Tropescilloscope: Deconstruction

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

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