Tropescilloscope: Real Life Writes the Plot
Real Life events determine the work's design. (read more at tvtropes.org)
More Tropes
Bury Your Gays
Drives Like Crazy
Undying Loyalty
Peek-a-Boo Corpse
Serial Killer
Shout-Out
Captain Obvious
Authority Equals Asskicking
Funny Foreigner
German Films
A Date with Rosie Palms
Your Head A-Splode
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
Corpsing
Cluster F-Bomb
Children Are Innocent
Department of Redundancy Department
Manipulative Bastard
Death of a Child
Henpecked Husband
Asshole Victim
In Name Only
Jerkass Has a Point
Adapted Out
Auto Erotica
Sinister Minister
Neck Snap
Call-Back
Eureka Moment
Punny Name
Taking the Bullet
In the Back
FaceHeel Turn
Plot Hole
The Oner
Spiritual Successor
Faux Affably Evil
Documentary
The Bad Guy Wins
Psychopathic Manchild
Costume Porn
Implacable Man
The '60s
Rule of Three
Ghost Fiction
Hypocrite
Hate Sink
Batman Gambit
Anyone Can Die
Cruel and Unusual Death
Insane Troll Logic
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
Straight Gay
Every Car Is a Pinto
Never My Fault
Beauty Is Never Tarnished
Hair-Trigger Temper
Really Gets Around
No Name Given
Red Shirt
Abusive Parents
Our Vampires Are Different
Anti-Villain
Toplessness from the Back
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
Drill Sergeant Nasty
Only a Flesh Wound
Mystery and Detective Films
Real Life
Get Out!
Dressing as the Enemy
Villain Opening Scene
Dramatic Gun Cock
Parental Substitute
Artistic License History
Kick the Dog
"The Reason You Suck" Speech
Daddy's Girl
Age Lift
Back from the Dead
Improbable Aiming Skills
Psychological Thriller
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
Black Best Friend
Shoot the Shaggy Dog
Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene
Up to Eleven
Sequel Escalation
Karma Houdini
Foregone Conclusion
Alpha Bitch
Big Fancy House
Eiffel Tower Effect
Bait-and-Switch
Twist Ending
Big "NO!"
Beware the Nice Ones
Catapult Nightmare
Curb-Stomp Battle
Air-Vent Passageway
Stock Footage
Last-Name Basis
Determinator
aka: The Determinator
Character Development
Those Wacky Nazis
After the End
Non-Indicative Name
Eagleland
Accidental Misnaming
Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday
All Just a Dream
Same Language Dub
The Stinger
Sole Survivor
Genre Savvy
Bond Villain Stupidity
Naïve Newcomer
Nothing Is Scarier
Cold-Blooded Torture
As Himself
Bloodless Carnage
Accidental Murder
Unwitting Instigator of Doom
Vacation Films
Foil
Bittersweet Ending
Dumb Blonde
Gory Discretion Shot
Villain Protagonist
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas
Action Prologue
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!
Red Eyes, Take Warning
Whole Plot Reference
Arranged Marriage
The '80s
Honor Before Reason
Covers Always Lie
Logo Joke
Crucified Hero Shot
Homage
Ungrateful Bastard
Cat Scare
Defrosting Ice Queen
From Bad to Worse
Posthumous Character
Fanservice Extra
Evil Laugh
Retirony
Paper-Thin Disguise
Closed Circle
The Hero
"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue
Intrepid Reporter
Girl-on-Girl Is Hot
Cassandra Truth
Dark Action Girl
Dramedy
Betty and Veronica
Final Girl
Genre Throwback
Dirty Cop
The Reveal
Would Hurt a Child
Easily Forgiven
Mooks
Adaptational Villainy
Loophole Abuse
This Is Gonna Suck
Left the Background Music On
Once More, with Clarity!
Men Are the Expendable Gender
Artistic License Biology
Amoral Attorney
Imagine Spot
Lighter and Softer
Yandere
Star-Crossed Lovers
Those Two Guys
No Celebrities Were Harmed
Wrong Genre Savvy
I Have Your Wife
Tempting Fate
The Dreaded
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
Adorkable
Author Appeal
Bad Boss
Facial Horror
Artistic License Law
Cain and Abel
Brainless Beauty
Famous Last Words
Knife Nut
NO INDOOR VOICE
Biopic
Screw This, I'm Outta Here!
