Is there a specific name for when a banner is unfurled dramatically?

May 25, 2020 6:21 AM

I'm looking for examples of when a big physical banner is unrolled to reveal something but can't seem to find many examples. Am I looking for it under the wrong name? Is there a specific name for this?
posted by rileyray3000 to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

Like this? That's the first video hit I got for the search term "unfurling a banner," and there are lots more like it...
posted by slenderloris at 6:30 AM on May 25, 2020

A tifo?
posted by prismatic7 at 6:38 AM on May 25, 2020

In activist circles I have heard this referred to as a banner drop.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:45 AM on May 25, 2020 [4 favorites]

Kabuki Drop?
posted by Uncle at 7:55 AM on May 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

Seconding Uncle - in live theatre (in the UK, at least) this effect is known as a kabuki.
posted by spielzebub at 9:40 AM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm with Uncle & spielzebub - in my mostly-non-theatrical US live entertainment experience, something like this would be referred to as a Kabuki, Kabuki drop, or just a "reveal."

(Theater purists might dispute calling it a kabuki outside of a theater context, like letting a banner unfurl outside a building or whatever, and I've found a little evidence that this might be called a "Banner Drop" in activist/protest circles.)
posted by soundguy99 at 10:46 AM on May 25, 2020

I seem to remember in the Navy that was called "breaking" a flag, when instead of hoisting it up the normal way, you hoist it up bound with a string so it won't fly. It's tied in such a way that you can then pull the tail on the string and the flag unfurls in the wind dramatically.

I can't find it in a quick search online though, so not only might I be wrong, but even if I'm right it might not help your search any. But if you know any sailors they might know how to tie it up right for you.
posted by ctmf at 12:03 PM on May 25, 2020

The term I'd look for would be an "unveiling"
posted by Mchelly at 1:22 PM on May 25, 2020

I'd call it a banner drop, but I'm more of an expert on tifo that's raised from below.
posted by bink at 1:58 PM on May 25, 2020

Agree that "banner drop" is, at least in my US English context, the name for this in the context of a protest message, particularly (perhaps only?) if the banner is literally being dropped, i.e. from a bridge or an arena balcony. Not sure if it is used more widely for non-political banners but my intuition is that no.
posted by dusty potato at 1:37 PM on May 27, 2020