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Men in Black
- 2182 statements
- 432 feature instances
- 457 referencing feature instances
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Men in Black | |
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MenInBlack | |
Men in Black | comment |
Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Ed Solomon and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, only moderately based on the original comic series of the same name, mostly borrowing the concept and wardrobe of the agents. The film was released on July 2nd, 1997.An agent of a secret organization called the MIB (Men in Black) code-named "K" (Tommy Lee Jones) seeks out a new recruit to monitor alien activity on Earth. The MIB passes over Navy SEALs and Green Berets, instead deciding on the quick-thinking and fast-talking NYPD Detective James Edwards (Will Smith). Without knowing what he was recruited for, James (now codenamed "J") is told that the MIB agency is beyond all government jurisdiction, and that they are responsible for the alien (and we do mean alien) immigrants who have taken residence on Earth. Part of the MIB's effective cover-up is using advanced alien technology to impersonate actual government officials, and especially the use of a device called the Neuralyzer, which is able to give Laser-Guided Amnesia to anyone not wearing special MIB-issue tinted glasses.The film also stars Linda Fiorentino as Laurel Weaver, Vincent D'Onofrio as Edgar and Rip Torn as Chief Zed.With a smart sense of humor and indelible chemistry between Jones and Smith from their "deadpan seen-it-all"/"charismatic newbie" dynamic, the film was one of the most popular releases of 1997. Some publicity was garnered on advertising posters from the fact that its two leads are literally "Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones." Will Smith also released a tie-in song for the film entitled "Men in Black" that won him a Grammy Award.The film has spawned two sequels, Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black 3 (2012) with Smith, Jones and Sonnenfeld returning, an animated series, and a theme park ride. A spin-off film, Men in Black: International, was released in 2019, with F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton, The Fate of the Furious) directing and Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson starring. | |
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Men in Black / int_10134c97 | type |
Artistic License – Gun Safety | |
Men in Black / int_10134c97 | comment |
Artistic License – Gun Safety In the shooting test sequence, while discussing Tiffany with Zed, J is gesturing with the hand holding a loaded gun, which points all over the place at various times. Anyone with basic gun safety knowledge will be much more careful about which direction the gun is pointed. A police officer should definitely know better. J points the Noisy Cricket in K's face as soon as K hands it to him. K then proceeds to have J carry the gun into the field without having had a chance to practice with it. Both are major gun safety no-nos. J is supposed to be a trained police officer, who should know something about handling firearmsnote Although police are nowhere near as well trained with firearms as people think they are, this is pretty damn basic.. Even if it doesn't look like a 9mm, he should employ the same basic safety practices as with a real gun, especially knowing it's a sidearm. | |
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Men in Black / int_1161fb48 | type |
Bizarre Alien Biology | |
Men in Black / int_1161fb48 | comment |
Bizarre Alien Biology: Almost all of the aliens the MIB processes. | |
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Men in Black / int_11dd3268 | type |
Empire with a Dark Secret | |
Men in Black / int_11dd3268 | comment |
Empire with a Dark Secret: It's revealed that not only do aliens live among us, but most modern inventions were actually gifts from alien civilizations, not human creations. Earth is repeatedly in cosmic peril and almost everyone on Earth remains in blissful ignorance. | |
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Men in Black / int_12040009 | type |
No Accounting for Taste | |
Men in Black / int_12040009 | comment |
No Accounting for Taste: Edgar and Beatrice. | |
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Men in Black / int_127fc252 | type |
Creator Cameo | |
Men in Black / int_127fc252 | comment |
The screen with the "celebrities who are secretly aliens" includes director Barry Sonnenfeld, producer Steven Spielberg, and Sylvester Stallone — and later singles out J's ex-teacher in Philadelphia. | |
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Men in Black / int_132d93f1 | type |
Human Shield | |
Men in Black / int_132d93f1 | comment |
Human Shield: In the morgue, the Bug grabs Laurel (the medical examiner) and uses her as a shield to prevent being shot by Agents J and K. | |
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Men in Black / int_13c880db | type |
Creepy Mortician | |
Men in Black / int_13c880db | comment |
Creepy Mortician: Laurel certainly shows shades of this. | |
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Men in Black / int_14beeefd | type |
Darker and Edgier | |
Men in Black / int_14beeefd | comment |
Darker and Edgier: The novelization of the film is a little closer to the original comics' moral ambiguity. For example, when J and K go to see Jeebs, J warns K that this is the kind of neighborhood crawling with carjackers, but K isn't bothered. As it turns out, the alien defense system built into the car? It disintegrates anybody who tries to pick the lock. As J goes on ahead, K lingers to hear one luckless thief try to jack the car and be reduced to dust with a soft "pop". And then there's another "pop", and another, and so K heads into Jeebs' shop smiling to himself whilst he thinks that the longer that they take in Jeebs' shop, the safer this neighborhood will get. | |
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Men in Black / int_15745e8b | type |
Shared Mass Hallucination | |
Men in Black / int_15745e8b | comment |
Shared Mass Hallucination: The Men in Black do this after using their neuralyzers, wipe the targets' short-term memory and make them extremely susceptible to suggestions, allowing the Men in Black to craft a plausible suggestion that everybody "saw." And since it's the targets' own brains that create false memories to fill in the blanks of whatever basic explanation the MiB provide, the usual flaw in this trope doesn't apply: each person's brain will come up with something a little different, and thus the inconsistent details from one person to the next actually make the Masquerade more believable. | |
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Men in Black / int_15b2cab3 | type |
Tempting Fate | |
Men in Black / int_15b2cab3 | comment |
Edgar tells the Bug "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." The Bug finds this proposal acceptable and immediately eats him. | |
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Men in Black / int_16063d6b | type |
Secret Shop | |
Men in Black / int_16063d6b | comment |
Secret Shop: Jeeb's shop, for special "imported merchandise", which is more Hidden in Plain Sight than anything else; his pawn shop is a front for selling guns under the counter. Only his hardware is... unconventional: | |
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Men in Black / int_1649e053 | type |
Your Mom | |
Men in Black / int_1649e053 | comment |
Your Mom: J's bug-stomping routine at the film's climax was originally the build-up to him calling one of the cockroaches "yo mama!" It was in the novelization and the original script, but the payoff was cut from the finished film. | |
Men in Black / int_1649e053 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black / int_16e362fb | type |
Bilingual Backfire | |
Men in Black / int_16e362fb | comment |
Bilingual Backfire: Inverted. Insulting the (apparently) Mexican illegal immigrant in Spanish (saying extremely profane/insulting things in a cheery tone of voice) but getting no reaction whatsoever is how K figures out that the alien is an actual alien (as in, extra-terrestrial) in disguise. | |
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Men in Black / int_16e362fb | |
Men in Black / int_1892368b | type |
Memory-Wiping Crew | |
Men in Black / int_1892368b | comment |
Memory-Wiping Crew: If the fallout from an encounter is too big for a single MIB agent to handle, a containment crew is called in to neuralyze large groups of witnesses and get rid of the evidence and/or dress up the scene to sell a cover story. | |
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Men in Black / int_18e33968 | type |
Earth Is the Center of the Universe | |
Men in Black / int_18e33968 | comment |
Earth Is the Center of the Universe: The movie casts Earth as an intergalactic neutral zone, making it the hub for galactic travel, intrigue, and fugitives. This handily explains just why The Men in Black enforce the masquerade on humanity specifically: can't risk the neutral zone stop being neutral. As K notably points out: "There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!" | |
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Men in Black / int_18e33968 | |
Men in Black / int_197ebf38 | type |
Noisy Shut-Up | |
Men in Black / int_197ebf38 | comment |
Noisy Shut-Up The Bug losing patience with Laurel and J's bickering. J to Zed and K: | |
Men in Black / int_197ebf38 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black / int_1ae71783 | type |
Happy Fun Ball | |
Men in Black / int_1ae71783 | comment |
Happy Fun Ball: When J is getting a tour of the office, he sees a small ball floating above a machine. When he touches the ball, it goes careening at high speed through the whole building, smashing windows and knocking people over before K catches it and puts it back, explaining that it had caused the 1977 blackout in New York. The ball was meant for fun, apparently an alien ambassador released it as part of a practical joke likely not realizing it would cause a massive blackout. He thought it was funny as hell. To a lesser extent, the Noisy Cricket is one as well. It looks like a child's toy Ray Gun and is smaller than J's hand ("I feel like I'ma break dis damn thang!"), but it is apparently the most powerful sidearm in the film. According to the filmmakers, the Noisy Cricket was originally designed as a concealable weapon, but proved to be easily modified to the magnitude it exhibits in the movie. This was done as a form of hazing for new recruits. | |
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Men in Black / int_1b711f57 | type |
Faceplanting into Food | |
Men in Black / int_1b711f57 | comment |
Faceplanting into Food: At the dinner, when the tall man/alien discussing with the Arquillian prince in a Mobile-Suit Human is killed by Edgar the Bug, he faceplants into his plate of pirogi. | |
Men in Black / int_1b711f57 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black / int_1b711f57 | |
Men in Black / int_1ba8eb64 | type |
Visual Pun | |
Men in Black / int_1ba8eb64 | comment |
Visual Pun: The opening scene has Mikey, an illegal alien (as in, an extraterrestrial violating parole), traveling disguised as an illegal alien (as in, a prospective migrant attempting to enter the country without documentation). | |
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Men in Black / int_1c7bed9f | type |
Astronomic Zoom | |
Men in Black / int_1c7bed9f | comment |
Astronomic Zoom: The movie ends with a Zoom Out, revealing that our entire galaxy is contained in a marble played by really, really humongous creatures. | |
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Men in Black / int_1cf185e6 | type |
Unflinching Faith in the Brakes | |
Men in Black / int_1cf185e6 | comment |
Unflinching Faith in the Brakes: When the agents bring down the spacecraft, they stand and let it come to them. J at the least looks around nervously but otherwise doesn't move. | |
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Men in Black / int_1d1d5951 | type |
Non-Verbal Miscommunication | |
Men in Black / int_1d1d5951 | comment |
Nonverbal Miscommunication: J (understandably) misreading Laurel's frantic signals that the Bug is hiding in the trolley as a come-on. | |
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Men in Black / int_1dd14f5a | type |
I Surrender, Suckers | |
Men in Black / int_1dd14f5a | comment |
I Surrender, Suckers: "Edgar", towards the end. | |
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Men in Black / int_1dea3034 | type |
Cool Shades | |
Men in Black / int_1dea3034 | comment |
Cool Shades: They've got a purpose, too — they protect against the mind-wiping effects of the Neuralyzer. | |
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Men in Black / int_1ec3eb0a | type |
Take Our Word for It | |
Men in Black / int_1ec3eb0a | comment |
How the Bug fits in the Edgar-suit (although he's clearly not too comfy). It makes some sense when you know that roaches are capable of pressing their bodies together to fit into tighter spaces; it makes them extremely resistant against being killed by stepping on them (you need a hard flat surface for that to work). Since the Bug is based on roaches in design and physiology, it's not too far-fetched to assume he has an improved version of that survival technique. From the novelization: "How can it do that?" "They have their ways. And using those ways just makes it even more angry." It also explicitly states that there's some literal Hammerspace going on, and that this is a natural ability the Bugs have. | |
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Men in Black / int_209d0b5f | type |
Wainscot Society | |
Men in Black / int_209d0b5f | comment |
Wainscot Society: The alien immigrants have their own rather chaotic social systems running within human society. | |
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Men in Black / int_20c73e98 | type |
Creepy Cockroach | |
Men in Black / int_20c73e98 | comment |
Creepy Cockroach: There's a giant roach alien who devours a human and uses his skin as a disguise. He also leaves swarms of roaches wherever he goes, and loves sugar (preferably in water). The roach alien puts on Edgar's body, and then demands sugar in water. | |
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Men in Black / int_20ebabe3 | type |
Thing-O-Meter | |
Men in Black / int_20ebabe3 | comment |
Thing-O-Meter: Not a literal device, but | |
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Men in Black / int_20f689e9 | type |
Adaptational Villainy | |
Men in Black / int_20f689e9 | comment |
Adaptational Villainy: By contrast, the comics version of the Bug merely wanted the farmer's gun, which he had been tasked with retrieving in exchange for living space on his overcrowded planet. After comics' Jay gives him a gun, he leaves peacefully; he also suggests that if he didn't get one, he would simply resign himself to suicide. | |
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Men in Black / int_2115120e | type |
Suit Up of Destiny | |
Men in Black / int_2115120e | comment |
Suit Up of Destiny: Done when J puts on his MIB uniform for the first time; it even provides the trope's page quote. | |
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Men in Black / int_217a1adf | type |
I Love the Dead | |
Men in Black / int_217a1adf | comment |
I Love the Dead: Implied for Laurel. As a bonus, Laurel at one point explicitly states the inverse, "I hate the living." | |
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Men in Black / int_21e5b9c7 | type |
Failed a Spot Check | |
Men in Black / int_21e5b9c7 | comment |
Failed a Spot Check: Lampshaded by a soldier and a marine at the firing range test whose reactions say "How the hell we miss that?" Going into the climax, Zed and K correctly conclude that with his ship in MIB custody, Edgar the Bug's got to be looking for an alternate way off Earth before the Arquillian's glass the planet. With the deadline of one hour, his backup vehicle has to be, by K's estimate, somewhere within a 100 mile radius of NYC. But with every interstellar transport in the New York area having already jumped and been accounted for, they can't figure out where he could be going. It's J who realizes there's still one more ship in the NYC area MIB leadership forgot all about and it's literally staring them in the face mere feet away on the HQ wall mural: The saucers that were converted into the 1964 World's Fair Observation towers. | |
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Men in Black / int_22759a15 | type |
Aliens Steal Cattle | |
Men in Black / int_22759a15 | comment |
Aliens Steal Cattle: For a movie about aliens and UFOs, it's notably averted. When the Bug arrives at the farmhouse where Edgar lives, a cow is seen grazing near the truck, but then the cow leaves the truck shortly before the Bug's spacecraft totals it while landing, and Bug!Edgar doesn't express any interest in the cattle on the farm. | |
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Men in Black / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
Men in Black / int_22cf536c | comment |
The 1964-65 New York World's Fair was a cover operation so that the first alien ambassadors to Earth could land — their ships became the flat circular tops of the observation towers. The movie jokes that this was the only reason the fair was held in Queens. It becomes a Chekhov's Gun later when MIB are trying to stop the Bug from leaving Earth — all the other New York-area spaceships registered in MIB's database are gone and they're trying to figure out how the Bug intends to leave when Agent J looks over a picture of Flushing Meadows, sees the observation towers, and asks whether those still work. | |
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Men in Black / int_22ebf5bc | type |
Japanese Tourist | |
Men in Black / int_22ebf5bc | comment |
Japanese Tourist: J lands on a bus full of them when chasing the perp during the Cold Opening. | |
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Men in Black / int_23a38823 | type |
DoNotCallMeSir | |
Men in Black / int_23a38823 | comment |
Do Not Call Me Sir: K says this line to one of the Border Patrol agents in the opening: "Don't 'sir' me, young man. You have no idea who you're dealing with." | |
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Men in Black / int_240c4ac3 | type |
Unusual Hiring Practices | |
Men in Black / int_240c4ac3 | comment |
Unusual Hiring Practices: Agent K invites J to the M.I.B.'s training facility, for a try out, after witnessing him track an alien on foot. J ends up competing with marksmen and top military officers in various tests of skill and mental acumen. During the written portion of the exam, the others tried using their chairs to write on, while J was the only one with sense enough to make use of the table. However, it was during the marksman exam, that J also demonstrated that he was not only keenly observant, but could think outside the box. The others simply fired at whatever looked like a monster, while sparing the civilian targets, as one would expect. J fires a single shot and kills "Little Tiffany". When Zedd asks why, J explains: | |
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Men in Black / int_25208c30 | type |
Go Through Me | |
Men in Black / int_25208c30 | comment |
Go Through Me: Humorously played with: | |
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Men in Black / int_26ac510e | type |
Mythology Gag | |
Men in Black / int_26ac510e | comment |
Mythology Gag: When Edgar first meets the Bug, their discussion about the gun is a reference to the surprisingly obscure comic the movie was based on. It turns out much better for the farmer in that one, though — the bugs REALLY needed his gun (for a high-stakes scavenger hunt), but not so urgently that they couldn't wait him out. | |
Men in Black / int_26ac510e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_26ac510e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_26ac510e | |
Men in Black / int_26c22470 | type |
Put Down Your Gun and Step Away | |
Men in Black / int_26c22470 | comment |
Put Down Your Gun and Step Away: Happens three times. The Bug to Edgar when they first meet. Edwards to K after K shoots Jeebs in the head, only to drop it when his head grows back. The Bug to J and K when they confront him in the morgue. | |
Men in Black / int_26c22470 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_26c22470 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_26c22470 | |
Men in Black / int_26e3e271 | type |
Immortal Life Is Cheap | |
Men in Black / int_26e3e271 | comment |
Immortal Life Is Cheap: K blowing Jeebs' head off isn't murder, it's interrogation. | |
Men in Black / int_26e3e271 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_26e3e271 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_26e3e271 | |
Men in Black / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
Men in Black / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: Zed neuralyzing the rejected recruits as J and K walk by shortly after the recruitment process. The alien-childbirth scene where K talks with the husband while in the background J tries to help the wife give birth in the car while tentacles come out of it. While K and J are looking at the screen showing the disguised aliens, a group of MIB office workers are conversing in the background, with one of them standing on the ceiling. | |
Men in Black / int_26eb6287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_26eb6287 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_26eb6287 | |
Men in Black / int_2754014 | type |
Invisible Aliens | |
Men in Black / int_2754014 | comment |
Invisible Aliens: More like disguised so as to appear invisible to those who have a Weirdness Censor. | |
Men in Black / int_2754014 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2754014 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2754014 | |
Men in Black / int_27d19c47 | type |
Landmarking the Hidden Base | |
Men in Black / int_27d19c47 | comment |
Landmarking the Hidden Base: The Men In Black operate their New York headquarters underneath a ventilation tower for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. | |
Men in Black / int_27d19c47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_27d19c47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_27d19c47 | |
Men in Black / int_284c5733 | type |
Deranged Taxi Driver | |
Men in Black / int_284c5733 | comment |
Deranged Taxi Driver: Discussed when K explains to J that most aliens on Earth are simply trying to make a living: | |
Men in Black / int_284c5733 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_284c5733 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_284c5733 | |
Men in Black / int_285b9e0 | type |
The Daily Misinformer | |
Men in Black / int_285b9e0 | comment |
The Daily Misinformer: Inverted. Agent K calls tabloids that report on alien activity and Elvis Lives stories "the best investigative reporting on the planet", and indeed, it's how he and J find out about the Bug landing on Earth. | |
Men in Black / int_285b9e0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_285b9e0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_285b9e0 | |
Men in Black / int_2941069e | type |
Law of Inverse Recoil | |
Men in Black / int_2941069e | comment |
Law of Inverse Recoil: You will not break that "damn thing" Noisy Cricket, J. It will break you and everything else in the vicinity. | |
Men in Black / int_2941069e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2941069e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2941069e | |
Men in Black / int_2a090d00 | type |
Lampshade Hanging | |
Men in Black / int_2a090d00 | comment |
While ranting to his wife about how horrible she is, Edgar says "The only thing that pulls its weight around here is my goddamn truck!" Naturally, the Bug's saucer crashes right into the truck the moment he finishes the sentence, completely obliterating it. "Figures." | |
Men in Black / int_2a090d00 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2a090d00 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2a090d00 | |
Men in Black / int_2a2d62a0 | type |
Talking Down the Suicidal | |
Men in Black / int_2a2d62a0 | comment |
Talking Down the Suicidal: After Edwards (later Agent J) corners the Cephalapoid assassin atop a building, the assassin starts backing up toward the edge, rambling about how he's failed. He then 'blinks'. Edwards tries to talk him down, but the Cephalopoid simply smiles and falls back. | |
Men in Black / int_2a2d62a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2a2d62a0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2a2d62a0 | |
Men in Black / int_2a6a8e89 | type |
Sadist Teacher | |
Men in Black / int_2a6a8e89 | comment |
Sadist Teacher: J discovers that one he had in grade school is actually an alien from one of the moons of Jupiter. | |
Men in Black / int_2a6a8e89 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2a6a8e89 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2a6a8e89 | |
Men in Black / int_2ad3eb22 | type |
You Can Talk? | |
Men in Black / int_2ad3eb22 | comment |
There's also a more mundane (but still weird) example earlier when J and K go to see an alien informant at a newspaper stand, which is run by a creepy-looking, pale-skinned man. J remarks that the man's disguise is absolutely pathetic — but then the pug sitting next to him starts talking. | |
Men in Black / int_2ad3eb22 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2ad3eb22 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2ad3eb22 | |
Men in Black / int_2ad8a2a1 | type |
Deathly Unmasking | |
Men in Black / int_2ad8a2a1 | comment |
Deathly Unmasking: The climax features the Bug finally removing the decomposing skin of Edgar to reveal his true form so he can take down Agents Jay and Kay and escape the planet. Fortunately, he ends up being blown in half by Kay during the ensuing battle - and then blasted to bits by Laurel Weaver. | |
Men in Black / int_2ad8a2a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2ad8a2a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2ad8a2a1 | |
Men in Black / int_2b49eaf | type |
Damsel out of Distress | |
Men in Black / int_2b49eaf | comment |
Damsel out of Distress: When Laurel realizes there's a whole galaxy in Orion's collar and the Bug finds out the cat is at the morgue, he promptly storms the place, holds Laurel at gunpoint and kidnaps her on a a cab so she can take him to the observatory towers of the New York State Pavilion, which are actually confiscated UFOs. As the Bug climbs to his saucer holding Laurel captive, he tells her he plans to eat her as a "snack". Laurel, however, has none of it, breaks free of Edgar's grasp and jumps to a nearby tree while fiercely clinging to its branches to avoid falling. She does fall, but is unharmed, and manages to get a hold of J's MIB gun which she uses to blast the surviving half of the Bug into oblivion. | |
