History Main / MomentOfSilence

* Angie's death in ''Film/{{Mirrors}}''.

* At the end of the penultimate chapter of ''Videogame/{{Journey}}'', it slowly turns very silent as [[spoiler:your own life fades away]].

* ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi'': After a certain character [[TakingTheBullet Takes the Bullet]] for another, they manage to hold onto life for a while longer. The moment they die, the background music suddenly stops.

* In ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'', though it's not immediately after the death of [[spoiler:the Kid]], a full minute goes by without background music, dialogue, or cheering, before the duel between Cort and the Lady.

* In ''Podcast/BlackJackJustice'', the protagonists' {{Private Eye Monologue}}s always have a noir style theme playing in the background, with the most prominent instrument changing based on who is speaking and serving as a {{Leitmotif}}. One exception to this occurs in the episode "Justice and the Happy Ending". In the climax of the episode, Jack's recently returned former partner, Tom Fellows, tries to recruit Jack into his game of getting the local gangs organized under his bosses' syndicate, and prepares to kill Trixie to get rid of dead weight. Jack steps in, with every implication being he's decided to side with Tom and intends to kill Trixie himself. The background music is completely absent when Trixie describes Jack's firing the gun and killing Tom, and picks up when Trixie starts describing the aftermath of the events.

* Many religious services utilise moments of silence as well as funerals.

* Godzilla ([[spoiler:and Daisuke Serizawa]])'s deaths in ''[[Film/Godzilla1954 Gojira]]''.

* Played with in ''Series/BreakingBad.'' After [[spoiler: Hank]] gets [[KilledOffForReal killed off]], the audio of the episode goes completely muted, but zooms in on Walter White's horrified reaction.

* Played with in ''Series/BreakingBad.'' After [[spoiler: Hank]] gets [[CharacterDeath killed off]], the audio of the episode goes completely muted, but zooms in on Walter White's horrified reaction.

*** Meta example: The sequel's strategic silence on the defeated Joker as if he never existed - so as to not diminish Creator/HeathLedger's [[AuthorExistenceFailure mem]][[TheCharacterDiedWithHim ory]].

* Played with at the end of ''Anime/CodeGeass''. The climax [[spoiler:alternates between the reactions of different characters to Lelouch's imminent death and a flashback of Lelouch and Suzaku explaining the entire thing.]]

* ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi'': After a certain character TakesTheBullet for another, they manage to hold onto life for a while longer. The moment they die, the background music suddenly stops.

** Done in the new series to great effect at the end of "The Pandorica Opens", when [[spoiler:the Doctor is put inside the Pandorica, followed by the ''entirety of reality'' being subjected to RetGone by the explosion of the [=TARDIS=].]]

* In the opera ''[[Theatre/{{Woyzeck}} Wozzeck]]'', the orchestra immediately fades to pianissimo when Wozzeck drowns, and for the remainder of the scene produces no sound louder than [[ChirpingCrickets imitation frog croaks]] as the Captain and Doctor quietly react to the sound of a man drowning in the lake in dialogue (not even Sprechstimme).

For in-universe moments of silence observed in memory of a deceased character, see DueToTheDead. For real-life ones, see InMemoriam.

* In ''Film/TheLastJedi'', after [[spoiler:Admiral Holdo makes a hyperdrive-powered suicide run into the ''massive'' enemy ship]] there is a smash cut to complete silence for nearly 10 seconds. Some theaters reported moviegoers complaining about the "broken" sound during the scene due to he abrupt and utter silence.

* ''{{Disney/Frozen}}'' has one when [[spoiler: [[DisneyDeath Anna is frozen solid after saving her sister.]]]]

* Many church services, after the greeting, begin with a moment of silence, usually to allow worshipers a chance to prepare their hearts and minds for worship.

* Gandalf's death in ''[[Film/LordOfTheRings The Fellowship of the Ring]]''.