History Main / Glurge

* ''Webcomic/{{Boyfriends}}'': Part of the comic's negative reputation comes from the fact that it's mostly 100+ chapters of four men being SickeninglySweethearts and going on dates. [[TropesAreTools This isn't an inherently bad thing in moderation]], and there are a few semi-dramatic turns of events, but reading so much of it nonstop with 0 breaks makes the work feel like a RomanticPlotTumor that mutated into its own story.

* ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' viciously parodies many Glurge clichés common to {{Disaster Movies}}s especially, such as having an adorable LittlestCancerPatient (who [[ButtMonkey gets comically abused]]) and Ted's "moving" romance with Elaine (which is portrayed as incredibly shallow and stupid). The script is a direct adaptation of a real movie, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Hour!_(1957_film) Zero Hour!]]'', which [[PoesLaw played all the cliches and Glurge completely straight]]; the LittlestCancerPatient spoof is pulled from a subplot of the second film of the ''Film/{{Airport}}'' series (yes, even the singing nun).

* ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' viciously parodies many Glurge clichés, such as having an adorable LittlestCancerPatient (who [[ButtMonkey gets comically abused]]) and Ted's "moving" romance with Elaine (which is portrayed as incredibly shallow and stupid). The script is a direct adaptation of a real movie, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Hour!_(1957_film) Zero Hour!]]'', which [[PoesLaw played all the cliches and Glurge completely straight]]. The LittlestCancerPatient spoof is pulled from a subplot of the second film of the ''Film/{{Airport}}'' series (yes, even the singing nun).

* Website/{{Reddit}} coined the term "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/OrphanCrushingMachine/comments/j84tqn/in_case_anyone_was_confused_andor_concerned_as_to/ Orphan-crushing Machine]]" to refer to glurgey news stories that seem uplifting at first glance but quickly reveal disturbing implications when held up to any serious scrutiny. The origin of the meme is a post parodying such stories, about a generous philanthropist who rescues children from the eponymous bit of murderous machinery - the unspoken-but-obvious disturbing implication thus being why a device for pulverizing small children exists in the first place. It's often used to mock such things as news items that [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency applaud wealthy celebrities for donating the bare minimum to charitable causes]].

* Website/{{Reddit}} coined the term "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/OrphanCrushingMachine/comments/j84tqn/in_case_anyone_was_confused_andor_concerned_as_to/ Orphan-crushing Machine]]" to refer to glurgey news stories that seem uplifting at first glance but quickly reveal disturbing implications when held up to any serious scrutiny. The origin of the meme is a post parodying such stories, about a generous philanthropist who rescues children from the eponymous bit of murderous machinery - the unspoken-but-obvious disturbing implication thus being why a device for pulverizing small children exists in the first place. It's often used to mock such things as news items that [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency applaud wealthy celebrities for donating the bare minimum to charitable causes]].

* ''Noel'', a movie about an [[AnimateInanimateObject animate Christmas ornament]], set in a world where all Christmas ornaments are secretly alive. Noel is special because he has a "happiness", since when he was formed, a tear rolled down the cheek of the glass maker and found itself on the inside of the ornament. This causes Noel to be incredibly, obnoxiously happy all the time, much to the annoyance of the [[UnintentionallySympathetic much more sympathetic other ornaments]] he was shipped with. Close to the end of the movie, the other ornaments are broken and thrown away, despite desperately pleading to be hung up on the tree one last time, while Noel survives all of them, and the also sentient trees, until he breaks by accident, with the happiness tear evaporating, leaving Noel as a pile of steam to travel the world. It's the perfect illustration of how ''disturbing'' the concept of animate objects can be.

