Stock Aesops - Television Tropes & Idioms

Stock Aesops are the morals that the writers and producers of TV most often love to explore. They sometimes contradict each other, but it's a clumsy writer indeed who sticks two contradictory Aesops into the same script. It happens, though.

Many are Older Than Feudalism. And some, indeed, come straight from the original Aesop's Fables.

Examples:

The Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
All That Glitters is not gold.
Heart Over Mind
It Takes A Village
Book Dumb, TV Genius, Dumb Is Good - Intelligence Is Overrated
One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure
Pride - Don't Play God (how often has the opportunity to play God come up in your life?)
Pygmalion Snap Back - Accept People For Who They Are
Wanting Is Better Than Having
Be careful where you get your power, your validation and the justification for your actions.
On Agreement:
- Great Minds Think Alike.
- The Foolish Seldom Differ.
- Agree To Disagree
On Ambition:
- Follow Your Dreams - Aspire To Greater Things
- A Man's Reach Should Exceed His Grasp. Reach For The Stars.
- Ambition Is Evil - Unfortunately, that also makes you evil.
- It's Lonely at the Top
- The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side - Learn To Appreciate What You Have
- A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush.
On Appearance:
- Clothes Make the Man. Cleanliness is Next To Godliness.
- Never Judge a Book By Its Cover.
- Beware the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.
On Authority:
- Democracy Is Bad
- Trust Authority
- TV Never Lies - Question Authority
- Disobey This Message - We're Telling You, Think For Yourself
On Beauty:
- Beauty Equals Goodness
- Beauty Is Bad
- True Beauty Is On The Inside
- Take Pride In Your Appearance
- Don't Be Vain
On Belief:
- Faith will move mountains.
- Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
On Caution:
- Never Draw To An Inside Straight (Don't Take Risks)
- Live Dangerously and Throw Caution To The Wind
On Change:
- Change Is Bad
- Change Is Good
On Conformity:
- Be Yourself
- Conform to Expectations.
- Crying Wolf is a bad idea
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong but Peer Pressure Makes You Evil
- Blithe Spirit - Convert everyone else to your views
On Curiosity:
- Curiosity Killed the Cast - Curiosity killed the cat.
- Curiosity saved the cat.
- Curiosity Is a Crapshoot
On Destiny:
- Because Destiny Says So - Accept Your Destiny
- Screw Destiny - Shape Your Own Destiny
- There Are No Coincidences — Nothing Happens By Chance; Everything Is Destined
On Differences
- Your differences are minuscule, get along already!
On Effort:
- If something is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well.
- Failing Is Better Than Doing Nothing
- Cheaters Never Prosper
On Entertainment:
- Old Media Are Evil
  - TV Rots Your Brain
- New Media Are Evil
  - TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life
- Digital Piracy Is Evil
- Reading Is Cool Aesop - Reading can be really fun and useful.
On Experimentation:
- Keep An Open Mind and Be Willing To Try New Things (like Green Eggs and Ham) - maybe you'll like them!
- Drugs Are Bad, mmmkay?
On Family:
- Family Is Everything - Your Relatives Are Your Best Friends
- Family Is A Hindrance - Show The Other Generation What You're Really Worth
On Women:
- Treat Girls Nice
- Treat Girls The Same As Guys
- You Go Girl - Women are just as good as men.
- Closer to Earth - Women are totally awesome and possess unique wisdom men don't have.
- Recognize People's Differences
On Force:
- Forgiveness - You should forgive those who wrong you. Unless you shouldn't.
- Turn The Other Cheek - Break The Cycle of Revenge
- Right Makes Might
- Violence Really Is the Answer
  - Violence is the Only Option
On Friendship:
- The Power of Friendship conquers all.
- Poisonous Friend - Well, maybe they weren't really your friends.
- Loners Are Freaks - And if you don't have friends, you're a freak.
- In the End, You Are on Your Own - However, even if you have friends they won't always be there, and there's some things you have to do yourself.