Men in Black / int_2b49eaf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2b49eaf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2b49eaf | |
Men in Black / int_2c620f20 | type |
Cleanup Crew | |
Men in Black / int_2c620f20 | comment |
Cleanup Crew: MIB Special Services, who show up three times to provide more extensive evidence removal than simply neuralizing witnesses. They first appear to burn Mikey's entrails after K blasts him. Afterwards, they arrive to remove the alien bodies from the morgue, with K instructing them to give Laurel a "happy memory." Finally, when the Bug escapes from the jewelry store and J nearly blows the masquerade chasing it, they gather the witnesses for a mass neuralization and get ready to remove the Bug's ship. | |
Men in Black / int_2c620f20 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2c620f20 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2c620f20 | |
Men in Black / int_2c7f683b | type |
Gas Leak Cover-Up | |
Men in Black / int_2c7f683b | comment |
Gas Leak Cover-Up: The course of action taken after people who witness UFO's or aliens are neuralyzed. Also used on the INS agents in the opening sequence after having killed Mickey in their presence. Played for Laughs in one scene when Agent J tries to give the standard cover story without having a neuralyzer, as penance for his reckless use of a MIB energy weapon that caused the need for the coverup. He's off the hook once Special Services arrives. | |
Men in Black / int_2c7f683b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2c7f683b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2c7f683b | |
Men in Black / int_2dc0d2bf | type |
Hidden Depths | |
Men in Black / int_2dc0d2bf | comment |
Hidden Depths: The outwardly stodgy Agent K is a fan of The Beatles’ “White Album,� the most experimental recording they ever released. | |
Men in Black / int_2dc0d2bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2dc0d2bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2dc0d2bf | |
Men in Black / int_2dfdd387 | type |
Human Disguise | |
Men in Black / int_2dfdd387 | comment |
Human Disguise: Most aliens on Earth wear a disguise to live among humans; including robotic suits, rubber skins, and (in the case of the Bug) real human skin. | |
Men in Black / int_2dfdd387 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2dfdd387 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2dfdd387 | |
Men in Black / int_2f6cbe90 | type |
Missing Backblast | |
Men in Black / int_2f6cbe90 | comment |
Missing Backblast: When Agent J first uses the Noisy Cricket, it fires a colossal beam of energy, but he gets flung back at least several feet. When firing it backed up against a wall doesn't work, he attaches a silencer to it. The silencer severely reduces the firepower of the Noisy Cricket, but J no longer injures himself whenever he uses it. | |
Men in Black / int_2f6cbe90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_2f6cbe90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_2f6cbe90 | |
Men in Black / int_31237f3e | type |
Custom Uniform | |
Men in Black / int_31237f3e | comment |
Custom Uniform: The film ends with J wearing custom wire frame shades and a modified suit with no tie, looking more like a rap mogul than an agent. | |
Men in Black / int_31237f3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_31237f3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_31237f3e | |
Men in Black / int_31cd5fe7 | type |
Apologetic Attacker | |
Men in Black / int_31cd5fe7 | comment |
Apologetic Attacker: The Arquillians don't actually have anything against Earth. But they have a very strict idea of quarantine. | |
Men in Black / int_31cd5fe7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_31cd5fe7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_31cd5fe7 | |
Men in Black / int_31f7c194 | type |
Super Window Jump | |
Men in Black / int_31f7c194 | comment |
Super Window Jump: Done by the Bug to effect a dramatic escape. Subverted when the future Jay tries to smash through a glass door to chase a perp, but just bounces off and has to shoot the glass to break it. | |
Men in Black / int_31f7c194 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Men in Black / int_31f7c194 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_31f7c194 | |
Men in Black / int_3376dc1c | type |
Elvis Has Left the Planet | |
Men in Black / int_3376dc1c | comment |
Elvis Has Left the Planet: According to K, "He's not dead, he just went home." | |
Men in Black / int_3376dc1c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3376dc1c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3376dc1c | |
Men in Black / int_3407c500 | type |
The World Is Not Ready | |
Men in Black / int_3407c500 | comment |
The World Is Not Ready: The MIB's mantra of why they're keeping alien immigration a secret from the rest of the Earth. | |
Men in Black / int_3407c500 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3407c500 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3407c500 | |
Men in Black / int_352151a3 | type |
Recursive Reality | |
Men in Black / int_352151a3 | comment |
Recursive Reality: The MacGuffin that draws Edgar Bug to Earth is a miniature galaxy. The final scene reveals that our galaxy is just like the MacGuffin, and lies several layers down within a miniature galaxy-orb that an alien is playing marbles with. | |
Men in Black / int_352151a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_352151a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_352151a3 | |
Men in Black / int_3566c15d | type |
You Are Who You Eat | |
Men in Black / int_3566c15d | comment |
You Are Who You Eat: The "Edgar-suit". | |
Men in Black / int_3566c15d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3566c15d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3566c15d | |
Men in Black / int_356b1efb | type |
Hammerspace | |
Men in Black / int_356b1efb | comment |
Hammerspace How the Bug fits in the Edgar-suit (although he's clearly not too comfy). It makes some sense when you know that roaches are capable of pressing their bodies together to fit into tighter spaces; it makes them extremely resistant against being killed by stepping on them (you need a hard flat surface for that to work). Since the Bug is based on roaches in design and physiology, it's not too far-fetched to assume he has an improved version of that survival technique. From the novelization: "How can it do that?" "They have their ways. And using those ways just makes it even more angry." It also explicitly states that there's some literal Hammerspace going on, and that this is a natural ability the Bugs have. A less obvious example is the sub-machine gun-sized weapon the cephalapoid pulls out of nowhere when Jay is trying to arrest him. | |
Men in Black / int_356b1efb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_356b1efb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_356b1efb | |
Men in Black / int_363f94c9 | type |
Awful Truth | |
Men in Black / int_363f94c9 | comment |
Awful Truth: There's this gem from K: | |
Men in Black / int_363f94c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_363f94c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_363f94c9 | |
Men in Black / int_392372f9 | type |
Actor Allusion | |
Men in Black / int_392372f9 | comment |
Actor Allusion: Agent J gets decked by an alien, parodying Will Smith punching an alien in Independence Day. In a blink and you'll miss it moment, the location of Jay's teacher in the third grade is shown as Philadelphia (also an Actor-Shared Background for Will Smith).invoked After blasting the Bug from the inside, K tells J that he should have seen the Zeronian migration in 1968, before pondering whether he was alive in 1968. Will Smith was born that year. | |
Men in Black / int_392372f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_392372f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_392372f9 | |
Men in Black / int_393ec3f9 | type |
Zeerust | |
Men in Black / int_393ec3f9 | comment |
Zeerust: K shows J a tiny disc, explaining: "it'll replace CDs soon." Back then, it looked like the logical next step in audio recording medium. But with the invention of the MP3, it seems we skipped that "micro-disc" step. The trope is then used intentionally in the third movie, with the 1969 MIB headquarters (as well as many of the aliens inside) having a very Zeerusty look. | |
Men in Black / int_393ec3f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_393ec3f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_393ec3f9 | |
Men in Black / int_396e1c2a | type |
Face Death with Dignity | |
Men in Black / int_396e1c2a | comment |
Face Death with Dignity: Rosenberg is calm when he realizes he's been cornered by the bug, only saying that it won't find the Galaxy. | |
Men in Black / int_396e1c2a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_396e1c2a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_396e1c2a | |
Men in Black / int_3982db5c | type |
Revolting Rescue | |
Men in Black / int_3982db5c | comment |
Revolting Rescue: Kay's plan to save the day involves himself being swallowed whole by a giant alien bug in order to retrieve his gun. | |
Men in Black / int_3982db5c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3982db5c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3982db5c | |
Men in Black / int_3b4f620a | type |
No Fourth Wall | |
Men in Black / int_3b4f620a | comment |
Combined with No Fourth Wall in one of the commercials, in which J and K ask viewers how they liked the movie, then fire the Neuralyzer directly at the camera, and then invite the audience to go see the film: it's full of surprises. Also comes up at the end of the video for the "Men in Black" song, when Will Smith (in character as J) says "Sorry" and fires his Neuralyzer directly at the camera. The view clears to show the same empty hallway in which the video began, implying that the viewer has just had the last four minutes' worth of their memory scrubbed. | |
Men in Black / int_3b4f620a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3b4f620a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3b4f620a | |
Men in Black / int_3bad6ba6 | type |
Two of Your Earth Minutes | |
Men in Black / int_3bad6ba6 | comment |
Two of Your Earth Minutes Parodied and played straight. A galactic week is one hour. The Arquellian message displays a timer labeled "Earth Time Remaining", counting down the hour. And the MIB operates on a 37-hour-day. According to Zed, "You get used to it. Or you have a psychotic episode." | |
Men in Black / int_3bad6ba6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3bad6ba6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3bad6ba6 | |
Men in Black / int_3c0a4666 | type |
Noodle Incident | |
Men in Black / int_3c0a4666 | comment |
Noodle Incident: It's implied by the reactions of MIB agents (Zed in particular) that J's not the first newbie to accidentally release the Great Attractor's orb (which of course then begs the question of why they leave it out in the open instead of just locking it up in a more secure vault elsewhere in HQ). Agent K tells Agent J, "you should've been here for the Zeronion migration in 1968." In the penultimate scene, when K asks J to erase his memory, K remarks that the fight with Edgar's just one of a hundred memories he doesn't want. The third film will reveal one of these memories. | |
Men in Black / int_3c0a4666 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3c0a4666 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3c0a4666 | |
Men in Black / int_3c7022ce | type |
Mundane Solution | |
Men in Black / int_3c7022ce | comment |
Mundane Solution: When the other recruits are filling out their forms, none of them know how to do so in the odd chairs they're sitting in. J gets the idea to pull a table closer to him so he can fill it out on there. | |
Men in Black / int_3c7022ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3c7022ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3c7022ce | |
Men in Black / int_3cb07b51 | type |
Fiction as Cover-Up | |
Men in Black / int_3cb07b51 | comment |
Fiction as Cover-Up: Tabloids serve a double purpose: they act as part of the alien cover-up by causing people to dismiss any stories they hear about aliens while also being a legitimate source of news for those in the know. | |
Men in Black / int_3cb07b51 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3cb07b51 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3cb07b51 | |
Men in Black / int_3ec18c6f | type |
Sherlock Scan | |
Men in Black / int_3ec18c6f | comment |
Sherlock Scan: Parodied and played straight at once in the Shooting Gallery sequence. "She's about to start some shit, Zed!" He had just shot the model of a little girl because she was walking around carrying advanced physics books in the middle of the night in a place full of aliens. He was right, she was the dangerous one. | |
Men in Black / int_3ec18c6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3ec18c6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3ec18c6f | |
Men in Black / int_3eca7ea6 | type |
Does That Sound Like Fun to You? | |
Men in Black / int_3eca7ea6 | comment |
Does That Sound Like Fun to You?: This line Kay gives to Jay: | |
Men in Black / int_3eca7ea6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3eca7ea6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3eca7ea6 | |
Men in Black / int_3eee0728 | type |
Captain Obvious | |
Men in Black / int_3eee0728 | comment |
Captain Obvious: The bug (while in his Edgar suit) at the morgue. | |
Men in Black / int_3eee0728 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3eee0728 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3eee0728 | |
Men in Black / int_3f064a0d | type |
Humans Are Morons | |
Men in Black / int_3f064a0d | comment |
Humans Are Morons: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." Laurel herself isn't too fond of mankind either, after she fills out the form regarding the dead Arquillian prince and asks the policeman giving it to her why there is a cat with the corpse, the rude jerk angrily takes the form away from her hands and tells her the cat is her problem now. Annoyed with the cop's negligence and rudeness, Laurel gives us this gem: | |
Men in Black / int_3f064a0d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3f064a0d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3f064a0d | |
Men in Black / int_3f45f1e6 | type |
Adaptational Heroism | |
Men in Black / int_3f45f1e6 | comment |
Adaptational Heroism: In the films, Agents J, K, and Zed are heroes. In the obscure comic book the movies are based on, the organization is downright sinister, K makes J An Offer You Can't Refuse to get him to join and considers him a very disposable pawn, and J is the only 'good guy' in the bunch. The MIB resort to murder to keep things hidden, as opposed to just erasing people's relevant memories in the films and cartoon. | |
Men in Black / int_3f45f1e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_3f45f1e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_3f45f1e6 | |
Men in Black / int_400b9d22 | type |
Sunglasses at Night | |
Men in Black / int_400b9d22 | comment |
Sunglasses at Night: Though in this case they've got a justified purpose — they protect against the mind-wiping effects of the Neuralyzer. | |
Men in Black / int_400b9d22 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_400b9d22 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_400b9d22 | |
Men in Black / int_403dcfce | type |
Immortality Hurts | |
Men in Black / int_403dcfce | comment |
Immortality Hurts: The character Jack Jeebs has a Healing Factor so powerful he can survive even if the Chunky Salsa Rule is invoked! Though as he remarks after K quite literally blew his head off, "Don't you have any idea how much that stings!?" Oh yeah, it sucks to be Jeebs. | |
Men in Black / int_403dcfce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_403dcfce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_403dcfce | |
Men in Black / int_403e5fd8 | type |
Universal Universe Time | |
Men in Black / int_403e5fd8 | comment |
Universal Universe Time: A galactic standard week is an hour. The 37-hour day the MIB runs on is a specific alien culture's time system—presumably the first species MIB encountered. | |
Men in Black / int_403e5fd8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_403e5fd8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_403e5fd8 | |
Men in Black / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
Men in Black / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
How the Neuralyzer works. They can be set to wipe a person's most recent memories for any length of time from minutes to years, allowing them to forget about the aliens trying to kill them. Repeated neuralyzations, however, cause deja vu in some subjects. Notably, this is usually matched with them telling Blatant Lies about what happened (of the typical "weather balloon and swamp gas" explanations), and the assumption is that in the absence of their regular memories the subject is more likely to accept the suggestion, no matter how far-fetched. | |
Men in Black / int_40bb59d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_40bb59d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_40bb59d0 | |
Men in Black / int_40cc0c7e | type |
Bittersweet Ending | |
Men in Black / int_40cc0c7e | comment |
Bittersweet Ending: Downplayed. After K and J are successful in taking out the Bug, K prompts J to neuralize him so that he can retire and return to the woman he didn't get to meet 35 years earlier under the guise of having been in a coma all this time. J knows that K is still very happy though and has recruited Laurel to join as his new partner in turn as well. | |
Men in Black / int_40cc0c7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_40cc0c7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_40cc0c7e | |
Men in Black / int_41744185 | type |
Follow the Chaos | |
Men in Black / int_41744185 | comment |
Follow the Chaos: | |
Men in Black / int_41744185 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_41744185 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_41744185 | |
Men in Black / int_41a3e267 | type |
Hidden in Plain Sight | |
Men in Black / int_41a3e267 | comment |
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Galaxy was "disguised" as the charm on the cat's collar. With the additional benefit that the uninformed assume that a galaxy would by definition be enormous, and thus don't think to look for something the size of a marble. The point is driven home with a vengeance at the end of the movie, when a pullback reveals that our galaxy is itself trapped inside a marble played with by a gigantic alien. There's also a more mundane (but still weird) example earlier when J and K go to see an alien informant at a newspaper stand, which is run by a creepy-looking, pale-skinned man. J remarks that the man's disguise is absolutely pathetic — but then the pug sitting next to him starts talking. It turns out that many aliens live among humans and go about their daily lives; they either wear humanoid disguises or look human enough to pass, especially in a dense population center like New York City. K also confirms that the stories found in cheap supermarket tabloids are often the MIB's primary source for information on invasions—no one bothers to take them seriously because they seem obviously fake. The spaceship that the first alien refugees used to travel to Earth was hidden by being turned into a decoration at the site of the 1939 World's Fair in Queens. | |
Men in Black / int_41a3e267 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_41a3e267 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_41a3e267 | |
Men in Black / int_437e70f5 | type |
What a Piece of Junk | |
Men in Black / int_437e70f5 | comment |
What a Piece of Junk: J refers to K's Crown Victoria as a "Ford P.O.S." He finds out very quickly that it's outfitted with alien tech that makes it outperform anything else on the road. | |
Men in Black / int_437e70f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_437e70f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_437e70f5 | |
Men in Black / int_43964f3 | type |
Worst News Judgment Ever | |
Men in Black / int_43964f3 | comment |
Worst News Judgment Ever: Justified as the tabloids are a better source of alien info than "mainstream" papers. | |
Men in Black / int_43964f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_43964f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_43964f3 | |
Men in Black / int_43a831db | type |
Epic Tracking Shot | |
Men in Black / int_43a831db | comment |
Epic Tracking Shot: The movie ends with an epic tracking shot by starting with an overhead of J and L, then pulling away to see the Earth, continuing on past the solar system and the galaxy to show that our galaxy is simply a marble in a giant alien's hand, much like the MacGuffin of the film. | |
Men in Black / int_43a831db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_43a831db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_43a831db | |
Men in Black / int_43b154c9 | type |
Not Even Bothering with the Accent | |
Men in Black / int_43b154c9 | comment |
Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Kay is supposed to be from Truro, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He talks with Tommy Lee Jones' Texas drawl. | |
Men in Black / int_43b154c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_43b154c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_43b154c9 | |
Men in Black / int_443f9d8a | type |
Ask a Stupid Question... | |
Men in Black / int_443f9d8a | comment |
Ask a Stupid Question... This conversation between J and K: When asked if he's dealing guns, Jeebs quips that he's openly selling crack, too. "But I still work here 'cause I love the hours." After J has been manhandled by a pregnant disguised squid alien woman in labor and then spat on by her newborn squid baby (in the process of delivering said baby) K asks "Did any of that seem weird to you?" J's expression is priceless. | |
Men in Black / int_443f9d8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_443f9d8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_443f9d8a | |
Men in Black / int_458bd7d | type |
What Does This Button Do? | |
Men in Black / int_458bd7d | comment |
What Does This Button Do?: K's car has the little red button. | |
Men in Black / int_458bd7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_458bd7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_458bd7d | |
Men in Black / int_4593fcda | type |
Big Brother Is Employing You | |
Men in Black / int_4593fcda | comment |
Big Brother Is Employing You: A rare positive example are the titular Men in Black, who run the vast government conspiracy keeping people in the dark about alien life on planet Earth, with all the lying, violence, and mind-wiping presented as ultimately justified. | |
Men in Black / int_4593fcda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4593fcda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4593fcda | |
Men in Black / int_45ad2569 | type |
Vagueness Is Coming | |
Men in Black / int_45ad2569 | comment |
Vagueness Is Coming: The disguised alien who James Edwards chases down at the beginning delivers several panicky warnings that "your world is gonna end" and "he's coming!" Apparently this is something MIB has to handle on a regular basis. | |
Men in Black / int_45ad2569 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_45ad2569 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_45ad2569 | |
Men in Black / int_45eed9a5 | type |
Not This One, That One | |
Men in Black / int_45eed9a5 | comment |
Not This One, That One: Agent J is shown an awesome-looking Series-4 De-atomizer, but is actually issued a puny-looking Noisy Cricket. This one is actually a subversion of the usual gag, as the weapon J gets really IS the better one; it just doesn't look like it. J is later surprised when the weapon causes massive explosions akin to grenades. (While hurling him backward due to recoil.) | |
Men in Black / int_45eed9a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_45eed9a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_45eed9a5 | |
Men in Black / int_46029d2b | type |
Slow Electricity | |
Men in Black / int_46029d2b | comment |
Slow Electricity: The lights turning on one row at a time in the post-credits music video. | |
Men in Black / int_46029d2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_46029d2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_46029d2b | |
Men in Black / int_46d7e20a | type |
Sustained Misunderstanding | |
Men in Black / int_46d7e20a | comment |
Sustained Misunderstanding: Agents Jay and Kay are at a morgue supervised by Dr. Laurel Weaver, masquerading as public health officials in order to examine two recently-murdered aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_46d7e20a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_46d7e20a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_46d7e20a | |
Men in Black / int_47060811 | type |
Screaming Birth | |
Men in Black / int_47060811 | comment |
Screaming Birth: The alien woman... plus a few tentacles shaking a screaming J around like a ragdoll while K casually questions her husband, oblivious to this. | |
Men in Black / int_47060811 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_47060811 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_47060811 | |
Men in Black / int_4832a3bb | type |
Always Chaotic Evil | |
Men in Black / int_4832a3bb | comment |
Always Chaotic Evil: "Bugs thrive on carnage, tiger. They consume, infest, destroy, live off the death and destruction of other species." | |
Men in Black / int_4832a3bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4832a3bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4832a3bb | |
Men in Black / int_4a8c4e5f | type |
Big "WHAT?!" | |
Men in Black / int_4a8c4e5f | comment |
Even in broadcasts with the most lenient editing, all instances of the word "shit" are censored, and J's reaction to the Arquillians' demand for the galaxy is dubbed over as a Big "WHAT?!" | |
Men in Black / int_4a8c4e5f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4a8c4e5f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4a8c4e5f | |
Men in Black / int_4af86843 | type |
Extranormal Institute | |
Men in Black / int_4af86843 | comment |
Extranormal Institute: The MIB. | |
Men in Black / int_4af86843 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4af86843 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4af86843 | |
Men in Black / int_4b1247b8 | type |
Red Pill, Blue Pill | |
Men in Black / int_4b1247b8 | comment |
Red Pill, Blue Pill: Though little attention is called to it, all agents apparently get this. Naturally, it's the amnesia version. | |
Men in Black / int_4b1247b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4b1247b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4b1247b8 | |