* ''Film/TheBookOfHenry'' can come off as extremely contrived and overly sentimental for all the wrong reasons. The main protagonist is a young boy with an unspecified mental disorder who pays his family's bills, because [[AdultsAreUseless his mother would rather play video games]]. His main love interest is [[DomesticAbuse physically and sexually abused]] by her [[WickedStepmother stepfather]], despite showing [[InformedAttribute no physical evidence]] of said abuse. Said main protagonist [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth suddenly dies of a brain tumor]] halfway through the movie... but not before [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior creating a series of instructions]] on how to [[MurderIsTheBestSolution kill his love interest's abusive stepfather]] and [[KarmaHoudini get away with it]]. His mother follows the instructions until the last minute (as in standing in front of the stepfather ''with a sniper rifle''), when she realizes her dead son was just a kid, and maybe she shouldn't listen to him. In the WebVideo/MidnightScreenings review of the film, {{Creator/Brad Jones}} compares the movie to films such as ''Jack the Bear'' and the aforementioned ''Film/RadioFlyer''.

* * In the 1950s there was an entire genre of music, known as the Teenage Tragedy Song, that was pretty much drenched in glurge. Often (but not always) performed by girl groups, they often tell the story of the protagonist’s love for a "bad boy" who suffers a tragic downfall, leaving the protagonist alone and in mourning. They were notorious for their melodramatic, anvilicious storytelling, and were derisively referred to as "death discs" or "splatter platters" in some circles. The two most famous examples today are ''The Leader Of The Pack'' most famously performed by The Shrangli-Las, and ''Tell Laura I love Her'' by Ray Peterson, both about "bad boys" who meet sticky ends in vehicle accidents, leaving their love interests stricken with grief[[note]]These two songs are also examples of a popular sub-genre of the Teenage Tragedy song, known as the Crash song[[/note]]. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* Glurge is a common criticism of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought New Thought Movement]]. The main philosophy behind the movement is that divinity is merely human in nature, and that we are all in control of our spirits. In particular, the movement revolves around the so-called "Law of Attraction", which claims that disease is caused by negative thinking, and that positive thinking is said to heal a person of their ailments. This carries a whole slew of UnfortunateImplications and UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming behind it, notably that impoverished or disease-ridden people are only in their unfortunate state of affairs because they think too negatively.
[[/folder]]

* FalselyAdvertisedAccuracy: Glurge is often presented to the reader as a "true story." Poke it for details, however, and most of it can't be confirmed.
* ForHappiness: When used in a glurge way, this is known as toxic positivity - the belief that everyone can and should be happy at all times regardless of their circumstances, and that if they're not, [[BlamingTheVictim it's their fault for not thinking positively enough]].

** Creator/PattonOswalt offers an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation that posits the kid is a StreetUrchin scamming his marks by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq10bz3PxyY playing on their heartstrings]].

* Website/{{Reddit}} coined the term "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/OrphanCrushingMachine/comments/j84tqn/in_case_anyone_was_confused_andor_concerned_as_to/ Orphan-crushing Machine]]" to refer to glurgey news stories that seem uplifting at first glance but quickly reveal disturbing implications when held up to any serious scrutiny. The origin of the meme is a post parodying such stories, about a generous philanthropist who rescues children from the eponymous bit of murderous machinery - the unspoken-but-obvious disturbingly implication thus being why a device for pulverizing small children exists in the first place. It's often used to mock such things as news items that [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency applaud wealthy celebrities for donating the bare minimum to charitable causes]].

* Often times, KitschCollection art boils down to this. In essence, paintings or porcelain figures of kitsch variety are meant to bestow giddiness in people with their sentimentality, the ultimate draw being that these pieces of art are ultimately worthless by true artistic value. Either [[AllThatGlitters they're cheaply constructed]], or [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny the initial concept has been done so many times that they no longer mean anything worthwhile]].