Aside Glance
Would Hit a Girl
Black Dude Dies First
A.I. Is a Crapshoot
Card-Carrying Villain
Expository Hairstyle Change
Suspiciously Specific Denial
Sealed Evil in a Can
Camp Gay
Love at First Sight
Jump Scare
Playing Gertrude
Antagonist Title
I Just Shot Marvin in the Face
Four-Temperament Ensemble
Military and Warfare Films
Dark and Troubled Past
Agony of the Feet
Ripped from the Headlines
Fire-Forged Friends
Bond One-Liner
Faking the Dead
Face Death with Dignity
BFG
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
Let's Get Dangerous!
Advertised Extra
Spiteful Spit
Totally Radical
Visual Pun
Fatal Family Photo
Toilet Humour
aka: Toilet Humor
Frame-Up
Annoying Younger Sibling
Chiaroscuro
What Happened to the Mouse?
Alliterative Name
Captain Ersatz
Rule of Cool
La Résistance
Deadpan Snarker
Big Damn Heroes
Parental Abandonment
Karmic Death
Not So Different
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
Time Skip
Horror Films
Hidden Depths
Wounded Gazelle Gambit
Running Gag
Scare Chord
Your Cheating Heart
Empathic Environment
The Smurfette Principle
Shell-Shocked Veteran
Large Ham
Sequel Hook
Fish out of Water
Evil Brit
Say My Name
Informed Ability
Dutch Angle
Beard of Evil
Morality Pet
Improbable Infant Survival
aka: Infant Immortality
Adaptational Heroism
Boom, Headshot!
I Did What I Had to Do
Ascended Extra
Gratuitous English
Deal with the Devil
Male Frontal Nudity
Crazy Jealous Guy
Ship Tease
Together in Death
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead
Soundtrack Dissonance
In Medias Res
Daylight Horror
Arc Words
Death by Sex
The End... Or Is It?
Demonic Possession
Christmas Movies Index
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome
Fantastic Racism
It's All About Me
Parental Incest
Roger Ebert: Great Movies List
Malevolent Masked Men
Almost Kiss
Epic Fail
Missing Mom
Fainting
Trailers Always Spoil
Properly Paranoid
Cool Car
Composite Character
Obstructive Bureaucrat
Fiery Redhead
World of Ham
Mind Screw
No-Sell
As the Good Book Says...
Names to Run Away from Really Fast
Grey and Gray Morality
Depraved Bisexual
Not So Stoic
Overly Long Gag
Pyrrhic Victory
A God Am I
Friend to All Children
Dogged Nice Guy
Shirtless Scene
"Well Done, Son!" Guy
Index of Film Westerns
Gone Horribly Right
Affably Evil
The Ace
Laser-Guided Karma
N-Word Privileges
Evil Is Hammy
My Greatest Failure
Mighty Whitey
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique
More Dakka
Extreme Doormat
Conspicuous CG
Hypocritical Humor
Bring My Brown Pants
Chekhov's Gun
Creative Closing Credits
Tranquil Fury
What the Hell, Hero?
Dissonant Serenity
Chekhov's Skill
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!
One-Word Title
The Dragon
Eye Scream
Big Eater
Becoming the Mask
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Lampshade Hanging
Sassy Black Woman
Only Known by Their Nickname
Small Name, Big Ego
Unreliable Narrator
Evil Sounds Deep
The '70s
Break the Cutie
Body Horror
Laughing Mad
Anguished Declaration of Love
Broken Aesop
Deconstruction
Dual Wielding
The Starscream
Fantasy Films
Obfuscating Stupidity
Badass Bookworm
Ambiguous Ending
Pun
aka: Incredibly Lame Pun
Big Bad
Not Even Bothering with the Accent
Intergenerational Friendship
Adult Fear
The Vamp
Does This Remind You of Anything?
Shut Up, Hannibal!