Men in Black / int_4b8932a4 | type |
Stalking Is Love | |
Men in Black / int_4b8932a4 | comment |
Stalking is Love: K uses the MIB's super-advanced Spy Satellites to spy on his old girlfriend while she's out gardening. | |
Men in Black / int_4b8932a4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4b8932a4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4b8932a4 | |
Men in Black / int_4bba4b6b | type |
Counting to Three | |
Men in Black / int_4bba4b6b | comment |
Counting to Three: K points a gun at Jeebs' head and says he's going to count to three, unless Jeebs shows J the alien guns he has for sale. J assumes this is just a Good Cop/Bad Cop routine, and plays along... but on three, K actually shoots Jeebs' head off. | |
Men in Black / int_4bba4b6b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4bba4b6b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4bba4b6b | |
Men in Black / int_4c59921a | type |
Face Stealer | |
Men in Black / int_4c59921a | comment |
Face Stealer: The Bug. | |
Men in Black / int_4c59921a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4c59921a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4c59921a | |
Men in Black / int_4d7a7d53 | type |
I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You | |
Men in Black / int_4d7a7d53 | comment |
I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You: Played with. J tells Laura about the MIB. Then says "I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to...", to which Laura responds "Kill me." But just a little flash with the neuralyzer, and everything goes back to the way it was. | |
Men in Black / int_4d7a7d53 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4d7a7d53 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4d7a7d53 | |
Men in Black / int_4d7df5e2 | type |
Bringing Running Shoes to a Car Chase | |
Men in Black / int_4d7df5e2 | comment |
Bringing Running Shoes to a Car Chase: When the Bug escapes from J and K in a cab, J tears off after the cab on foot. K sensibly goes to get their car and picks up J, and admonishes him for not remembering that they have Edgar's ship. | |
Men in Black / int_4d7df5e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4d7df5e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4d7df5e2 | |
Men in Black / int_4e7c4536 | type |
Wham Line | |
Men in Black / int_4e7c4536 | comment |
Wham Line: "I haven't been training a partner. I've been training a replacement." | |
Men in Black / int_4e7c4536 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4e7c4536 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4e7c4536 | |
Men in Black / int_4f1f4751 | type |
Plot-Powered Stamina | |
Men in Black / int_4f1f4751 | comment |
Plot-Powered Stamina: In the beginning of the movie, J runs down an alien known for its speed, across blocks up a building, and is not winded at all after the chase that left the alien a little tired (somewhat justified by J taking some shortcuts like a bus and a freight elevator). This is part of what gets him into the MIB in the first place. | |
Men in Black / int_4f1f4751 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4f1f4751 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4f1f4751 | |
Men in Black / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
Men in Black / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: In this film, K is portrayed as a man holding out for The One That Got Away. Not only would the second film have him separated from the woman he was holding out for during his temporary retirement, but it would also be implied that he had a love child with the queen of Zartha, joins Frank and Zed in talking about their sexual experiences with aliens at the end of the film, and in the third film they have him flirting with Agent O every time they are together. | |
Men in Black / int_4f4372e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4f4372e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4f4372e9 | |
Men in Black / int_4fdd0d29 | type |
Place Worse Than Death | |
Men in Black / int_4fdd0d29 | comment |
Place Worse Than Death: | |
Men in Black / int_4fdd0d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_4fdd0d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_4fdd0d29 | |
Men in Black / int_5037b961 | type |
Et Tu, Brute? | |
Men in Black / int_5037b961 | comment |
Et Tu, Brute?: The worms are spotted leaving MIB headquarters with a cartful of cigarettes, leaving their co-workers to rot. | |
Men in Black / int_5037b961 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5037b961 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5037b961 | |
Men in Black / int_504a1991 | type |
Body Horror | |
Men in Black / int_504a1991 | comment |
Body Horror: Edgar's skin steadily decays once the Bug starts wearing it as a disguise, until the face is barely recognizable when J and K confront it. | |
Men in Black / int_504a1991 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_504a1991 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_504a1991 | |
Men in Black / int_51640e80 | type |
Bond One-Liner | |
Men in Black / int_51640e80 | comment |
Also, Bug!Edgar, when talking with the head chef in regards to where "little Ivan" is (the server who was supposed to be serving the ambassadors of the two alien races that Bug!Edgar is trying to assassinate and steal the galaxy from), responds that he "gave him a break." The camera pans, revealing that Bug!Edgar means this quite literally, having broken his body in half and stuffed him into a cabinet. | |
Men in Black / int_51640e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_51640e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_51640e80 | |
Men in Black / int_5171abed | type |
Loads and Loads of Races | |
Men in Black / int_5171abed | comment |
Loads and Loads of Races: Several alien species are mentioned and shown onscreen, especially when Jay first sees the inside of MIB. | |
Men in Black / int_5171abed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5171abed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5171abed | |
Men in Black / int_53224e46 | type |
Bookends | |
Men in Black / int_53224e46 | comment |
Bookends: "They're beautiful, aren't they? The stars. ... See you around, J." "No, K, you won't." Then there's an Epic Flash. The opening credits scroll over a bug flying in a sinister pattern. SPLAT. Gotcha — turns out the bug is of no significance, at least as far as people are concerned. The last shot of the movie reveals this universe to be a plaything for giant alien kids. It's also a bookend in that the climax ends with a bug going splat — though a much larger one. | |
Men in Black / int_53224e46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_53224e46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_53224e46 | |
Men in Black / int_539bb70d | type |
Cosmic Chess Game | |
Men in Black / int_539bb70d | comment |
Cosmic Chess Game: The end of the movie reveals that the whole universe is nothing but a huge cosmic marble game played by aliens. The marbles are entire galaxies. | |
Men in Black / int_539bb70d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_539bb70d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_539bb70d | |
Men in Black / int_53e9e38a | type |
White Bread and Black Brotha | |
Men in Black / int_53e9e38a | comment |
White Bread and Black Brotha: K is a cynical white veteran of the MIB, and he specifically recruits J, a gung-ho black NYPD officer, because of his subversive attitude and outside-the-box mindset. | |
Men in Black / int_53e9e38a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_53e9e38a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_53e9e38a | |
Men in Black / int_54956f54 | type |
Flat World | |
Men in Black / int_54956f54 | comment |
Flat World: Agent Kay affirms that long ago everybody knew the Earth was flat, using it as a reference to people believing something that is wrong, and how suddenly enlightening them too fast can be dangerous. Thus, his and the MIB's reasons for keeping the existence of aliens a secret. | |
Men in Black / int_54956f54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_54956f54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_54956f54 | |
Men in Black / int_550754dc | type |
Improbable Infant Survival | |
Men in Black / int_550754dc | comment |
Improbable Infant Survival: Played with when James Edwards, in a live-fire exercise with other potential MIB trainees, shoots a cardboard cutout of a little girl instead of the scary aliens. In a subversion, he justifies this by claiming one alien was simply exercising on a streetlight, the other was sneezing, and the little girl was out late at night, eight-years-old, with a college-level textbook in her arms, so she was up to something bad. And, judging that he was chosen to join the organization, this reasoning was absolutely correct. | |
Men in Black / int_550754dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_550754dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_550754dc | |
Men in Black / int_5521ed05 | type |
No Animals Were Harmed | |
Men in Black / int_5521ed05 | comment |
No Animals Were Harmed: Played for Laughs with this tongue-in-cheek disclaimer: "The animals and aliens used in this film were in no way mistreated and all scenes in which they appeared were under strict supervision with the utmost concern for their handling." | |
Men in Black / int_5521ed05 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5521ed05 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5521ed05 | |
Men in Black / int_5527dc0c | type |
Plot Coupon | |
Men in Black / int_5527dc0c | comment |
Plot Coupon: The Galaxy "on Orion's Belt" or rather, on the cat Orion's collar. | |
Men in Black / int_5527dc0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5527dc0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5527dc0c | |
Men in Black / int_56515a39 | type |
Artistic License – History | |
Men in Black / int_56515a39 | comment |
Artistic License – History: Washington Irving strikes again, as K repeats the misconception that people thought the world was flat 500 years ago, when the truth is that fact was first discovered (and proven beyond all doubt) around 240 BC. Of course, by "people thought" we really mean the educated higher stratas of society, whose writings are our main source of knowledge of the past. It's much harder to discern whatever misconceptions (e.g. a flat earth) the commonfolk of those times believed to be true. | |
Men in Black / int_56515a39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_56515a39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_56515a39 | |
Men in Black / int_56c5b0d8 | type |
First Day from Hell | |
Men in Black / int_56c5b0d8 | comment |
First Day from Hell: J becomes involved in a plot to save the galaxy within his first day or so. Subverted in that K berates his actions that could expose them by informing J that there is always a crisis on their hands. | |
Men in Black / int_56c5b0d8 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Men in Black / int_56c5b0d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_56c5b0d8 | |
Men in Black / int_575fd5e2 | type |
Dark Is Not Evil | |
Men in Black / int_575fd5e2 | comment |
Dark Is Not Evil: They are Men In Black after all, but also Earth's "best, last, and only defense against the scum of the universe." Lampshaded in Will Smith's music video. | |
Men in Black / int_575fd5e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_575fd5e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_575fd5e2 | |
Men in Black / int_57b80b45 | type |
Fantastic Racism | |
Men in Black / int_57b80b45 | comment |
Fantastic Racism: As to be expected in a movie about human-alien interactions, even if most humans aren't even aware of aliens. Agent K explains that many alien civilizations believe that human thought is so primitive, it's considered to be like a contagious disease, which is why Earth isn't allowed to have Universal Translator devices yet. The Bug clearly despises humans, and refers to them by a variety of unflattering terms, including "undeveloped pond-scum", "monkey-boys", "meat-sacks", and "milk-suckers". The rest of his species, according to K, are probably very much the same. Agent K is also ready to return fire on Edgar, likely in an effort to trigger the inferiority complex he spoke to J of earlier. Agent J uses this to provoke the Bug into attacking him by crushing terrestrial cockroaches under his feet. | |
Men in Black / int_57b80b45 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_57b80b45 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_57b80b45 | |
Men in Black / int_57c004fc | type |
Threat Backfire | |
Men in Black / int_57c004fc | comment |
Threat Backfire Edgar tells the Bug "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." The Bug finds this proposal acceptable and immediately eats him. Also, when kidnapping Laurel, she threatens that if Bug!Edgar does anything to her (after claiming that she's Earth's ruler or even a goddess), Earth will declare war on his species in an attempt to get him to let her go. Unfortunately, this gave Bug!Edgar a lot more incentive to kidnap her than before ("War? Good. That means more food for my family. All 78 million of them. That's a lot of mouths to feed, Highness.") | |
Men in Black / int_57c004fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_57c004fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_57c004fc | |
Men in Black / int_58075ef2 | type |
Stumbling in the New Form | |
Men in Black / int_58075ef2 | comment |
Stumbling in the New Form: When "Edgar", a 12-foot-tall, multi-legged insectoid alien super-criminal, wears the flayed skin of human farmer Edgar, he staggers and jerks around in this tiny bipedal form as if his body is barely contained and aching to burst free. It doesn't help that his new "suit" is un-refrigerated and slowly decaying over the course of the film, so it's beginning to stiffen and wear down. | |
Men in Black / int_58075ef2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_58075ef2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_58075ef2 | |
Men in Black / int_583ec33e | type |
Snark-to-Snark Combat | |
Men in Black / int_583ec33e | comment |
Snark-to-Snark Combat: Part of why K and J work so well together. | |
Men in Black / int_583ec33e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_583ec33e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_583ec33e | |
Men in Black / int_596f675a | type |
Smoking Is Cool | |
Men in Black / int_596f675a | comment |
Smoking Is Cool: The "worm guys" in the break room (according to the books their species is Vermar), smoke cigarettes while swilling coffee. | |
Men in Black / int_596f675a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_596f675a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_596f675a | |
Men in Black / int_598b59a4 | type |
Everything Is an iPod in the Future | |
Men in Black / int_598b59a4 | comment |
Everything Is an iPod in the Future: A rare instance of this trope being used in the nineties. | |
Men in Black / int_598b59a4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_598b59a4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_598b59a4 | |
Men in Black / int_599aa670 | type |
What the Hell Are You? | |
Men in Black / int_599aa670 | comment |
What the Hell Are You?: James, after the first alien he meets scales the side of a building and reveals his eye gills. | |
Men in Black / int_599aa670 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_599aa670 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_599aa670 | |
Men in Black / int_59b9f4df | type |
You Are Fat | |
Men in Black / int_59b9f4df | comment |
"Edwards, if you were half the man I am..." "I AM half the man you are!" | |
Men in Black / int_59b9f4df | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_59b9f4df | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_59b9f4df | |
Men in Black / int_59c0c00 | type |
Sighted Guns Are Low-Tech | |
Men in Black / int_59c0c00 | comment |
Sighted Guns Are Low-Tech: Despite the high tech look of their giant guns, J and K don't actually need to aim them to shoot down a UFO. Could be that they fire heat seeking rounds, or some such advanced tech that replaces the need for manual aiming. | |
Men in Black / int_59c0c00 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_59c0c00 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_59c0c00 | |
Men in Black / int_5a0e88d8 | type |
Bring It | |
Men in Black / int_5a0e88d8 | comment |
Bring It: J to Edgar. | |
Men in Black / int_5a0e88d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5a0e88d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5a0e88d8 | |
Men in Black / int_5a4aa505 | type |
Government Conspiracy | |
Men in Black / int_5a4aa505 | comment |
Government Conspiracy: Averted. The first agents were part of the US Government, but not anymore. | |
Men in Black / int_5a4aa505 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5a4aa505 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5a4aa505 | |
Men in Black / int_5b565147 | type |
Meaningful Background Event | |
Men in Black / int_5b565147 | comment |
Meaningful Background Event: After K blasts his way out of the Bug, he and J sit down to discuss what the hell just happened, but behind J you can see the Not Quite Dead Bug getting up and starting to walk away... | |
Men in Black / int_5b565147 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5b565147 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5b565147 | |
Men in Black / int_5c1ec068 | type |
Big Red Button | |
Men in Black / int_5c1ec068 | comment |
J tells K not to push the Big Red Button in the gear shift of their Cool Car. This is a reference to Goldfinger, in which Q does the same thing to James Bond. In Bond's car the button activates an ejector seat, while in the MIB's car it activates a jet engine in the rear. | |
Men in Black / int_5c1ec068 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5c1ec068 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5c1ec068 | |
Men in Black / int_5d753b19 | type |
The Smurfette Principle | |
Men in Black / int_5d753b19 | comment |
The Smurfette Principle: The film doesn't have many female agents. The end of the film shows Agent L, a woman who becomes J's new partner. However she is neuralyzed between films and given a Written-In Absence to make way for the return of Tommy Lee Jones. | |
Men in Black / int_5d753b19 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5d753b19 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5d753b19 | |
Men in Black / int_5e2f5ad2 | type |
You Kill It, You Bought It | |
Men in Black / int_5e2f5ad2 | comment |
You Kill It, You Bought It: Made Lighter and Softer and combined with Passing the Torch, though it's more like, "You neuralize it, you bought it." It comes into play when senior agents get too old, and their younger partners "retire" them and take over. This could pose a problem among more ambitious agents, so its use is regulated with a ceremonial Spy Speak protocol. | |
Men in Black / int_5e2f5ad2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5e2f5ad2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5e2f5ad2 | |
Men in Black / int_5e9d35b | type |
Bullet-Proof Fashion Plate | |
Men in Black / int_5e9d35b | comment |
Bulletproof Fashion Plate: Played with. They get dirty a couple of times but are always fresh as a daisy in the next scene. | |
Men in Black / int_5e9d35b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5e9d35b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5e9d35b | |
Men in Black / int_5ff56a1f | type |
Long List | |
Men in Black / int_5ff56a1f | comment |
Long List: K and Zed muse over the NYC and Jersey-based aliens who have already flown the coop. The list ends with Staten Island ("Gone, thank God."). | |
Men in Black / int_5ff56a1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_5ff56a1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_5ff56a1f | |
Men in Black / int_60a9c83c | type |
Costumes Change Your Size | |
Men in Black / int_60a9c83c | comment |
Costumes Change Your Size: Played with. The invading alien Bug spends most of the movie walking around in the skin of a local redneck named Edgar. In the climax, the Bug sheds his Edgar suit to reveal that he had folded himself to fit, and he's really much, much larger than a human. | |
Men in Black / int_60a9c83c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_60a9c83c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_60a9c83c | |
Men in Black / int_61356a74 | type |
Almost Dead Guy | |
Men in Black / int_61356a74 | comment |
Almost Dead Guy: The Arquillian Prince inside the jeweler's body, who survives long enough to give a cryptic clue to the protagonists. Not that he was being cryptic on purpose. Poor fellow was dying and not fluent in English. | |
Men in Black / int_61356a74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_61356a74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_61356a74 | |
Men in Black / int_617a1d43 | type |
Conspiracy Kitchen Sink | |
Men in Black / int_617a1d43 | comment |
Conspiracy Kitchen Sink: The film is a peculiar version of this — every conspiracy theory you've ever heard is on to something big, but the truth behind all of them is the same, in this case aliens. One example is a small ball that seems to be similar to rubber except that it gains energy with each bounce, making it incredibly destructive. Apparently it caused a massive New York blackout. The alien diplomat who did it thought it was funny as hell. Elvis' death? He was an alien who just went home. J's theory about that one grade school teacher of his being an alien, though? Spot on, except that he got the wrong planet. | |
Men in Black / int_617a1d43 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_617a1d43 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_617a1d43 | |
Men in Black / int_62cae28a | type |
Losing Your Head | |
Men in Black / int_62cae28a | comment |
Losing Your Head: Jeebs. K shoots him in the head and he regrows it, with complaints about the inconvenience. | |
Men in Black / int_62cae28a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_62cae28a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_62cae28a | |
Men in Black / int_62f9d08e | type |
Freeze-Frame Bonus | |
Men in Black / int_62f9d08e | comment |
Freeze-Frame Bonus: The screen with the "celebrities who are secretly aliens" includes director Barry Sonnenfeld, producer Steven Spielberg, and Sylvester Stallone — and later singles out J's ex-teacher in Philadelphia. In one scene, there are two brief shots of Orion the cat where the name on its collar (belt) is visible before the secret is revealed. | |
Men in Black / int_62f9d08e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_62f9d08e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_62f9d08e | |
Men in Black / int_62fd5552 | type |
Bavarian Fire Drill | |
Men in Black / int_62fd5552 | comment |
Bavarian Fire Drill: A favorite tactic of the MIB. It's even lampshaded in the novelization: "Act like you're in charge and everybody will act like you are." | |
Men in Black / int_62fd5552 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_62fd5552 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_62fd5552 | |
Men in Black / int_633e176e | type |
Lurid Tales of Doom | |
Men in Black / int_633e176e | comment |
Lurid Tales of Doom: Agent K says this sort of news is actually very trustworthy when it comes to tracking aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_633e176e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_633e176e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_633e176e | |
Men in Black / int_634c5775 | type |
Came from the Sky | |
Men in Black / int_634c5775 | comment |
Came from the Sky: The bug-alien villain arrives on Earth in an impact crater, and the first person on the scene is indeed a violent hick toting a shotgun. | |
Men in Black / int_634c5775 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_634c5775 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_634c5775 | |
Men in Black / int_63cd6ccb | type |
Image Song | |
Men in Black / int_63cd6ccb | comment |
Image Song: Will Smith performed the title song, rapping about being Agent J saving the world and covering up the existence of aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_63cd6ccb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_63cd6ccb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_63cd6ccb | |
Men in Black / int_63f22889 | type |
Insectoid Aliens | |
Men in Black / int_63f22889 | comment |
Insectoid Aliens: The alien Bug, a giant cockroach wearing a new Edgar suit. | |
Men in Black / int_63f22889 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_63f22889 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_63f22889 | |
Men in Black / int_653174e5 | type |
From Hero to Mentor | |
Men in Black / int_653174e5 | comment |
From Hero to Mentor: Examined in an interesting way. The big reveal of the first movie was that Agent K wasn't looking to train a new partner, but was instead training Agent J to replace him. Thus in the second movie J was shuffled off to be the senior agent and known for neuralizing junior agents who failed to meet his standards. | |
Men in Black / int_653174e5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_653174e5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_653174e5 | |
Men in Black / int_6595b784 | type |
Animal Reaction Shot | |
Men in Black / int_6595b784 | comment |
Animal Reaction Shot: Edgar the Bug walks up to the front desk in the morgue and rings the bell. After nobody comes, he rings it again, and then a third time, at which point, the shot changes to a cat hissing. | |
Men in Black / int_6595b784 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6595b784 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6595b784 | |
Men in Black / int_66bee5ea | type |
Shooting Gallery | |
Men in Black / int_66bee5ea | comment |
Shooting Gallery: A trick-based example. The MIBs put potential recruits through a shooting gallery full of scary-looking monsters, but the only thing Jay shoots is a little girl. When questioned by Z, he points out his logic - the "snarling" monster is carrying a tissue so just has a cold, the one on the streetlight is just exercising, but the little white girl in the projects at the dead of night with quantum physics textbooks must be up to something. It turns out that was the right answer. | |
Men in Black / int_66bee5ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_66bee5ea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_66bee5ea | |
Men in Black / int_66c29032 | type |
No Such Agency | |
Men in Black / int_66c29032 | comment |
No Such Agency: Played With. Originally a Federal agency, the MIB splintered off since the government "asked too many questions." They erased any and all records and memories of their existence from their own government, getting their funding from the patents of alien technologies. | |
