Tag: flashback

A flashback is a moment in which someone recounts events from their past. In fiction, flashbacks are used primarily to give insight into a character's mind or to reveal information which had been previously kept from the audience. They normally consist essentially of new content; in some cases, they may also consist of short snippets of already displayed content, as in Okabe Rintarou's flashbacks in Steins;Gate, but even in these cases the flashbacks are used to look into what the character is thinking. As such, they are different from and should not be confused with recaps, which are old content being shown again for no particular purpose other than padding or reminding the audience of the events up to that point.

As a rule of thumb, to qualify as a flashback, the scene must advance the show's narrative and/or content in some way or form; anything else is just a recap. Flashbacks are also commonly used where the technique of in medias res is employed.

The opposite of a flashback is a flashforward.