History SoYouWantTo / DeconstructATrope

{{The Law of Conversation of Detail}}: RealLife doesn't have this AcceptableBreakFromReality.

TheLawofConversationofDetail: RealLife doesn't have this AcceptableBreakFromReality.

TheLawOfConversationOfDetail: RealLife doesn't have this AcceptableBreakFromReality.

Also a really important part of deconstruction is the RealityEnsues aspect, as noted in several {{Mons}} deconstructions, if your world has lots of powerful easy-to-control creatures, it would be really weird for the goverment to ignore all the lethal potential of said creatures.

To see other tropes with flexible deconstructions, see {{PlayingWith/Thou Shall Not Kill}}, {{PlayingWith/Humans Are The Real Monsters}}, {{PlayingWith/Ultimate Lifeform}}, {{PlayingWith/The Power Of Love}}, {{PlayingWith/Defeat Means Friendship}}, {{PlayingWith/Bullying A Dragon}}, {{PlayingWith/Morally Ambiguous Doctorate}}.

To see other tropes with flexible deconstructions, see {{PlayingWith/Thou Shall Not Kill}} , {{PlayingWith/Humans Are The Real Monsters}}, {{PlayingWith/Ultimate Lifeform}}, {{PlayingWith/The Power Of Love}}

Going with TheHero example above, you could say that the hero actually do enjoys his lifestyle, but he's so efficient that all his companions feel worthless as heroes.

There are many ways to deconstruct a single trope. For example, in a CosmicHorrorStory you could say that the {{EldritchAbomination}}'s life is sad and depressing, or you could say that humanity could simply ignore the existence of {{EldritchAbomination}}s, or you could say that humanity feared {{EldritchAbomination}}s so much that they commited mass suicide.

Also a really important part of deconstruction is the RealityEnsues aspect, as noted in several Mons deconstructions, if your world has lots of powerful easy-to-control creatures, it would be really weird for the goverment to ignore all the lethal potential of said creatures.

Also a really important part of deconstruction is the RealityEnsues aspect, as noted in several Mons deconstructions, if your world has lots of powerful easy-to-control creatures,[{{FridgeLogic}} it would be really weird for the goverment to ignore all the lethal potential of said creatures.]

Also a really important part of deconstruction is the RealityEnsues aspect, as noted in several Mons deconstructions, if your world has lots of powerful easy-to-control creatures, it would be really weird for the goverment to ignore all the lethal potential of said creatures.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' and ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire both have [[DeconstructedTrope/ASongOfIceAndFire their]] [[DeconstructedTrope/BojackHorseman own]] subpages for DeconstructedTrope, which explains a lot.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' and ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire both have [[DeconstructedTrope/ASongOfIceAndFire their]] [[DeconstructedTrope/BojackHorseman own]] subpages for DeconstructedTrope, which explains a lot.

The straight trope makes is designed to be enjoyed, but not necessarily to be realistic. A deconstruction is not only the trope played straight; it is the trope played straighter than normal. There is no glamour behind this trope. There are no AcceptableBreaksFromReality. This trope is in play, maybe even invoked, but it's not going the way it's thought it would. The trope ought to come with a warning label.

The importance of the trope affects how powerfully the deconstructed is, as the more lies at stake with this trope, the worse the out come should the trope fall apart, but it can also affect how powerful the force ''towards'' the deconstruction is. If the Hero's job is super important, then it's so much more important that he does it right, and enjoys it, and is appreciated it. If he's not, it's a hell of a lot easier for him to start hating it.

Now if you really want this to have an effect, there are two things you need to focus on; reality, and magnitude. The deconstructed trope is a mixture of reality and a straight trope, so the amount of reality in the mix is important. That is, increasing the level of deconstruction does not increase the level of reality. There's only so bad an effect reality can have on a trope. So what if the Hero hates his job, or can't confine to the laws of Herohood? If the world starts to fall to pieces just because the Hero, then you haven't found the realistic balance, you've gotten to the other side of the scale. The reality part of the deconstruction ought to affect mostly the Hero, and most likely the people around him.

The magnitude part of the deconstruction can get a little unrealistic, as it partly relies on luck. A trope with a lot of magnitude is ''not'' an exaggerated trope. The magnitude part of this trope is the importance of the trope in the story. For example, how important is the Hero? We've established that the people he cares about are affected by his deconstruction, but who are those people? Are they just minor characters, who may notice the deconstruction, but are barely noticed by us? Or are they part of something bigger, like an official, famous, government-supported crime stopping force?

The straight trope makes this
A deconstruction is not only the trope played straight; it is the trope played straighter than normal. There is no glamour behind this trope. There are no AcceptableBreaksFromReality. This trope is in play, maybe even invoked, but it's not going the way it's thought it would. The trope ought to come with a warning label.

So you want to use a trope. But you don't want to use it the

For example, TheHero is a trope about, well, a hero. That character who does the Heroic things, kills the dragon, defeats Emperor Evulz, saves the princess. Now, think of this trope, but deconstruct it. Make it fall apart. Would that Hero like his job? Would he be appreciated for his job? Would it affect his sanity? There's a thousand things that can go wrong if you just take the time to list them.

The magnitude part of the deconstruction can get a little unrealistic, as it partly relies on luck. Sometimes it can rely on the decisions characters make,

For example, throughout most of history, people thought that the hero had to be born a hero, like Hercules born of the gods and strangling snakes while still in the crib. The trope got deconstructed when someone asked if it was essential for the hero to be born a hero and that ushered in the modern age of heroes that come from the common ranks.

"To command nature... one must first learn to obey it.." The Name of the Rose

Let's use the trope of the hero since it is the oldest and arguably most powerful trope in existence. The antihero is a subversion of this trope but even the antihero is still a hero. Is there any story ever written that doesn't have some form of a hero? When people write stories that fly in the face of well established tropes, the stories always wind up chaotic and leave the reader confused or alienated. The only way to deconstruct a trope is to identify the essential elements of that trope and then change the non-essential elements.

"Before you can learn to command nature, you must first learn to respect it." The Name of the Rose

To first learn how to deconstruct a trope, you must first learn to respect it. Tropes exist for reasons and only a fool disrespects the tropes. That being said, a wise author learns to go beyond the trope. The trope is like a compass telling you which way is north but if all you ever do is go north, (following the trope as if it were a law), you might never get where you're going. A wise person looks at the trope to get their bearing and then heads off in a new direction.

!'''Potential Subversions'''