Men in Black / int_66c29032 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_66c29032 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_66c29032 | |
Men in Black / int_670ca248 | type |
Go-to Alias | |
Men in Black / int_670ca248 | comment |
Go-to Alias: "Division Six". | |
Men in Black / int_670ca248 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_670ca248 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_670ca248 | |
Men in Black / int_6849cc47 | type |
Where da White Women At? | |
Men in Black / int_6849cc47 | comment |
Where da White Women At?: Laurel makes a pass (okay, a few) at J. In the ending, the duo are revealed to be partners. | |
Men in Black / int_6849cc47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6849cc47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6849cc47 | |
Men in Black / int_6b05b601 | type |
Jerkass Has a Point | |
Men in Black / int_6b05b601 | comment |
Jerkass Has a Point: K accurately sums up the MIB's need for secrecy by telling J that the only reason average people are able to get on with their lives is that they're not aware that the Earth is under constant threat from aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_6b05b601 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6b05b601 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6b05b601 | |
Men in Black / int_6b6556ee | type |
Mentor Occupational Hazard | |
Men in Black / int_6b6556ee | comment |
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Averted. K survives the Bug's innards to retrieve his gun and blast his way out. | |
Men in Black / int_6b6556ee | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6b6556ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6b6556ee | |
Men in Black / int_6b723294 | type |
Techno Babble | |
Men in Black / int_6b723294 | comment |
Techno Babble: Plenty. | |
Men in Black / int_6b723294 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6b723294 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6b723294 | |
Men in Black / int_6bd689ca | type |
Meaningful Echo | |
Men in Black / int_6bd689ca | comment |
Meaningful Echo: | |
Men in Black / int_6bd689ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6bd689ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6bd689ca | |
Men in Black / int_6c62b1a8 | type |
Covered in Gunge | |
Men in Black / int_6c62b1a8 | comment |
Covered in Gunge: Janus, the Border Patrol agent, ends up wearing puree of Mikey after K shoots him. The Redgicks' newborn baby pukes all over J after its delivery. J and K get covered in bug guts after K blows him in half, then again after Laurel blasts the rest of him. | |
Men in Black / int_6c62b1a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6c62b1a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6c62b1a8 | |
Men in Black / int_6d7026fa | type |
Punny Name | |
Men in Black / int_6d7026fa | comment |
Punny Name: Laurel becomes L — "elle", in other words. | |
Men in Black / int_6d7026fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6d7026fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6d7026fa | |
Men in Black / int_6e287af | type |
Janitor Impersonation Infiltration | |
Men in Black / int_6e287af | comment |
Janitor Impersonation Infiltration: The "Edgar" bug follows Rosenberg to a restaurant, where he murders a waiter and takes his place before killing Rosenberg and his contact there. | |
Men in Black / int_6e287af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6e287af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6e287af | |
Men in Black / int_6e429667 | type |
Fantastic Slurs | |
Men in Black / int_6e429667 | comment |
Fantastic Slurs: The Bug refers to humans as "undeveloped pond scum", "meatbags", "milksuckers" and "monkey boys". | |
Men in Black / int_6e429667 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6e429667 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6e429667 | |
Men in Black / int_6eaff95 | type |
Leno Device | |
Men in Black / int_6eaff95 | comment |
Leno Device: The end of the first movie shows tabloid articles talking about the effects of the climax on the public, including a conspiracy theory forming about Detroit perfecting a rocket car and one story about the baseball player who missed the catch during the baseball game shown in the movie claiming "UFO MADE ME MISS HOME RUN!" (which is actually true). Of course, the joke is that the MIB regard the tabloids as the world's best investigative reporting. ("You can try the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.") | |
Men in Black / int_6eaff95 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6eaff95 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6eaff95 | |
Men in Black / int_6ec4232f | type |
Casting Gag | |
Men in Black / int_6ec4232f | comment |
Casting Gag: The posters play on the fact that the film's two main stars have the last names "Smith" and "Jones"... you know, the kind of super-plain codenames you'd expect two anonymous, black-suited government agents to use. | |
Men in Black / int_6ec4232f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6ec4232f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6ec4232f | |
Men in Black / int_6ef09297 | type |
Masquerade | |
Men in Black / int_6ef09297 | comment |
Masquerade: The alien shenanigans the MIB deal with put the Earth in mortal danger on such a regular basis that humanity simply would not be capable of functioning with that perpetual risk of annihilation looming over them. As such, the existence of alien life is kept a total secret from the world, and most aliens are required to use prosthetics or disguises to pass off as human, animal, or machine. | |
Men in Black / int_6ef09297 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_6ef09297 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_6ef09297 | |
Men in Black / int_70c6a6db | type |
Absurdly Exclusive Recruiting Standards | |
Men in Black / int_70c6a6db | comment |
Absurdly Exclusive Recruiting Standards: The eponymous organization brings in a huge group of potential military recruits, including the Rangers and Navy SEALs, plus NYPD detective James Edwards. Z makes it abundantly clear that they're looking for the best of the best of the best, but out of the entire class, only Edwards is able pass the Incomprehensible Entrance Exam, having the practicality to use the coffee table for the written exam and the observational skills to realize that the scary-looking aliens on the shooting range are minding their own business; everyone else is neuralized. | |
Men in Black / int_70c6a6db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_70c6a6db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_70c6a6db | |
Men in Black / int_70d18002 | type |
Inventor of the Mundane | |
Men in Black / int_70d18002 | comment |
Inventor of the Mundane: The MIB owns the patents to some "out of town" inventions, naming a few which make quite a bit of sense; Velcro (not actually invented by NASA), microwave ovens (invented by a military defense contractor), liposuction (pre-dates alien contact, but was mostly a creative form of mutilation before the development of ultrasonics — another military invention)... | |
Men in Black / int_70d18002 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_70d18002 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_70d18002 | |
Men in Black / int_71152dd | type |
One Dialogue, Two Conversations | |
Men in Black / int_71152dd | comment |
One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Edgar's Humans Are Bastards tirade to the roach exterminator. | |
Men in Black / int_71152dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_71152dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_71152dd | |
Men in Black / int_716c0b1b | type |
And the Adventure Continues | |
Men in Black / int_716c0b1b | comment |
And the Adventure Continues: The movie ends with Agents J and the newly-inducted L going on a new assignment. | |
Men in Black / int_716c0b1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_716c0b1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_716c0b1b | |
Men in Black / int_723e61b3 | type |
Baby Planet | |
Men in Black / int_723e61b3 | comment |
Baby Planet: Exaggerated, as the plot centers around a galaxy small enough to fit in the bauble of a cat's collar. | |
Men in Black / int_723e61b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_723e61b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_723e61b3 | |
Men in Black / int_72856b70 | type |
Godzilla Threshold | |
Men in Black / int_72856b70 | comment |
Godzilla Threshold: The bug impersonating Edgar is getting close to stealing the Arquillian galaxy, so when Agent J sees him, he tries to shoot in broad view of dozens of New Yorkers with his fancy ray gun, earning K's fury. The real threshold is with the Arquillians, who think a Bug in control of a Galaxy is enough of a threat to destroy the planet both are on, even if most of the inhabitants of said planet have no clue they're about to die. | |
Men in Black / int_72856b70 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_72856b70 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_72856b70 | |
Men in Black / int_73ff2cc5 | type |
Just Eat Him | |
Men in Black / int_73ff2cc5 | comment |
Just Eat Him: K, going to get back his gun from Edgar's throat in the first film's climax. The novelization explains that the Bug only swallowed K whole out of anger; he would have chewed J if he'd gotten the chance. | |
Men in Black / int_73ff2cc5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_73ff2cc5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_73ff2cc5 | |
Men in Black / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
Men in Black / int_7464705c | comment |
Arc Words: "They're beautiful aren't they?..The stars." | |
Men in Black / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_7464705c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_7464705c | |
Men in Black / int_746793a6 | type |
Clue of Few Words | |
Men in Black / int_746793a6 | comment |
Clue of Few Words: The dying alien struggles to say the words "Orion's Belt" before he perishes, leaving the agents to wonder what he was referring to. | |
Men in Black / int_746793a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_746793a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_746793a6 | |
Men in Black / int_74e2ef76 | type |
Orphaned Punchline | |
Men in Black / int_74e2ef76 | comment |
Orphaned Punchline: "But honey, this one's eating my popcorn!" Here's the rest of the joke. The same joke also appeared in The Sting. | |
Men in Black / int_74e2ef76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_74e2ef76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_74e2ef76 | |
Men in Black / int_750b606b | type |
Multi-Armed Multitasking | |
Men in Black / int_750b606b | comment |
Multi-Armed Multitasking: The twin Mission Controls. | |
Men in Black / int_750b606b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_750b606b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_750b606b | |
Men in Black / int_762b9223 | type |
Played for Laughs | |
Men in Black / int_762b9223 | comment |
Played for Laughs in one scene when Agent J tries to give the standard cover story without having a neuralyzer, as penance for his reckless use of a MIB energy weapon that caused the need for the coverup. He's off the hook once Special Services arrives. | |
Men in Black / int_762b9223 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_762b9223 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_762b9223 | |
Men in Black / int_765a1683 | type |
Enemy Rising Behind | |
Men in Black / int_765a1683 | comment |
Enemy Rising Behind: After K blasts his way out of the Bug, he and J sit back to reflect on the moment while the upper half of the Bug crawls behind them to attack, only to be blasted at the last second by Laurel using J's gun. | |
Men in Black / int_765a1683 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_765a1683 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_765a1683 | |
Men in Black / int_76b4b7dd | type |
The Comically Serious | |
Men in Black / int_76b4b7dd | comment |
The Comically Serious: Nothing about the job fazes K in the slightest, so his deadpan approach to all the outlandish alien craziness is hilarious. In an interview, Tommy Lee Jones says he actually is this; the way to make great comedy is stay close to Will Smith so the funny spills over. The movie's director also describes it as something of an Enforced Trope, as he wanted Will Smith to be the only one who was trying to be funny. | |
Men in Black / int_76b4b7dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_76b4b7dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_76b4b7dd | |
Men in Black / int_77414bc2 | type |
Action Prologue | |
Men in Black / int_77414bc2 | comment |
Action Prologue: Agent K sniffing out an alien fugitive amongst some immigrants. | |
Men in Black / int_77414bc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_77414bc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_77414bc2 | |
Men in Black / int_78255ad7 | type |
Passing the Torch | |
Men in Black / int_78255ad7 | comment |
Passing the Torch: At the end of the film, by K giving J the neuralyzer. | |
Men in Black / int_78255ad7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_78255ad7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_78255ad7 | |
Men in Black / int_7a32312a | type |
Rain of Blood | |
Men in Black / int_7a32312a | comment |
Rain of Blood: Kay realizes that a Bug has infiltrated the morgue when he attempts to smoke a cigarette and bug-spit drips on the tip. Cue the camera panning up to the other morgue employee's corpse glued to the ceiling. | |
Men in Black / int_7a32312a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_7a32312a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_7a32312a | |
Men in Black / int_7a6840a1 | type |
Real Event, Fictional Cause | |
Men in Black / int_7a6840a1 | comment |
Real Event, Fictional Cause: The 1977 New York Blackout was caused by an alien releasing a Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball into the area as a prank. The 1964-65 New York World's Fair was a cover operation so that the first alien ambassadors to Earth could land — their ships became the flat circular tops of the observation towers. The movie jokes that this was the only reason the fair was held in Queens. It becomes a Chekhov's Gun later when MIB are trying to stop the Bug from leaving Earth — all the other New York-area spaceships registered in MIB's database are gone and they're trying to figure out how the Bug intends to leave when Agent J looks over a picture of Flushing Meadows, sees the observation towers, and asks whether those still work. | |
Men in Black / int_7a6840a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_7a6840a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_7a6840a1 | |
Men in Black / int_7f413791 | type |
Wall of Weapons | |
Men in Black / int_7f413791 | comment |
Wall of Weapons: There's an impressive wall of impossible sci-fi superweapons in the form of Jeebs' Jewelery. | |
Men in Black / int_7f413791 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_7f413791 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_7f413791 | |
Men in Black / int_7f6a54f2 | type |
Miranda Rights | |
Men in Black / int_7f6a54f2 | comment |
Miranda Rights: Kay shoots Jeebs' head, and Edwards (who has not yet joined the MIB and become Agent Jay) yells at him to drop his gun and "Don't make me shoot you" before Jeebs gets up as his head grows back. The novel expands this by having Edward start to Mirandize Kay, but get interrupted partway through when Kay tells him to lighten up, right before Jeebs revives. | |
Men in Black / int_7f6a54f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_7f6a54f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_7f6a54f2 | |
Men in Black / int_80288048 | type |
Nonchalant Dodge | |
Men in Black / int_80288048 | comment |
Nonchalant Dodge: Zed. Jay accidentally releases the Bouncy Ball of Doom, it ricochets through Zed's office as he's doing paperwork, and he casually leans to the side to avoid it, only tilting his head at the very end because it would have gone straight through his skull. | |
Men in Black / int_80288048 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_80288048 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_80288048 | |
Men in Black / int_80b5924 | type |
Left Hanging | |
Men in Black / int_80b5924 | comment |
Left Hanging: Agent J, and the audience never does find out what Laurel likes to do in the morgue when it's really late. | |
Men in Black / int_80b5924 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_80b5924 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_80b5924 | |
Men in Black / int_820ac351 | type |
It Amused Me | |
Men in Black / int_820ac351 | comment |
It Amused Me: Why did the Great Attracter unleash the super-bouncy ball that caused the 1977 New York Blackout? He thought it was funny as hell! | |
Men in Black / int_820ac351 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_820ac351 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_820ac351 | |
Men in Black / int_8344209e | type |
BFG | |
Men in Black / int_8344209e | comment |
BFG: Played with. The Noisy Cricket, possibly the tiniest MIB gun, can cause some serious damage. It's got a nasty recoil too. On the other hand, a gun the size of a shotgun can shoot down spaceships. | |
Men in Black / int_8344209e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8344209e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8344209e | |
Men in Black / int_83856158 | type |
Worthless Yellow Rocks | |
Men in Black / int_83856158 | comment |
Worthless Yellow Rocks: The two Arquillians at the diner are chatting and one notices an ornamental case on the table. He asks with awe, "Is that it?" The other replies, "No, just some diamonds for your children." Same with Edgar the Cockroach, who, after opening the container he thought contained the galaxy, just dumped the diamonds all over the floor of the truck - and who later ransacked Rosenberg's jewelry store in search of the galaxy but didn't take any of the goods. | |
Men in Black / int_83856158 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_83856158 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_83856158 | |
Men in Black / int_83cef301 | type |
Right for the Wrong Reasons | |
Men in Black / int_83cef301 | comment |
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Zed says the Galaxy cannot be in Orion's Belt because the Belt only has three stars and galaxies are too big to be there. The Galaxy turns out to be small enough to be the ball that decorates Orion the cat's belt but Zed is right about the Galaxy not being in Orion's Belt. | |
Men in Black / int_83cef301 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_83cef301 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_83cef301 | |
Men in Black / int_83f3983b | type |
Necessarily Evil | |
Men in Black / int_83f3983b | comment |
Necessarily Evil: The organization is not overtly malicious, but they do recognize a certain moral ambiguity with how they deceive the population, even telling them harmful lies about the truth of loved ones. J engages Edgar on a crowded street and K is quick to berate him over jeopardizing The Masquerade. When J balks citing the situation calls for extreme measures K tells him that The World Is Always Doomed and the only thing preventing mass chaos is keeping all this a secret. | |
Men in Black / int_83f3983b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_83f3983b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_83f3983b | |
Men in Black / int_8409a385 | type |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin | |
Men in Black / int_8409a385 | comment |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Orion's Belt... technically, collar, but whatever. | |
Men in Black / int_8409a385 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8409a385 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8409a385 | |
Men in Black / int_856297f1 | type |
An Alien Named "Bob" | |
Men in Black / int_856297f1 | comment |
An Alien Named "Bob": Many of the aliens the agents encounter in the field have plain sounding names like Frank or Bob. This even includes a gigantic, subway-dwelling, omnivorous worm called Jeff. Presumably these are all assumed names, and they would make sense for those aliens living as humans. No explanation for the giant worm, though. | |
Men in Black / int_856297f1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_856297f1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_856297f1 | |
Men in Black / int_85bfd195 | type |
They Look Like Us Now | |
Men in Black / int_85bfd195 | comment |
They Look Like Us Now: Non-humanoid aliens have ways of blending in, usually some kind of robotic human suit. Or in Edgar's case, an organic one. | |
Men in Black / int_85bfd195 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_85bfd195 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_85bfd195 | |
Men in Black / int_860c8ce3 | type |
Wistful Amnesia | |
Men in Black / int_860c8ce3 | comment |
Wistful Amnesia: J and Laurel (who had previously met, but were later neuralyzed) both think the other looks familiar when they meet for the first time (again). It's implied that those who have been neuralyzed do retain scraps of memory, usually chalked up to deja vu. | |
Men in Black / int_860c8ce3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_860c8ce3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_860c8ce3 | |
Men in Black / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
Men in Black / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: Edgar grabs Orion the Cat, and a split second later he's holding the charm on its collar, with the cat nowhere to be seen. The cat's whereabouts and condition are not addressed and there's no follow-up. | |
Men in Black / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_863fa679 | |
Men in Black / int_868a972f | type |
Quiet Cry for Help | |
Men in Black / int_868a972f | comment |
Quiet Cry for Help: Laurel is talking to J in the morgue while the hidden Edgar is watching her, having threatened her with death if she gives him away. J persistently misinterprets Laurel's attempts to alert him as sexual come-ons. | |
Men in Black / int_868a972f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_868a972f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_868a972f | |
Men in Black / int_868afe72 | type |
Covert Group with Mundane Front | |
Men in Black / int_868afe72 | comment |
Covert Group with Mundane Front: In the beginning, Kay introduces himself and Dee as "INS, Division Six", much to the confusion of the border patrol officers. This extended to the animated series, where Jay and Kay would introduce themselves in any position tangentially-related to the situation as "Division Six". | |
Men in Black / int_868afe72 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_868afe72 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_868afe72 | |
Men in Black / int_86c192f4 | type |
Badass Creed | |
Men in Black / int_86c192f4 | comment |
Badass Creed | |
Men in Black / int_86c192f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_86c192f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_86c192f4 | |
Men in Black / int_87cc946b | type |
Stumbled Into the Plot | |
Men in Black / int_87cc946b | comment |
Stumbled Into the Plot: Agent K was one of the first MIB members, solely because he took a wrong turn on the road and arrived at the First Contact site. J works out that he was actually going to meet up with the girl he loved (he was carrying flowers), who he still cares about decades later. The animated series makes it worse - he was planning to propose that night. | |
Men in Black / int_87cc946b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_87cc946b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_87cc946b | |
Men in Black / int_884c48a6 | type |
Non-Answer | |
Men in Black / int_884c48a6 | comment |
Non-Answer: During the recruitment, J asks why they were there, and one of the military-trained recruits responds that Zed is looking the "the best of the best of the best, sir." J deduces, correctly, that none of the others knows why they're there either, and are following a "do what you're told" mentality. Given the results of the test, it's entirely possible that the recruitment process was just a going-through-the-motions act put on for the benefit of J and/or Zed. | |
Men in Black / int_884c48a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_884c48a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_884c48a6 | |
Men in Black / int_8a295a46 | type |
Cool Car | |
Men in Black / int_8a295a46 | comment |
Cool Car: Each agent, and each of them has a hidden form that comes in handy. "Old and Busted... new hotness." | |
Men in Black / int_8a295a46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8a295a46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8a295a46 | |
Men in Black / int_8b3fe1cb | type |
Flaw Exploitation | |
Men in Black / int_8b3fe1cb | comment |
Do not squish any bugs in front of Edgar. Just don't. Turns out this is how J manages to keep Edgar around long enough for K to kill him. | |
Men in Black / int_8b3fe1cb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8b3fe1cb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8b3fe1cb | |
Men in Black / int_8ca89acb | type |
I Need to Go Iron My Dog | |
Men in Black / int_8ca89acb | comment |
I Need to Go Iron My Dog: The human smuggler at the beginning of the movie tells the Border Patrol he's been fishing in Cuernavaca to explain why he's driving across the Mexican border late at night. The Border Patrol agent has already busted him for smuggling on several previous occasions, so he doesn't buy this excuse for one second. | |
Men in Black / int_8ca89acb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8ca89acb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8ca89acb | |
Men in Black / int_8d0c61b6 | type |
Team Title | |
Men in Black / int_8d0c61b6 | comment |
Team Title: Men in Black. | |
Men in Black / int_8d0c61b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8d0c61b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8d0c61b6 | |
Men in Black / int_8d5fc8c7 | type |
Recoiled Across the Room | |
Men in Black / int_8d5fc8c7 | comment |
Recoiled Across the Room: J and the Noisy Cricket. Every time J shoots it, he flies back several feet. | |
Men in Black / int_8d5fc8c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8d5fc8c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8d5fc8c7 | |
Men in Black / int_8dca1883 | type |
Abstract Scale | |
Men in Black / int_8dca1883 | comment |
Abstract Scale: At the end of the movie, J quantifies the battle with the Bug as ranking 9.5 on the "Weird-Shit-O-Meter". | |
Men in Black / int_8dca1883 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8dca1883 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8dca1883 | |
