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A user asked

What movie are these gifs from?

The answer revealed that they were from an Axe commercial. In it, we see a number of angels walking the street towards a young man who has apparently used Axe. They grab their halos and smash them, thus becoming fallen angels, in order to woo the young man.

In the comments, the question was raised if the question was on topic. So, is it?

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    the question is on-topic. additional questions about the ad would not be.
    – phantom42
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 16:28
  • @phantom42 I'm not sure I'd agree with that. Any questions about the ad are likely to be unanswerable, sure, but I don't see why they should be considered off-topic
    – Jason Baker
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 17:08
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    @JasonBaker the consensus is that the ad itself was off-topic as it's not a work of sf/f. thus, questions about it would be off-topic
    – phantom42
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 18:13
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    @phantom42 actually, I argue that the ad itself is on topic as well. So perhaps you should add an answer making your case.
    – SQB
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 21:14
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    Related: Are works that aren't SF per se, but have occasional SFnal elements on-topic? (e.g. spy movies)
    – Möoz
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 21:39

1 Answer 1

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Yes, it is on topic.

First of all, the user asking didn't know it was from an Axe commercial. Angels are not unusual in works of Fantasy, so this Stack was a logical place to ask. An answer should not make a question off-topic, if the question without the answer seems on-topic.

Furthermore, angels falling from heaven are a common trope (no, I'm not linking to TV Tropes). See for instance City of Angels, where a male angel played by Nicolas Cage falls in love with a woman played by Meg Ryan. Or preferrably, see the German original, Der Himmel über Berlin. Of course, we expect no work of art from a minute-and-a-half commercial, but the story is roughly the same. So even the answer is on topic.

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    +1billion for An answer should not make a question off-topic
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 16:15
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    In my opinion, no, angels themselves are not enough to make something a work of fantasy (see: The Holy Bible). Also, the angels themselves are tangential; the real issue is selling Axe. Finally, yes, an answer may make a question off-topic, even a question asked in good faith about something that turned out to be NOT SF/F. It's not a sin for a question to be off-topic, anyway, and closing it is not a punishment; it's simply site maintenance.
    – Andres F.
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 17:10
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    @AndresF. - That appears to be an answer rather than a comment.
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 17:29
  • @Richard I see it as a comment on things specifically mentioned in SQB's answer, and Mike's comment. It's not a stand-alone answer.
    – Andres F.
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 18:05
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    @AndresF. if you think it is/should be off-topic, post an answer to help set policy for future questions
    – phantom42
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 18:36
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    I'd like to emphasise that even the ad itself should be on topic, as fallen angels are a common fantasy trope.
    – SQB
    Commented Oct 6, 2015 at 21:56
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    @AndresF. I would like to invite you to provide your point of view as an answer, so it can be discussed and voted on.
    – SQB
    Commented Oct 7, 2015 at 10:44
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    @AndresF. I disagree, I think a question in good faith is on-topic even if the answer is found out-of-topic. I'll also second SQB that your comment can be better discussed as an answer. And besides, I think angels do make a work fantasy (as for the bible...I mean no offense, but it is considered a piece of literature as well as a holy text, and as literature I think it qualifies as having fantasy elements)
    – Megha
    Commented Dec 21, 2015 at 18:47
  • @Megha You'll get no argument from me, an atheist. But here the consensus is that the Bible is off-topic, because to a vast number of people it's definitely not a work of fantasy, and neither are angels. Religious works that people believe in are off-topic here; we've already had this debate.
    – Andres F.
    Commented Dec 21, 2015 at 19:00
  • @AndresF. that's quite fair, and I did think allowing it to be on-topic is a recipe and a half for trouble, I just was caught by the wording of the distinction. I'm also not a follower of that text... and I've heard the 'but its also literature' argument used enough to have an opinion.
    – Megha
    Commented Dec 21, 2015 at 21:25
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    We decided that religious works shouldn't be regarded as fantasy, but that's different than saying that the presence of a character related to religion suddenly make something not fantasy. I don't think the Bible has any angels coming down from heaven and ripping off halos because some human is sexy. I think religious experts would be okay with considering that to be fantasy.
    – DCShannon
    Commented May 1, 2017 at 20:27
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    Sexy angels are probably the line that indicates fantasy versus religion...
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 14, 2017 at 13:04

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