History Main / DistressedWoodchopping

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', the ''Alicization'' arc has Eugeo being assigned to be a woodcutter as his Calling and the tree he's supposed to cut down is the Gigas Cedar (which hasn't been able to be cut down for over 300 years of woodsmen hacking away at it). After getting traumatized by Alice getting kidnapped, which he views as MyGreatestFailure, he channeled his grief into spending the rest of his life hacking away at the impossible task, until Kirito got dropped into the Underworld and meets him and not only pulls him out of his funk, but eventually devises a more efficient way to get the tree cut.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5DancingInStarlight'', in one event you go into Haru's room with her and Ryuji. You notices a pile of wood on her veranda, and she explains that chopping wood is her way of de-stressing. This also explains why she uses axes as her WeaponOfChoice in [[VideoGame/Persona5 the base game]].

* The fifth ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning A New Beginning]]'', opens with a halfway house resident named Vic chopping wood in an obsessive and almost deranged fashion while being pestered by another resident named Joey. Vic quickly flies into a rage and axes Joey.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', we see Sandor Clegane chopping wood in Season 6 in his first appearance since Season 4. While it's clear he's done more than just chop wood, we see him first doing this as he has a conversation with Septon Ray, and Ray points out that Sandor swings the axe at the wood like he wants to swing it at a person. They need the wood because they're building a place of worship.

* ''Film/TheWitch'': The family got banished from their village and set up a family farm on the edge of the woods. William (the father) has a habit of going to chop wood when he's frustrated to relieve stress.

May be done by the MightyLumberjack and other manly men. Oftentimes the character will be a {{Hunk}} who chops the wood in anger to show off his glorious masculinity. If his shirt is opened or if he's shirtless entirely, he's most likely a MrFanservice. When played for {{fanservice}}, it also overlaps with HotMenAtWork.

May be done by the MightyLumberjack and other manly men. Oftentimes the character will be a {{Hunk}} who chops the wood in anger to show off his glorious masculinity. If his shirt is opened or if he's shirtless entirely, he's most likely a MrFanservice.

* In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', the team gets compromised during a mission where Scarlet Witch shows almost all team members nightmare visions of their worst fears. The Avengers retreat to Clint Barton's farm, where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark start chopping wood to cool down. Steve's SuperStrength means he accumulates a much larger pile than Tony, and then the argument that inflames between the two as they work results in Steve's crescendo of ''ripping'' a log in two down the grain with his bare hands. Tony ends it trying to defend his comparatively inadequate pile.

* In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', the team gets compromised during a mission where Scarlet Witch shows almost all team members nightmare visions of their worst fears. The Avengers retreat to Clint Barton's farm, where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark start chopping wood to cool down. Steve's SuperStrength means he accumulates a much larger pile than Tony, and then the argument that inflames between the two as they work results in Steve's crescendo of ripping a log in two down the grain with his bare hands. Tony ends it trying to defend his comparatively inadequate pile.

* In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', the team gets compromised during a mission where Scarlet Witch shows almost all team members nightmare visions of their worst fears. The Avengers retreat to Clint Barton's farm, where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark start chopping wood to cool down.

* In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Day in Court", Ellie finds out that Jake has been cheating on her; the episode ends with her taking a leave of absence from NCIS and returning to her family farm in Oklahoma so she can sort out her emotions over the infidelity without being distracted by Jake or work. The first time we see Ellie during the next episode, she's chopping up several logs into wood chunks to fuel the house's furnace.

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* In 2018, Advertising/{{GEICO}} had a commercial where a couple was chopping logs with karate to deal with the stress of moving to a new house.

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By angrily smashing down an axe on wood the character is just doing yard work that eventually has to be done anyways. Because the character who chops wood is doing meaningful work, it's also a subset of CopeByCreating and especially CatharticChores. It can overlap with WorkingOutTheirEmotions. We're likely to see this trope in works set in the countryside, villages, farms, cottages and similar settings.

May be done by the MightyLumberjack and other manly men. Oftentimes the character will be a {{Hunk}} who chops the wood in anger to show off his glorious masculinity. If his shirt is opened or if he's shirtless entirely, he's most likely MrFanservice.

* ''Zivot na zamku'' (''Life in Chateau''): When Premek hears his teenage daughter is pregnant, doesn't know who the father is[[note]]she actually does know, but she doesn't want to tell them who he is because he's a jerk and she doesn't want anything to with him anymore[[/note]] and wants to keep the baby, he yells at her and the whole family. He starts walking about angrily and yelling some more. Still visibly angry, he strokes his daughter's hair and tells her they'll all do whatever she wants. He then heads down to the cellar of the chateau and starts chopping wood. Moments later, he comes back and tells her he loves her. Still later, [[DrowningMySorrows he drinks wine]] with his friend and he tearfully complains that he doesn't even know the guy's name and says he really wants to smash his face in.

* ''Series/SenseAndSensibility'': In the 2008 miniseries, Edmund Ferrars chops wood [[SexySoakedShirt dressed in a thin white shirt in the rain]] to vent his frustration when he's staying at the Dashwoods. He's agitated because LoveHurts.

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