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Bookshelf of Authority
- 109 statements
- 20 feature instances
- 18 referencing feature instances
| Bookshelf of Authority | type |
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| Bookshelf of Authority | comment |
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Bookshelf of Authority is posing an interviewee or character in front of a bookshelf to show that they're smart. Extra points if the interviewee or character wrote some or all of the books. This Appeal to Authority is common in documentaries, mockumentaries, and sometimes when a scientist or academic character is shown being interviewed or just speaking in a drama or comedy. Giving instant (sometimes undeserved) credibility, the Bookshelf of Authority implies that the person speaking is an expert because they own books. If the subject is a lawyer, they're law books. Fun fact: some law firms have fake law books on shelves just for appearances. Lawyers look up everything online now with services like Westlaw and Lexis Nexis. The digital version of this trope is the subject speaking in front of multiple computer screens (with different things on each screen). Another variation is posing in front of shelves of vinyl albums, videogames or other physical media if the person has something to do with what they're standing in front of. Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The smart person in question may also be a Bookworm, have read from the Genius Book Club, have something to prove, and/or be faking intelligence. Examples: |
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| Bookshelf of Authority | fetched |
2022-04-28T04:40:17Z | |
| Bookshelf of Authority | parsed |
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| Bookshelf of Authority | processingComment |
Dropped link to ChekhovsGun: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Bookshelf of Authority | processingComment |
Dropped link to SubliminalAdvertising: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Bookshelf of Authority | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_34e5ea29 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_34e5ea29 | comment |
Mr. Show has a sketch of a man in a suit who appears in front of a dignified bookcase and initially appears to be filming a commercial as an attorney, but he clarifies that he's not a lawyer and is actually just advertising his services to be your friend. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_40349c86 | type |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_40349c86 | comment |
The Theory of Everything, when Stephen Hawking is first called into Professor Sciama's office, there is a large bookshelf behind Sciama. Also, Hawking is in front of a bookshelf while explaining his theories about black holes to a board of three academic examiners. | |
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Bookshelf of Authority / int_40349c86 | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_468bebb0 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_468bebb0 | comment |
Discworld: Making Money. The 351-year-old zombie lawyer Mr. Slant cows his opposition with a milky Death Glare that makes them horribly aware that he himself wrote half of the large leather volumes they all keep in their offices to impress clients. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_55f41ce9 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_55f41ce9 | comment |
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 8, episode 3, "Palestinian Chicken." When Larry visits Rabbi Stein to ask her a favor, she has a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf covering two walls behind her. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_5dec73d8 | type |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_5dec73d8 | comment |
In The Man Who Knew Infinity, respected mathematician G. H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) first meets Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) at a desk with bookshelves behind Hardy. Later, Srinivasa is sitting in front of the same bookshelf as he begins to have Surpassed the Teacher. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_630755ab | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_630755ab | comment |
In the Codex Alera, the First Lord's study is full of books, all of which he has undoubtedly read and considered. One character who particularly dislikes him compares it disparagingly to a hunting lodge full of trophies. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_6d0f9c3d | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_6d0f9c3d | comment |
Parodied in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Ron brags about how he owns "many leather-bound books", but it is obvious that he is a pompous idiot. | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_6d0f9c3d | featureApplicability |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_6d0f9c3d | featureConfidence |
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| Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | hasFeature |
Bookshelf of Authority / int_6d0f9c3d | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_75f21786 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_75f21786 | comment |
Good Will Hunting the scenes in the office of Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), he's flanked on one side by a bookshelf, and on the other side with a desk covered with books and stacks of papers. | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_75f21786 | featureApplicability |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_81202666 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_81202666 | comment |
In Chainsaw Man, the Cosmos Devil's Mental World is that of a seemingly endless library. She shows herself reading some books in front of an indeterminably large bookshelf before revealing that she is actually the bearer of all the universe's knowledge, which is contained within said books this library holds. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_81202666 | featureConfidence |
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| Chainsaw Man (Manga) | hasFeature |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_887acd55 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_887acd55 | comment |
Parodied in New Girl when Nick and Jess find Russell's home office. Appropriately for a wealthy businessman, Russell's office is very polished, complete with a leather chair and a hardwood desk in front of a distinguished bookshelf. Nick has a blast playing around with the setup and pretending to be accomplished. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_8dfbdff2 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_8dfbdff2 | comment |
Law & Order: Season 5, Episode 6 "Competence", district attorney Adam Schiff being the voice of reason to the ADA attorneys under him. 7:29. | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_8dfbdff2 | featureApplicability |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_953c0c56 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_953c0c56 | comment |
Discussed in an episode of Frontline; during a hostage situation, the only "expert" the news station can get to discuss the situation with them is a psychology student. The producer tells the camera crew to interview the student in front of a bookshelf to make him look more authoritative. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_976efc02 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_976efc02 | comment |
Mocked in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode The Leech Woman, where the main character's attorney is standing in front of a massive and imposing set of books (it was 1960, after all — he might genuinely have needed them). Crow jokes, "He was part of the Stephen King Book Club for a month." | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_976efc02 | featureApplicability |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_976efc02 | featureConfidence |
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| Mystery Science Theater 3000 | hasFeature |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_9dd8fa62 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_9dd8fa62 | comment |
LegalEagle: YouTube channel where lawyers deconstructs popular media from a legal standpoint. Almost every episode starts with the attorney host talking in front of a shelf of what look like law books. | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_9dd8fa62 | featureApplicability |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_9dd8fa62 | featureConfidence |
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| LegalEagle (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Bookshelf of Authority / int_9dd8fa62 | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_a0500a06 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_a0500a06 | comment |
Rugrats: In "Tooth or Dare", Susie introduces Tommy and Angelica to her brother Edwin, who's quite a brainiac and sits behind a desk with a large bookcase behind him. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_b6729da0 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_b6729da0 | comment |
In This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It, Dr. Tennet is shown in front of a bookshelf of books he has written, foreshadowing a later revelation that the shadow people (bad guys) are using him for their own purposes. | |
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Bookshelf of Authority / int_b6729da0 | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_be7d29db | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_be7d29db | comment |
Brows Held High: Kyle Kallgren's set usually consists of him sitting in front of a bookcase full of books, befitting his show as a reviewer of "arthouse" media. He notes this in his review of Yeelen, remarking on how it reflects European-descended cultures in viewing literacy as a show of knowledge. | |
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| Brows Held High (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Bookshelf of Authority / int_be7d29db | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_c720f71e | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_c720f71e | comment |
Predictably enough, the entirety of BookTube / AuthorTube (i.e. the collection of YouTube channels about reading or writing books) relies on this for credibility. AuthorTube creators will prominently feature their released and upcoming books on the shelf. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_c75605f9 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_c75605f9 | comment |
Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby fills his library with books he doesn't read, both to appear cultured and to show he can afford them. The Owl-Eyed Man says that lots of rich people do this, and Gatsby is a cut above the rest because he uses real books rather than fakes with blank pages. There's proof that he doesn't read: the pages aren't cut note Books in this era were printed on large sheets of paper, which were then folded into individual pages and bound to the spine. Brand new books would have pages still stuck together at the ends, and required the reader to cut them apart. | |
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| Bookshelf of Authority / int_d26874b6 | type |
Bookshelf of Authority | |
| Bookshelf of Authority / int_d26874b6 | comment |
In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Photoshops himself to make it look like he's sitting in front of a bookshelf reading an encyclopedia, in hopes that he'll come off as smart. | |
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