Okay, this may be a silly idea for a post, but I got to thinking about it while using my usual software at work. Up in the corner of most programs is a "Save" button, and it is always represented as a 3.5" floppy disk. When is the last time you saw a floppy disk? I'm not sure what they should use, maybe a red "record" dot, but red dots can mean other things. Anyway, my mind tends to hopscotch into tangents, and this time mine went to other outdated metaphors.
Off the top of my head, here is what I came up with.
Obsolete TV and Movie Metaphors & Tropes
"Snow" on a TV screen - This has always been used to represent a channel that is off the air, or one that carries no signal. It was most famously used in
Poltergeist. But these days, it is a rare sight to see. Most modern TVs display a blank blue or black screen if there is no signal, and most channels no longer sign off at all, which leads me to. . .
The National Anthem or a Sermonette - This was another metaphor to show that a TV station was signing off for the night, often when the characters in the story have fallen asleep in front of the tube. These days, you are much more likely to get an infomercial, soft-core porn, or programs with really low production values.
The "Needle Scratch" - This device is used a lot in movie trailers. A Motown song plays over happy actors, and then,
scrrrrrrrrrrchhhh! The music stops, and an old lady says something naughty. It's supposed to sound like someone dragging a phonograph stylus across the surface of an LP. And there are at least three terms in that last sentence that many people have never heard of. A skipping CD might be an adequate substitute, but even
those are going the way of the dinosaurs.
A Ringing Phone - Usually of the Bell Labs variety, this sound effect (usually loud and brassy) can be a "jump scare," often with an extreme zoom to the frightened character's face. I have an old-fashioned Bell phone at my house, but how many other people do? Chirping phones just aren't the same, and how scary are cellular ring tones? And for that matter. . .
A Dial Tone - With more and more people going "cellular only," this omnipresent sound is becoming less so. It was often used inaccurately anyway, usually
preceded by someone hanging up on someone else. Phones usually just go silent when someone hangs up, so that always bugged me. And then there's. . .
The Phone is Dead! - Many, many horror movies had this trope, with the killer cutting the power and the phone line to the house (how was Jason Voorhees that smart, anyway?). Nowadays, savvy writers have to resort to "no service available" on the cell phones, but since most killers can't accomplish this feat, it just isn't scary.
The Library - Quite a few movies and TV shows have long scenes (sometimes a montage) of the characters running off to the library to research whatever mystery the plot hinges upon. Card catalogs, microfiche, "the stacks." All replaced with Google now.
There are a lot of old TV programs and movies that would have to be substantially rewritten if they were to be remade today. Fortunately, some of the technology we have now can provide story elements that would have been impossible before. Last week on
True Blood, a character did research
in the woods from an iPhone! Now
that's handy!