Men in Black / int_8ed5c6e4 | type |
Asshole Victim | |
Men in Black / int_8ed5c6e4 | comment |
Asshole Victim The opening scene where Kay ends up killing the alien "Mikey" had to be re-shot when the producers realized audiences were feeling bad for Mikey. Edgar, who's shown to be a spousal abuser (at least emotionally, and possibly physically as well) just before the Bug kills him. | |
Men in Black / int_8ed5c6e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_8ed5c6e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_8ed5c6e4 | |
Men in Black / int_905438eb | type |
Recycled IN SPACE! | |
Men in Black / int_905438eb | comment |
Recycled In Space: In-universe example; K refers to Earth as Casablanca FOR ALIENS. | |
Men in Black / int_905438eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_905438eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_905438eb | |
Men in Black / int_90d44f44 | type |
Karmic Death | |
Men in Black / int_90d44f44 | comment |
Karmic Death: The Bug kidnaps Laurel and decides to make a meal out of her. Sure enough, she is ultimately the one who destroys him once and for all. | |
Men in Black / int_90d44f44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_90d44f44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_90d44f44 | |
Men in Black / int_90e31482 | type |
Laser-Guided Karma | |
Men in Black / int_90e31482 | comment |
Laser-Guided Karma: The verbally abusive Edgar spends just enough time on screen doing his thing so that the audience will have absolutely zero sympathy when the bug's meteor crashes on his vehicle of choice. | |
Men in Black / int_90e31482 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_90e31482 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_90e31482 | |
Men in Black / int_916c72b3 | type |
Rule of Symbolism | |
Men in Black / int_916c72b3 | comment |
The opening credits scroll over a bug flying in a sinister pattern. SPLAT. Gotcha — turns out the bug is of no significance, at least as far as people are concerned. The last shot of the movie reveals this universe to be a plaything for giant alien kids. It's also a bookend in that the climax ends with a bug going splat — though a much larger one. | |
Men in Black / int_916c72b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_916c72b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_916c72b3 | |
Men in Black / int_921d06e8 | type |
This Explains So Much | |
Men in Black / int_921d06e8 | comment |
This Explains So Much: Twice. J discovers his third grade teacher really was an alien all along, and at the end when J reveals Dennis Rodman is one, too. | |
Men in Black / int_921d06e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_921d06e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_921d06e8 | |
Men in Black / int_9289ca1d | type |
Forbidden Chekhov's Gun | |
Men in Black / int_9289ca1d | comment |
Forbidden Chekhov's Gun | |
Men in Black / int_9289ca1d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9289ca1d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9289ca1d | |
Men in Black / int_9323741 | type |
Planet Looters | |
Men in Black / int_9323741 | comment |
Planet Looters: Edgar's race feeds off intergalactic wars. | |
Men in Black / int_9323741 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9323741 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9323741 | |
Men in Black / int_94cc2c28 | type |
Exact Time to Failure | |
Men in Black / int_94cc2c28 | comment |
Exact Time to Failure: The Arquillians give MIB a time limit on getting the Galaxy back before they destroy the Earth. When J and K finally retrieve it, all K has to do is say it's in his possession, which happens exactly seven minutes after the timer showed eight minutes. They had plenty of time to spare. | |
Men in Black / int_94cc2c28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_94cc2c28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_94cc2c28 | |
Men in Black / int_94e4b975 | type |
Vomit Indiscretion Shot | |
Men in Black / int_94e4b975 | comment |
Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Reggie's newborn "squid" child coughs up on J shortly after it's born. | |
Men in Black / int_94e4b975 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_94e4b975 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_94e4b975 | |
Men in Black / int_958a7bef | type |
Layman's Terms | |
Men in Black / int_958a7bef | comment |
Layman's Terms: Zed compares Earth's predicament to being the last party-goer who gets stuck with the check. | |
Men in Black / int_958a7bef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_958a7bef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_958a7bef | |
Men in Black / int_95f972d2 | type |
Nitro Boost | |
Men in Black / int_95f972d2 | comment |
Nitro Boost: The "Ford POS" has rocket boosters powerful enough to allow driving on the roof of a tunnel. | |
Men in Black / int_95f972d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_95f972d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_95f972d2 | |
Men in Black / int_9600368d | type |
Behind the Black | |
Men in Black / int_9600368d | comment |
Behind the Black: J and K don't seem to notice the alien giving birth in the back seat of Reggie's car until Reggie pointed her out. | |
Men in Black / int_9600368d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9600368d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9600368d | |
Men in Black / int_969bc7d9 | type |
*Drool* Hello | |
Men in Black / int_969bc7d9 | comment |
*Drool* Hello: Indirectly. After K enters the morgue to find out what's happened to J, he tries to light a cigarette but the match is put out by a drip of slime. He looks up, and now we know what happened to the clerk... | |
Men in Black / int_969bc7d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_969bc7d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_969bc7d9 | |
Men in Black / int_96a33f11 | type |
Riddle for the Ages | |
Men in Black / int_96a33f11 | comment |
Riddle for the Ages: What does Laurel like to do in the morgue late at night? | |
Men in Black / int_96a33f11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_96a33f11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_96a33f11 | |
Men in Black / int_970c790a | type |
Big Bad | |
Men in Black / int_970c790a | comment |
Big Bad: An unnamed bug alien seeking a powerful energy source to win an intergalactic war. | |
Men in Black / int_970c790a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_970c790a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_970c790a | |
Men in Black / int_973ba076 | type |
Safety in Muggles | |
Men in Black / int_973ba076 | comment |
Safety in Muggles: K stops J's attempt to kill the bug villain because they are in public. Turns out the MIB's don't have a Godzilla Threshold because The World Is Always Doomed and a big part of their job is making sure the general public don't know about it. | |
Men in Black / int_973ba076 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_973ba076 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_973ba076 | |
Men in Black / int_988defe7 | type |
Constellations as Locations | |
Men in Black / int_988defe7 | comment |
Constellations as Locations: Discussed, lampshaded and ultimately averted. A dying alien tells the heroes that "the Galaxy is on the Orion's Belt", which they first take to refer to the strip of starsnote Alnitak, Alilam, and Mintaka forming the "belt" of the Orion constellation. However, they are quickly refuted when they are shown that the "belt" in reality consists of stars thousands of light years apart that only look like they are close together from Earth, and that there are no suitable galaxies in that particular direction of the sky. The alien's words turn out to refer to their pet, also named Orion, who carries a tiny galaxy hidden on its collar. | |
Men in Black / int_988defe7 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_988defe7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_988defe7 | |
Men in Black / int_98def616 | type |
Replicant Snatching | |
Men in Black / int_98def616 | comment |
Replicant Snatching: | |
Men in Black / int_98def616 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_98def616 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_98def616 | |
Men in Black / int_99023982 | type |
Move Along, Nothing to See Here | |
Men in Black / int_99023982 | comment |
Move Along, Nothing to See Here: Used by The Men in Black to uphold their Masquerade. Thanks to the neuralyzer, the people believe it. | |
Men in Black / int_99023982 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_99023982 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_99023982 | |
Men in Black / int_99298c71 | type |
Better to Die than Be Killed | |
Men in Black / int_99298c71 | comment |
Better to Die than Be Killed: The alien Jay was chasing towards the beginning decides to jump off the roof of the Guggenheim Museum rather than live long enough to be killed for his failure. | |
Men in Black / int_99298c71 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_99298c71 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_99298c71 | |
Men in Black / int_9a480050 | type |
Do Not Taunt Cthulhu | |
Men in Black / int_9a480050 | comment |
Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Both the tow truck driver and the morgue receptionist learn this the hard way. | |
Men in Black / int_9a480050 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9a480050 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9a480050 | |
Men in Black / int_9a68179 | type |
Holding the Floor | |
Men in Black / int_9a68179 | comment |
Holding the Floor: Agent J does this (and takes quite a beating) while Agent K "goes to get his gun". After the Big Bad swallowed it. | |
Men in Black / int_9a68179 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9a68179 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9a68179 | |
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0 | type |
The Dog Is an Alien | |
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0 | comment |
The Dog Is an Alien: Frank the Pug. | |
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0 | |
Men in Black / int_9b3c14cb | type |
Van Helsing Hate Crimes | |
Men in Black / int_9b3c14cb | comment |
Van Helsing Hate Crimes: The MIB are an aversion of this and only seem to accept candidates who are also an aversion of this. The rejected candidates all played this trope straight during the target practice session. | |
Men in Black / int_9b3c14cb | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9b3c14cb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9b3c14cb | |
Men in Black / int_9b6f7fbb | type |
Secretly Earmarked for Greatness | |
Men in Black / int_9b6f7fbb | comment |
Secretly Earmarked for Greatness: Agent K witnesses NYPD detective James Edwards run down an alien on foot, by himself. After neutralizing James, he gives him a card to apply to the Men in Black. With no idea what the organization does, James goes to the trials, surrounded by Navy SEALS and Green Berets, and, while a bit cocky and mouthy, shows the out-of-the-box thinking MIB needs, with K talking him up to Agent Z behind the scenes. Thus, James is offered the position at MIB, becoming Agent J. | |
Men in Black / int_9b6f7fbb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9b6f7fbb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9b6f7fbb | |
Men in Black / int_9cde2df1 | type |
Hand Cannon | |
Men in Black / int_9cde2df1 | comment |
Hand Cannon Played straight with the huge revolver the tow-truck driver pulls out when Bug!Edgar threatens him with a shotgun. He's killed by Edgar's shotgun blast before he can use it. Inverted by the Noisy Cricket: a tiny, unseemly weapon resembling a hypodermic needle with a handle, pauses momentarily and chirps like a cricket when you pull the trigger, and then promptly annihilates whatever it was pointed at and knocks you flat on your butt. The recoil usually hurls Agent J about fifteen feet, no matter how he tries to brace himself. | |
Men in Black / int_9cde2df1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9cde2df1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9cde2df1 | |
Men in Black / int_9d0f2549 | type |
Public Secret Message | |
Men in Black / int_9d0f2549 | comment |
Public Secret Message: Agent K explains that tabloids, which are assumed to be hoaxes by muggles, are in fact based on true events behind The Masquerade (since tabloids have less Weirdness Censor than "serious" newspapers). Later, when Agent K retires, Agent J notices an article with Agent K's photo and an article about a postal worker who returned to his old job after years in a coma, revealing Agent K's fate, which then becomes a major plot point in the second film. | |
Men in Black / int_9d0f2549 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9d0f2549 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9d0f2549 | |
Men in Black / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
Men in Black / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: The first line in the movie is "Goddamned bugs!" It's real subtle in relation to K's true motives, but when K and Zed are discussing J: When K shows J the photographs of First Contact, he reacts to the picture of the random young man greeting the aliens with "Aww, you brought that tall man some flowers!" Though he doesn't realize it, his use of "you" is completely accurate — the young man in that picture is K himself. When describing the people present for the First Contact, he's brief with the description of the others, "seven agents, one astronomer", but makes a point to be specific about the "one dumb kid who got lost on the wrong back road". The dying Arquillian prince repeatedly struggles with selecting the right English word in his Final Speech, suggesting that Orion's "belt" might not be exactly what that word typically calls to mind. | |
Men in Black / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9d12bbc1 | |
Men in Black / int_9da6354b | type |
Reality Has No Subtitles | |
Men in Black / int_9da6354b | comment |
Reality Has No Subtitles: Near the beginning of the movie, a group of Border Patrol agents stop a van carrying illegal Mexican immigrants. The driver of the van and a Border Patrol agent all speak to the illegal Mexican immigrants in Spanish without any translation of their words. However, K's dialogue after he shows up is subtitled. | |
Men in Black / int_9da6354b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9da6354b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9da6354b | |
Men in Black / int_9e0c3153 | type |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis! | |
Men in Black / int_9e0c3153 | comment |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis! When J catches up to the perp he's chasing: Also, when K, when J complains about them not having time for the cover-up: When pressing Edgar's Berserk Button: | |
Men in Black / int_9e0c3153 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9e0c3153 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9e0c3153 | |
Men in Black / int_9e224dd5 | type |
Object-Tracking Shot | |
Men in Black / int_9e224dd5 | comment |
Object-Tracking Shot: The (primitive CGI) insect at the beginning of the movie, which ends up splattered on the windscreen of a van. | |
Men in Black / int_9e224dd5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9e224dd5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9e224dd5 | |
Men in Black / int_9e6221b0 | type |
E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi | |
Men in Black / int_9e6221b0 | comment |
E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi: The MIB have been supporting themselves with patent royalties on technologies they've confiscated from alien visitors, helping along the development of modern tech in the process. Microwave ovens, Velcro, and liposuction are all alien tech, and in the expanded universe, cell phones, solar power, and many more were all reverse-engineered from contraband. | |
Men in Black / int_9e6221b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9e6221b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9e6221b0 | |
Men in Black / int_9e8a2db8 | type |
Ignorance Is Bliss | |
Men in Black / int_9e8a2db8 | comment |
Ignorance Is Bliss: "There's always an Arquillian battle cruiser, or a Corillian death ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!" | |
Men in Black / int_9e8a2db8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9e8a2db8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9e8a2db8 | |
Men in Black / int_9ebd9c33 | type |
UnPerson | |
Men in Black / int_9ebd9c33 | comment |
Un-person: As Zed says in the quote, it's part of the initiation process. Leaving agents get their identities back, however, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. | |
Men in Black / int_9ebd9c33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9ebd9c33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9ebd9c33 | |
Men in Black / int_9f50dbe6 | type |
Infinite Supplies | |
Men in Black / int_9f50dbe6 | comment |
Infinite Supplies: Subverted when Kay tells Jay exactly how the organization is funded, saying they hold patents on a lot of inventions that were either given to them or confiscated from aliens, including microwaves and liposuction. | |
Men in Black / int_9f50dbe6 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Men in Black / int_9f50dbe6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9f50dbe6 | |
Men in Black / int_9f842947 | type |
Alternate Landmark History | |
Men in Black / int_9f842947 | comment |
Alternate Landmark History: The observatory towers in New York's Flushing Meadow Park are really moored flying saucers. | |
Men in Black / int_9f842947 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9f842947 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9f842947 | |
Men in Black / int_9f87b4fb | type |
Little Useless Gun | |
Men in Black / int_9f87b4fb | comment |
Little Useless Gun: The Noisy Cricket is a double subversion. It's tiny, sure, but it packs a hell of a punch... which never actually helps at any point in the film. The novelization informs us that this is a deliberate tactic used to train new agents not to assume things about how something because of how it looks (and to haze the new recruits and bet on how far they will fly backwards). | |
Men in Black / int_9f87b4fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_9f87b4fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_9f87b4fb | |
Men in Black / int_a03509ce | type |
You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With | |
Men in Black / int_a03509ce | comment |
You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: Done with a dramatic zoom on Kay after he dismisses the "illegal aliens" in order to interrogate the ALIEN, and he's had enough of the protests from Border Patrol. | |
Men in Black / int_a03509ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a03509ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a03509ce | |
Men in Black / int_a03f04d4 | type |
Ceiling Corpse | |
Men in Black / int_a03f04d4 | comment |
Ceiling Corpse: When J and K return to the morgue, Agent K finds the body of the rude morgue attendant (David Cross) where the Bug stuck it to the ceiling. The second movie reveals that he's still alive, however. | |
Men in Black / int_a03f04d4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a03f04d4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a03f04d4 | |
Men in Black / int_a0d9c2f3 | type |
Final Speech | |
Men in Black / int_a0d9c2f3 | comment |
The dying Arquillian prince repeatedly struggles with selecting the right English word in his Final Speech, suggesting that Orion's "belt" might not be exactly what that word typically calls to mind. | |
Men in Black / int_a0d9c2f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a0d9c2f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a0d9c2f3 | |
Men in Black / int_a116a489 | type |
Herald | |
Men in Black / int_a116a489 | comment |
Herald: The MIB organization (and by extension, the existence of aliens) is this for J. | |
Men in Black / int_a116a489 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a116a489 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a116a489 | |
Men in Black / int_a2f3e380 | type |
World of Weirdness | |
Men in Black / int_a2f3e380 | comment |
World of Weirdness: Earth manages to be this in spite of The Masquerade. It implies the real world is like this, we just don't know about it because a) the MIB organization is actively hiding the truth from the general public and b) whenever someone does spill the beans, nobody believes them anyway. At one point K goes to get leads from the "hot sheets", which turn out to be tabloids like National Enquirer and Weekly World News. He tells the incredulous J, "Finest investigative reporting on the planet. Oh, you can read the New York Times if you want to; sometimes they get lucky." | |
Men in Black / int_a2f3e380 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a2f3e380 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a2f3e380 | |
Men in Black / int_a3385649 | type |
In-Joke | |
Men in Black / int_a3385649 | comment |
In-Joke: The driver smuggling illegal aliens (one of whom is an alien disguised as an illegal alien) along a road marked "375" claims to have been "fishing in Cuernavaca." 375 refers to Nevada State Road 375, known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway" for being near Area 51 (although the scene is in Texas), while Cuernavaca is a Mexican city that supposedly had a flying saucer crash. | |
Men in Black / int_a3385649 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a3385649 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a3385649 | |
Men in Black / int_a35c7d61 | type |
Casual High Drop | |
Men in Black / int_a35c7d61 | comment |
Casual High Drop: The cephalopoid J chases down in New York City drops off a high overpass and keeps right on running. This is J's first clue that something unnatural is going on. | |
Men in Black / int_a35c7d61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a35c7d61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a35c7d61 | |
Men in Black / int_a414c3f0 | type |
One-Hit Kill | |
Men in Black / int_a414c3f0 | comment |
One-Hit Kill: The MIB's heavy weaponry has this effect on aliens and their vehicles. The challenge is getting to a point where you both A) are in front of the alien and B) have said heavy weapon at the ready. | |
Men in Black / int_a414c3f0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a414c3f0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a414c3f0 | |
Men in Black / int_a4916876 | type |
Blown Across the Room | |
Men in Black / int_a4916876 | comment |
Blown Across the Room: Inverted when Agent J's tiny "Noisy Cricket" gun packs enough kick to destroy a truck but knocks the shooter off his feet and onto the hood of a car several yards behind him from recoil (despite it being an energy weapon). | |
Men in Black / int_a4916876 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a4916876 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a4916876 | |
Men in Black / int_a4c37cbe | type |
Mood Whiplash | |
Men in Black / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash J is more than happy to help K with doing the whole Good Cop/Bad Cop routine while questioning Jeebs, until K holy shit blows Jeebs's head off, at which point J drops the act: Then Whiplashed back again as Jeebs regrows his head: | |
Men in Black / int_a4c37cbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a4c37cbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a4c37cbe | |
Men in Black / int_a4f2570d | type |
Muggles | |
Men in Black / int_a4f2570d | comment |
Muggles: Any person not an alien and not part of the MIB is called a "Neutral". | |
Men in Black / int_a4f2570d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a4f2570d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a4f2570d | |
Men in Black / int_a5dbe5a | type |
Point That Somewhere Else | |
Men in Black / int_a5dbe5a | comment |
Point That Somewhere Else: When Agent J (who really ought to know better) points the Noisy Cricket (itty-bitty pistol with power and recoil of a gun 50x its size) at Agent K, K immediately pushes it away so it isn't pointed at him. | |
Men in Black / int_a5dbe5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a5dbe5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a5dbe5a | |
Men in Black / int_a68421bb | type |
Animated Adaptation | |
Men in Black / int_a68421bb | comment |
Animated Adaptation: Men in Black: The Series | |
Men in Black / int_a68421bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a68421bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a68421bb | |
Men in Black / int_a6c69bd | type |
MacGuffin | |
Men in Black / int_a6c69bd | comment |
MacGuffin: The Galaxy on Orion's belt. It's a miniaturized galaxy disguised as the bell-charm on the dead jeweler's cat, Orion — nothing to do with the constellation after all. | |
Men in Black / int_a6c69bd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a6c69bd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a6c69bd | |
Men in Black / int_a7aef9ff | type |
Obfuscating Stupidity | |
Men in Black / int_a7aef9ff | comment |
Obfuscating Stupidity: J, to a degree. The entire first act of the movie is designed to show that his streetwise smart-ass routine is largely a put-on and he's actually a very good, and even insightful, detective. | |
Men in Black / int_a7aef9ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a7aef9ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a7aef9ff | |
Men in Black / int_a7caa5b5 | type |
First Contact | |
Men in Black / int_a7caa5b5 | comment |
When describing the people present for the First Contact, he's brief with the description of the others, "seven agents, one astronomer", but makes a point to be specific about the "one dumb kid who got lost on the wrong back road". | |
Men in Black / int_a7caa5b5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a7caa5b5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a7caa5b5 | |
Men in Black / int_a7defafd | type |
Code Name | |
Men in Black / int_a7defafd | comment |
Code Name: Each agent is supplied with one, but it's the first letter of their first name (James, Kevin, Laurel). Expanded Universe has them go into detail with it. | |
Men in Black / int_a7defafd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a7defafd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a7defafd | |
Men in Black / int_a814671b | type |
N.G.O. Superpower | |
Men in Black / int_a814671b | comment |
N.G.O. Superpower: The MIB is no longer connected to any government, but effectively holds sole control over Earth's foreign policy. | |
Men in Black / int_a814671b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a814671b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a814671b | |
Men in Black / int_a8a80e26 | type |
Fashion Dissonance | |
