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{{trope}}
[[File:tmohsscreen1.jpg|link=Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|frame|Does it feel like water, or what?]]
 
 
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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', the boundaries of the closed space use these.
* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers]]'', there's a force field called AMF ([[Anti-Magic]] Field) that will render magical spells destabilized and useless. That means, basically magic user that trapped under here is a sitting duck (unless he/she is strong enough to overcome the field). These fields are invisible until a magical attack from an outside source tries to enter them.
** The AMF's opposite counterpart is the standard "Barrier" spell, which is [[Invisible to Normals]] but is both easily seen by and displaces magic users into a contained [[Phantom Zone]]. A visible version was seen in Season 3
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== [[Film]] ==
* The holding cells in ''[[Tron (Film)|Tron]]''.
* Averted in ''[[Time Bandits]]'', where the invisible barrier surrounding the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness is hard, and shatters like glass to reveal what's really behind it.
* Played with in ''[[Antz (Animation)|Antz]]'' where the "force field" is Saran Wrap covering picnic goodies.
* The one in ''[[D.E.B.S.]]'' is plaid, and is easily subverted with something that looks like a glass cutter. The D.E.B.S. themselves are shown to walk straight through it. Which brings us to the [[Fridge Logic]] of exactly how the hell Dominique brings her one-night-stands in.
* Played with in ''[[Suburban Commando]]'', where the alien Shep Ramsey thinks that a mime, who is doing "the wall", is actually trapped in a force field. He tries to rescue the mime by punching through the field and ends up punching out the mime.
* There is one in the animated movie ''[[Titan AEA.E.]]'' [[The Hero]] is trapped in a prison ''made of energy'' on {{spoiler|a Dredj ship}}, but fortunately two fingers are sufficient to [[Attack Its Weak Point|rip open]] the force field wide enough for escape.
* Used to dramatic effect in ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'', where an invisible monster attempts to break through the force field the crew have set up: they can see the flash caused by something trying to break through, but that's all they can see.
* In the [[Dungeons and Dragons (Filmfilm)|Dungeons and Dragons]] movie, the main party (which includes a mage) encounters a Wall of Force spell. The mage, who should know about these things already, proclaims "It's some kind of wall of force!"
* Combined with [[Not Using the Zed Word]] in ''[[Independence Day]]''. As soon as the first wave of missiles splashes uselessly against the alien ships' force fields, Will Smith's character yells out "they must have some kind of protective shield over the hull!" However, [[Genre Savvy|everyone immediately knows what that means and casually calls them shields afterward]].
* Averted in ''[[Zardoz]]'', in which Connery simply presses up against the "invisible wall", i.e. a glass panel between him and the camera. No sparks, but the way it smushes his face and palms reveals the barrier's presence.
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* Whilst showing his girlfriend Ruby the grave he found in the cairn, she and Ralph are targeted by a Wawaka ship, which drops a just-about-visible field around to keep them from running. Ralph pokes it with his shotgun, prompting the following exchange:
{{quote|'''Ralph''': ''"Must be a forcefield."''<br />
'''Ruby''': ''"You mean - like they have on'' Star Trek?"|''[[Urn Burial (Literature)|Urn Burial]]''}}
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' brigs and (in later series) starship shields.
** In the ''[[Star Trek: theThe Original Series]]'' episode "Spectre of the Gun", when Kirk et al. were trapped inside the O.K. Corral.
** Repeatedly, in every ''Star Trek'' series. Consistently accompaniend by a sparkly effect and a static crackling sound.
** Aversions tend to happen when the CGI budget is really, really cheap.
** ...which happened once in ''[[Deep Space Nine]],'' actually: The Dominion force field is lethal, so nobody touched it to make the obligatory shiny spot. It's a strange effect when they don't do it: without that little flash to aid [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]], it ''feels'' like they're just sitting on a platform that they could just step off of. {{spoiler|Which, perhaps, they could have: they had only the word of a Dominion spy about its lethality, or that there was even a force field there at all...}}
* The "Zyzzybalubah" episode in ''Pee Wee's Playhouse''
* ''[[3rd Rock Fromfrom the Sun]]'''s invisible box averts the visual aspect of the trope, but plays the characters' reactions straight. "My God! He's turned me into a mime!"
* Various spaceship forcefields in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', as well as Goa'uld personal shields, and the later ones used within/around facilities. (For some reason, spaceship shields look more like the personal shields than the ones used by buildings... which don't have the slower-objects-get-through loophole.)
** Although that loophole was dismissed by more advanced force fields in later seasons.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Conversion field generators in ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 40000]]'' do this. In fact, that's how they protect the wearer - by converting the energy of incoming attacks into light.
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' has all kinds of "force" spells that create constructs out of solid matter (a la ''[[Green Lantern]]''). The most widely known are [[Magic Missile]] and, you guessed it, Wall of Force. Other notable force spells include Leomund's Tiny Hut (some kind of force ''dome'') and the Bigby's Hand series of spells (some kind of force ''fist'').
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The Protoss from ''[[Starcraft]]'' come with a force field that can be recharged with Shield Batteries. When this shield gets hit, you can see the flashing forcefield surrounding the unit.
* [[Halo]]. The shields of Spartans, Elites, some Flood members and (in the third installment) Brutes light up when shot at, give off sparks once deactivated, and then have glowing rings encircle them when recharging. The shields are otherwise completely invisible. If one plays as an Elite in multiplayer, one can see the orange orbs on their wrists turn grey when their shields are shot down, and turn orange again when they charge back up.
* When the protagonists of ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'' run into invisible walls, a [[Beehive Barrier]] can be seen.
** Likewise in ''[[Kingdom Hearts (Videovideo Gamegame)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II (Video Game)|Kingdom Hearts II]]''.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. Various icky monsters cast force fields in order trap the player character, Buffy, in a confined area. Naturally, killing them makes it go away. In multiple instances, Spike, via the [[Big Bad]], uses actual ghosts to make multiple force fields. Spraying them with Holy Water nuetralizes them.
* ''[[Barrow Hill]]'' has a variant that ripples when touched, even more like water than the one the picture above.
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* Force fields are one type of shield the player can use in the ''Gradius'' games.
* When shielded spaceships in ''[[Allegiance]]'' get shot, a simple lightning-bolt effect can be seen on their surface, along with a crackling noise. This serves a gameplay function, as when the effect disappears, you instantly know you've got the enemy shields down without having to look at your instruments.
* Being a Sci-Fi RPG, ''[[Mass Effect (Video Game)|Mass Effect]]'' is notable for having force fields that protect the hero and teammates.
* Walking into a magic barrier in [[Risen]] leads to your character saying "[[Captain Obvious|It appears to be some sort of 'magic barrier']]."
* The original ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' trilogy uses these on occasion. They serve the same function as [[Invisible Wall|Invisible Walls]], without the shattering-of-willing-suspension-of-disbelief that that trope entails.
 