The Lost Lenore
Mercy Kill
Romantic False Lead
Pay Evil unto Evil
As Long as It Sounds Foreign
You Have Failed Me
Badass in a Nice Suit
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience
aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience
Vampire Fiction
Beta Couple
Heroic Sacrifice
Freeze-Frame Bonus
The Chick
All Girls Want Bad Boys
Calling the Old Man Out
The Brute
Stuff Blowing Up
It Will Never Catch On
Stealth Hi/Bye
Suspiciously Similar Substitute
I Need a Freaking Drink
Artistic License Gun Safety
He Knows Too Much
Rasputinian Death
Narrator
Five-Man Band
Kick the Son of a Bitch
Sexy Discretion Shot
Gender Flip
Sports Stories
Mama Bear
The Ditz
Femme Fatale
All Men Are Perverts
Pimped-Out Dress
A Father to His Men
No OSHA Compliance
Adaptation Distillation
Mr. Exposition
Kids Are Cruel
Slashed Throat
"Awesome McCool" Name
Taking You with Me
Truth in Television
Black Comedy
The Sociopath
An Arm and a Leg
Science Fiction Films
Immune to Bullets
Noodle Incident
Parental Neglect
Creepy Child
Outrun the Fireball
The Lancer
Those Two Bad Guys
Double Entendre
Disappeared Dad
Bound and Gagged
Genre Shift
Villain Ball
Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer
Action Girl
Badass Boast
Throwing Your Sword Always Works
Pre-Mortem One-Liner
Mood Whiplash
The Cavalry
Manchild
Product Placement
As You Know
Bolivian Army Ending
Sacrificial Lion
The Voiceless
Made of Explodium
Humiliation Conga
Psycho for Hire
Loads and Loads of Characters
Romantic Comedy
Slasher Movie
The Mole
Take That!
Spell My Name with an "S"
Older Than They Look
An Axe to Grind
Too Dumb to Live
Stepford Smiler
Recap /
RiffTrax
aka: Riff Trax Movies
Villainous Breakdown
Shower Scene
Chekhov's Gunman
Italian Films
Everyone Has Standards
You Killed My Father
One Steve Limit
Attempted Rape
A Minor Kidroduction
Comically Missing the Point
Car Fu
Tagline
Adults Are Useless
Translation Convention
Oh, Crap!
Decoy Protagonist
Award-Bait Song
"Shaggy Dog" Story
Brutal Honesty
Big Bad Duumvirate
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!
Blood from the Mouth
Awesome, but Impractical
The Film of the Book
Deliberately Monochrome
Ironic Echo
Fanservice
The Atoner
Darkest Hour
Lock and Load Montage
BrotherSister Incest
Race Lift
You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!
Scenery Porn
The Un-Favourite
aka: The Un Favorite
Never Trust a Trailer
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
Pretty in Mink
Sci-Fi Horror
Naked People Are Funny
How We Got Here
Casting Gag
Break the Haughty
Instant Death Bullet
Novelization
Unusual Euphemism
Artistic License Military
Pretty Little Headshots
Killed Mid-Sentence
Hell Is That Noise
Dropped a Bridge on Him
Exactly What It Says on the Tin
Pet the Dog
She Cleans Up Nicely
Pragmatic Adaptation
Dwindling Party
She's Got Legs
Married to the Job
Blatant Lies
Sadistic Choice
Black Comedy Rape
Wretched Hive
Line-of-Sight Name
Slasher Smile
Expy
Not What It Looks Like
Grievous Bottley Harm
Half the Man He Used to Be
Danny Peary Cult Movies List
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
Television Movie Index
Earn Your Happy Ending
The '90s
Anachronism Stew
And I Must Scream
Revenge
Bilingual Bonus
Blackmail
Wicked Cultured
Historical Hero Upgrade
Call-Forward
Didn't Think This Through
Disproportionate Retribution
Adaptation Dye-Job
Bloody Hilarious
Super Strength
Stylistic Suck
Funny Background Event
Suddenly SHOUTING!
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
It's Personal
Adaptational Attractiveness
Took a Level in Badass
The Bully
MayDecember Romance
Maybe Ever After
Retcon
Credits Gag
Nice Guy
Australian Movies
Evil Counterpart
Bowdlerise
Continuity Nod
Redshirt Army
O.O.C. Is Serious Business
Mad Scientist
Love Triangle
Jerkass
Mugging the Monster
Red Oni, Blue Oni
Vomit Indiscretion Shot
The Dog Bites Back
Sanity Slippage
Enemy Mine
Fake Shemp
Re-Cut
An Aesop
Chewing the Scenery
Reality Has No Subtitles
Major Injury Underreaction
Heroes Want Redheads
The Stoic
Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?
