Tropescilloscope: Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism

Right Makes Might vs. Might Makes Right (read more at tvtropes.org)

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