Why are snow globes so hard to hold on to?

Cafe Society
1

Why is it in movies/tv/comics/other stuff, if someone picks up a snow globe, they will always get some kind of shock/revelation that makes them drop it in slow motion? You often get it shot in the same way.

I’ve seen this scene in so many things. Just off the top of my head…

Equilibrium - Christian Bale drops one when going through a room of illegal stuff. He hears music for the first time

Simpsons - My Plow advert

Babylon 5 - Del’enn picks one up in Sheridans quarters just before his ex (and supposedly dead) wife walks in

Watchmen - Doesn’t Laurie drop one at some point. I think its when she is remembering herself as a kid. Admittedly, its hard to tell if this is in slow motion as its in a comic.
Is this just a hugely over-used cliche, or is it a subtle reference to some other film? Can you name any other occurrences of this?

2

I’m not saying every use of it is a reference to Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, but that is certainly the most famous use of this device. Right at the beginning, a dying man whispers
“Rosebud” and drops a snowglobe. I don’t believe it breaks, though. In fact, I think a zoom in on the fallen snowglobe serves as the transition to the next scene.

3

Thanks PRN. I knew it had to be a homage to something.

4

Also, the big ones really are heavy and awkward to hold. I’ve personally busted two of them! :smiley:

Another movie use of the device, IIRC, is in the Richard Gere movie where the wife was having an affair (Unfaithful?). I think he drops the snow globe after realizing that his wife is sleeping with the hot french guy.