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