Artistic License Physics
Fourth Date Marriage
Animated Credits Opening
Motor Mouth
All There in the Script
Unusually Uninteresting Sight
Disney Death
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
Thriller
Silent Movie
The Ghost
Make It Look Like an Accident
Spanner in the Works
Film Noir
Bare Your Midriff
Horror Comedy
Poor Communication Kills
He Who Fights Monsters
Took a Level in Jerkass
Gold Digger
Real Life Writes the Plot
Self-Deprecation
Stealth Pun
Title Drop
Death Glare
And the Adventure Continues
Rich Bitch
Distracted by the Sexy
Cool Shades
The Musical
Spared by the Adaptation
Riddle for the Ages
Obviously Evil
Badass Longcoat
Meaningful Background Event
The Great Depression
Woman in White
Catch-Phrase
Refuge in Audacity
Dramatic Irony
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!
One-Man Army
Ax-Crazy
Animal Title Index
Pragmatic Villainy
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Heroic BSoD
Gorn
Offscreen Moment of Awesome
Needs Wiki Magic Love
Cloudcuckoolander
Kill It with Fire
Rule of Symbolism
Hong Kong Films
The Alcoholic
Gainax Ending
For Want of a Nail
Damsel in Distress
True Companions
Author Avatar
MacGuffin
Coming-of-Age Story
Historical Villain Upgrade
Diabolus ex Machina
Mexican Standoff
Ominous Latin Chanting
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner
What You Are in the Dark
Improbable Weapon User
Only in It for the Money
20 Minutes into the Future
Flipping the Bird
Bad "Bad Acting"
'80s Hair
Adaptational Badass
Curse Cut Short
Public Domain Feature Films
Wham Shot
Superhero
The '50s
Did Not Get the Girl
Music Stories
Eyepatch of Power
The Casanova
Domestic Abuse
Hero of Another Story
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
Fat Bastard
Dies Wide Open
Word of God
Blood Knight
Does Not Like Shoes
Vitriolic Best Buds
Film Series
Crapsack World
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?
For the Evulz
Storming the Castle
Foreshadowing
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
Big-Bad Ensemble
Bi the Way
Bloodier and Gorier
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
Smoking Is Cool
Handicapped Badass
Reasonable Authority Figure
Papa Wolf
Moment Killer
Bar Brawl
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
Room Full of Crazy
Adaptation Expansion
Meet Cute
Villain Song
Actor Allusion
Big Brother Instinct
No Antagonist
Early-Bird Cameo
Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Unspoken Plan Guarantee
Only Sane Man
Bunny-Ears Lawyer
Berserk Button
Roaring Rampage of Revenge
There Is No Kill Like Overkill
Deliberate Values Dissonance
Due to the Dead
Fatal Flaw
Dull Surprise
Demoted to Extra
My Beloved Smother
I'm a Humanitarian
War Is Hell
Failed a Spot Check
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil
Redemption Equals Death
Flashback
Gilligan Cut
Country Matters
Reality Ensues
Cool Guns
Market-Based Title
Male Gaze
Meaningful Echo
Adaptation Name Change
Early Installment Weirdness
Japanese Films
No Ending
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good
Only One Name
Cool Old Guy
Belligerent Sexual Tension
Recycled IN SPACE!
Match Cut
Politically Incorrect Villain
Interrupted Suicide
Artistic License Geography
Butt-Monkey
Skewed Priorities
Put on a Bus
Monumental Damage
Mythology Gag
Rape as Drama
Mr. Fanservice
Death by Adaptation
Insult Backfire
Bottomless Magazines
Developing Doomed Characters
Amusing Injuries
Neck Lift
HeelFace Turn
Guns Akimbo
Police are Useless
The Faceless
From Nobody to Nightmare
Downer Ending
Shipper on Deck
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
Hoist by His Own Petard
Villain with Good Publicity
Aluminum Christmas Trees
Cat Fight
Token Minority
Never Found the Body
Establishing Character Moment
Training Montage
Race Against the Clock
Here We Go Again!
