Showing Off the Perilous Power Source: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

[[Showing Off the Perilous Power Source]] describes that scene where the captain of the [[Cool Ship]] shows off the fantastic power source of the vessel to others, usually hapless passengers (and of course us, the audience,) to impress them with just how powerful indeed the ship is. Included will be dialogue of how [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?|dangerous it is]] to be exposed to such terrible energies, and that were it not for the radiation suits/visor/lead glass that were provided to gaze through, it would have otherwise been certain death to merely look on such elemental fury.

For what it's worth, in that film, they used a mirror to see this -- [[Classical Mythology|Perseus,]] take note.

 

 

== Anime ==

* Done in ''[[Last Exile]]'' when Dio wants to see the power source of the ''Silvana''

 

== [[Film]] ==

* The Russian engineers of ''[[K19: The Widowmaker]]'' have a bad experience in their gorgon gaze; forced to enter the reactor compartment to prevent a meltdown, they pay the price of close-up and unshielded work with an atomic reactor. A sad and [[Truth in Television|real-life]] example of why working with such forces in person rarely comes to a happy ending.

** They did have safety suits... but they were designed for ''biochemical'' work and provided little, if any, protection from radiation.

* In ''[[Sunshine (film)|Sunshine]]'', the ''Icarus'' ships have a special Sun-gazing room where the crew can sit and do exactly that. We (and the crew) are told that the filters are set at maximum or near-maximum capacity, and the sunlight is already blinding white. To release the filters would [[Chekhov's Gun|undoubtedly be fatal to whoever stood there]].

* In the climactic scene of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', Indiana and temporary love interest Marion are tied to a stake in the middle of things as the Nazis are about to open the Ark of the Covenant. Indy tells Marion not to look at whatever power or entity comes out - sound advice, as it turns out, as nasty, Nightmare Fuelish things happen to the Nazis, including one guy getting his ''face melted off''.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In one of the ''[[Nightside]]'' books, John Taylor finds out that one of his friends is being used as a powersource for the local power plant. Naturally he does something drastic.

 

== [[Myth and Legend]] ==

* This trope comes from [[Classical Mythology]]: Perseus needed a mirror to look safely at Medusa, one of the original Gorgons, without her turning him to stone with her gaze.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

** Then again, in both of these cases, it is not what you see that is dangerous - it is what you can't see, the UV radiation. A better example is gazing into a DVD burner's laser - this time, it is the actual visible light that ends up burning its ones and zeros into your retina.

* Heysham Nuclear Power Station in the north-west of England has a visitor's centre, and part of the tour includes a viewing gallery (through some very thick glass) looking onto the top of the reactor housing (albeit, the reactor itself is sealed and shielded, and visitors are not allowed to view when they are changing out fuel rods as the top of the housing has to be open to load the new ones in). It's rather impressive to look upon.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Truth in Television]]

[[Category:Showing Off the Perilous Power Source]]