Examples: Itchy & Scratchy from The Simpsons, The Scary Door from Futurama, or The Grand Inquisitor from Dostoevsky.
The lusty argonian maid
from morrowind :3 (and not skyrim >>:c)
The Princess Bride is one of my favorite examples of this, especially because the “story within the story” is the main story, which is unusual.
The Never Ending Story too.
I was so disappointed when that ended
I’m still watching it. What are you talking about?!
Also, there is a second and apparently a third?
Yeah, talk about false advertisement!
When I was a kid I absolutely loved movies with this format. It was like I was learning the story along with the characters on screen, and it just made it feel more real. Like the story was so old and with enough truth to it that they made a movie just about people learning about said story. It let you feel like the caring, kind old narrator was your adoptive grandpa, and he was revealing to you some ancient, fantastical part of our history. One that you could imagine really happened, even if the story had some exaggerations. Those opening sequences where they show a big old, leather bound book opening up to the first chapter (e.g. The Sword in the Stone)? HOOK IT TO MY VEINS
This is a literary device called a “bookend narrative.” If you want more stories like that, there’s your search term.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the fake old movie that plays in Home Alone. “I’m gonna give you till the count of 10 to get your ugly yeller no good keester off my property before I pump your guts full of lead! One… Two… Ten!” 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
Angels with Dirty Souls
Image my disappointment upon becoming old enough to rent R-rated movies and finding out the only one I wanted was fictional.
It was also in the Detective Pikachu movie.
Tales of the Black Freighter from the Watchmen comics is pretty awesome.
All My Circuits on Futurama is one of my favorites on tv. Dramatic beeping intensifies.
Ow! My balls! from Idiocracy
There’s been some stuff coming out lately that makes me think this show isn’t far off.
I keep waiting to see Ass. Anything that wins that many Oscars has got to be worth it.
It was a clear send-up of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at the time.
Community has Inspector Spacetime and the Kickpuncher movie series.
Troy and Abed in the Morning!
Nights
If it’s just general media within media, that Ben folds five ass crack bandit song was fucking killer
I always wondered if that was supposed to be Dave Matthews (real fans call him Dave) but the whole plan fell apart.
The Abed Movie could have been great.
Wormhole X-Treme! from Stargate SG-1
In-universe, creating that show was a genius move, if anything legit leaked they can just say it’s some fan fiction from the show and not from the real Stargate program.
Makes you wonder what the Stargate show was hiding :P
Well I grew up on a farm…
That’s the Wizard of Oz.
You got that from “I grew up on a farm”?
If you’re going to rip something off, choose something no-one knows.
Farscape flashback.
Gold.
“what do you mean it’s not a real show? Does my agent know? I still get paid with real money though right?”
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
by Douglas Adams is a book about a book called “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
Tool Time in Home Improvement
Yeaaaaah
This was so impactful that I only recently realized the title of the actual TV show wasn’t “Tool Time”. People talked about a mysterious show called “Home Improvement” and I didn’t even suspect it was the one I watched with my parents all those years ago
“Sick, Sad World” from Daria
Came here to say.
I just referenced that on Lemmy a couple of days ago
Interdimensional Cable from Rick and Morty is outrageous. GTA’s radio stations (VCPR was the best) and TV shows are often really funny. The Pißwasser beer commercial from IV always gets me.
It’s got a much… umm more improvisational… uhh feel. Oh geeze.
I like that someone figured out half assing things can be just as funny or even funnier than putting in the effort to make it look more professional.
Now I’m curious about who first bottled that lightning.
Maybe the makers of Aqua Teen Hunger Force? Half the characters in there seemed like they were making it up as they went and is the earliest one I can think of where that was a common theme.
Home Movies came later but is the earliest where that’s applied to media produced “in-universe” that I can think of.
Home Improvement was earlier than both and Tim was often out of his league on his show, but that was more of a “ill prepared but at least trying to be professional” act than “making it up as we go and not even trying to hide it”.
Check out https://nestflix.fun/ for a Netflix-like way to browse popular fictional media like this
You just won the thread.
I’m sad they’re not videos, but what a treasure trove.
The “I’d buy that for a dollar!” guy from Robocop.
Tropic Thunder movie previews
Gems
Ballfondlers from Rick and Morty
Impotent Rage from GTA V
The Silver Shroud from Fallout 4
As far as other media within Rick & Morty, the Second Life-like “Roy” is something that I wish could exist. Immersive gameplay, accelerated time, tangible experiences, and endless possibilities.
And assuming that human beings work on it imagine what skills and abilities you could acquire.
It’s kind of like the piccolo thing in Star Trek the next generation with picard. Like imagine playing a video game and then coming home and being a rockstar guitarist on par with Slash, or getting 50 years worth of meditation and monk training in before work on Monday on top of a second lifetime full of martial arts training.
Something like that would be so revolutionary it would dwarf any kind of nonlethal AI apocalypse in comparison.
There’s already a company looking to do just that, although they are focused on using it as a replacement for prison. i.e. instead of serving time in prison, the tech implants traumatic memories into your brain that are related to the crime. It wouldn’t be a far leap to implant desirable memories, though I’m not sure it would actually help you do something like learn an instrument, as muscle memory isn’t something you can implant (maybe?).
Just throw a Mr. Meeseeks box at it, et voilà!