timeperiod
Show Within a Show
Slap-Slap-Kiss
The Smart Guy
Good Is Not Nice
Russian Films
Ambiguous Disorder
Police Brutality
Meaningful Name
Anachronic Order
Red Herring
Death Seeker
Hollywood Law
The Alleged Car
Tap on the Head
Rousing Speech
Framing Device
Evil-Detecting Dog
Scary Black Man
Jerk Jock
Getting Crap Past the Radar
Eldritch Abomination
The Place
Disney Villain Death
Determinator
Canon Foreigner
Improvised Weapon
Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other
Martial Arts Movie
Darker and Edgier
Historical In-Joke
Greater-Scope Villain
Bavarian Fire Drill
Groin Attack
Contrived Coincidence
The Load
Driven to Suicide
Off-into-the-Distance Ending
Black and Gray Morality
Worthy Opponent
Fun with Acronyms
Never Trust a Trailer
aka: Trailers Always Lie
French Films
Apocalypse How
B-Movie
Fate Worse than Death
Badass Normal
The Mafia
Well-Intentioned Extremist
The Hero Dies
Red Right Hand
Badass Grandpa
The X of Y
Nice Hat
Idiot Ball
Exact Words
Based on a True Story
Rated M for Manly
Bland-Name Product
Epic Movie
Take a Third Option
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!
Rewatch Bonus
All There in the Manual
Soft Glass
Setting Update
Important Haircut
Off with His Head!
Freudian Excuse
Hero Antagonist
All for Nothing
Kill 'em All
Kubrick Stare
Dirty Coward
Green-Eyed Monster
Have a Gay Old Time
Heel Realization
Even Evil Has Loved Ones
Irony
Humans Are Bastards
Hollywood Darkness
Victoria's Secret Compartment
Jitter Cam
Film Noir Index
Combat Pragmatist
Evil Plan
Armor-Piercing Question
Reality Is Unrealistic
Disguised in Drag
Light Is Not Good
British Films
Made of Iron
Historical-Domain Character
Offscreen Teleportation
Knight Templar
Plucky Comic Relief
Dying Moment of Awesome
Chase Scene
Despair Event Horizon
The Big Guy
Animal Motifs
Broken Bird
Evil Is Petty
Leitmotif
Canadian Movies
Punch-Clock Villain
Mundane Made Awesome
Random Events Plot
Celebrity Paradox
Anti-Hero
The Quiet One
The Stoner
Hope Spot
Bullying a Dragon
Smug Snake
Not Quite Dead
Alas, Poor Villain
Wham Line
Dirty Old Man
Insistent Terminology
Protagonist Title
Brick Joke
Corrupt Corporate Executive
Leaning on the Fourth Wall
Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism
Hooker with a Heart of Gold
Happily Married
The Remake
Fan Disservice
Ambiguously Gay
Even Evil Has Standards
My God, What Have I Done?
Retired Badass
Unresolved Sexual Tension
Central Theme
Broken Pedestal
Be Careful What You Wish For
Cowboy Cop
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Vomit Discretion Shot
Action Genre
Not So Above It All
Arch-Enemy
Shown Their Work
Woman Scorned
Our Zombies Are Different
Drugs Are Bad
Manly Tears
The Power of Love
Precision F-Strike
Destination Defenestration
Guile Hero
Ms. Fanservice
And Starring
Works Set in World War II
Dark Reprise
Bald of Evil
Mistaken for Gay
The Chessmaster
Deus ex Machina
It Can Think
The Cameo
folderlabel
Stalker with a Crush
Creator Cameo
Book-Ends
Scenery Gorn
Zombie Stories
Heterosexual Life-Partners
Big Applesauce
Crazy-Prepared
Drowning My Sorrows
Death by Irony
Madness Mantra
Silence Is Golden
Not Using the "Z" Word
Man on Fire
Reckless Gun Usage
Camera Abuse
Overprotective Dad
Ass Shove
Babies Ever After
Evil vs. Evil
Extremely Short Timespan
Cool Old Lady
Double-Meaning Title
Serious Business
Better to Die than Be Killed
Video Credits
Dark Is Not Evil
Rule of Funny
Abhorrent Admirer
Action Survivor
Sir Swears-a-Lot
Actually Pretty Funny
Defiant to the End
Leave the Camera Running
The Un-Reveal
Affectionate Parody
Fingore