Death by Materialism: Difference between revisions

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In the [[Anime]] [[OVA]] ''[[Guy Double Target]]'', the [[Big Bad|BigBads]] of both episodes are cruel and sadistic, but they also show this trope, just in case [[Viewers are Morons|it isn't clear they deserve their fates]]. Then again, the heroes are greedy, so this is a bit of a [[Broken Aesop]].

** In the end of ''Guy: Awakening Of The Devil'', the villain is [[Fur and Loathing|wearing a white fur coat]], and is frantically trying to pick up [[Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry|the jewelry]] she dropped.

== Comic Books ==

* Nearly happens to [[Donald Duck]] in [[Don Rosa]]'s comic story ''The Money Pit'', where Donald gets buried alive while digging for rare coins in Uncle Scrooge's money bin.

* In one ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' comic that ran in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine, Haley explained the "copper coin trap" to Belkar to get him to leave behind a huge number of copper coins; basically, a huge amount of low-currency coins that amount to a good bit of money, but weigh so much that it'll slow you down, allowing monsters to catch you. (When he agrees to leave the huge pile behind, Haley surreptitiously puts it into her bag of holding instead.)

* In ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', Doctor Facilier's entire plan - kidnapping and [[Baleful Polymorph|transforming Prince Naveen]], having a servant seduce and toy with Charlotte, and eventually {{spoiler|promising the "wayward" souls of everyone in New Orleans to a group of demons}} - stems from his jealousy over Big Daddy Lebouf's vast fortune and his desire to acquire it. This, of course, serves as a foil to Tiana and Naveen who desperately want money themselves but use legal methods of obtaining it (Tiana works several jobs and Naveen...erm... [[Gold Digger|plans to marry Charlotte as well]] {{spoiler|but then later decides against this and works for a living in Tiana's restaurant after they are married}}).

* Nearly happens in Disney's Aladdin, when Apu (Aladdin's pet monkey) grabs a large, shiny ruby in the Cave of Wonders, despite Aladdin telling him not to touch anything and the Flying Carpet trying (and failing) to stop Apu from grabbing the ruby.

* In ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'', Commander Rourke, Helga, and the rest of the crew kidnap the super-powered Kida for this reason, condemning the people of Atlantis to die when their lifesource is taken away. Most of the crew abandons the plan [[Shaming the Mob|out of guilt]] after Milo [[What the Hell, Hero?|calls them out on it]]. Rourke and Helga follow through. {{spoiler|Helga winds up falling a ''long'' way down and is crushed by a flaming Zeppelin. Rourke winds up as a blue crystal monster and ultimately gets hacked up in the propellers of his air craft}}.

* In ''[[Treasure Planet]]'', most of the pirate crew die when the titular planet blows up to keep thieves from taking the treasure. Those who clung to their treasure eventually fell into the crevices below that opened as part of the booby trap. Those that dropped them and ran for their lives probably survived {{spoiler|and can be seen tied up in the brig near the end of the film. Long John Silver escapes, though he does [["Friend or Idol?" Decision|renounce the treasure at the last minute in favor of rescuing Jim]].}}

* It didn't result in death, but this is what set the wheels of the movie ''The Wedding Planner'' into motion. Steve meets Mary by saving her after she refuses to leave her Gucci shoe stuck in a manhole cover, despite the heavy Dumpster speeding at her. It goes into [[Too Dumb to Live]] when you look at the Dumpster in question and realize that it's pretty high off the ground thanks to the wheels, and she could just get the damn shoe after the Dumpster rolls by.

* ''[[Land of the Dead]]'', where the zombies hit the rich folks harder than the poor because the rich simply lacked the Mole People-like hiding skills that the underclasses had developed.

== Literature ==

* One of the funniest parts in the [[Mockumentary]] [[Zombie Apocalypse]] novel ''[[World War Z]]'' is when a bunch of celebrities (including not-so-hidden pastiches of Paris Hilton, Ruben Studdard, Bill Maher and Ann Coulter) set themselves up in a fortified mansion on Long Island and then broadcast the resulting party to the world. The compound is promptly overrun, not by zombies, but by desperate still-living humans, following the transmissions and looking for a safe place to hide. Cue the rich, arrogant bastards dying and the mercenary/bodyguard narrator fleeing the scene, along with Hilton's dog.

** Played straight with the man who sold the fake zombie vaccine Phalanx, who made loads of money on "the appearance ''of the appearance'' of safety!" He then used his money to pay rent in a Russian facility in Anarctica. He appears to be a [[Karma Houdini]], until in the closing chapter a government official says that he's in talks with Russia to stop renewing his lease.

* Chaucer's ''The Pardoner's Tale''.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''Horror of Fang Rock'', the last surviving non-regular character is killed when he starts scrabbling for a handful of diamonds the Doctor discards on the floor, despite the fact that the [[Monster of the Week]] is steadily advancing.

* Happens routinely on ''[[Tales from the Crypt]]''.

== Radio ==

* [[The Jack Benny Program|Jack Benny]]'s famous "Your money or your life!" routine, quoted above, is a bit of a parody of this.

* Monsters such as the mimic from ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' often mimic treasure chests or the like, the better to lure in gullible adventurers.

* About half of all adventurers have "Risk your life for treasure" as their job description, making this pretty much a guarantee.

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Tomb Raider]] Anniversary'' had one scene where Lara fails to find the 2nd piece of the Scion and discovers that Pierre took it and he shows up with a gun to her head. He taunts her as he gets ready to take Lara's other Scion piece in the following scene:

{{quote|'''Pierre''': "You see, instincts can be expensive, mademoiselle. Yours is going to cost you both pieces of the Scion!"

* In ''[[Conker's Bad Fur Day]]'', Conker's bad day is made much worse because he keeps getting distracted by wads of cash that sidetrack him from his goal of getting home.

* Amelia Sturtz (formerly Amelia Travoria) from ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'', who wears the most extravagant (and [[Stripperific|minimalistic/revealing]]) clothes of the Travoria sisters. After her plan to have her husband assassinated in order to gain control of his wealth goes south, the would-be assassin strangles her - with her own pearls.

== Western Animation ==

* This nearly happens to the gold-obsessed "El Capitan" in the ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' [[Five Episode Pilot]] "Treasure of the Golden Suns", but since it's a Disney production and the good guys [[Save the Villain|can't leave him to die]], Scrooge saves him from falling into a lake of molten gold.

** This is also a [[Running Gag]] for Scrooge himself; on at least one occasion (including ''[[DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp]]'') a character asks him point-blank "what's worth more: a fortune, or your life?". Scrooge will never provide a straight answer to this question.

== Real Life ==

* A Turkish wrestler who was always carrying his whole fortune (in gold coins) hidden in his belt. One day he went on a cruise on a ship that would sink. He didn't want to take off his very heavy belt, and thus drowned.

* This was also the fate of many of Cortez's men when they fled the Aztec capital. Set in the middle of a lake, the city was only reachable by man-made causeways. As they fled across these, in their panic many fell into the water. The weight of the gold they had stuffed their clothes with caused them to drown.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Death Tropes]]

[[Category:Money Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]