History Main / MoodDissonance

* ''{{Final Fantasy X-2}}'': During the battle with [[spoiler:Bahamut]] at the end of Chapter 2, the cutscene preceding the battle, and the SadBattleMusic during the actual fight really hits the player with how painful the fight is for Yuna. The fact that anyone using the Songstress Dressphere will still chirp up with their usual "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!" when the Sing commands are used doesn't. This is exacerbated by the fact that all of the other Dresspheres' usual [[BondOneLiner quirky lines]] are muted.

* StanleyKubrick loves this trope:

* ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' : J.K. Rowling seems to be fond of this trope. More than one serious scene ends with one jarring note of humor. For instance, Harry is shocked at the realization that [[spoiler: Umbridge has the Locket]] and accidentally lights Mundungus's eyebrows on fire, which are then quickly doused by Hermione.

* From ''BluePeter'':

* In the film LaFemmeNikita, about fifteen minutes in there's a scene where the junkie Nikita is turning her life around in the secret government agency, complete with bouncy, uplifting music. The problem is this is about ten minutes after watching her ''blow a cop's head off''. TooSoon.

* CyranoDeBergerac: At act II Scene VI, Cyrano [[HeartBrokenBadass heart is broken when Roxane confesses him that she is in love with Christian]]. Then the Duenna interrupts Cyrano and Roxane telling him she has eaten all the pies Cyrano give them. He comically sends her to read poems and closes the door in her face. The last four acts of this play have funny things and tragic things happening one after the other.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' features a "shooting gallery" level, "DeathFromAbove", in which the player controls the armaments of a AC-130 Spectre gunship and uses them in support of allies on the ground. The dissonance is in the calm, almost light-hearted banter of the crewmembers; when you send enemies flying with a shot from the 105 mm howitzer, they will exclaim things like "BOOM!", "I see lots of little pieces down there", "I see a guy running" and so on. This, of course, could very well be TruthInTelevision.

* At the end of the credits for ''Call of Duty: World at War'', a number of real soldiers who fought in World War 2 are named, and thanked with fairly emotional words for their service and their help in crafting the game. Aaaaand then you transition into VideoGame/NaziZombies...

* TheJoker lives and breaths this trope. He's a clown, something that's supposed to be lighthearted and happy, that does [[KickTheDog awful]] and horrible things to people in a way that's occasionally funny. One description that sums it up goes that when the Joker's written right, he should be terrifying, should make you laugh, then hate yourself for laughing at him.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Bunheads}}'' ends with a BigLippedAlligatorMoment of Sasha doing a dark and sensual dance routine, referred to by WordOfGod as "Sasha's Anger Dance" to the bouncy tune and silly lyrics of the Music/TheyMightBeGiants cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"

* The WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfiction ''Fanfic/{{Jericho}}'' has a few of these. A lot it comes from the the narrator, Jericho, being a FirstPersonSmartass. During the dark scene in chapter 3, which had earlier had an ApocalypticLog wherein a little girl watched her parents beaten up by agents of a GovernmentConspiracy, we get this little gem:

--> My mind was suddenly filled with the [[LampshadeHanging inexplicable]] but terribly attractive vision of the Baron’s plantation being consumed by fire and the Baron himself running screaming from the blazing ruin with at least three hefty spears protruding from his back.

* As GustavMahler's cantata "Das klagende Lied" approaches its tragic dramatic climax and the chorus sings of horrible things, the offstage band continues to play upbeat festive music.

* As GustavMahler's cantata "Das klagende Lied" approaches its tragic dramatic climax, the offstage band continues to play upbeat festive music.

* "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" by She and him sounds like a pleasant melody without watching the video, but the light red blood and the scooby-doo like spooky graphics are a very good showing of mood Dissonance. [[http://youtube.com/watch?v=dtlO0RXktlo The music video]]
* ReginaSpektor, "That Time". "Hey, remember that time when you OD'd?" "Hey, remember that other time when you OD'ed [[CrossesTheLineTwice for the second time]]?"
* The New Order song ''True Faith'' is about the singer's struggle with a drug addiction ("I used to think that the day would never come that my life would depend on the Morning Sun"), but the video features dancers jumping around in colorful inflatable suits.

