it is like crack. I mean, I go there every day to look up things and just browse around.

TV Tropes is a site that breaks down almost every kind of narrative form, from film, literature and television to animation, video games and even professional wrestling into its component parts.

For instance, if I was curious about a movie... say, RoboCop, and I wanted to know some of the specific themes that were explored in the storytelling, I can just look it up on TV Tropes, and read through the itemized list of tropes, each of which is hyperlinked to a page devoted to that trope.

And because it is a wiki, if anyone thinks of new things to add to an entry, they are free to do so. But there is a certain amount of informality to the whole thing which makes it somewhat refreshing. In the words on the front page of the site, "We are not Wikipedia. We're a buttload more informal." It isn't just major works that are allowed on the site either... almost any narrative can have a page and be listed under the various categories, and if you are a fan of something, you can start a page dedicated to it, and perhaps through the wonders of Wiki Magic, a mighty page may emerge from your humble stub.

And there are trope categories that, while they don't specifically discuss a theme in a work, are still interesting to read. For example, there are sections about Fridge Logic (about plot holes you notice just after you've seen a particular work), and the Crowning Moments series (Awesome, Heartwarming, Funny along with a music one too). It is a site that just keeps expanding with the addition of excellent content daily.

Of course, I am not just a casual browser of the site anymore... I am also an active member of the editing community, so I am naturally very enthused by the whole thing.


8 comments:

Lee Sargent said...

Why would you show me that site?

Why man, I thought we were friends!?

Apparently now I'll be spending every waking hour of every day trawling that site, I'll lose my job, it'll break up my marriage, my personal hygiene will dip below their current high standards...

Any site that starts of the Big Trouble in Little China entry with:

"One of John Carpenter's greatest works."

is ok in my book :)

Actually in all seriousness that is one awesome resource, thanks for drawing it to my attention!!

Semaj said...

It is a great site. I haven't used it as much as I should. That will probably change now.

MC said...

Lee: Go to the Ghostbusters page and then go down to "Sealed Evil in a Can". You're Welcome.

Semaj: I might start doing posts using it like your Urban Dictionary ones.

Semaj said...

Looking forward to that. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Tv pages. I need to get back to my urban Dictionary posts

Lee Sargent said...

*wipes tear from eye

Perfect, just perfect.

MC said...

Semaj: There are some great ones to run with.

Lee: I almost edited in another line, but it is great as it stands.

Peter Lynn said...

Oddly enough, I found TV Tropes when I performed a self-Google and found myself quoted in this entry. Great site.

MC said...

Awesome work Peter.