Be Yourself: Difference between revisions

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This is [[Truth in Television]] for some, but in other cases, the person suggesting this [[Did Not Do the Research]].

Can be considered a [[Broken Aesop]] if a character's true nature is to be vulgar or [[~~Always Chaotic~~ Evil|pure evil]] - a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] is certainly being true to himself, but that doesn't make him a good person. Most frequently, however, it's broken when the intended message is inadvertently twisted to [[Status Quo Is God|"don't improve or reinvent yourself, broaden your horizons or even make any new friends"]] - the more often an episodic series attempts "Be Yourself", the more likely they are to break it this way.

Can be considered a [[Broken Aesop]] if a character's true nature is to be vulgar or [[Exclusively Evil|pure evil]] - a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] is certainly being true to himself, but that doesn't make him a good person. Most frequently, however, it's broken when the intended message is inadvertently twisted to [[Status Quo Is God|"don't improve or reinvent yourself, broaden your horizons or even make any new friends"]] - the more often an episodic series attempts "Be Yourself", the more likely they are to break it this way.

Of course, one that puts up facades by nature should be considered true to oneself by definition. The worst [[Broken Aesop|attempts at showing this aesop]] strike upon the [[Appeal to Inherent Nature]], a logical fallacy that confuses what is with what ought to be. The better attempts are usually reminders to [[Warts and All|just be honest]] rather than to deny oneself.

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== [[Advertising]] ==

* [[Just the Way You Are|Being beautiful and being yourself]] are mutually exclusive according to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBSZd55HyTM this Converse All Stars commercial]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8odkYKT370 Lipton Ice Tea: Be Yourself. Naturally]

* Averted in the Mandalay Bay commercials. Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas isn't the place to be yourself as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-1XfhMfqrk Mitchell Bernstien C.P.A] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf4vG1cvIuw Suzanna Jones, a 5th grade teacher and mother of 3] demonstrate.

* An [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqXOhcTkfUw early-1980s cinema advert] for National Westminster Bank, starring Adrian Edmondson as [[Expy|a character not totally unlike]] [[The Young Ones|Vyvyan Basterd]], played this trope for [[Played for Laughs|laughs]]. In his quest to open a bank account, pseudo-Vyv dons an ill-fitting three-piece suit, buzzes his mohawk, and has the metal stars on his forehead removed (apparently, they ''are'' piercings). After this, and overcompensating with his [[British Accents|RP]] at NatWest, he is granted an account ... and moments later, the punked-out guy behind him in line opens his own account without a hitch. Our hero doesn’t take this well.

* In [http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/17891421 this Heinz commercial] this woman's being herself through her crude table manners.

* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] by all those [[Drugs Are Bad|"above the influence" commercials telling teenagers not to do drugs.]]

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* [[Broken Aesop|Broken]] by ''[[Family Matters]]'' with "Stefan Urquelle". {{spoiler|And then reconstructed when Laura decides she loves regular Steve, instead of letting him be Stefan permanently.}}

* Amongst Petey Greene's ramblings in ''How to Eat a Watermelon'' is this. Interestingly, he teaches this not by avoiding a stereotype, but by fulfilling it. Rather effective, actually.

* Ruthlessly parodied on ''[[30 Rock]]'', when [[Cloudcuckoolander|Tracy]] gives one of these speeches at a high school graduation, which concludes, "Just be yourself, and I guarantee you every single person in this room will one day be President of the United States!"

* This is the moral of ''[[The Weird Al Show]]'' episode "One for the Record Books". Al spends the entire episode trying to break a world record in order to feel special until he finally learns that he's special just the way he is.

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'''Claudia:''' Is this your version off a Pep Talk?

'''Myka:''' We already have one me, we don't need another me. I want you to go in there and be more like... you. }}

* Subverted in the ''[[Highway to Heaven]]'' episode, ''Friends'', in which the lesson is that it's okay to be yourself if you're not fat. Jenny is a fat girl who doesn't have any friends. The lesson she must learn in the episode is that she needs to lose weight for people to like her.

* In ''[[Community]]'' episodes [[Community/Recap/S1 E17 Physical Education|Physical Education]] Jeff gives this advice to Abed when the rest of the study group is telling him to act differently when approaching a potential secret admirer.

* In ''[[Community]]'' episodes [[Community/Recap/S1/E17 Physical Education|Physical Education]] Jeff gives this advice to Abed when the rest of the study group is telling him to act differently when approaching a potential secret admirer.

* ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'': Lisa pretends to be high-class to date a rich guy. She discovers he's a jerk when he scoffs at her old friends.

* [[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood|Mister Rogers Neighborhood]]: Mr. Rogers delivered this message [[Sincerity Mode|with great sincerity]] to his viewers, getting right to [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|the heart of the matter]]:

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* Frank Zappa's "You Are What You Is".

* [[The Veronicas]] Secret Life album uses this as a theme.

* [[Britney Spears]] utilizes this as her message, subtly and unsubtly

* [[Eminem]]'s "Beautiful" is all about this trope

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* Yelled repeatedly along with "dude" in the ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' show in [[Disney Theme Parks|Disney's California Adventure]] park by the genie when Alladin goes to meet Jasmine. After yelling for a good minute, the genie becomes overly embarrassed at how long he took, and then goes off to "[[Finding Nemo|find nemo]]".

