Tropescilloscope: Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism

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

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