The Western ur-example is Captain Marvel.Not to be confused with the Stanley Kubrick film, Eyes Wide Shut. Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes is a downplayed trope, while in Eyes Out of Sight their eyes aren't even visible. Either way, the character's now-visible eyes may follow other various Eye Tropes as well. This is not uncommon among Affably Evil villains if the villain always puts up a happy facade, expect those eyes to open when they get really angry, just before that final transformation or ultimate attack is unleashed. Where Eyes Always Shut and Beware the Nice Ones overlap, the character's eyes may open when it's time to get dangerous, usually right before unleashing that Limit Break or entering a state of Unstoppable Rage. The exact way the closed eyes are drawn can add a lot to this trope - representing anything from serenity, dignity, smugness, humor, indifference or even someone trying to fake any of those.įinally, closed eyes are sometimes used to depict people who are down and out with their lives as a sign of depression. These characters may be prone to comic obliviousness, but outright stupidity is rare. Characters whose eyes are fixed in that position are generally optimistic and almost always unconditionally happy, but more often down-to-earth instead of ditzy.

This device, when used as such, is called ' kitsune no me' in Japanese ('fox eyes' or 'shifty eyes' in English).Ī common variation of this trope is to make the character close his or her eyes into an arc rather than a simple horizontal line. This is an old device to imply wisdom more recently, it's been used as a device to show 'wise guys'. Nevertheless, they still give every indication of being able to see - which implies that this characteristic is actually more of a pronounced squint. This describes characters who appear to have their eyes shut constantly, except, perhaps, for a few instances of surprise or shock.

3rd Rock from the Sun, 'Same Old Song and Dick'

Shifty look meaning