There's an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which the Enterprise encounters a species that communicates entirely by referencing shared cultural experiences. For instance, if the alien captain wanted to communicate "The human captain and i shall transport down to the planet where there is a dangerous creature which we shall fight together and emerge victorious, having formed a true friendship in battle," he would just say "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra." Of course, this method of cummunication only works if you know who Darmok and Jalad are and what they did at Tanagra. (Side note: Klingons can communicate this same idea simply by saying "Qapla'.")
I happen to like these aliens because i sometimes communicate in a similar fashion, despite the inherent risks involved.
For example, when the Last Airbender movie came out earlier this year, some of my friends decided to have a wham episode marathon to celebrate. I don't think they believed me when i told them that i'd never seen the show before, because i'd figured everything out only halfway thru the first season. And not just stupid episodic stuff like the old master being the long-lost love of the water girl's grandmother or the fire dudes blowing up the moon. Nor am i talking about obvious myth arc stuff like the fact that bald kid is questing for a four element ensemble which would eventually be completed by captain burn victim. I mean all the stuff you're not even supposed to know about until the second or third season like Ophelia's Xanatos Gambit to take over the rock kingdom, then kill her father right after he's defeated the water kingdom so she'll rule the world.
I also don't think they liked the fact that i figured that all out despite the fact that i didn't care enough about any of the characters to actually learn their names... Anyway, i guess what i'm trying to say is that i'm using "Darmok" as a tag because i think it's more clever than using "Tropes." Also, you probably shouldn't click on any of those links if you value your sanity.
I happen to like these aliens because i sometimes communicate in a similar fashion, despite the inherent risks involved.
For example, when the Last Airbender movie came out earlier this year, some of my friends decided to have a wham episode marathon to celebrate. I don't think they believed me when i told them that i'd never seen the show before, because i'd figured everything out only halfway thru the first season. And not just stupid episodic stuff like the old master being the long-lost love of the water girl's grandmother or the fire dudes blowing up the moon. Nor am i talking about obvious myth arc stuff like the fact that bald kid is questing for a four element ensemble which would eventually be completed by captain burn victim. I mean all the stuff you're not even supposed to know about until the second or third season like Ophelia's Xanatos Gambit to take over the rock kingdom, then kill her father right after he's defeated the water kingdom so she'll rule the world.
I also don't think they liked the fact that i figured that all out despite the fact that i didn't care enough about any of the characters to actually learn their names... Anyway, i guess what i'm trying to say is that i'm using "Darmok" as a tag because i think it's more clever than using "Tropes." Also, you probably shouldn't click on any of those links if you value your sanity.
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