Weather Report Narration: Difference between revisions

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[[Weather Report Narration]] is when some of the first words in a story is a comment on the weather. Seen a lot in [[Literature]], but also shows up in [[Film Noir]] detective stories when the narration begins "The rain was making a jazz drumbeat against my office window when the dame with the case walked in...", or something similar.
[[Weather Report Narration]] is when some of the first words in a story is a comment on the weather. Seen a lot in [[Literature]], but also shows up in [[Film Noir]] detective stories when the narration begins "The rain was making a jazz drumbeat against my office window when the dame with the case walked in...", or something similar.


"[[It Was a Dark And Stormy Night]]" is the best known example and, by now, a subtrope by itself.
"[[It Was a Dark and Stormy Night]]" is the best known example and, by now, a subtrope by itself.
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{{examples|Examples: }}
{{examples|Examples: }}
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* Inverted in ''[[Amelie]]'', the (more technical than usual) weather report is the final line of the film's [[Talky Bookends]]:
* Inverted in ''[[Amelie]]'', the (more technical than usual) weather report is the final line of the film's [[Talky Bookends]]:
{{quote| ''September 28, 1997. It is exactly 11 a.m. At the funfair, near the ghost train, the marshmallow twister is twisting. Meanwhile, on a bench in Villette Square, Felix Lerbier learns there are more links in his brain than atoms in the universe. Meanwhile, at the Sacre Coeur, the nuns are practising their backhand. The temperature is 24 degrees, humidity 70%, atmospheric pressure 990 millibars.''}}
{{quote| ''September 28, 1997. It is exactly 11 a.m. At the funfair, near the ghost train, the marshmallow twister is twisting. Meanwhile, on a bench in Villette Square, Felix Lerbier learns there are more links in his brain than atoms in the universe. Meanwhile, at the Sacre Coeur, the nuns are practising their backhand. The temperature is 24 degrees, humidity 70%, atmospheric pressure 990 millibars.''}}
* Played with in ''[[Throw Momma From the Train]]''. Larry Donner suffered writer's block to the point that the only thing he had written for his new novel was, "The night was..." He kept trying variations:
* Played with in ''[[Throw Momma from the Train]]''. Larry Donner suffered writer's block to the point that the only thing he had written for his new novel was, "The night was..." He kept trying variations:
{{quote| "The night was dry. Yet it was raining." <br />
{{quote| "The night was dry. Yet it was raining." <br />
"The night was hot and wet..." <br />
"The night was hot and wet..." <br />
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== [[Literature]] ==
== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'': "It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen".
* In ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'': "It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen".
* ''[[The Jungle Book (Literature)|The Jungle Book]]'':
* ''[[The Jungle Book (novel)|The Jungle Book]]'':
** "Mowgli's Brothers", and thus the book itself, begins, "It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day's rest..." (One does wonder why Kipling mentions the specific time, since wolves presumably don't have clocks.)
** "Mowgli's Brothers", and thus the book itself, begins, "It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day's rest..." (One does wonder why Kipling mentions the specific time, since wolves presumably don't have clocks.)
** "Her Majesty's Servants", begins: "It had been raining heavily for one whole month--raining on a camp of thirty thousand men, thousands of camels, elephants, horses, bullocks, and mules all gathered together at a place called Rawalpindi."
** "Her Majesty's Servants", begins: "It had been raining heavily for one whole month--raining on a camp of thirty thousand men, thousands of camels, elephants, horses, bullocks, and mules all gathered together at a place called Rawalpindi."
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* In ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'', a few paragraphs in you have, "Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square."
* In ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'', a few paragraphs in you have, "Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square."
* J. K. Rowling seems to be pretty fond of this, instead of just telling you that x months have passed, you get a lovely description of Scottish weather patterns.
* J. K. Rowling seems to be pretty fond of this, instead of just telling you that x months have passed, you get a lovely description of Scottish weather patterns.
* ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Wyrd Sisters|Wyrd Sisters]]'' parodies this. The narration begins with and keeps mentioning a storm, but in fact the storm is treated as a sentient background character (this ''is'' Discworld, after all).
* ''[[Discworld/Wyrd Sisters|Wyrd Sisters]]'' parodies this. The narration begins with and keeps mentioning a storm, but in fact the storm is treated as a sentient background character (this ''is'' Discworld, after all).


== [[Live Action TV]] ==
== [[Live Action TV]] ==