Men in Black / int_a8a80e26 | comment |
Fashion Dissonance: Agent J's getup at the end of the film (oval-rim sunglasses, long Nehru jacket, and band collar without a necktie) was Hollywood haute-couture for a brief moment towards the end of The '90s. Its purpose in the film is probably to make him look more "up-to-date" and "hip". Tellingly, he goes back to a normal black suit for the sequels. | |
Men in Black / int_a8a80e26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a8a80e26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a8a80e26 | |
Men in Black / int_a8b5a55e | type |
Welcome Episode | |
Men in Black / int_a8b5a55e | comment |
Welcome Episode: The first half of the movie. | |
Men in Black / int_a8b5a55e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a8b5a55e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a8b5a55e | |
Men in Black / int_a8f3e2f6 | type |
Worst. Whatever. Ever! | |
Men in Black / int_a8f3e2f6 | comment |
Worst. Whatever. Ever!: J's first impression on seeing the locksmith is that he's got the "worst disguise ever". The locksmith turns out to be human; his dog Frank is actually the alien. | |
Men in Black / int_a8f3e2f6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a8f3e2f6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a8f3e2f6 | |
Men in Black / int_a9667a3b | type |
Hero Insurance | |
Men in Black / int_a9667a3b | comment |
Hero Insurance: Shooting up the Guggenheim to chase a petty thief would get J instantly cashiered from the NYPD. | |
Men in Black / int_a9667a3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_a9667a3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_a9667a3b | |
Men in Black / int_aaa35901 | type |
My Card | |
Men in Black / int_aaa35901 | comment |
My Card: K hands one to J as part of recruitment. | |
Men in Black / int_aaa35901 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_aaa35901 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_aaa35901 | |
Men in Black / int_aaedd10 | type |
Given Name Reveal | |
Men in Black / int_aaedd10 | comment |
Given Name Reveal: Orion the cat. | |
Men in Black / int_aaedd10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_aaedd10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_aaedd10 | |
Men in Black / int_ab17e948 | type |
Don't Touch It, You Idiot! | |
Men in Black / int_ab17e948 | comment |
Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Agent K tells Agent J not to touch anything. What does Agent J do? Touches a small ball thing. Cue destruction and mayhem. | |
Men in Black / int_ab17e948 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ab17e948 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ab17e948 | |
Men in Black / int_ab5eea65 | type |
Dramatic Irony | |
Men in Black / int_ab5eea65 | comment |
Dramatic Irony: The Bug's saucer can be seen careening towards Earth for several seconds while Edgar rants to his wife, with his truck prominently in the foreground — so when he says "the only thing that pulls its weight around here is my goddamned truck", the audience gets a moment to realize that he really just said that before the truck in question gets thoroughly obliterated. | |
Men in Black / int_ab5eea65 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ab5eea65 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ab5eea65 | |
Men in Black / int_aba972fb | type |
Aggressive Negotiations | |
Men in Black / int_aba972fb | comment |
Aggressive Negotiations: This is how the Arquellians negotiate. First step is to deliver an ultimatum. Next, they fire a "warning shot" at an uninhabited area (in this case a heat beam at Earth's ice caps). Finally, if the demands are not met within a galactic standard week (one hour), you can say goodbye to Planet Earth. Though they were at least nice enough to add a "Sorry" at the end of the ultimatum. | |
Men in Black / int_aba972fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_aba972fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_aba972fb | |
Men in Black / int_abdf7d09 | type |
Weirdness Censor | |
Men in Black / int_abdf7d09 | comment |
Weirdness Censor: One of the primary responsibilities of The Men in Black (the other being handling lawful extraterrestrial alien visitor traffic) is policing illicit alien activity on Earth. Part of that duty is ensuring that the humans on Earth outside the agency are completely oblivious to the aliens among them, be they legal or otherwise. | |
Men in Black / int_abdf7d09 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_abdf7d09 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_abdf7d09 | |
Men in Black / int_abf75585 | type |
Checkpoint Charlie | |
Men in Black / int_abf75585 | comment |
Checkpoint Charlie: The movie starts with K arresting one of the aliens trying to cross the Mexican border, as the alien was trying to disguise as a human illegal immigrant but gets sussed out for not understanding Spanish. MIB headquarters in New York also serves as an immigration checkpoint for extraterrestrials wanting to enter Earth for whatever reason — unauthorized ship launches or leaving Manhattan tends to draw their attention quickly. | |
Men in Black / int_abf75585 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_abf75585 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_abf75585 | |
Men in Black / int_ace24b2c | type |
Halfway Plot Switch | |
Men in Black / int_ace24b2c | comment |
Halfway Plot Switch: Done very briefly. After the Cold Open, the plot focuses on James running down a criminal who turns out to be an alien giving portents of doom. While being berated by his superiors for this ridiculous story, he is approached by Dr. Laurel Weaver, a coroner who examined the body claims to believe him. She whispers an address to him and tells him to meet her secretly afterwards — leading the audience to believe that the movie will be a Sci-Fi mystery or thriller, involving James and the coroner as Muggles unearthing The Masquerade... and then Laurel is neuralyzed immediately after revealing her suspicions to James, cutting this plotline short immediately, leading into the agent in-training story the movie truly is. She still becomes involved later. | |
Men in Black / int_ace24b2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ace24b2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ace24b2c | |
Men in Black / int_acecb17d | type |
Chekhov's Skill | |
Men in Black / int_acecb17d | comment |
Chekhov's Skill: Though played for laughs, when J shoots little Tiffany, his description of the situation demonstrates a skilled ability to pick up on details in the scene. While it seems he's simply embellishing to Zed, J is later the one who makes the connection between the jeweler's cat Orion and the "Orion's Belt" clue. It's made all the more awesome by the novelization revealing his rationale for shooting Tiffany was CORRECT, something none of the other applicants succeeded at. He also demonstrates hints of an eidetic memory: he recognises the perp's weapon from his introductory chase scene when K takes him to Jeebs' pawnshop, recognises the tall alien at the morgue after spotting him arriving in M.I.B. headquarters earlier that day, and remembers the flying saucers at the World's Fair in Queens, realizing that the Bug could use the mothballed ships to escape. | |
Men in Black / int_acecb17d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_acecb17d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_acecb17d | |
Men in Black / int_ad1db87c | type |
Oh, Crap! | |
Men in Black / int_ad1db87c | comment |
Oh, Crap!: Agent Janus when he gets discovered by Mikey and realizes that he's about to be killed. Only once does Agent K briefly lose his composure, thanks to witnessing the Bug revealing itself. | |
Men in Black / int_ad1db87c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ad1db87c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ad1db87c | |
Men in Black / int_ae050352 | type |
Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind | |
Men in Black / int_ae050352 | comment |
Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Happens at the end of the movie. After they think that Edgar is dead and are relaxing for a moment, he lurks in the background and then leaps up to kill them. Before they can react, L shoots him. | |
Men in Black / int_ae050352 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ae050352 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ae050352 | |
Men in Black / int_ae2b8366 | type |
Possessing a Dead Body | |
Men in Black / int_ae2b8366 | comment |
Possessing a Dead Body: Shortly after landing on Earth, the villainous Bug kills the farmer Edgar and proceeds to wear Edgar's hollowed-out skin as a disguise. The resulting impression—a sick-looking man who moves clumsily and turns increasingly rotten as the plot advances—very much resembles a walking corpse. | |
Men in Black / int_ae2b8366 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ae2b8366 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ae2b8366 | |
Men in Black / int_ae3d6438 | type |
Deadpan Snarker | |
Men in Black / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Laurel herself isn't too fond of mankind either, after she fills out the form regarding the dead Arquillian prince and asks the policeman giving it to her why there is a cat with the corpse, the rude jerk angrily takes the form away from her hands and tells her the cat is her problem now. Annoyed with the cop's negligence and rudeness, Laurel gives us this gem: | |
Men in Black / int_ae3d6438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ae3d6438 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ae3d6438 | |
Men in Black / int_ae853f28 | type |
Parody | |
Men in Black / int_ae853f28 | comment |
Parody: The film parodies the witterings of conspiracy theorists by taking them at face value. | |
Men in Black / int_ae853f28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ae853f28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ae853f28 | |
Men in Black / int_b016f599 | type |
Person with the Clothing | |
Men in Black / int_b016f599 | comment |
Person with the Clothing: Black suits, black shades. | |
Men in Black / int_b016f599 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b016f599 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b016f599 | |
Men in Black / int_b149d59f | type |
Off Bridge, onto Vehicle | |
Men in Black / int_b149d59f | comment |
Off Bridge, onto Vehicle: Played with during the Cold Opening, when Jay is seen chasing a perp who jumps down from an overpass onto a lower street. Instead of watching the perp get away, Jay jumps down onto an open-top double-decker tour bus full of Japanese Tourists. | |
Men in Black / int_b149d59f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b149d59f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b149d59f | |
Men in Black / int_b1f18adb | type |
Ray Gun | |
Men in Black / int_b1f18adb | comment |
To a lesser extent, the Noisy Cricket is one as well. It looks like a child's toy Ray Gun and is smaller than J's hand ("I feel like I'ma break dis damn thang!"), but it is apparently the most powerful sidearm in the film. According to the filmmakers, the Noisy Cricket was originally designed as a concealable weapon, but proved to be easily modified to the magnitude it exhibits in the movie. This was done as a form of hazing for new recruits. | |
Men in Black / int_b1f18adb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b1f18adb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b1f18adb | |
Men in Black / int_b2099693 | type |
Stargazing Scene | |
Men in Black / int_b2099693 | comment |
Stargazing Scene: In the opening of the film, Agent K's partner, Agent D, after not reacting fast enough during a case, looks up and points out how beautiful the stars are and how easily the Men in Black take them for granted, leading into his decision to retire. This is echoed at the end, when Agent K decides to do the same. | |
Men in Black / int_b2099693 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b2099693 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b2099693 | |
Men in Black / int_b2a06892 | type |
Fourth Wall Psych | |
Men in Black / int_b2a06892 | comment |
Fourth Wall Psych: When the bug invades Rosenberg's jewelry shop, he appears to walk up to the camera and punch it, cracking the lens. Then the supposedly ruined camera pans out and we see that he's actually trying to break through the glass door to the shop. | |
Men in Black / int_b2a06892 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b2a06892 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b2a06892 | |
Men in Black / int_b3f4bf22 | type |
Pants-Positive Safety | |
Men in Black / int_b3f4bf22 | comment |
Pants-Positive Safety: Averted; Officer Edwards seems to be stashing his handgun down the front of his pants, but he actually has a specialized concealment holster in that location which is briefly visible. | |
Men in Black / int_b3f4bf22 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b3f4bf22 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b3f4bf22 | |
Men in Black / int_b4eff8a8 | type |
Epic Fail | |
Men in Black / int_b4eff8a8 | comment |
Epic Fail: Played With; "May I ask why you felt little Tiffany deserved to die?" J points out that the freaky-looking aliens all could be doing fairly innocuous things like working out, while Tiffany is walking around with physics textbooks well out of her grade range in a dark alley. Zed is not amused. The novelization reveals J was actually RIGHT in his reasoning and had shot the only real threat.note This is alluded to in the movie as well; in the conversation with K that immediately follows, Z brings up J's test scores and flippant attitude, but doesn't argue that simulation against him. | |
Men in Black / int_b4eff8a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b4eff8a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b4eff8a8 | |
Men in Black / int_b53077b3 | type |
Take That! | |
Men in Black / int_b53077b3 | comment |
As it happens, the infamously mismanaged 1964 World's Fair was a cover for an alien landing. "Why else would we hold it in Queens?" | |
Men in Black / int_b53077b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b53077b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b53077b3 | |
Men in Black / int_b55698cd | type |
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond | |
Men in Black / int_b55698cd | comment |
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: An entire galaxy of intelligent beings is so small that on our world it is a pendant on a cat's collar. At the end of the movie, however, a pan-out sequence reveals that our own galaxy fits into a mere marble that is used for games by aliens with a similar difference in size. | |
Men in Black / int_b55698cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b55698cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b55698cd | |
Men in Black / int_b58b4e3c | type |
Too Dumb to Live | |
Men in Black / int_b58b4e3c | comment |
Too Dumb to Live: The tow truck driver towing Edgar's vehicle responds to a drawn shotgun pointed at him by simply showing Edgar his revolver and then putting it back in his jacket, somehow failing to realize a revolver inside a jacket will do no good against someone who already has his gun drawn and aimed at him. | |
Men in Black / int_b58b4e3c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b58b4e3c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b58b4e3c | |
Men in Black / int_b6034ac5 | type |
Cockroaches Will Rule the Earth | |
Men in Black / int_b6034ac5 | comment |
Cockroaches Will Rule the Earth: The Big Bad looks like a giant space cockroach who wants to ensure earth's destruction and start a war with the Arquillians by stealing the galaxy from the Arquillian prince. He considers his kind superior to and more evolved than humans, willing to kill them over swatting an Earth bug. | |
Men in Black / int_b6034ac5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b6034ac5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b6034ac5 | |
Men in Black / int_b739b613 | type |
Elvis Lives | |
Men in Black / int_b739b613 | comment |
Elvis Lives: Elvis isn't dead, he "just went home". Your guess is as good as ours on this one; it's a movie where Beethoven was almost definitely an alien immigrant and aliens gave us the microwave oven, but Kay also loves messing with Jay's head (when they're alone). | |
Men in Black / int_b739b613 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b739b613 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b739b613 | |
Men in Black / int_b7920c43 | type |
Lost in Translation | |
Men in Black / int_b7920c43 | comment |
Lost in Translation: The Arquillian Prince says that "To prevent war, the galaxy lies on Orion's Belt." The protagonists are led astray by their presumption that the Prince was referring to the constellation Orion and the three stars that comprise his "belt". Orion is actually his cat's name and the "belt" is actually a mistranslation of "collar." | |
Men in Black / int_b7920c43 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b7920c43 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b7920c43 | |
Men in Black / int_b7cc315d | type |
Sparse List of Rules | |
Men in Black / int_b7cc315d | comment |
Sparse List of Rules: Agent Kay is given to quoting chapter and verse of MIB regulations at Jay when he does something questionable. | |
Men in Black / int_b7cc315d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b7cc315d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b7cc315d | |
Men in Black / int_b87666bb | type |
Eccentric Exterminator | |
Men in Black / int_b87666bb | comment |
Eccentric Exterminator: Edgar actually isn't an exterminator and is a pretty normal fella (or as normal as someone played by Vincent D'Onofrio can be...) until a giant bug from outer space uses his body as a disguise and steals an exterminator's van, giving us quite a bit of this vibe. | |
Men in Black / int_b87666bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b87666bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b87666bb | |
Men in Black / int_b9123661 | type |
Welcomed to the Masquerade | |
Men in Black / int_b9123661 | comment |
Welcomed to the Masquerade: After James has a close encounter with an alien assassin, Agent K recruits him into the Men in Black organization and gives him a tour of the facilities. Then, at the end of the film, after Laurel Weaver demonstrates that she's quite capable of dispatching aliens herself, and admits she finds the MIB job interesting, she becomes Agent J's new partner after J neutralizes Agent K, allowing him to retire, and takes over K's job. | |
Men in Black / int_b9123661 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b9123661 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b9123661 | |
Men in Black / int_b99c6367 | type |
The World Is Always Doomed | |
Men in Black / int_b99c6367 | comment |
The World Is Always Doomed: K shuts down J's Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! moment by sternly informing him in an Armor-Piercing Response that there is always some crisis or another threatening to end life on Earth — The Masquerade isn't just to keep the MIB secret, but because most people can't handle that kind of constant danger, so the MIB makes sure they don't have to think about it, lest civilization itself collapses. | |
Men in Black / int_b99c6367 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b99c6367 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b99c6367 | |
Men in Black / int_b9c4a653 | type |
Character in the Logo | |
Men in Black / int_b9c4a653 | comment |
Character in the Logo: The film trilogy (as well the animated series) has the agents K and J getting their silhouettes on the "I" of the "MIB" acronym as the main logo of the series. | |
Men in Black / int_b9c4a653 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b9c4a653 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b9c4a653 | |
Men in Black / int_b9d334b2 | type |
Aerith and Bob | |
Men in Black / int_b9d334b2 | comment |
Aerith and Bob: The Twins who run the MIB headquarters are named Blblup and Bob. Note that we're guessing on how the first one's spelled. And the second one too. The novelization provides spelled-out alien names for both. Both also have Earth nicknames, "Jack" and "Gracie." The fake names Kay makes up for himself and Jay while investigating the alien "Hi I'm Special Agent Mannheim/Dr. Leo Manville, this is Special Agent Black/Dr. White" | |
Men in Black / int_b9d334b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_b9d334b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_b9d334b2 | |
Men in Black / int_baedeab5 | type |
Incomprehensible Entrance Exam | |
Men in Black / int_baedeab5 | comment |
Incomprehensible Entrance Exam: The eponymous organization draws in applicants from the very best in the military and police for a series of exams — without ever telling them what they're really hoping to achieve by participating. Along with the incredibly awkward written exam in egg-shaped chairs with no desks, the applicants are pitted against a variety of menacing-looking aliens in a shooting range... and not told that the real target of this exercise is actually the harmless-looking girl. The entire class flunks out and has their memory of the incident erased — except for James Edwards, the future J. | |
Men in Black / int_baedeab5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_baedeab5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_baedeab5 | |
Men in Black / int_bbb6c059 | type |
I Shall Taunt You | |
Men in Black / int_bbb6c059 | comment |
I Shall Taunt You: Towards the end of the movie, Jay figures out the best way to get "Edgar"'s attention is by stomping on cockroaches. | |
Men in Black / int_bbb6c059 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bbb6c059 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bbb6c059 | |
Men in Black / int_bbf11c0 | type |
Genius Bruiser | |
Men in Black / int_bbf11c0 | comment |
Genius Bruiser: J can beat aliens in a foot race and punch some of them out. But he's also a lateral thinker able to see the forest when everybody else is focused on the trees, and is usually able to make logical leaps that K can't. | |
Men in Black / int_bbf11c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bbf11c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bbf11c0 | |
Men in Black / int_bc54e772 | type |
Fulton Street Folly | |
Men in Black / int_bc54e772 | comment |
Fulton Street Folly: The headquarters of The Men in Black are located under Battery Park. | |
Men in Black / int_bc54e772 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bc54e772 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bc54e772 | |
Men in Black / int_bc74ef27 | type |
Berserk Button | |
Men in Black / int_bc74ef27 | comment |
When pressing Edgar's Berserk Button: | |
Men in Black / int_bc74ef27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bc74ef27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bc74ef27 | |
Men in Black / int_bd79d896 | type |
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot | |
Men in Black / int_bd79d896 | comment |
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Disappearance of a man after encountering a UFO and a suicide gives a lead to theft of a galaxy and possible destruction of the Earth. | |
Men in Black / int_bd79d896 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bd79d896 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bd79d896 | |
Men in Black / int_bda3d68a | type |
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu? | |
Men in Black / int_bda3d68a | comment |
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: The tow truck driver doesn't get intimidated by "Edgar", even when he takes out his shotgun. Unfortunately for him, he still gets shot by "Edgar". | |
Men in Black / int_bda3d68a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bda3d68a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bda3d68a | |
Men in Black / int_bddced73 | type |
Victory-Guided Amnesia | |
Men in Black / int_bddced73 | comment |
Victory-Guided Amnesia: This happens to any Man in Black once they leave the service. | |
Men in Black / int_bddced73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bddced73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bddced73 | |
Men in Black / int_beb932ca | type |
Big Applesauce | |
Men in Black / int_beb932ca | comment |
Big Applesauce: The location of the MIB HQ. This would become common to all three movies: the second had the Statue of Liberty's torch used as a giant neuralyzer, and the third ends with "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys playing in the background. New York City was specifically chosen since where else in America (or the world) can so many strange people interact and strange things happen without anyone paying attention? A 7-foot guy, and a 5-foot guy eating lunch in a small restaurant while speaking a very strange language would be very noticeable anywhere else, not in New York. | |
Men in Black / int_beb932ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_beb932ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_beb932ca | |
Men in Black / int_bee8baee | type |
Faint in Shock | |
Men in Black / int_bee8baee | comment |
Faint in Shock: After the Bug gets into his new Edgar suit, Edgar's wife Beatrice tells him that "Your skin is hanging off your bones." The Bug pulls Edgar's face back into a horribly distorted mask and Beatrice faints dead away. | |
Men in Black / int_bee8baee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bee8baee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bee8baee | |
Men in Black / int_bf298865 | type |
Alien Autopsy | |
Men in Black / int_bf298865 | comment |
Alien Autopsy: The coroner, Laurel, ends up performing these inadvertently on two non-human corpses. It's suggested that she is one of the MIB's most frequently neuralyzed individuals for this very reason. | |
Men in Black / int_bf298865 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bf298865 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bf298865 | |
Men in Black / int_bf487e2b | type |
Translator Microbes | |
Men in Black / int_bf487e2b | comment |
Translator Microbes: The movie mentions a translator that makes communication between humans and aliens possible, along with the fact human thought is considered a disease by some aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_bf487e2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bf487e2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bf487e2b | |
Men in Black / int_bfc4b943 | type |
Video Full of Film Clips | |
Men in Black / int_bfc4b943 | comment |
Video Full of Film Clips: The Will Smith song of the same name. | |
Men in Black / int_bfc4b943 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bfc4b943 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bfc4b943 | |
Men in Black / int_bfdbf829 | type |
Significant Name Shift | |
Men in Black / int_bfdbf829 | comment |
