Welcome to another episode of Wonders of the World Wide Web! In this episode, we're going to be talking about TV Tropes! But what is TV Tropes? TV Tropes is an encyclopedia website, or "wiki," that talks about movies, TV shows, electronic games, and all sorts of entertainment, along with the "tropes" or conventions that happen in them! Imagine if you had a really big TV guide that talked about the things that happen in your favorite shows, and whether or not those things could happen in real life. That's TV Tropes!
Wonders of the World Wide Web is a YouTube video series created by Jo Luijten, narrated by his wife, Kinna McInroe, and hosted on their channel, Squirrel Monkey
. The videos are presented as informational videos that teach viewers about modern-day apps, websites, and video games. The twist is that it shows what these programs would be like if they were around in The '80s. (And sometimes, The '90s.) The series uses retro-style graphics, descriptions of the devices you need to run each program, and a very detailed, yet cheerful narration by Kinna.
Tropes found in these videos include:
- Catchphrase:
- "In this episode, we're going to be talking about X. But what is X? X is..."
- "Wow!"
- "We're surely living in the future!"
- Kinna ends the last sentence of each episode with "online," with an added echo effect.
- Deliberate VHS Quality: To fit the illusion of the videos being from the 80's, they all have a VHS filter in the video and audio.
- Loads and Loads of Loading: Invoked, every program is described as taking a long time to start up or do other functions. "45 minutes" is a commonly used number.
- Monster Clown: Parodied. In the GrubHub video, one of the restaurants featured is "Odium Burger." Its mascot is a clown with many sharp teeth and blood running down his chin. Kinna describes him as "adorable." It's unclear whether she's a Nightmare Fetishist or just cheerfully oblivious. Also, if you order from Odium Burger, you get a free knife!
- Retraux: The series is all about the aesthetics and outdated technology of the 80's and 90's. It presents modern-day apps, websites, and video games as if they were programs from those previous decades, complete with retro-style graphics and sounds. The videos themselves use a graphic style reminiscient of the 80's, and they even have a Deliberate VHS Quality.
- Sensory Abuse:
- Whenever you hear typing, you can bet it will be very loud.
- Kinna sometimes clips the microphone when she gets too excited, such as when she says "Wow!"
- Shout-Out: There are frequent references to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." Justified because this series is set in the 80's, when that song came out.
- Technology Marches On: Invoked, the series is mostly dedicated to poking fun at outdated 80's technology, and how difficult it was to do tasks that are very simple with modern technology, like fast internet and smartphones.
- Who Writes This Crap?!: In the episode on Instacart, the given explanation of Instacart is very long-winded, and it compares Instacart to a complex philosophical concept. After reading the explanation, Kinna snarks about it.Kinna: Wow! I-I don't know who wrote this script, but I would have explained it differently, like "Instacart is a service that delivers groceries."
