Tropescilloscope: Deconstruction

Analyzing a trope to expose its realistic assumptions, flaws, consequences and/or origins. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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