Basic Trope: In a situation where it comes to a Sadistic Choice between cannibalism and starving to death, cannibalism is the choice made.
- Straight: The Tropers are lost in the wilderness, and are running out of supplies. As they die off, rather than being buried, the corpses are eaten by those still alive.
- Exaggerated: The Tropers are actively killing each other off for food.
- Downplayed: Someone volunteers to have a limb chopped off and eaten as a last resort.
- Justified: Given a choice between eating human flesh and dying of starvation, survival instincts have taken precedence over human morals and taboos or emotions.
- Inverted:
- The Tropers have enough rations to live on and/or can live off the land (i.e. gathering roots, leaves, seeds, berries, and mushrooms that they know are safe, and/or hunting small animals like rabbits)
- The Tropers are eating each other for reasons not directly related to survival instincts.
- Subverted:
- The Tropers resolve to make their rations last as long as possible, and see what edible items are around them in the wilderness.
- Some of the people who have died of starvation are butchered-into chum for fishing.
- Double Subverted:
- But then the rations run out, and food sources are limited in the surrounding wilderness, and survival instincts take over.
- Nobody begrudges the butchers or fishermen for sneaking a few nibbles, though.
- Parodied:
- Eventually, the women gather around and trade gossip... And recipes for Roast Hubby, Braised Bratty Teenage Daughter, and Grilled Grandpa.
- Meat-O-Vision
- Someone points out that they've only been out in the woods for about 3 hours.
- One of the party declines the supplies they have, prefering to wait for the cannibalism to start.
- Zig Zagged: Someone has to be eaten, but only their arm. Except they don't, because the crew have found some food. Except the food was poisonous, so they did have to be eaten. But only their arm. Except then they realise that they could use their dog as an Emergency Food Supply Animal. Except they never had a dog, it was just an illusion brought about by hunger. Except they have food anyway. Which they lose. But they lose the food, and resort to cannibalism. But it was All Just a Dream. Maybe...
- Averted: No-one is eaten.
- Enforced: Rule of Drama
- Lampshaded: "I say we Just Eat Gilligan."
- Invoked: Someone secretly throws away the food supply because they like the taste of human flesh.
- Exploited: An enemy uses their cannibalism as a way of painting them as savages, with no sense of morals or decency.
- Defied:
- The Tropers decide that cannibalism is still a Moral Event Horizon crossover, no matter how bad their circumstances are. No one is killed for food, and the corpses are buried, not eaten.
- The Tropers learn wilderness survival, and try to avoid getting into situations where they'd be lost without any supplies in the first place.
- Discussed: "If you and your mom were ever stranded on Farside Island with no food, would you eat her?"
- Conversed: "No way. I'd live off the coconuts and try to catch some fish instead."
- Deconstructed:
- They may feel bad about it, especially if the people they're contemplating consuming are their friends and/or relatives, and may be regarded as outcasts if/when they get back to civilization.
- Also, eventually, this food source will run out too.
- Reconstructed:
- The people respect that the choice was necessary, and the survivors are content with the knowledge that the departed would want them to live if the opportunity presented itself.
- While human flesh is in limited supply, the survivors decide to eat it anyway to maximize their chances of returning to civilization.
Let's bring a few friends back to the main trope for lunch, eh? There's No Party Like a Donner Party, after all.