* ''Life Itself'' (not to be confused with the [[Film/LifeItself the 2014 documentary of the same name]]) is a GenerationalSaga HyperlinkStory about a young couple waiting for the birth of their child, a moment that reverberates across two continents and takes place over the course of around six decades. While it's a not a bad premise, it has a questionable way of handling it. The young couple in question, Will and Abby, go through a lot of suffering, and the first twenty-one years of their daughter Dylan's life is one long TraumaCongaLine, and their [[spoiler:future son-in-law]] Rodrigo goes through his fair share of suffering too. However, at the end, the narrator, revealed to be [[spoiler:Will and Abby's granddaughter]], decides it was all worth it because Dylan and her kids eventually led happy lives. This is supposed to be an EarnYourHappyEnding, just gives off the message that a person needlessly suffering is okay because there's a chance that their descendants might end up better off. This, along with some other factors (the constant shilling of Music/BobDylan, its overly sentimental tone, and the overall pretentiousness of the script) meant that it was lambasted by both critics and audiences and ended up on several "Worst Movies of 2018" lists.

* ''Film/TheBabeRuthStory'' gives such a HistoricalHeroUpgrade to [[Creator/BabeRuth its subject]] that the film comes across as a propaganda film. Ruth is depicted as a KindheartedSimpleton and FriendToAllChildren that also happens to be a literal miracle worker (e.g. magically healing a sick boy by saying hi to him, as well as curing another kid of his cancer by hitting a home run during the 1932 World Series), while the real Ruth's vices such as his penchant for drinking and womanizing are completely glossed over.

* ''Film/TheBabeRuthStory'' gives such a HistoricalHeroUpgrade to [[Creator/BabeRuth its subject]] that the film comes across as a propaganda film. Ruth is depicted as a KindheartedSimpleton and FriendToAllChildren that magically heals a sick boy by saying hi to him, while the real Ruth's vices such as his penchant for drinking and womanizing are completely glossed over.

* AllThatGlitters: The protagonist learns that money isn't everything. He then goes to the complete opposite extreme, becoming TheHermit and renouncing even more things that actually ''are'' important, like his own health and the people close to him. Alternatively, Glurge may deliver the message "Be happy with what you have" to a character struggling to get by such that they have [[PovertyTropes every reason on Earth not to be]].

* BeYourself: This message becomes glurge when the work gives vague definitions of what being oneself entails, [[AmbitionIsEvil discourages personal growth]], or at its worst glorifies [[JerkJustifications holding on to toxic traits]].
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Glurge-y works leave no doubt as to who is right and who is wrong. The sympathetic side will be entirely good, while the other side will be [[ForTheEvulz actively hostile to truth and goodness]].

* CaptainObviousAesop: The moral lessons (when they're coherent) tend to be very basic ones, such as "Be kind to everybody," "Don't look down on the less fortunate," "Don't give up when things are tough," and "Love your family." These are of course treated by the stories as deep and profound revelations.

* SpaceWhaleAesop: Glurge stories support their lessons by having characters meet extremely unlikely consequences (both good and bad). They often imply that if the same will befall the reader if they accept/reject the message.
* StalkingIsLove: Many "romantic" glurge stories feature this trope. It's a particularly dangerous phenomenon; in real life, stalking is demonstrably ''not'' love, but rather a compulsion arising from social phobia or mental illness. And works have a distinct DoubleStandard for this trope; shady-looking stalkers are evil and the victim is in real danger, [[BeautyEqualsGoodness good-looking stalkers]] are romantic and sympathetic, and nerdy unpopular stalkers are just there to be pitied.

* UrbanLegends: Glurge overlaps enough to almost be considered a subgenere, with many such stories having allegedly really happened to some person on the internet's mother's cousin's relative. The main distinction is that Glurge is a more consciously literary work.

* Kate Breslin's inspirational romance novel ''For Such a Time'' got some good publicity and was nominated for two 2015 Romance Writers of America awards -- whereupon people not in its target audience of conservative Christians found out about it. A WholePlotReference to the Literature/BookOfEsther, it recasts the story's events as a romance between [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust a Jewish concentration camp prisoner and a Nazi commandant]], the latter of whom is redeemed by ThePowerOfLove and God's grace. There's a lot written about it online, but [[http://dearauthor.com/features/letters-of-opinion/joint-discussion-time-kate-breslin/ this joint discussion and the comments below it sum up the major criticisms]] well: the extremely offensive and mostly intentional use of ArtisticLicenseHistory throughout, without which the story couldn't end on HappilyEverAfter; the StockholmSyndrome nature of their relationship; and the Jewish characters not acting authentically Jewish, to the point that a common misconception is that by the end the heroine has converted to Christianity. Thus, the book distorts and exploits both a horrific chapter of Jewish (and 20th-century) history and a beloved Old Testament story (which is not even a romantic one -- in the Jewish tradition, it's a ''comedy'') solely for the benefit of Christian readers.

