Tropescilloscope: Ripped from the Headlines

A recent or ongoing news story is the basis for the plot. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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