* The [[Our Trolls Are Different|trolls]] from [[Henrik Ibsen|Henrik Ibsen's]] ''Peer Gynt''. "Be thyself, and thyself is enough!"

* ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]'': Cyrano is ugly and eloquent. He loves Roxane, but he will never dare to confess to her because he is afraid she rejects him. Christian is fair but not witty, and wants to confess to Roxane, but he knows she never will accept someone who is not eloquent. Cyrano convinces Christian to woo Roxane (who desperately wants to believe Christian is as eloquent as fair) by Cyrano being... well, [[Playing Cyrano]]. When Christian discovers the rather obvious truth that Cyrano also loves Roxane, Christian accepts the fact that he is [[Brainless Beauty|fair but unwitty]] and forces Cyrano to tell the truth. Notice that Christian still has hope that Roxane will chose him, but if not, Cyrano and Roxane, the two people Christian loves most in the world, would have been happy.

{{quote|'''Christian''':'' I will be loved myself—or not at all!}}

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== [[Web Comics]] ==

* [http://explosm.net/comics/1120/ This] gem from [[Cyanide and Happiness]].

* In ''[[Sinfest]]'',

** [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1898 Squidley advises against], and [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1899 a woman weighs in.]

** [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1906 Pooch defends his actions as just being himself.]

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* The same plot was used on ''[[Recess]]'': After being tricked into entering a beauty contest, tomboy Spinelli is taught to be a "beauty queen" by her friends - but ultimately wins by being herself.

* In an episode of ''[[Muppet Babies]],'' Scooter is tired of being the klutzy nerd, so Gonzo tries to help him create a new persona.

* On ''[[~~Cat Dog~~]]'', tough-acting tomboy Shreik tries to make herself "a real woman" so that Dog will take notice of her. It backfires when every guy ''except'' Dog ends up hitting on her.

* On ''[[CatDog]]'', tough-acting tomboy Shreik tries to make herself "a real woman" so that Dog will take notice of her. It backfires when every guy ''except'' Dog ends up hitting on her.

* On ''[[Rugrats]]'', the Deville twins are tired of people getting them mixed up and decide to take on new personas. Lil becomes more like Angelica, a heartless bully, and Phil becomes more like Chuckie, a timid coward.

* A significant theme of Disney/Pixar's ''[[Ratatouille]]'': Be yourself and follow your dream, even at the risk of death.

* Also a significant theme of Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' (and '''only''' the Disney version): Pretending to be the overbearing, pompous "Prince Ali" only alienates the hero from Princess Jasmine, who finds the earnest, resourceful "street rat" more appealing. In fact, the other characters feel trapped as well. Princess Jasmine, thanks to being a princess is forced to marry, while the Sultan is trapped by the law that says that his daughter must marry a prince. In the end, however, they realize that they can all get what they want while still being themselves. Additionally, in the memorable scene on the balcony, the Genie transforms himself into a bee and encourages Aladdin-- "[[Incredibly Lame Pun|bee yourself]]!"

* Almost every Disney movie has this, but ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperors New Groove]]'' subverts it - being himself means thinking [[It's All About Me]].

* Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9juSKwBF-8 this excerpt] from ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' TV series. Sebastian provides the perfect [[Theme Song]] for this trope: "You Got to Be You".

* A subplot in one episode of ''[[Sushi Pack]]''. The crabby Kani decides to be mellow, even though [[We Want Our Jerk Back|everyone likes her the way she already is.]]

* In ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'', this is key to understanding the Dragon Scroll's message, which contains the power to make whoever reads it one of the greatest kung fu masters in existence. {{spoiler|It's a blank scroll that shows nothing but the reflection of the reader's face.}} Or rather, the true secret of the Dragon Scroll is that {{spoiler|[[Arc Words|there is no secret ingredient.]] The most important factor in your success is you and your desire/determination to improve yourself.}}

* The Aesop of every single ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode where [[This Loser Is You|Ron Stoppable]] [[I Just Want to Be Special|gets to be special for one episode]]. It is discussed in "The Cupid Effect", where Wade suggests the idea, yet Ron dismisses it: [[This Is Reality|"That only works in cartoons."]]

* When Tucker tires of his geeky (and for that episode, unlucky) lifestyle in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', his friend Sam suggests a change and makes him a Goth like her. Tucker however finds the experience horrifying, refusing the dreary make-ups and accessories, causing him to revert to his original self. Subverted the entire time because Sam ''tricked'' him into accepting who he is by making his short lived experience as a Goth as terrifying as possible.

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* In an episode of [[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]], Tigger explains that the secret of his popularity is, "I've just got to be me!" Unfortunately, Eeyore misinterprets this by [[I Just Want to Be You|trying to just be Tigger.]]

* The original philosopher of this trope, [[Popeye]] the Sailor--"I yam wot I yam and tha's all wot I yam."

* Constantly played with in ''[[Futurama]]''. Lots of episodes end with a character learning a [[Be Yourself]] aesop, despite "themselves" not being the greatest of people. In general, they run with the humorous twist that "being yourself is the right thing, even if it's not the best thing for everyone," or as Hermes put it.

{{quote|'''Hermes:''' When push comes to shove you gotta do what you love, even if it's not a good idea.}}

** This comes up directly in the episode where Fry becomes super smart and cultured thanks to worms remodeling his nervous system. Fry decides he wants to be liked for him, not because someone's making him better, and gets rid of the worms. It ends badly.