* The song ''Blue'' by The Birthday Massacre whiplashes between light, airy verses with upbeat keyboard accompaniment and a much heavier chorus with dark lyrics sung in something approaching a growl. It's jarring, creepy, and highly effective. The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp1FRKc24Zk music video]] follows the same idea, with added MindScrew and horror.

* Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising," another cheerful song about a not-so-cheery topic:

* Much of the music by TheCure, especially around the "Head on the Door" and "Kiss Me" albums, falls into this. Major key pop-songs with jangly guitars and upbeat keyboards, with lyrics about loneliness, isolation, drugs and heartbreak.
* ''1999'' by {{Prince}}. The world ends today, wheeee! Par-tay!
* Fuck You by Cee Lo Green is a very upbeat Earworm. However the song is a bitter rant against the singer's ex and her new boyfriend.
* Lily Allen seems fond of this. In particular, "LDN" is the most obvious.

* Creator/TomLehrer's "Irish Ballad" a cheerful little ditty about a girl who slaughters her entire family in various gruesome ways. In fact the song is a take on the fact that a ''lot'' of Irish music is like that.
* His "My Home Town" is a acheerful, nostalgic tune about [[CaptainObvious the singer's home town]]...and all the sociopaths that inhabit it.

* Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sun is Burning" has a serene and almost cute melody and theme, singing about happy days in the park. Until the fourth verse, when you realize the song is about nukes. The peaceful tune never changes, even through the verses about death.

-->--'''''ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'''''

Or not. Some artists will introduce one element into a scene that completely rubs against the prevailing mood. However, rather than undermining the prevailing tone, this MoodDissonance can make it stand out further. Rather than drowning each other out, the contrasting elements resonate against one another.

Of course, that's when it's done well. When MoodDissonance is done poorly, the varying elements simply cancel each other out, rendering the final product a confusing mess, or [[{{Narm}} worse]].

** Definitely a case of YMMV. There are some who, beneath the surface cuteness, find the song to be oddly melancholic in tone, making it more LyricalDissonance rather than MoodDissonance.

* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Mood Dissonance becomes more prominent as the series ticks down to the GainaxEnding. MindRape? Why not add the Hallelujah Chorus? [[spoiler: Kaworu's death]]? Add 'Ode to Joy!' [[spoiler: Shinji strangling Asuka as the last remnants of his sanity are stripped away, not to mention every human being on Earth being turned into a liquid]]? Cue the light jazzy pop! [[spoiler:Of course, it is [[BSODSong Komm,]] [[SanitySlippageSong süsser Tod]] so it isn't as MoodDissonance as [[LyricalDissonance you first think it is]].]]

--> By the operating table was a little table with various tools: scalpels, an unused IV drip, a bottle of whiskey ( [[MoodDissonance half full, because optimism was something I]] ''[[MoodDissonance really]]'' [[MoodDissonance needed right now]] ), a full syringe of morphine, and a bottle of something called “laudanum”.

* KylieMinogue "Better the devil you know" appears to be a catchy pop song about an abused wife/girlfriend.

* ''UmbrellaAcademy'' uses the bright, clean style of Gabriel Ba, while the plot is a mix of dramatic confrontations, violence, and absurdist humor.

** However even Chocolina becomes depressed in the worst, or after the most depressing plot events. It really shows how dark the whole game can seem when you compare some of her later appearances with her first few.

* ''PrettyCureAllStars DX 3'' plays a cheery, upbeat theme for its end theme [[spoiler:as we're treated to still scenes of ''twenty-one Precures'' crying over the loss of their Mascot Companions followed by clips of how they met.]] The post-script scene after the credits [[spoiler:fixes that problem.]]

* ''InspectorRex'': This austrian cop show [[hottip:*:''Kommissar Rex'' in the original]] is a poster child for Mood Dissonance. It's got cheesy theme music, a cute dog acting human, chocolate-box Vienna locations: everything points to a fun family show. And then you realise you're watching a plot about kids being kidnapped from the fair and forced to make child porn...

* Creator/StephenKing likes to employ {{Squick}}y [[BrainBleach moments]] in the middle of dramatic scenes. For example, in an early scene in the beginning of the second book in TheDarkTower, Roland is badly injured by a "Lobstrosity (essentially a carnivorous lobster the size of an alligator)." Having just lost a toe and two fingers--including his right ''trigger finger''--one of his first thoughts is at least he jerks off with his left hand.