History Main / Minimalism

* ''VideoGame/GenericFishingGame'' is a game with only four fishes and the Spacebar button as its only controls, right? [[spoiler:No, you have to escape huge fish monsters, and arrow keys sometimes show up as controls.]]

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* ''ComicStrip/{{Fleep}}'' takes the OntologicalMystery genre and boils it down to its bare essentials: One man, trapped in a room (in this case, a phone booth), trying to figure out how he got there and how to escape.
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Website/TheOtherWiki has an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism article about this]].

* Series/TheGoesWrongShow: [[TheDitz Dennis]]’ self written and directed play, entitled “Toothpaste: 1.69”, consists solely of a man [[ForegoneConclusion enquiring as to the price of toothpaste]]. Though it does work out better than [[TheShowMustGoWrong the cast’s other efforts]], [[PrimaDonnaDirector Chris]] thinks it’s too long.

* ''VideoGame/GenericFishingGame'' is a game with only four fishes and the Spacebar button as its only controls, right? [[spoiler: No, you have to escape huge fish monsters, and arrow keys sometimes show up as controls.]]

* ''Oasis'' does that to ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}''-type games.

* ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'' plays it for laughs.

* Minidresses of TheSixties and beyond. Less fabric, more [[ShesGotLegs skin]].

[[caption-width-right:350:There isn't even anyone [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs sitting in it]].]]

Wiki/TheOtherWiki has an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism article about this]].

* Wiki/TheOtherWiki cites the design of ''VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena'' to be minimalistic (compared to [[VideoGame/UnrealTournament its competitor, at least]]).

* Wiki/TVTropes' LaconicWiki uses this style, making normally verbose pages easier to understand.

* Gus van Sant's ''Film/{{Elephant}}'' is a tale about two students going on a killing rampage in their school. The film features a lot of pristine stillness, extremely long static shots (which continue rolling even after everyone has left sight), and no score.

* Raymond Carver.
* Haiku is often said to be minimalistic in nature.

* [[FilmNoir Hardboiled literature]]. Examples include Creator/RaymondChandler and Creator/DashiellHammett.

* ''Alone'' follows a woman, Jess, getting hunted across the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The vast majority of the film has only Jess or her stalker onscreen, with most other characters on the other sides of phone lines. There's very little dialogue and most characterization is given by implication. The music is largely restricted to a low-key DroneOfDread at key moments to the point that the only sounds over the credits are those of the forest.

* ''Series/{{Ideal}}'': A dark comedy about a British drug dealer and his parade of dimwitted, bizarre, and occasionally violent customers. The series is almost 100% set in the protagonists flat (if the showrunners are feeling frisky, they might show the landing or the next flat over, but the camera never leaves the building). Many of the scenes are him talking one-on-one with another character, who leaves to make room for the next.

* Series/TheGoesWrongShow: [[TheDitz Dennis]]’ self written and directed play, entitled “Toothpaste: 1.69”, consists solely of a man [[ForgoneConclusion enquiring as to the price of toothpaste]]. Though it does work out better than [[TheShowMustGoWrong the cast’s other efforts]], [[PrimaDonnaDirector Chris]] thinks it’s too long.

* Japanese singer-songwriter Music/UtadaHikaru has a music video for the song Hikari (simply 光 in Kanji) that features her doing lip-sync to the song while washing dishes. Note that this is the entirety of the video.

* ''Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum'' by Music/DavidBowie brought over a lot of minimalist elements in the songwriting, particularly on the album's A-side, in which each song ranges from three and a half minutes to just [[MinisculeRocking 1:42]], consisting solely of one or two repeated phrases with mild variations. The minimalist direction of ''Low'' would also influence the sound of Bowie's [[Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum next]] [[Music/{{Lodger}} two]] albums, though not to the same extent as with ''Low''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Kairo}}'' is going to be this, when it comes out.
** Now that it has come out, it's shown to be as minimalist as you can get when it comes to {{Puzzle Platformer}}s.

* UsefulNotes/{{Dogme 95}} films are based around minimalism, which the inventors, Creator/LarsVonTrier and Thomas Vinterberg, call "purity." Films following the dogma avoid artificial settings, sound, visual effects, and camera tricks as well non-diegetic sound. The film is supposed to be as accessible and realistic as possible. Notable Dogme 95 films include ''Film/TheCelebration'', ''Film/TheIdiots'', and ''Film/JulienDonkeyBoy.''

* Creator/RomanPolanski's ''{{Film/Carnage}}'': Four actors in one apartment, all in RealTime.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalist_music Minimalist]] genre represents one way to achieve this in music: employing a lot of repetition or drones, and with the melody (if present at all) slow to develop. While the melodies are quite minimal, the arrangements can be exactly the opposite--minimalism was originally a form of orchestral music. The composers associated with this style include Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Music/PhilipGlass, and La Monte Young. TropeNamer is the (post-)minimalist composer MichaelNyman, who used the innovations of minimalism to create new styles and techniques.

* Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/SplitSecond''. The game itself is a loud, bombastic affair, where if only one building gets destroyed, it's a quiet race. However, the HUD lacks anything that isn't absolutely necessary. There's a power bar, a position counter, a lap counter, and nothing else, all placed right behind your rear bumper and as unobtrusively as possible.