30 Rock + TV Tropes
↳ ’Painting the Medium’:
Modifying the presentation of a story in order to convey information about the story. This is typically done for one of three reasons:
- To imply something about a character or scene without actually stating it, or to give a feeling that helps remind the reader that things aren’t quite the normal and mundane that they’re used to.
- To drag the reader from the narrative and blatantly point out that it is messing with our preconceptions about how the medium should behave. If this is done well, it creates a sense of confused surreality.
- To gain basic laughs from its audience.
By using this trope, a writer turns a transparent tool — meant to show the work behind it — into a part of the work.