Significant Name Shift: Throughout the movie, Agent Kay calls Agent Jay nicknames like "sport", "slick", and "kid", despite his objections. However, in the end, when Kays informs Jay he intends to retire from the MIB, and after he gives him the neuralyzer (after telling him he'd get it "when you grow up") to wipe away his memories of his service in order to protect the agency's secrecy, he says "See you around, Jay." | |
Men in Black / int_bfdbf829 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_bfdbf829 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_bfdbf829 | |
Men in Black / int_c1408ad1 | type |
Oppressive Immigration Enforcement | |
Men in Black / int_c1408ad1 | comment |
Oppressive Immigration Enforcement: Agent K and Agent D interrupt a bunch of border patrol agents snatching up a group of illegal immigrants from Mexico to pick out a literal blue alien who has overstayed his visa on Earth. The border patrol agents are treated as rather incompetent and obsessed with insignificant problems. But then, that goes for all Muggles who aren't in on The Masquerade. | |
Men in Black / int_c1408ad1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c1408ad1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c1408ad1 | |
Men in Black / int_c1944f9 | type |
Getting Eaten Is Harmless | |
Men in Black / int_c1944f9 | comment |
Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Kay purposely lets himself be ingested by the Edgar Bug in order to get his gun back. Once he blasts the bug in two from the inside he's no worse for wear, save for the truly massive mess he made. | |
Men in Black / int_c1944f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c1944f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c1944f9 | |
Men in Black / int_c19bdbe1 | type |
Good Cop/Bad Cop | |
Men in Black / int_c19bdbe1 | comment |
J is more than happy to help K with doing the whole Good Cop/Bad Cop routine while questioning Jeebs, until K holy shit blows Jeebs's head off, at which point J drops the act: | |
Men in Black / int_c19bdbe1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c19bdbe1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c19bdbe1 | |
Men in Black / int_c2299d6e | type |
Cutting the Knot | |
Men in Black / int_c2299d6e | comment |
Cutting the Knot: J's solution to the problem of no surface to write on is to simply loudly drag a table over to his chair. | |
Men in Black / int_c2299d6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c2299d6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c2299d6e | |
Men in Black / int_c253090a | type |
Big Blackout | |
Men in Black / int_c253090a | comment |
Big Blackout: While Agent Kay shows James Edwards around MIB headquarters, he takes him into a room full of unrevealed alien technology. James sees a ball in a stasis field, but ignores Kay's warning and touches it, accidentally setting it loose in the complex until Kay stops it, explaining that this was responsible for the 1977 NYC blackout. | |
Men in Black / int_c253090a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c253090a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c253090a | |
Men in Black / int_c25c7890 | type |
Fun with Acronyms | |
Men in Black / int_c25c7890 | comment |
Fun with Acronyms | |
Men in Black / int_c25c7890 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c25c7890 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c25c7890 | |
Men in Black / int_c2f5b04b | type |
Eat Me | |
Men in Black / int_c2f5b04b | comment |
Eat Me: Trope Namer. K goads the Bug into eating him so he can retrieve his gun and blow it up from the inside. | |
Men in Black / int_c2f5b04b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c2f5b04b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c2f5b04b | |
Men in Black / int_c41668cd | type |
Needle in a Stack of Needles | |
Men in Black / int_c41668cd | comment |
Needle in a Stack of Needles: When "Edgar" escapes with the Galaxy and Laurel, J realizes he's escaped in a cab. The trouble is, the movie is set in New York, and it's rush hour. The streets are filled with cabs. However, K makes him stop, saying "He's not leaving [Earth] in a cab." | |
Men in Black / int_c41668cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c41668cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c41668cd | |
Men in Black / int_c48a0fe6 | type |
Actually, That's My Assistant | |
Men in Black / int_c48a0fe6 | comment |
Actually, That's My Assistant: K and J are sent to pick up an alien consultant, and meet a pasty-faced man with a dog: | |
Men in Black / int_c48a0fe6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c48a0fe6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c48a0fe6 | |
Men in Black / int_c5cc0783 | type |
Internal Retcon | |
Men in Black / int_c5cc0783 | comment |
Internal Retcon: The whole point of the Neuralyzers. | |
Men in Black / int_c5cc0783 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c5cc0783 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c5cc0783 | |
Men in Black / int_c5d18c5a | type |
Humanity Is Insane | |
Men in Black / int_c5d18c5a | comment |
Humanity Is Insane: This is the reason why human thought is viewed as an infectious disease by some aliens. No wonder they don't want us to get our hands on a Universal Translator. | |
Men in Black / int_c5d18c5a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c5d18c5a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c5d18c5a | |
Men in Black / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
Men in Black / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: The guy behind the Locksmith counter looks remarkably like Riff Raff. Agent J tells K not to "go all Jack Webb" on Laurel. It's subtle, but when K shows J his third grade teacher, Ms. Edelson, was an alien, she's listed as being in Philadelphia where, presumably, James Edwards was born and raised. J tells K not to push the Big Red Button in the gear shift of their Cool Car. This is a reference to Goldfinger, in which Q does the same thing to James Bond. In Bond's car the button activates an ejector seat, while in the MIB's car it activates a jet engine in the rear. | |
Men in Black / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c75df49a | |
Men in Black / int_c7d86fbe | type |
Plausible Deniability | |
Men in Black / int_c7d86fbe | comment |
Plausible Deniability: The characters resort to using the neuralyzer for this reason, This device is used to clear peoples' memories of a given event that had transpired concerning aliens. Theoretically, this gives them the power of "plausible deniability" beyond belief, although their excuses aren't always so plausible. | |
Men in Black / int_c7d86fbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c7d86fbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c7d86fbe | |
Men in Black / int_c8c00dc9 | type |
Obvious Stunt Double | |
Men in Black / int_c8c00dc9 | comment |
Obvious Stunt Double: An infamous scene reveals that Will Smith's stunt double during the "Remember the little red button? Push the little red button" gag was Caucasian. | |
Men in Black / int_c8c00dc9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c8c00dc9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c8c00dc9 | |
Men in Black / int_c8c7fb4f | type |
DomesticAbuser | |
Men in Black / int_c8c7fb4f | comment |
Domestic Abuser: In the short time before he's killed and inhabited by the Bug, Edgar demeans his wife's cooking, calls her lazy and threatens to hit her. | |
Men in Black / int_c8c7fb4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c8c7fb4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c8c7fb4f | |
Men in Black / int_c930d83a | type |
Octopoid Aliens | |
Men in Black / int_c930d83a | comment |
Octopoid Aliens: J helps an alien to deliver a baby. During the process he is attacked by several tentacles, and when the mother finally gives birth to the baby, it looked like a a grey and squid hybrid. | |
Men in Black / int_c930d83a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_c930d83a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_c930d83a | |
Men in Black / int_cabd513c | type |
Jedi Mind Trick | |
Men in Black / int_cabd513c | comment |
Jedi Mind Trick: The Men in Black have the Neuralizer for this purpose, with, strangely enough, only three settings: days, months, and years. The Neuralizer used on Tee in the second movie has an "hours" setting. | |
Men in Black / int_cabd513c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cabd513c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cabd513c | |
Men in Black / int_cb1f5db5 | type |
Feed It a Bomb | |
Men in Black / int_cb1f5db5 | comment |
Feed It a Bomb: After the Bug has eaten the BFGs, K goads it into eating him. He survives being swallowed, finds the gun and fires it, resulting in the Bug's abdomen being split open, letting K out. | |
Men in Black / int_cb1f5db5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cb1f5db5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cb1f5db5 | |
Men in Black / int_cc374ba6 | type |
It's Up to You | |
Men in Black / int_cc374ba6 | comment |
It's Up to You: The other police officers aren't fit enough to keep up with Jay's first alien. Jay lampshades this. | |
Men in Black / int_cc374ba6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cc374ba6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cc374ba6 | |
Men in Black / int_cc884fdf | type |
Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball | |
Men in Black / int_cc884fdf | comment |
The 1977 New York Blackout was caused by an alien releasing a Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball into the area as a prank. | |
Men in Black / int_cc884fdf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cc884fdf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cc884fdf | |
Men in Black / int_cd7ef676 | type |
Seen It All | |
Men in Black / int_cd7ef676 | comment |
Seen It All: Agent K. J keeps trying this, but K manages to surprise him. Many other MIB personnel have a similar reaction to what happens; Zed doesn't even look up from his desk when the bouncy-ball starts careening around his office, except to move his head slightly out of the way. | |
Men in Black / int_cd7ef676 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cd7ef676 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cd7ef676 | |
Men in Black / int_cdfe12c3 | type |
Nothing Is Scarier | |
Men in Black / int_cdfe12c3 | comment |
Nothing Is Scarier: When the Bug pulls the farmer Edgar into the crater, the audience isn't shown what he does to him. However, judging from the various ripping and tearing sounds, the screams of the farmer, and the fact that all that's left after is his skin, it couldn't have been fast or pleasant. | |
Men in Black / int_cdfe12c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cdfe12c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cdfe12c3 | |
Men in Black / int_ce323098 | type |
Self-Mutilation Demonstration | |
Men in Black / int_ce323098 | comment |
Self-Mutilation Demonstration: Although it's not exactly self-harm, K shoots Jeebs in the face mostly to unveil The Masquerade to J. | |
Men in Black / int_ce323098 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ce323098 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ce323098 | |
Men in Black / int_ce9f550c | type |
My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels | |
Men in Black / int_ce9f550c | comment |
My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: How some alien languages work. | |
Men in Black / int_ce9f550c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ce9f550c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ce9f550c | |
Men in Black / int_cec142d6 | type |
Knuckle Cracking | |
Men in Black / int_cec142d6 | comment |
Knuckle Cracking: After the Bug kills Edgar, dons his new Edgar suit and climbs out of the hole made by his crashing starship, he cracks his neck. | |
Men in Black / int_cec142d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_cec142d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_cec142d6 | |
Men in Black / int_d129e13e | type |
"Eureka!" Moment | |
Men in Black / int_d129e13e | comment |
"Eureka!" Moment: J figures out the Arquillian prince's last words meant when he sees Frank barking at a cat. Edgar the Bug, who had been unsuccessful at finding the galaxy while searching in Rosenberg's jewelry, has a similar moment of realization when he notices a painting of Rosenberg with his cat. | |
Men in Black / int_d129e13e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d129e13e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d129e13e | |
Men in Black / int_d214a453 | type |
Planet Terra | |
Men in Black / int_d214a453 | comment |
Planet Terra: In the novelization, Edgar calls humans "terries" (though it's likely a derogatory derivative of "terran".) | |
Men in Black / int_d214a453 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d214a453 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d214a453 | |
Men in Black / int_d22a7df2 | type |
Troubled, but Cute | |
Men in Black / int_d22a7df2 | comment |
Troubled, but Cute: Dr. Laurel Weaver. She cynically states that she hates the living, sometimes gives off a creepy vibe, and we never find out what she likes to do in the morgue late at night. However, she's played by Linda Fiorentino and wears dresses that show off her legs, so Agent J is definitely more focused on the latter than the former. | |
Men in Black / int_d22a7df2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d22a7df2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d22a7df2 | |
Men in Black / int_d23a9bb8 | type |
Possession Burnout | |
Men in Black / int_d23a9bb8 | comment |
Possession Burnout: The "Edgar Suit" gets pretty shabby by the end of the movie. | |
Men in Black / int_d23a9bb8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d23a9bb8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d23a9bb8 | |
Men in Black / int_d45ad2f5 | type |
Imported Alien Phlebotinum | |
Men in Black / int_d45ad2f5 | comment |
Imported Alien Phlebotinum: In the games, the Aliens are responsible for everything. Also, the Galaxy in the first movie. | |
Men in Black / int_d45ad2f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d45ad2f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d45ad2f5 | |
Men in Black / int_d45c0b86 | type |
Refuge in Audacity | |
Men in Black / int_d45c0b86 | comment |
Refuge in Audacity K tells J the truth about the MIB but J doesn't believe him. K neuralyzes J after he's identified the gun. | |
Men in Black / int_d45c0b86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d45c0b86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d45c0b86 | |
Men in Black / int_d50e7e13 | type |
White Void Room | |
Men in Black / int_d50e7e13 | comment |
White Void Room: There are some, specifically the Deneuralizing Room. Eventually, we come to realize that it's basically a large toilet bowl. | |
Men in Black / int_d50e7e13 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d50e7e13 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d50e7e13 | |
Men in Black / int_d525f857 | type |
Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale | |
Men in Black / int_d525f857 | comment |
Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: Very nearly averted. K explains that a grouchy alien was stuck in customs after traveling 17 trillion miles...or a bit under 3 light-years. While this wouldn't get you to the nearest known star to our sun (Proxima Centauri), it would at least put you in interstellar space. | |
Men in Black / int_d525f857 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d525f857 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d525f857 | |
Men in Black / int_d53acc8a | type |
You Are Not Ready | |
Men in Black / int_d53acc8a | comment |
You Are Not Ready: J (still known as James Edwards at the moment) tells K that he chose him so he needs to respect the skills and he doesn't want to be called any nicknames like "son" or "kid" or "sport". | |
Men in Black / int_d53acc8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d53acc8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d53acc8a | |
Men in Black / int_d54aed6f | type |
Hypno Ray | |
Men in Black / int_d54aed6f | comment |
Hypno Ray: The Neuralizer makes whoever sees its flashlight forget their most recent memories. The Men in Black use it to make people forget their sightings of aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_d54aed6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d54aed6f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d54aed6f | |
Men in Black / int_d5656fbe | type |
The Unpronounceable | |
Men in Black / int_d5656fbe | comment |
The Unpronounceable: Too many aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_d5656fbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d5656fbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d5656fbe | |
Men in Black / int_d705d771 | type |
Exposed Extraterrestrials | |
Men in Black / int_d705d771 | comment |
Exposed Extraterrestrials: Whenever the MIB are around. | |
Men in Black / int_d705d771 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d705d771 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d705d771 | |
Men in Black / int_d7c3ba61 | type |
Race Lift | |
Men in Black / int_d7c3ba61 | comment |
Race Lift: J was white in the original comics and was supposed to be played by Chris O'Donnell who was filming Batman & Robin at the time. | |
Men in Black / int_d7c3ba61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d7c3ba61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d7c3ba61 | |
Men in Black / int_d7c9f1a5 | type |
Amnesia Missed a Spot | |
Men in Black / int_d7c9f1a5 | comment |
Amnesia Missed a Spot: When J meets Dr. Weaver in the morgue, they vaguely notice that they may have met before, but dismiss it as Deja Vu. In the beginning of the movie, they had met, but K had wiped both of their memories. | |
Men in Black / int_d7c9f1a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d7c9f1a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d7c9f1a5 | |
Men in Black / int_d959a5f3 | type |
Contempt Crossfire | |
Men in Black / int_d959a5f3 | comment |
Contempt Crossfire: The cephalopoid J chases is not only on the run from the NYPD, but knows that if his boss, the Bug, finds him, he'll kill him too. J lampshades it by saying that the cephalopoid is "pissing everybody off." | |
Men in Black / int_d959a5f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d959a5f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d959a5f3 | |
Men in Black / int_d99a228f | type |
Unusually Uninteresting Sight | |
Men in Black / int_d99a228f | comment |
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The movie is full of this. It's implied that since most aliens live in New York, people just chalk it all up to New York being weird. Originally the movie was supposed to take place somewhere in rural America, but the filmmakers moved the setting to New York City since so many odd things happen there and there are so many unusual people that nobody pays any attention. Therefore it wouldn’t seem odd at all that a seven foot tall man with a protruding forehead is sitting at a table with a small man and his cat while both are speaking some unidentifiable language. Kay actually invokes it by chatting over a cup of coffee with the Worm Guys, when James remained doubtful. | |
Men in Black / int_d99a228f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d99a228f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d99a228f | |
Men in Black / int_d9c2434 | type |
Amusing Alien | |
Men in Black / int_d9c2434 | comment |
Amusing Alien: Lots, but the Worm Guys and Jeebs are probably the best example. | |
Men in Black / int_d9c2434 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_d9c2434 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_d9c2434 | |
Men in Black / int_da650ce1 | type |
I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin | |
Men in Black / int_da650ce1 | comment |
I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: A dying alien tells the heroes that they must "protect the galaxy on Orion's belt." This confuses them, since Orion's Belt is three random stars, not a galaxy. Orion is the alien's cat, and whose collar has a bauble with a tiny galaxy inside. | |
Men in Black / int_da650ce1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_da650ce1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_da650ce1 | |
Men in Black / int_daef39ee | type |
Elaborate Underground Base | |
Men in Black / int_daef39ee | comment |
Elaborate Underground Base: The secret headquarters of the Men in Black are located several stories beneath Manhattan... accessible by the entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. | |
Men in Black / int_daef39ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_daef39ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_daef39ee | |
Men in Black / int_db33bc7e | type |
Ludicrous Gibs | |
Men in Black / int_db33bc7e | comment |
Ludicrous Gibs: The weapons used by The Men in Black actually go so far into the ludicrous department it's no longer grotesque. The aliens simply explode into slime, which is less disgusting than gibs and less disturbing than gutted bodies. | |
Men in Black / int_db33bc7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_db33bc7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_db33bc7e | |
Men in Black / int_db4b76d1 | type |
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner | |
Men in Black / int_db4b76d1 | comment |
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: | |
Men in Black / int_db4b76d1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_db4b76d1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_db4b76d1 | |
Men in Black / int_dbed9cf7 | type |
I Was Never Here | |
Men in Black / int_dbed9cf7 | comment |
I Was Never Here: This is standard operating procedure for those who apply to become The Men in Black. | |
Men in Black / int_dbed9cf7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_dbed9cf7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_dbed9cf7 | |
Men in Black / int_dcbe8a6e | type |
Chekhov's Gunman | |
Men in Black / int_dcbe8a6e | comment |
Chekhov's Gunman: One of the several aliens that J sees in the customs section of MIB headquarters turns out to be the Arquilian that tries to warn Rosenberg of the assassination plans against him. Surprisingly, J recognizes him immediately upon seeing his corpse later on. | |
Men in Black / int_dcbe8a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_dcbe8a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_dcbe8a6e | |
Men in Black / int_dd46397e | type |
Just Desserts | |
Men in Black / int_dd46397e | comment |
Just Desserts: Spousal abuser Edgar is skinned and eaten by the Bug. | |
Men in Black / int_dd46397e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_dd46397e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_dd46397e | |
Men in Black / int_dddbdc26 | type |
Monumental Damage | |
Men in Black / int_dddbdc26 | comment |
Monumental Damage: The Unisphere is wrecked when Edgar's stolen ship (which was one of the observation towers at the New York State Pavilion) crash lands into it. | |
Men in Black / int_dddbdc26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_dddbdc26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_dddbdc26 | |
Men in Black / int_ddfb4e53 | type |
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read | |
Men in Black / int_ddfb4e53 | comment |
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: While no actual mind-reading occurs on screen, it's mentioned that human thought is so primitive, it's considered an infectious disease. | |
Men in Black / int_ddfb4e53 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ddfb4e53 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ddfb4e53 | |
Men in Black / int_dfe57573 | type |
Historical In-Joke | |
Men in Black / int_dfe57573 | comment |
Historical In-Joke As it happens, the infamously mismanaged 1964 World's Fair was a cover for an alien landing. "Why else would we hold it in Queens?" The super bouncy ball is credited for the 1977 New York blackout, a great prank by the Great Attractor, who thought it was funny as hell. | |
Men in Black / int_dfe57573 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_dfe57573 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_dfe57573 | |
Men in Black / int_e0789c2a | type |
Your Head A-Splode | |
Men in Black / int_e0789c2a | comment |
Your Head A-Splode: Jeebs, hilariously. Don't worry, his race regenerates. | |
Men in Black / int_e0789c2a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e0789c2a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e0789c2a | |
Men in Black / int_e12670cd | type |
Freudian Threat | |
Men in Black / int_e12670cd | comment |
Freudian Threat: "I want you on the next transport off this rock or I'm going to shoot you where it don't grow back." | |
Men in Black / int_e12670cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e12670cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e12670cd | |
Men in Black / int_e22feb9c | type |
Mind-Control Device | |
Men in Black / int_e22feb9c | comment |
Mind-Control Device: The Neuraliser. Whenever a civilian sees an alien-related incident (or just an alien at all), The Men in Black use the aforementioned device in front of the civilian's eyes so they can forget what they saw — *flash* Forget what? | |
Men in Black / int_e22feb9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e22feb9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e22feb9c | |
Men in Black / int_e305ffa8 | type |
Expositing the Masquerade | |
Men in Black / int_e305ffa8 | comment |
Expositing the Masquerade: Happens when K gives J a rundown on the little known facts during the latter's first entry to the MIB HQ. | |
Men in Black / int_e305ffa8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e305ffa8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e305ffa8 | |
Men in Black / int_e3b1ae34 | type |
Two Roads Before You | |
Men in Black / int_e3b1ae34 | comment |
Two Roads Before You: As the first movie demonstrates with J, all prospective agents have the choice between remaining in their current occupations and leading their lives, or joining the agency and severing all ties to their former lives. | |
Men in Black / int_e3b1ae34 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e3b1ae34 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e3b1ae34 | |
Men in Black / int_e5507f60 | type |
Truce Zone | |
Men in Black / int_e5507f60 | comment |
Truce Zone: Earth as a whole. K explains that the first aliens encountered were a group of refugees who requested that they be allowed to use Earth as an apolitical zone for aliens without a planet. | |
Men in Black / int_e5507f60 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e5507f60 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e5507f60 | |
Men in Black / int_e5aff319 | type |
