Family-Unfriendly Death: Difference between revisions

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So the mother wiped the axe and laughed.

—The Rose Tree

Normally, death is kept well away from children's sensitive eyes. If it can't be avoided all together, it is made family friendly. Heroes make miraculous recoveries, villains expire off-screen, and never a drop of blood is seen.

Sometimes though, writers break this rule in the grand style, depicting deaths so gruesome they leave adults shaken, and children quivering wrecks.

Sometimes caused by unrealistic expectations. Those familiar only with Bowdlerised Fairy Tales—and still more Disneyfied ones—may find the more explicit versions of fairy tales shocking. The Happily Ever After often lavishes considerably more detail on the death of the Wicked Stepmother or other villains than on the happiness of the hero and heroine. Psychologists hypothesize this is a way of assuring the children that the villain really is Deader Than Dead. (On the other hand, it does not necessarily preclude Back from the Dead for heroes.) Often used with major villains.

This is one type of Nightmare Fuel. For violence without death, see Family-Unfriendly Violence. For examples that come from less-than-family friendly fare, see Cruel and Unusual Death. Obviously Truth in Television.

As a Death Trope, Spoilers ahead may be unmarked. Beware.

Examples of Family-Unfriendly Death are listed on these subpages:

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 {{trope}}
-<!-- %% Image moved to Film subpage as per new image policy: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1326204594031000100 -->
 {{quote|''So the mother wiped the axe and laughed.''|'''The Rose Tree'''}}
-Normally, death is kept well away from children's sensitive eyes. If it can't be [[Never Say Die|avoided all together]], it is made family friendly. Heroes make [[Disney Death|miraculous recoveries]], villains [[Disney Villain Death|expire off-screen]], and [[Bloodless Carnage|never a drop of blood is seen]].
+Normally, death is kept well away from children's sensitive eyes. If it can't be [[Never Say "Die"|avoided all together]], it is made family friendly. Heroes make [[Disney Death|miraculous recoveries]], villains [[Disney Villain Death|expire off-screen]], and [[Bloodless Carnage|never a drop of blood is seen]].
 Sometimes though, writers break this rule in the grand style, depicting deaths so gruesome they leave adults shaken, and children quivering wrecks.
-Sometimes caused by [[What Do You Mean Its Not for Kids|unrealistic expectations]]. Those familiar only with [[Bowdlerise|Bowdlerised]] [[Fairy Tale|Fairy Tales]] -- and still more [[Disneyfication|Disneyfied]] ones -- may find the more explicit versions of fairy tales shocking. The [[Happily Ever After]] often lavishes considerably more detail on the death of the [[Wicked Stepmother]] or other villains than on the happiness of the hero and heroine. Psychologists hypothesize this is a way of assuring the children that the villain really is [[Deader Than Dead]]. (On the other hand, it does not necessarily preclude [[Back From the Dead]] for heroes.) Often used with major villains.
+Sometimes caused by [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|unrealistic expectations]]. Those familiar only with [[Bowdlerise]]d [[Fairy Tale]]s—and still more [[Disneyfication|Disneyfied]] ones—may find the more explicit versions of fairy tales shocking. The [[Happily Ever After]] often lavishes considerably more detail on the death of the [[Wicked Stepmother]] or other villains than on the happiness of the hero and heroine. Psychologists hypothesize this is a way of assuring the children that the villain really is [[Deader Than Dead]]. (On the other hand, it does not necessarily preclude [[Back from the Dead]] for heroes.) Often used with major villains.
-This is one type of [[Nightmare Fuel]]. For violence without death, see [[Family Unfriendly Violence]]. For examples that come from less-than-family friendly fare, see [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]. Obviously [[Truth in Television]].
+This is one type of [[Nightmare Fuel]]. For violence without death, see [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]. For examples that come from less-than-family friendly fare, see [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]. Obviously [[Truth in Television]].
+{{deathtrope}}
-This is a [[Death Trope]], so '''expect spoilers'''.
-{{examples|Examples}}
+{{examples on subpages}}
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Anime|Anime]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Ballads|Ballads]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Comic Books|Comic Books]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Fairy Tales|Fairy Tales]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Fan Fiction|Fan Fiction]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Film|Film]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Literature|Literature]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Live Action TV|Live Action TV]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Other|Other]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Video Games|Video Games]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Web Animation|Web Animation]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Webcomics|Webcomics]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Web Original|Web Original]]
-* [[Family Unfriendly Death/Western Animation|Western Animation]]
 {{reflist}}
+[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
 [[Category:Death Tropes]]
 [[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
-[[Category:Family Unfriendly Death]]
-[[Category:Trope]]