Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:1143151201502-resize.jpg|link=Mai-Otome|frame| Haruka knows better than to do this -- she's just a jerk.]]

 

{{quote|'''Jerry:''' Get your finger out of my face!

In real-world Japanese society, personal space is at a premium and thus of the utmost importance. One is careful to avoid even the appearance of proximity, and one keeps one's hands at one's sides.

 

 

However, most characters who '''Give Someone The Pointer Finger''' aren't using it appropriately, thus signifying their immaturity; and/or being a [[Large Ham]].

Make note that this mindset is also quite present within Western culture, which holds that it's not polite to point. The reason was mainly because of the superstition that pointing a finger was how witches cast a spell or curse on their victims. Aggressively thrusting body parts at people is also subconsciously taken as a show of physical force, which is why pointing is often a [[Berserk Button]] for people.

 

 

 

{{examples}}

* Sana from ''[[Kodomo no Omocha]]'' is fond of the inappropriate use of this.

* As is Tomo from ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''.

** And she's [[Moe Moe|too cute]] for anyone to get mad at her for long.

* Hikaru from ''[[Hime-chan no Ribon|Himechan no Ribon]]'' does this extremely closely to Hime-chan's face when declaring war over Daichi.

* Nozomi from ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5|Yes! Precure 5]]'' does this while nitpicking at someone to distract them from anything they've noticed that had to do with her [[Secret Identity]].

* Yuma Tonami from ''[[To Heart]] 2'' does when the male protagonist beats her at something. She points at him and yells at him that he hasn't won yet.

* Ubiquitous in ''[[Doraemon]]''. About the only ones who don't do this are Shizuka ([[The Smurfette Principle|who is a girl]]) and Doraemon ([[Fridge Brilliance|who doesn't have visible fingers]]).

 

* Just about any comic drawn by [[Jack Kirby]].

* God almost always does this when sending someone to hell in [[Jack Chick]]'s strips.

** "Do you want to have '''SEX'''? I think we should have '''SEX'''. '''CASUAL SEX'''."

 

* Kyon's sister to Sasaki in ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'' when the former accuses the latter of making Kyon lose his smile.

* In ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', Paul does this several times in a nonserious way; he does it in [[Real Life]].

{{quote|'''Trixie:''' Don't point that ugly sausage of a finger at Trixie! }}

 

* In the film ''[[Ghost Rider (film)|Ghost Rider]]'', the titular character [http://headtripcomics.comicgenesis.com/d/20070219.html often does this], even when he really oughta know better (it's probably not wise to point and say "YOU!" to Satan himself). Oh, and he once points threateningly to a young child while transformed, and then says "innocent!" and walks away. Said child passes out from the fear.

* Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is very fond of doing this in ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''.

* ''[[The Sunshine Boys]]'' "The finger?!? Again with the finger?!?"

 

* At the end of the first ''[[Harry Potter]]'' book, Ginny excitedly points at Harry after he arrives back at King's Cross and Mrs. Weasley tells her that it's rude.

* In [[Ciaphas Cain|''For The Emperor'']], Inquisitor Vaile confronts {{spoiler|the treacherous}} Governor Grice, "pointing an accusing finger at him like a schola tutor admonishing an unsatisfactory student." {{spoiler|Of course, she was wearing a digital needler that shoots poisoned darts.}}

 

* [[Stephen Colbert]]. [[The Colbert Report|You're all "on notice"!]]

* Chris Morris sometimes does it on ''[[Brass Eye]]''.

* [[Kamen Rider Fourze|"My name is Gentaro Kisaragi, and I'm going to be friends with everyone."]]

 

* Western example: uber-star [[Hulk Hogan]] did this all the time when he [[My Name Is Inigo Montoya|made his big comeback]]. Inevitably, after the fingerpoint (punctuated by the crowd yelling "YOU!"), the match would be won within a minute.

 

* Phoenix Wright's signature move from the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' games whenever making an exclamation ("[[Catch Phrase|OBJECTION!]]") is to pound the stand and point. Heck, everyone in those games do. It's their ''job''. The game logos in all regions even features the title character's silhouette striking a dramatic pointing pose. This is recognized enough that ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi|Haruhi]]'' paid [[Homage]] to it during the "Murder Mystery" episode. There is massive [[Lampshade Hanging]] over the constant forceful pointing and yelling.

** Some anime characters would be concerned about [[High-Pressure Blood]] spray if they cut their fingers. In Case 1-5, Phoenix is concerned about not being able to point at people.

* Though it's not animated, mention must be made of Satan in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II]]''. When he gives you the pointer finger, ''[[One-Hit Kill|you die]]''.

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'''s signature pose, even being used as one of his taunts in ''[[Super Smash Bros Brawl]]''.

* ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'': If {{spoiler|Legion}} is Shepard's second squadmate during Tali's loyalty mission, a few additional seconds of cutscene-footage are added where Admiral Korris does this to {{spoiler|Legion}} at the very beginning of the trial.

* A couple character portraits in ''[[Infinite Space]]'' point at the player, including Commander Vladykin of Elgava and Coyle, a Lugovalian administrator.

* In ''[[Meat Boy|Super Meat Boy]]'', one of the worms in the fifth boss fight does this, combined with [[Roar Before Beating]].

 

* [http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=943 This] most epic page from [[Emergency Exit]].

* [http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20090504 This strip] of [[Least I Could Do|LICD]].

** "Knife Hands" is also the name of ''Terminal Lance's'' printed compilation.

 

 

* [[Uncle Sam Wants You|Uncle Sam]], who wants '''YOU''' for the U.S. army.

* For the Brits, Lord Kitchener, who wants '''YOU''' to join your country's army.

* At [[Disney Theme Parks]], "cast members" are trained to gesture with their whole hands, mostly for the benefit of international guests whose cultures follow variations of this trope.

* [http://www.antiwarsongs.org/img/upl/irontwominutesmidnight.jpg The cover] for [[Iron Maiden]]'s single "2 Minutes to Midnight".

* What made [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlLRHcFoUoM Ricardo Lagos] famous in [[Chile]]an politics was mixing this, [[Kubrick Stare]] ''and'' [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] during a TV debate in 1989. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|While directly addressing]] [[General Ripper|Augusto Pinochet]], [[President Evil|who was still in power.]]

* In the [[Yanks With Tanks|US Military]], a common subversion is to ''avoid'' pointing at someone with your finger, particularly if you are correcting them. Instead, it is common to point with ''your entire hand'', in a gesture known as "Knife Hands". Use a "karate chop" motion for added emphasis.

 

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{{reflist}}

[[Category:Body Language]]

[[Category:Hand Tropes]]