History Main / GaussianGirl

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* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', the bedridden Gauron is shown recalling [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SousukeGaussianGirl.jpg "beautiful" memories of a 12-year-old Sousuke]] being in a Gaussian Girl manner. [[{{Squick}} Yeah]], Gauron [[PaedoHunt has]][[AxeCrazy problems]].

* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', the bedridden Gauron is shown recalling [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SousukeGaussianGirl.jpg "beautiful" memories of a 12-year-old Sousuke]] being in a Gaussian Girl manner. [[{{Squick}} Yeah]], Gauron [[PaedoHunt has problems]].

** Also, in the short amount of time he was shown in the show, Zaied had frequent, really Gaussian Girl-esque memories of playing half-naked in the water with a young Sousuke.

There is some physiological justification for the "soft focus=appealing" relationship. Desire is one of the things that makes a person's pupils dilate. A side-effect of this dilation is to slightly shift the eye's focus into the distance, making anything closer just that little bit more blurry. With experience, the observer's capacity for visual perception learns to correlate cause and effect, and the becomes a supporting evidence for the cause.

* In Gail Simone's run of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'', Tom Tressner remembers Wonder Woman proposing to him with a Gaussian effect. If there was one woman to use this on, Diana would be it.

* Parodied in ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'' with Kokomi, whom the entire world considers [[HelloNurse so beautiful]] that she is consistently drawn with a soft glow surrounding her, giving off this effect.

* The first season of ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' was notorious for this. Not only was it present throughout the show, but [=RuPaul=] had an extra-strong version used on herself. How bad was it? As far as anyone could tell, the show was hosted by a [[https://therealityreview.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/screen-shot-2013-09-05-at-12-46-08-pm.png brown blob with eyes that vaguely resembled a drag queen]]. The second season fortunately got rid of the filter, since by that point, everyone on Creator/{{LOGO}}, even some of the contestants, were mocking her for it. ''Series/TheBigGaySketchShow'' perfectly summed up viewers' attitudes in their parody of ''Drag Race'':
->'''Chocolate Puddin':''' Miss [=RuPaul=] I've got to know, why are you so motherfucking blurry?!
->'''[=RuPaul=]:''' What?
->'''Chocolate:''' We're in the same fucking room but you're glowing like some kind of spooky ghost or angel from Heaven or some shit! (studio audience cheers emphatically)
** Also invoked by the fact that ''Drag Race'' is not shot in HD, but "Stunning Standard Definition." At least, until the show's ChannelHop to Network/{{VH1}}.

* The first season of ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' was notorious for this. Not only was it present throughout the show, but [=RuPaul=] had an extra-strong version used on herself. How bad was it? As far as anyone could tell, the show was hosted by a brown blob with eyes that vaguely resembled a drag queen. The second season fortunately got rid of the filter, since by that point, everyone on Creator/{{LOGO}}, even some of the contestants, were mocking her for it.

Has nothing to do with [[MagneticWeapons Gauss guns]]. Or electromagnetism in general. (Well, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_topics_named_after_Carl_Friedrich_Gauss not much]] to do with it.) Or Carol Fredrick Gauss

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' loved this trope. It was generally used on Creator/AlyssaMilano, because Phoebe was supposed to be the pretty one (although everyone secretly likes Piper best, and Paige is way sexier.)

* The angelically beautiful elves in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movies displayed this quality for both genders, particularly for Liv Tyler's Arwen.

* Catherine Zeta-Jones was shot this way in the movie ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro''.
* Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund in ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''.

* Jewel, the havoc wreaking femme fatale in ''Film/OneNightAtMcCools,'' is shown this way when each of the three guys see her for the first time. She's played by Liv Tyler, who just has one of those faces.

* Done for laughs in ''Film/WaynesWorld''. When Wayne first sees Cassandra, she's on stage aggressively singing "Let me stand next to your fire". Wayne's view of her is in Gaussian and he hears "Dream Weaver".
** This is also a running joke with Garth's crush, played by Donna Dixon, who appears to the "Romeo and Juliet" overture, slow-motion flying hair and all.

* Lois Lane gets this treatment in the first ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movie.