- Be a friend to everyone.
- A friend to all is a friend to none.
On Honesty:
- Don't Be Completely Honest (The Truth Hurts, and Little White Lies Are Comforting And Convenient. And of course, you must protect your Secret Identity.)
  - They\'re Called Personal Issues for a Reason
- Honest Axe - Honesty Is The Best Policy (And Will Totally Get You The Infinity+1 Sword)
On Individuality:
- The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease.
- The Nail That Stands Out Gets Hammered Flat.
On Initiative
- Leeroy Jenkins - Fools rush in.
- Missed the Call - He who hesitates is lost.
On Intuition:
- Don't Think. Feel - Don't Second-Guess Yourself
- First Impressions Are Misleading - You'd Better Second-Guess Yourself
On Justice:
- Freudian Excuse: Cut your arch enemy some slack — he had a rough childhood.
- Justice Will Prevail
On Kinship:
- Blood Is Thicker Than Water
- Never Trust A Trope: Don't be racist; they can't all be that bad, despite their relatives all being evil.
On Love:
- Cupid Hates Odd Couples - Friendship Is More Important Than Love
- The Power of Love conquers all.
- Wrong Guy First - Be careful who you give your heart to.
- Love at First Sight - You'll just know when your true love shows up, what with the golden lights and floating hearts and all.
- Love at First Punch - You'll hate each other at first, though.
On Money:
- You Get What You Pay For
- Grail In The Garbage
On Patience:
- All Good Things Come To He Who Waits.
- Time and Tide Wait For No Man.
On Perseverance:
- Determinator - Never give up
- Know When to Fold 'Em - sometimes you have to give up
On Planning:
- Look Before You Leap.
- He Who Hesitates Is Lost. Strike While The Iron is Hot.
- An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.
- The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men aft Gang Aglee.
On Principle
- You Have To Be Willing To Compromise
- Stick To Your Guns
On Relationships:
- Birds of a Feather Flock Together.
- Opposites Attract.
On Sex:
- Death by Sex - Just Don't Do It
- But We Used a Condom: "Condoms are effective, not perfect." Though this is often warped to "Condoms don't help at all, so don't bother with them."
- Sex Equals Love (even when it's rape)
- Love Is Not Sex (it's better when you Please Put Some Clothes On)
- Can't Have Sex, Ever - Love is more important than sex
- Virginity Makes You Stupid, Sex as Rite-of-Passage -You aren't an adult until you've had sex.
On Specialization
- Master of None - You can do everything, but you can't do everything THAT well if you can't be the Jack-of-All-Trades
- Crippling Overspecialization - You do one thing very well, but you can't do anything else straight.
On Spontaneity:
- Don't Be Shy
- Don't Get In Over Your Head
On Teamwork:
- Two heads are better than one. Many hands make light work.
- Too Many Cooks Spoil The Soup
On Time
- Have Fun Like You Were Dying
- Work Now To Enjoy A Great Future
On Tradition:
- Respect Tradition - Great-Grandmother Knows Best
- Change Tradition - Be Your Own Person
Christmas Special - It's better to give than to receive.
On Trust
- Power of Trust - Trust makes people stronger
- Betrayal Tropes - Some people should not be trusted
On (un) Kindness:
- Kids Are Cruel
- Androcles Lion - Kindness is returned in kind.
- Laser-Guided Karma - Cruelty is returned in kind.
- The Farmer And The Viper Don't be kind to evil.
- Misery Builds Character - A little suffering is good for the soul.
- The best REAL magic is being kind and good to others!
On Literature:
- Actions Speak Louder Than Words.
- The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword.
On War
- War Is Hell
- War Is Glorious
...and the reason for all the contradictions is the Golden Mean: Nothing In Excess
- Everything In Moderation. Everything. No Exceptions.
- Keep Moderation In Moderation Too - Cut Loose Once In A While
- ... but Don't Sit On The Fence
- ... because If You're Not With Us, You're Against Us
Give A Man A Fish... and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.