Category:Morality Tropes
"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil."
—Cicero
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What is morality? Morality is the system of good and evil and all the shades of gray that come in between.
Good always triumphs in the end, right? Well, not always. The Balance Between Good and Evil gives many villains loopholes to slip through and make their grand return. Furthermore, the presence of the Anti-Hero or Worthy Opponent blurs the distinction between good and evil, and in well-done cases, forces us to reexamine our preconceptions of right and wrong.
But what is especially interesting about the media is how it appears to favor evil in its works. Squeaky-clean heroes are either prone to stretches of unendearing, Knight Templar-style ruthlessness or hopelessly boring, while the villains inevitably have cooler costumes and powers. If they do a Heel Face Turn, that coolness factor often goes bye-bye thanks to Redemption Demotion -- not to mention that once they turn good, they usually don't get to live very long. No wonder why, for many good-turned-evil characters, Evil Feels Good.
Some authors, it seems, can't stand any more of that preachy Anviliciousness and turn the tables on the end-all symbol of goodness, writing Rage Against the Heavens plots in which God Is Evil. Fans aren't immune to the siren song of evil, either; an alarming number of them insist on putting Draco in Leather Pants.
But it must be remembered that this entry refers to only good and evil in the media. In Real Life, good and bad choices are Serious Business.
Please remember that Tropes Are Not Bad and Tropes Are Not Good. This is merely a list of how many works in different media have confronted the issue of morality. There is no implication that any of the tropes listed below are either correct or incorrect about how they approach moral philosophy. Even moral philosophers still argue with each other about the correct way to approach moral philosophy!
Subcategories
This category has the following 17 subcategories, out of 17 total.
C
E
G
H
- Hedonism Tropes (28 P)
- Hero Tropes (53 P)
I
- Idealism Tropes (67 P)
K
- Knight in Shining Tropes (59 P)
P
- Peace Tropes (16 P)
R
- Revenge Tropes (53 P)
S
T
V
W
- What Measure Is an Index? (9 P)
Pages in category "Morality Tropes"
The following 60 pages are in this category, out of 260 total.
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- Screw the Money, I Have Rules
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them
- Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
- Self-Disposing Villain
- Selfish Good, Selfish Evil
- Sensitivity Training
- Seven Deadly Sins
- Seven Heavenly Virtues
- Shades of Conflict
- Shoot the Dog
- Shouldn't You Stop Stealing?
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids
- Skewed Priorities
- Slave to PR
- Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
- Sliding Scale of Unavoidable Versus Unforgivable
- Sparing the Aces
- Stock Aesops
- Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred
- Sudden Principled Stand
- Sympathy for the Devil
T
V
W
- "Walk On the Wild Side" Episode
- Warts and All
- Was It Really Worth It?
- What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?
- What If God Was One of Us?
- What Is Evil?
- What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?
- What Measure Is a Mook?
- What the Hell, Hero?
- What You Are in the Dark
- White and Grey Morality
- Wife-Basher Basher
- Would Be Rude to Say Genocide
- Would Hit a Girl
- Would Hurt a Child
- Would Not Shoot a Civilian
- Would Not Shoot a Good Guy
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child
- Wrongful Accusation Insurance