Framing Device: Difference between revisions

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Anthologies and [[Clip Show|Clip Shows]] often use framing devices to connect the unrelated elements into a unified whole. The earlier "Treehouse of Terror" specials of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' use a framing device in this way, though the practice was eventually abandoned.

Occasionally, an entire series can use a persistent [[Framing Device]], such as ''[[Cro]]'', which was framed by a recently thawed mammoth, who was telling the stories which composed the bulk of each episode. A noteworthy example from the days of radio is ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'', whose stories were told in the form of explanations to a private detective's expense account. To a lesser extent, devices such as the [[~~Captains~~ Log]] can be viewed as a [[Framing Device]], especially when (as in many ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episodes) they appear to have been written after the fact.

Occasionally, an entire series can use a persistent [[Framing Device]], such as ''[[Cro]]'', which was framed by a recently thawed mammoth, who was telling the stories which composed the bulk of each episode. A noteworthy example from the days of radio is ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'', whose stories were told in the form of explanations to a private detective's expense account. To a lesser extent, devices such as the [[Captain's Log]] can be viewed as a [[Framing Device]], especially when (as in many ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episodes) they appear to have been written after the fact.

The [[Framing Device]] is [[Older Than Dirt]]: It goes right back to the Old Kingdom of [[Ancient Egypt]] with the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, c. 2300-2100 BCE. Sometimes the trope is written using nested framing devices that are several layers deep, as in the ''[[Arabian Nights (Literature)|Arabian Nights]]''. ''Frankenstein'' is framed by a story of an arctic expedition coming across the dying Dr. Frankenstein; ''[[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Literature)|The Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]'' is framed by the mariner foisting his story on an unwilling wedding guest. One of the first (if not ''the'' first) examples in film is from ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Film)|The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'', which (on a suggestion from [[Fritz Lang]]) framed the original story as a [[Flash Back]] in an asylum.

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See [[Whole Episode Flashback]], [[Storybook Opening]], and [[Nostalgic Narrator]] for more specific examples. When framing devices are stacked on top of each other, they create a [[Nested Story]]. If the existence of a framing device is used as a [[Plot Twist]], we're dealing with a [[Nested Story Reveal]]. If the framing story is "I came across this story and decided to publish it", the author is invoking the [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]].

Compare [[Intro Only Point of View]].

Compare [[Intro-Only Point of View]].

== [[Anime]] ==

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** And Don, {{spoiler|the current Dream King, was given the position by technically "killing" Fiona through sending her back, since ownership of Nod works via [[Klingon Promotion]] and she took the title from [[Big Bad|Sadako..]]}}

* The bulk of ''[[Spacetrawler]]'' is a personal history that Nogg is sharing with Mr. Zorilla.

* [[MS Paint Adventures]] is a webcomic that purports to be a log of an [[Interactive Fiction]] adventure game. The latest installment, ''[[Homestuck]]'', starts out by giving the main character, John Egbert, a [[Hello Insert Name Here|name]], although he had already signed letters with "john" in the past.

* [[MS Paint Adventures]] is a webcomic that purports to be a log of an [[Interactive Fiction]] adventure game. The latest installment, ''[[Homestuck]]'', starts out by giving the main character, John Egbert, a [[Hello, Insert Name Here|name]], although he had already signed letters with "john" in the past.

* ''[[Erstwhile]]'' concludes "A Tale with A Riddle" with [http://www.erstwhiletales.com/a-tale-with-a-riddle-0-6/#.T29zLdm6SuI the revelation that the mother is telling her daughter the story, so her husband can tell the daughter what the answer to the riddle is.]