Dies Wide Open: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

On the big or small screen, if someone falls over motionless with their eyes wide open, it is a sure sign that they are dead--not unconscious, not capable of being resuscitated, but [[Killed Off for Real]]. In real life, of course, the position of the eyelids means nothing; people can in fact pass out or even just fall asleep with their eyes open.

Additionally, dead bodies always have their eyes either closed or ''all the way'' open, with no middle ground. (Again, this stands in contrast to reality, but nobody wants a dead body making a weird face. Not to mention that it's hard for an actor to have half-closed eyes without flickering.) In the latter case, someone who knew the deceased will often come along and manually close the corpse's eyes for "respect" or "dignity". This is always done the same way - using the palm flat open, they pass their hand over the dead person's face, somehow closing their eyes. Nearly everyone does this. Occasionally, the friend will also put two coins over their closed eyes as well, to "pay the boatman" to take them across the river Styx into the afterlife. See [[Due to The Dead]].

 

 

If they're [[Not Quite Dead]], expect to see their [[Eye Awaken|eyes open]]. Otherwise? [[He's Dead, Jim]].

If a character's eyes close when they die, it's [[Big Sleep]].

 

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Anime subversion: In ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'' when Jeanne Valois is publicly branded as a criminal, she faints with her eyes wide open--a fact that creeps out many of the spectators who had come to gawk at her.