Not Since The Accident...

So, this TropeFest is gonna be a little odd because I'm talking about a trope that's most often found in comedy but trust me.  I'm a blogger.  I know stuff.

Let's begin.

Let's talk about "The Incident".

You know.  THAT "Incident".

You mean you don't know?

Well, I'm not sure I can tell you...

The Incident, in whatever form it takes, again, usually comedic, is something that happened in the past that, for realsies, is never to be spoken of again.  It is the Lord Voldemort of occurrences.  It was so horrible, embarrassing, ludicrous or just plain insane that words can never be formed in the appropriate syntax to explain it and you will never find out what it is.

Ever.

Maybe.

This trope first came into prominence with, of all things, the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes where it came up a LOT.  Bill Watterson came up with "The Noodle Incident".  A tale so fractured in-universe that Sherlock Holmes and Santa Clause combined could not piece this shit together.  Calvin maintains he was framed.  You know how I feel about children.  Watterson decided that it was best to never say exactly what happened because he couldn't come up with something more awesome than we could.

Now, in comedy, this is amazingness because our imaginations can come up with some pretty hilarious things in the context of schadenfreude.  Perhaps involving whipped cream and inflatable sex toys.

Don't you judge me...

And there are even some times when we figure out what "The Incident" was.  We don't really want to know but if it's over-the-top enough, we'll buy it and it will be all giggle-worthy and shit.

 

He vas... MAH BOYFRIEND!!

And, a lot of times, even in horror movies it's used for comedic effect.  In Aliens, we hear about "Arcturian poontang" which, you have to admit, is imagination-inspiring.  In Escape From New York, everyone keeps saying to Snake that they thought he was dead.  We never find out why.  In Ghostbusters (yes, I'm counting this as a horror movie, horror-comedy counts), we have the Third Reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick Supplicants, whatever the fuck that is.

Fuck you, Axl.  Just... fuck you.

However, it is also sometimes played for NO LAUGHS AT ALL!!!  Because fuck you.

In Predator, there's "that little job in Libya".  In Aliens, "Just another bug hunt".  Billy's lucky backpack in Jurassic Park III.  Hell, we have Butch eating Red's leg in Disney's The Lone Ranger.  WE DON'T EVER NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS! 

Seriously, never. 'Cause eew.

And this also makes me want to slap the bejeezus out of horror directors that try to give us too much villain backstory because STOP IT!

I'm lookin' at YOU, Rob Zombie.  You smug dick.

Cheese and crackers, leave us with some fucking MYSTERY.  Damn.  Give a fucking "Incident" and let us work on our own head-canon.  Fuck.  Just... stop.

All jokes aside, this trope is usually fairly effective.  It engages the audience but not in an overly distracting kind of way.  I've not seen a complete bomb of it's use, yet.

Not since the accident.