* Another Mike Myers' movie where the effect is used for laughs: Film/TheCatInTheHat. You may be dead inside if you don't belly laugh at the effect a savage nutshot has on a 6-foot-tall [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPa18_e2r4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DycPa18_e2r4 cat piñata]]...

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' loved this trope. It was generally used on Alyssa Milano, because Phoebe was supposed to be the pretty one (although everyone secretly likes Piper best, and Paige is way sexier.)

* Used with Tiffani-Amber Thiessen on ''Dinner at Tiffani's'' on the [[Creator/CookingChannel Cooking Channel]] to an almost absurd degree. The cuts between her and her guests make one wonder if the high-definition feed is cutting in and out.

** Spock Prime was given this treatment in Creator/JJAbrams ''Film/StarTrek''. [[HoYay Make of that what you will]].

* The ''Franchise/EverAfterHigh'' character Darling has this as a superpower: time ''literally'' slows down when she flips her hair. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower She uses this liberally and effectively in combat.]]

* Parodied in ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'' with Kokomi, whom the entire world considers [[HelloBeautiful so beautiful]] that she is consistently drawn with a soft glow surrounding her, giving off this effect.

* The first season of ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' was notorious for this. Not only was it present throughout the show, but [=RuPaul=] had an extra-strong version used on herself. How bad was it? As far as anyone could tell, the show was hosted by a brown blob with eyes that vaguely resembled a drag queen. The second season fortunately got rid of the filter, since by that point, everyone on Creator/{{LOGO}}, even some of the contestants, were mocking her for it.

* [=RuPaul=] used this on ''herself'' on the first season of Series/RupaulsDragRace. How bad was it? There were times where you couldn't make out her face at all; it would just be a blurry blob with eyes. By the 2nd season (which did did away with the effect), everyone on Creator/{{LOGO}}, even one of the contestants, was mocking her for it.
** Invoked by the fact that ''Drag Race'' is not shot in HD, but "Stunning Standard Definition."

* A jarring example near the beginning of ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', cutting quickly back and forth between Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/RachelMcAdams where he was shot without blur, but she and her surroundings were slightly out-of-focus.

* The most {{egregious}} use of the Gaussian Girl was in [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original]] ''Franchise/StarTrek'', where Kirk's GirlOfTheWeek would never, ''ever'' be in focus, at any point during the episode, and would always be accompanied by soft strings or woodwinds (or in the case of [[Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever Edith Keeler]], the song "Goodnight, Sweetheart"). This effect was achieved by a small piece of plastic placed over the lens.

When filmed, the Gaussian Girl is shot through a soft-focus filter, a piece of translucent plastic or a quick smear of Vaseline, depending on the director's preference. This gives a soft, glowing aura to her, and smooths out any unappealing pores or lines on her face. The result makes her look nothing short of ethereal. If you can't tell a soft-focus shot, look at all of the light sources around her; if they have a starry-glare look, it's soft focus.

You can create your own Gaussian Girl by duplicating her base layer, giving the new top layer a strong Gaussian Blur, and then setting it to about 50% opacity. If you need glasses, you can achieve a similar effect by taking them off before looking at women. If you don't, try having a lot of alcohol first. This latter technique is called the BeerGoggles effect. (Thus the phrase, "She's a 2 at 10 but a 10 at 2".)

This may come from a practice in the early days of film making when a piece of gauze, a sheer stocking, or Vaseline was placed over the lens of the camera to blur the image of the actresses and hide imperfections on the face. Popularized by the fabulous Carole Lombard, who spent her time in the hospital after suffering a serious facial injury devising ways in which she could hide her eventual scar. If she didn't invent the Gaussian blur, she knew the person who did.

* One movie of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' used this effect for the fairies.

** Spock also has the tendency to blur, and to a lesser extent, Bones. Uhura will almost always be blurry.

* In the 1964 ''T.A.M.I'' concert film, the director had his cameramen put a screen with vaseline in front of the camera lens when a performer was singing a slow ballad. Most noticeable when Leslie Gore sings[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmOrWG2FTbg "You Don't Own Me".]]

* One or two close-ups of Saunders in ''MrSmithGoesToWashington'', but it's mainly used to show ''her'' becoming captivated by Smith's idealism.