Mobile-Suit Human | |
Men in Black / int_e5aff319 | comment |
Mobile-Suit Human: Rosenberg (who at one point provided the page image). The alien prince of the Arquillian Empire who had the Galaxy was piloting one ("the little dude inside the big dude's head"), the better to hide from enemies — and to pet his cat. | |
Men in Black / int_e5aff319 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e5aff319 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e5aff319 | |
Men in Black / int_e5fd8bc2 | type |
Hate Sink | |
Men in Black / int_e5fd8bc2 | comment |
Hate Sink: Edgar, the guy the Bug kills and starts impersonating, will, suffice it to say, not be missed. In his possible <60 seconds of screen time he establishes himself as a capricious, abusive jackass with strong misogynistic traits. Good riddance. | |
Men in Black / int_e5fd8bc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e5fd8bc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e5fd8bc2 | |
Men in Black / int_e624f0e8 | type |
Suspiciously Specific Denial | |
Men in Black / int_e624f0e8 | comment |
Suspiciously Specific Denial: How the Men in Black implant new memories sometimes, after Neuralyzing someone. | |
Men in Black / int_e624f0e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e624f0e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e624f0e8 | |
Men in Black / int_e7b0229a | type |
Laser-Guided Amnesia | |
Men in Black / int_e7b0229a | comment |
Laser-Guided Amnesia: How the Neuralyzer works. They can be set to wipe a person's most recent memories for any length of time from minutes to years, allowing them to forget about the aliens trying to kill them. Repeated neuralyzations, however, cause deja vu in some subjects. Notably, this is usually matched with them telling Blatant Lies about what happened (of the typical "weather balloon and swamp gas" explanations), and the assumption is that in the absence of their regular memories the subject is more likely to accept the suggestion, no matter how far-fetched. Combined with No Fourth Wall in one of the commercials, in which J and K ask viewers how they liked the movie, then fire the Neuralyzer directly at the camera, and then invite the audience to go see the film: it's full of surprises. Also comes up at the end of the video for the "Men in Black" song, when Will Smith (in character as J) says "Sorry" and fires his Neuralyzer directly at the camera. The view clears to show the same empty hallway in which the video began, implying that the viewer has just had the last four minutes' worth of their memory scrubbed. | |
Men in Black / int_e7b0229a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e7b0229a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e7b0229a | |
Men in Black / int_e7fd5cdc | type |
Brain Bleach | |
Men in Black / int_e7fd5cdc | comment |
Brain Bleach: The neuralyzers, while normally used to brain-bleach others, can also be used on yourself. | |
Men in Black / int_e7fd5cdc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e7fd5cdc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e7fd5cdc | |
Men in Black / int_e83f211c | type |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business | |
Men in Black / int_e83f211c | comment |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: J lets fly with his Noisy Cricket in public when they have a brush with Edgar at the jewelry store. K breaks his normally calm inscrutable demeanor to angrily rip into J for disrupting the Masquerade, and how world-endangering events just like the one they're dealing with now are a regular occurrence and the Masquerade is still upheld. | |
Men in Black / int_e83f211c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e83f211c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e83f211c | |
Men in Black / int_e92841f | type |
Talking the Monster to Death | |
Men in Black / int_e92841f | comment |
Talking the Monster to Death: When Edgar the Bug is taking Laurel (Linda Fiorentino 's character) to his spaceship with the intent of eating her, she begins telling him all sorts of things to make him desist, like claiming she's a goddess and her death could result in a war. Unimpressed, Edgar keeps climbing and tells her a war would result in lots of food for his family. After a while, however, Laurel annoys Edgar too much and he throws her to the branches of a tree, deciding she's not worth it. | |
Men in Black / int_e92841f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e92841f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e92841f | |
Men in Black / int_e92de1ef | type |
MacGuffin Blindness | |
Men in Black / int_e92de1ef | comment |
MacGuffin Blindness: No-one tells the characters at the time that, for example, Orion is a cat and the belt is the collar on the cat. | |
Men in Black / int_e92de1ef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e92de1ef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e92de1ef | |
Men in Black / int_e9e35e8f | type |
Exact Words | |
Men in Black / int_e9e35e8f | comment |
Exact Words: The "You can have my gun..." exchange. Even more layers of this in the novel, where prior to assimilating Edgar's memories the Bug was using a crappy translator. It renders the saying "There's a deal" into the exact meaning of "Your proposal is acceptable." And then there's the fact that Edgar pulled out the "You can have my gun when you take it from my cold dead hands" stock phrase and the Bug takes him at his word without a trace of irony. Also, Bug!Edgar, when talking with the head chef in regards to where "little Ivan" is (the server who was supposed to be serving the ambassadors of the two alien races that Bug!Edgar is trying to assassinate and steal the galaxy from), responds that he "gave him a break." The camera pans, revealing that Bug!Edgar means this quite literally, having broken his body in half and stuffed him into a cabinet. When Edwards decides to join the team, he asks Kay not to call him "son or kid or sport or nothing like that". Kay calls him "Slick" in the next line. And later calls him things like "Tiger". Zed also gives him various mocking nicknames. | |
Men in Black / int_e9e35e8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e9e35e8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e9e35e8f | |
Men in Black / int_e9f517e1 | type |
Artistic License – Geography | |
Men in Black / int_e9f517e1 | comment |
Artistic License – Geography: When K is looking in on his old girlfriend, he types in Truro, MA, which is close to the very tip of Cape Cod, but the satellite focuses in on the Sandwich area, which is at the very beginning of the Cape. | |
Men in Black / int_e9f517e1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_e9f517e1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_e9f517e1 | |
Men in Black / int_ea7e3be8 | type |
Dramatic Gun Cock | |
Men in Black / int_ea7e3be8 | comment |
Dramatic Gun Cock: Edgar replies to the Bug who asked him to put down his shotgun with "You can have my gun *chk chk* when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." The response is "Your proposal is acceptable" and a painful death for Edgar. Elsewhere, at the climax, Jay and Kay carry pump-action weapons. The script even notes, "[Kay] pumps the gun for emphasis." | |
Men in Black / int_ea7e3be8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ea7e3be8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ea7e3be8 | |
Men in Black / int_eb06cc52 | type |
Elite Agents Above the Law | |
Men in Black / int_eb06cc52 | comment |
Elite Agents Above the Law: The MIB was established by the government, but no longer answers to them. They don't even have a government budget, since they raise their own revenue by marketing alien technology. If any law enforcement officials give them trouble, they just zap them with the neuralyzer. | |
Men in Black / int_eb06cc52 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_eb06cc52 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_eb06cc52 | |
Men in Black / int_eb4086e3 | type |
Big Creepy-Crawlies | |
Men in Black / int_eb4086e3 | comment |
Big Creepy-Crawlies: The Big Bad of the film is one of them. | |
Men in Black / int_eb4086e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_eb4086e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_eb4086e3 | |
Men in Black / int_eb8ec7c8 | type |
Jerkass | |
Men in Black / int_eb8ec7c8 | comment |
Jerkass: Edgar was like this before he got killed and ended up body snatched by the Bug. There's also a bunch of unfriendly cops as well. | |
Men in Black / int_eb8ec7c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_eb8ec7c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_eb8ec7c8 | |
Men in Black / int_ebb900a7 | type |
Resignations Not Accepted | |
Men in Black / int_ebb900a7 | comment |
Resignations Not Accepted: Averted, as the technology to alter people's memories means an agent can retire without the agency worrying that He Knows Too Much. | |
Men in Black / int_ebb900a7 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ebb900a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ebb900a7 | |
Men in Black / int_ec4585b2 | type |
Delivery Guy | |
Men in Black / int_ec4585b2 | comment |
Delivery Guy: J is left to deal with Redgick's laboring wife while K pulls Redgick aside for questioning. | |
Men in Black / int_ec4585b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ec4585b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ec4585b2 | |
Men in Black / int_ec7da60a | type |
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy | |
Men in Black / int_ec7da60a | comment |
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: At one point in the movie there is a screen showing numerous people who are really aliens with most of them being celebrities, including Al Roker, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg (who produced the film; the film's director is also in the monitor), Newt Gingrich, and Danny DeVito. Later on, while listening to an 8-track tape of Elvis Presley songs, Agent J remarks that Elvis (as in, the popularity of his music) is dead, which prompts K to remark that "Elvis is not dead, he just went home", implying that Elvis is an alien who left the Earth. Also included: a Take That! at Dennis Rodman's expense. | |
Men in Black / int_ec7da60a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ec7da60a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ec7da60a | |
Men in Black / int_ece27800 | type |
Kill and Replace | |
Men in Black / int_ece27800 | comment |
Kill and Replace: The Bug does this to Edgar. | |
Men in Black / int_ece27800 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ece27800 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ece27800 | |
Men in Black / int_ed05cfee | type |
Naïve Newcomer | |
Men in Black / int_ed05cfee | comment |
Naïve Newcomer: J, to the point that he indulges in Uncle Tomfoolery. | |
Men in Black / int_ed05cfee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ed05cfee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ed05cfee | |
Men in Black / int_ee3c934e | type |
Driving Up a Wall | |
Men in Black / int_ee3c934e | comment |
Driving Up a Wall: Agent K takes the MIB Ford LTD Crown Victoria (enhanced by alien technology) for a short upside-down blast along the ceiling of the Queens-Midtown tunnel. | |
Men in Black / int_ee3c934e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ee3c934e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ee3c934e | |
Men in Black / int_eea96e78 | type |
Swallowed Whole | |
Men in Black / int_eea96e78 | comment |
Swallowed Whole: The Bug to K. Averted between Bug and Laurel. He wanted to eat her, but threw her off a ladder instead when he decided fighting to take her as a "snack" on the "long trip" wasn't worth it. | |
Men in Black / int_eea96e78 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_eea96e78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_eea96e78 | |
Men in Black / int_f0001923 | type |
Fire-Breathing Weapon | |
Men in Black / int_f0001923 | comment |
Fire-Breathing Weapon: This is used by The Men in Black to create "evidence" of a swamp gas explosion. | |
Men in Black / int_f0001923 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f0001923 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f0001923 | |
Men in Black / int_f01a1b71 | type |
Insignificant Little Blue Planet | |
Men in Black / int_f01a1b71 | comment |
Insignificant Little Blue Planet: Zig-Zagged trope. It's clearly stated that most aliens view Earth as a very unimportant planet. In fact, that's why these aliens visit: it's "an apolitical zone for aliens without a planet," the Casablanca of the universe. Of course, having so many alien species mingling every day (some of who are considered royalty on their homeworld) means that, in consequence, Earth Is the Center of the Universe. This then gets worked into the film's Anthropic Principle: the Men In Black keep up The Masquerade to make sure the neutral zone stays neutral. Which leads into a nasty conclusion: the Men In Black will keep using the neuralyzers forever, as they themselves agree with all the aliens that humans are so stupid that the only way Earth can thrive is as a neutral zone. As long as the Men In Black are around, we will never get out into space. | |
Men in Black / int_f01a1b71 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f01a1b71 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f01a1b71 | |
Men in Black / int_f0b0f1d | type |
No Eye in Magic | |
Men in Black / int_f0b0f1d | comment |
No Eye in Magic: The Neuralizer is a technological case, rather than magical. They flash in someone's eyes to erase a period of memories and can be protected against by normal looking sunglasses. | |
Men in Black / int_f0b0f1d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f0b0f1d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f0b0f1d | |
Men in Black / int_f0fe7e80 | type |
But Now I Must Go | |
Men in Black / int_f0fe7e80 | comment |
But Now I Must Go: After everything, K reveals to J that he didn't bring him in to be his new partner, but to instead replace him. He then prompts J to neuralize him so that he can then return to his civilian life, specifically the woman he left behind. | |
Men in Black / int_f0fe7e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f0fe7e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f0fe7e80 | |
Men in Black / int_f10d3363 | type |
Distracted by the Sexy | |
Men in Black / int_f10d3363 | comment |
Distracted by the Sexy: J's budding attraction to Dr. Weaver. | |
Men in Black / int_f10d3363 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f10d3363 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f10d3363 | |
Men in Black / int_f16da697 | type |
Undying Loyalty | |
Men in Black / int_f16da697 | comment |
Undying Loyalty: Orion the cat. It doesn't let its owner's true identity bother it and it stays with him until he dies from his injuries. | |
Men in Black / int_f16da697 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f16da697 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f16da697 | |
Men in Black / int_f1716087 | type |
Goggles Do Something Unusual | |
Men in Black / int_f1716087 | comment |
Goggles Do Something Unusual: The sunglasses worn by J and K and, indeed, all of The Men in Black protect them from the Neuralyzer. | |
Men in Black / int_f1716087 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f1716087 | |
Men in Black / int_f19b8b46 | type |
The Coroner | |
Men in Black / int_f19b8b46 | comment |
The Coroner: Dr. Laurel Weaver works at a morgue which receives a large number of deceased aliens. It is implied MIB operatives neuralyze her on a semi-regular basis. | |
Men in Black / int_f19b8b46 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f19b8b46 | |
Men in Black / int_f1f29b07 | type |
Hugh Mann | |
Men in Black / int_f1f29b07 | comment |
Hugh Mann: The Bug's disguise as Edgar the Farmer is not really convincing. | |
Men in Black / int_f1f29b07 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f1f29b07 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f1f29b07 | |
Men in Black / int_f27aa417 | type |
Non-Governmental Organization | |
Men in Black / int_f27aa417 | comment |
Non-Governmental Organization: The agency of The Men in Black becomes this after cutting off ties with the United States government. | |
Men in Black / int_f27aa417 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f27aa417 | |
Men in Black / int_f290a8bb | type |
Attack Pattern Alpha | |
Men in Black / int_f290a8bb | comment |
Attack Pattern Alpha: Played with. Agents K and J are preparing to shoot the evil alien's ship: | |
Men in Black / int_f290a8bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f290a8bb | |
Men in Black / int_f3d5d15f | type |
Creepy Child | |
Men in Black / int_f3d5d15f | comment |
Creepy Child: J justifies shooting what seems to be a young girl during the shooting range test by saying that while the aliens are simply doing fairly innocuous things in his eyes, "Little Tiffany" is hanging around in a dark alley while carrying a Quantum Physics book that would be way too advanced for someone of her age. | |
Men in Black / int_f3d5d15f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f3d5d15f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f3d5d15f | |
Men in Black / int_f4c50819 | type |
Famously Mundane, Fictionally Magical | |
Men in Black / int_f4c50819 | comment |
Famously Mundane, Fictionally Magical: The flying-saucer-shaped observation towers at the New York State Pavillion really are UFOs, as the whole World's Fair was actually a cover for alien immigration. | |
Men in Black / int_f4c50819 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f4c50819 | |
Men in Black / int_f506d08c | type |
Broken Masquerade | |
Men in Black / int_f506d08c | comment |
Broken Masquerade: K's introduction to aliens on Earth — and more-or-less how the Men in Black got started. | |
Men in Black / int_f506d08c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f506d08c | |
Men in Black / int_f6c36157 | type |
Stab the Salad | |
Men in Black / int_f6c36157 | comment |
Stab the Salad: K pulls a knife on a Mexican immigrant and swings it toward him — and slices open his clothing, revealing an alien hiding inside. | |
Men in Black / int_f6c36157 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f6c36157 | featureConfidence |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f6c36157 | |
Men in Black / int_f6f2ff1 | type |
Insult Backfire | |
Men in Black / int_f6f2ff1 | comment |
Insult Backfire "Edwards, if you were half the man I am..." "I AM half the man you are!" Human intelligence is so primitive that it's considered an infectious disease on other planets. "Kinda makes you proud, doesn't it?" Earlier, after Kay explains the history of the MIB, James asks "When the last time you had a CAT scan?", to which Kay answers "About six months ago, company policy." | |
Men in Black / int_f6f2ff1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f6f2ff1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f6f2ff1 | |
Men in Black / int_f7b57d62 | type |
Enforced Technology Levels | |
Men in Black / int_f7b57d62 | comment |
Enforced Technology Levels: The movie features elements of this, as some of the alien cultures humanity has contact with are much more advanced than humans. The MIB organization prohibits certain advanced technologies on Earth, reasoning that humanity shouldn't be allowed to discover them until we're ready. They slowly release some of the alien technology using shell companies and finance their operations using the patents. A lot of it is confiscated tech, although some of it is given by friendly aliens. | |
Men in Black / int_f7b57d62 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f7b57d62 | featureConfidence |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f7b57d62 | |
Men in Black / int_f95027af | type |
Spy Satellites | |
Men in Black / int_f95027af | comment |
Spy Satellites: Plays straight when K is watching his lost love, although it does appear to turn into a freeze-frame as she looks upward. | |
Men in Black / int_f95027af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f95027af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f95027af | |
Men in Black / int_f96f188c | type |
Drives Like Crazy | |
Men in Black / int_f96f188c | comment |
Drives Like Crazy: K. Just push the Big Red Button, and his car grows a rocket. He then drives on the roof of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel while singing along to Elvis Presley's cover of "Promised Land", and pays the toll without missing a beat even after smashing through the gate. | |
Men in Black / int_f96f188c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f96f188c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f96f188c | |
Men in Black / int_f9b5dabc | type |
Spies In a Van | |
Men in Black / int_f9b5dabc | comment |
Spies In a Van: The Zap 'Em Pest Control van ironically serves as transportation for a big bad bug. Somewhat Lampshaded because half of his spaceship stuck out of the back and top. | |
Men in Black / int_f9b5dabc | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f9b5dabc | |
Men in Black / int_f9f2c33 | type |
Running Gag | |
Men in Black / int_f9f2c33 | comment |
Running Gag: Whenever J neuralyzes anyone, he tends to give them long rambling speeches in which he gives meaningful personal advice about their lives, goes into wild irrelevant tangents about the situation, and encourages them to do exciting and/or fun things — particularly as a counterpoint to K, who always gives very brusque and to-the-point memories and wants to be done with it. It pops up once in this movie, but really takes off in the second and third films. Whenever J and K go undercover to interrogate someone, they use fake names. The first time, K introduces J as "Special Agent Black"; the second time, as "Dr. White"; and in the third instance, J introduces himself as Sgt. Friday. | |
Men in Black / int_f9f2c33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_f9f2c33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_f9f2c33 | |
Men in Black / int_fb933192 | type |
Car Cushion | |
Men in Black / int_fb933192 | comment |
Car Cushion: An unusual example occurs when J fires the Noisy Cricket and ends up flying butt-first into a car windshield. | |
Men in Black / int_fb933192 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fb933192 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fb933192 | |
Men in Black / int_fbd285b7 | type |
Comically Missing the Point | |
Men in Black / int_fbd285b7 | comment |
Earlier, after Kay explains the history of the MIB, James asks "When the last time you had a CAT scan?", to which Kay answers "About six months ago, company policy." | |
Men in Black / int_fbd285b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fbd285b7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fbd285b7 | |
Men in Black / int_fc33ff16 | type |
One-Winged Angel | |
Men in Black / int_fc33ff16 | comment |
One-Winged Angel: Edgar's final form, a giant, angry cockroach with teeth. | |
Men in Black / int_fc33ff16 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fc33ff16 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fc33ff16 | |
Men in Black / int_fcaec6bf | type |
Orbital Bombardment | |
Men in Black / int_fcaec6bf | comment |
Orbital Bombardment: After the Bug kills the Arquilian prince and steals the Galaxy, an Arquillian battle cruiser enters orbit around the Earth. It sends an ultimatum: deliver the Galaxy or it will destroy the Earth. It then fires a warning shot at the North Pole to make it clear that it means it. | |
Men in Black / int_fcaec6bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fcaec6bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fcaec6bf | |
Men in Black / int_fd32c5a1 | type |
Don't Make Me Destroy You | |
Men in Black / int_fd32c5a1 | comment |
Don't Make Me Destroy You: Said almost word for word during the famous pawnshop scene. NYPD detective James Edwards and "Agent K" from a vague yet menacing government agency are giving a pawnbroker and alleged black market Arms Dealer the Good Cop/Bad Cop treatment when K suddenly straight up puts a bullet through the guy's head. An understandably appalled Edwards immediately trains his own weapon on K and repeatedly orders him to drop the weapon and put his hands up, his exact words being "Don't make me shoot you!" But then things get weird... | |
Men in Black / int_fd32c5a1 | featureApplicability |
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Men in Black / int_fd32c5a1 | featureConfidence |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fd32c5a1 | |
Men in Black / int_fdf4572b | type |
Dialogue Reversal | |
Men in Black / int_fdf4572b | comment |
Dialogue Reversal: As Dee, Kay's first partner, retires from MIB: Later, towards the very end, as Kay himself decides to retire: | |
Men in Black / int_fdf4572b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fdf4572b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fdf4572b | |
Men in Black / int_fe0330fb | type |
Brick Joke | |
Men in Black / int_fe0330fb | comment |
Brick Joke: When J learns about aliens living in New York, he immediately assumes they work as cab drivers, and is told, "Not as many as you'd think." A while later, Dr. Laurel, when it's revealed to her, starts on a rant along the lines of, "I knew it. There was this cab driver the other day..." | |
Men in Black / int_fe0330fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fe0330fb | featureConfidence |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fe0330fb | |
Men in Black / int_fea27091 | type |
Buffy Speak | |
Men in Black / int_fea27091 | comment |
Buffy Speak: J calls the neuralyzer the "Flashy-Thing," and refers to getting neuralyzed as "flashy-thinged." This continues for most of the first film, with J using terms like "the little dude inside the big dude's head." | |
Men in Black / int_fea27091 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_fea27091 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_fea27091 | |
Men in Black / int_ff6adc90 | type |
EvilDetectingCat | |
Men in Black / int_ff6adc90 | comment |
Evil-Detecting Cat: When Edgar shows up at the morgue, Orion hears him ringing the bell at the front desk and hisses, then runs off to hide. | |
Men in Black / int_ff6adc90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Men in Black / int_ff6adc90 | featureConfidence |
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Men in Black | hasFeature |
Men in Black / int_ff6adc90 | |
Men in Black / int_ff7f34c5 | type |
Pet the Dog | |
Men in Black / int_ff7f34c5 | comment |
Pet the Dog: Kay treats the human immigrants kindly and allows them to go on their way after he detects Mikey hiding among them. He also gives Beatrice a simple, good memory of her marriage to Edgar ending to replace her encounter with the Bug. | |
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Men in Black |
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