Tropescilloscope: Artistic License – History

The creator of a work ignores historical inaccuracy in the interest of telling a better story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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