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In [[The FAN (Webcomic)|The FAN]], some kind of force field traps the Juniors' League with a vigilante killer and his mooks. Both groups believe the other is trying to keep them from leaving. In truth, the barrier was raised by [[The Watcher|the Hermit]] to keep outsiders from noticing the ensuing fight. She admits it was a bad idea.
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'', Greg [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-07-18 can do it]. Also, "Standard lockdown procedure". For schools that have a wizard teacher, that is.
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Animationanimation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]''
* Averted in ''[[Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|Xiaolin Showdown]]''. When all but one of the heroes are stuck dealing with the villain du jour, a [[Enemy Mime|magical mime]], he traps them in an invisible box (marginally similar to the ''Third Rock from the Sun'' example above). There's no indication of its existence, and indeed, they don't realize there's a wall until they run into into it. From then, the only evidence that there is a box is people smacking into it and the outline of the kicked-up dust. Of course, the thing [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|was shaped like however you think it is]].
** The [[Stock Phrase]] half of this trope ends up being spoofed. Clay finds the others in the box and can't hear them (it's soundproof at the time), so assumes they're playing charades for some reason. Raimundo catches on to Clay's thinking and, well, just watch:
{{quote| '''Clay:''' ''(Rai points to himself)'' You. ''(points to his rear)'' Butt. ''(kicks)'' Kick. ''(points to Clay)'' Me. Raimundo's gonna kick my - HEY!<br />
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'''Clay:''' Mister, you done made me mad. I'm gonna- OOF! ''(Clay marches toward Raimundo and right into the field)''<br />
'''Raimundo:''' ''(imitating Clay's accent as Clay does the routine from the other side of the barrier)'' "Iiit's... some... sort... of... in... vii... sii... bullll... bahhhhhhhx." Ai, took him long enough. }}
* Lampshade-hung by Patrick in the ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]'' [[The Movie|movie]]. The "force field" being a glass fish bowl, but still huge compared to Spongebob and Patrick.
{{quote| '''Patrick:''' It appears to be a wall of psychic energy.<br />
'''Spongebob:''' No, Patrick. It's a giant glass bowl. }}
* ''[[The Return of the King (Animationanimation)|The Return of the King]]'' ([[Rankin Bass]] version) has one of these generated by the Watchers and exaggerated from the book. (<small>"Bless my soul! It's '''some kind of''' invisible barrier!"</small>) By using the [[It May Help You Onon Your Quest|phial of Galadriel]], the field rolls back like doors in response to [[Everything's Better Withwith Sparkles|sparkly magic]]. Note that in the book, the Watchers merely sapped the will of anyone trying to pass through; the barrier was more psychic than physical.
* [[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|Mr. Burns]] believed he had encountered "some kind of force field" when reaching for food at a cafeteria. It was a plastic sneeze guard.
* When ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'' attack a killer whale balloon thinking it's a real whale and bounce off, Kowalski remarks that "the creature appears to be protected by some kind of blubbery force field. Also, [[Wasn't That Fun?|Whee-hee-hee-hee!]]"
* This happened to the ''[[Super FriendsSuperfriends]]'' all the time. Superman was the usual victim.
* Lampshade hung by Skeletor in an episode of the 2002 ''[[He -Man and Thethe Masters of Thethe Universe]]'' series, after Tri-Klops has just crashed a vehicle into one.
{{quote| '''Tri-Klops:''' Ugh... force field.<br />
'''Skeletor:''' How intuitive. }}
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'''Danny''': GYAAAH!! ''(gets blasted into ground)''<br />
'''Tucker''': Maybe we could come back during visiting hours. …Or, you know, not at all. }}
* In an episode of "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]," Twilight Sparkle creates one to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders out.
** Later, her brother Shining Armor creates a similar force field over ''all of Canterlot''.
 
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