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