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' episode "[[Recap/RegularShowS02Ep15TempCheck Temp Check]]". When the park crew determine who they believe is the real Rigby after Doug disguises himself as him, Mordecai pulls Rigby in for a hug. ...Only for it to be revealed that the Rigby who hugged him is the imposter, since Rigby would [[OutOfCharacterMoment never actually hug Mordecai]], [[BrickJoke as established earlier in the episode]].

* HollywoodAutism: Autism in glurgey works is portrayed as a tragedy for the autistic person and their family, robbing everyone involved of the chance at a meaningful life.

* LittlestCancerPatient: Glurge-y stories often make the terminally-ill character a child. Apparently a dying middle-aged man just wouldn't pull the right heartstrings.

* SpaceWhaleAesop: Glurgey plots support their lesson by having characters meet extremely unlikely consequences (both good and bad). They often imply that if the same will befall the reader if they accept/reject the message.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Glurge-y stories often distort and fabricate historical fact in the guise of offering "true stories". This way, they can add some extra heft to the story by claiming that it portrays "real life" (but only the authors' conception of it).
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Similar to the above, glurge-y works only feature 'cute' animals. While this certainly does arouse the audience's sympathy -- who doesn't like puppies more than naked mole rats? -- it also suggests that the suffering of non-cute animals doesn't matter... or that suffering that produces more cute animals, like a puppy mill, isn't wrong.

Not to be confused with {{Anvilicious}}: a work can be unsubtle in its delivery without being glurge-y. Often invokes SweetnessAversion. See also UnfortunateImplications, which has more to do with subtext (and isn't clearly stated at the end). Glurge often crosses over with ValuesDissonance, as things that seem heartwarming according to the values of one setting might seem offensive in another. OscarBait often has similarities with Glurge.

* EsotericHappyEnding: These stories often have disturbing endings that are framed as happy.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Religious Glurge tends to stress that the sinners it depicts may be fictional but the torments and punishments are ''real'', and [[ScareEmStraight you will suffer them too]] if you don't repent.

* PuritySue: A saintly character, set up to be admired and imitated, who is too good to be real.
* SpaceWhaleAesop: Glurge stories promote their lesson by having characters meet extremely unlikely consequences (both good and bad). They often imply that if the same will befall the reader if they accept/reject the message.

Not to be confused with {{Anvilicious}}, though this is a common feature of glurge. Often invokes SweetnessAversion. See also UnfortunateImplications, which has more to do with subtext (and isn't clearly stated at the end). Glurge often crosses over with ValuesDissonance, as things that seem heartwarming according to the values of one setting might seem offensive in another. OscarBait often has similarities with Glurge.

Believe it or not, some people have the taste for this stuff and are {{Glurge Addict}}s. Can cause a DontShootTheMessage reaction from viewers who find the moral okay but the delivery glurge-y.

* AllThatGlitters: The protagonist learns that money isn't everything. He then goes to the complete opposite extreme, becoming TheHermit and renouncing even more things that actually ''are'' important, like his own health and the people close to him.

* ''Film/PatchAdams'' is supposedly BasedOnATrueStory, but it throws away much of the real Patch Adams' philosophy [[note]]which includes that medicine should be available to everyone who needs it, alternative and traditional treatment methods should be integrated, and emotional health is just as important as physical health[[/note]] in favor of Glurge. It even changes a real-life medical student and friend of Dr. Adams into a female love interest with an implied RapeAsBackstory who [[spoiler:ends up killed by a patient]], all for cheap drama. The real Dr. Adams hates the movie for this reason.