History WebAnimation / OverlySarcasticProductions

* {{Kaiju}}: Red covers kaiju with the original Godzilla as an example. She actually states that kaiju are frequently personifications of political topics that made if these personifications were giant monsters. For example, Godzilla is a personified worry of nuclear fallout with Japan suffering several nuclear disasters including the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing and the radiation poisoning from the Bikini Atoll testings.

* ExpressiveMask: Blue mentions this trope when reviewing the opening chase scene for ''Film/Deadpool2016'' during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiLvYyYlQ3g "One X-cellent Scene"]], and notes that Wade's mask, in a rarity for live-action superhero films, expresses emotions rather than being static, something that, in his opinion, severely hampered the previous live-action Spider-Man films. Blue goes on to mention ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', where Tom Hollands' Spider-man wears a mask that is also expressive, and mentions the film gave it an in-universe justification of dampening Parkers' spidey sense so they could concentrate better, which doesn't ruin the logic of the setting.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: One of the [[AnAesop morals]] of the story of Mwindo: it doesn't matter how awesome you are, there will always be someone more awesome than you.

* AnAesop: The Epic of Mwindo wraps up with four of these:
** Babies aren't to blame for the circumstances of their birth. No matter the race, disability or gender, they should be accepted nonetheless.
** It's good to be a hero, but not to be reckless. Mwindo got into big trouble when he decided to kill a dragon with no thought of the consequences.
** Help each other. Mwindo didn't really need it, but the help from his kin was still very useful.
** There's AlwaysABiggerFish. No matter how awesome Mwindo was, the gods were still stronger.
*** Parodied in the video about the Minotaur, where Red sums up the moral of the story as follows:
--->'''Red''': Probably, uh... keep your promises, be true to your responsibilities, and... oh yeah! ''[[BestialityIsDepraved Stop boning animals]]''! Jeez, guys...

* ValuesResonance: Confucius believed that a government that no longer protects and serves its people is not a legitimate government because it doesn't fulfill its purpose. Upon narrating this, Blue takes a moment to look at the camera. [[invoked]]

* DealWithTheDevil: Covered in "Faustian Bargains". Red notes how this trope acts as a sort of ChekhovsGun, since it's inevitable that before the story's end, the Devil will get their due. She also goes into detail about the sort of boons acquired, and how they affect the plot and characters.
** Power (supernatural, financial, political, etc.). Characters' motivations range from {{Revenge}} ([[RevengeBeforeReason which inevitably turns self-destructive]]) to power for its own sake, possibly for some lofty goal like [[WellIntentionedExtremist saving the world]]. Red notes that this results in a bad guy with a convenient kill switch, or in the case of revenge-driven examples, a tragic element.

** Saving a loved one. Tend to be more sympathetic than other Faustian villains, to the point of being {{Antihero}}es. These sorts of deals tend to backfire due to LoopholeAbuse by the deal-maker.
** Good times. The go-to wish for TheHedonist, generally covers immortality, eternal youth, a specific person to love them, or wealth. Tend to be the {{Villain Protagonist}}s in cautionary tales where the moral is BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Gets an entire episode. Red discusses how this trope has multiple uses: It can raise stakes for the character and for the audience as it is easier for writer to convince the audience that this is a possibility. It also can be used for karmaic punishment for the villain. She also discusses various levels of fate worse than death, and how bizarrely prevalent this trope is in kids' media. These fates may be horrifying, but there's usually hope of reversing them, which takes off some of the edge.

** "Fates Worse Than Death" addresses this problem again that higher stakes for the character won't mean higher stakes for the audience as the audience knows that the series can't afford to lose a charactes. Red discusses that sometimes there isn't a sweet spot between "The writer will never do this" and "I think the story isn't fun anymore".

* DoesHeHaveABrother: Helen in "The Trojan War" is illustrated saying of her chosen husband that "[[DoubleInLawMarriage Clytemnestra will want to know if he has a brother]]." The good news is he has a brother. The bad news is his brother is Agamemnon.

-->'''Islam:''' Bada-bing, bada-one-true-god, we've got a shiny new religion!\\

* FateWorseThanDeath: Gets an entire episode. Red discusses how this trope has multiple uses: It can raise stakes for the character and for the audience as it is easier for writer to convince the audience that this is a possibility. It also can be used for karmaic punishment for the villain. She also discusses various levels of fate worse than death.

* AllJustADream: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOrYKJVkreQ Gets its own video]]. Red argues this trope is near-universally hated as a FramingDevice because it's a low blow to the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief. After the audience has emotionally invested in something, suddenly reminding them ''within the story itself'' that none of it mattered is a frustrating AntiClimax. Thus, it requires some seriously good execution to not leave the audience with a bad taste in their mouth. Red's suggestions to play this trope straight are to quickly make it clear that what the audience is seeing is a dream, keep it brief, make it funny, or tie it into the character's mindset.

* FateWorseThanDeath: gets an entire episode. Red discusses how this trope has multiple uses: It can raise stakes for the character and for the audience as it is easier for writer to convince the audience that this is a possibility. It also can be used for karmaic punishment for the villain.

** "Fates Worse Than Death" addresses this problem again that higher stakes for the character won't mean higher stakes for the audience as the audience knows that the series can't afford to lose a character.

** Power (supernatural, financial, political, etc.). Characters' motivations range from {{Revenge}} ([[RevengeBeforeReason which inevitably turns self-destructive]]) to for its own sake, possibly for some lofty goal like [[WellIntentionedExtremist saving the world]]. Red notes that this results in a bad guy with a convenient kill switch, or in the case of revenge-driven examples, a tragic element.

* FatalMacGuffin: "Macguffins" episode discussed this kind of Macguffin. Called "Instakill Macguffins", here at [[https://youtu.be/_HcZluK6vxg?t=424 7:04]]:

* {{Xenofiction}}: In ''Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure'', Red talks about the trope in general, and notes that in a number of works where human activity is presented as inscrutable and dangerous, it becomes CosmicHorrorStory DramaticIrony, with the audience being akin to an EldritchAbomination reading ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' and going "No, little humans! Get out of there, the colour pucegenta is very bad for organics!"

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Blue is surprised at where he finds one in ''Hecuba.''
-->'''Blue:''' In a shocking twist of fate, Agamemnon is... actually helpful in this story?

* {{Xenofiction}}: In ''Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure'', Red talks about the trope in general, and notes that in a number of works where human activity is presented as inscrutable and dangerous, it becomes CosmicHorror DramaticIrony, with the audience being akin to an EldritchAbomination reading ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' and going "No, little humans! Get out of there, the colour pucegenta is very bad for organics!"

* {{Xenofiction}}: In ''Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure'', Red talks about the trope in general, and notes that in a number of works where human activity is presented as inscrutable and dangerous, it becomes CosmicHorror DramaticIrony, with the audience being akin to EldritchAbomination reading ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' and going "No, little humans! Get out of there, the colour pucegenta is very bad for organics!"

* {{Xenofiction}}: In ''Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure'', Red talks about the trope in general, and notes that in a number of works where human activity is presented as inscrutable and dangerous, it becomes CosmicHorror DramaticIrony, with the audience being like an EldritchAbomination reading ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' and going "No, little humans! Get out of there, the colour pucegenta is very bad for organics!"

* {{Xenofiction}}: In ''Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure'', Red talks about the trope in general, and notes that in a number of works where human activity is presented as inscrutable and dangerous, it becomes CosmicHorror DramaticIrony, akin to an EldritchAbomination reading ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' and going "No, little humans! Get out of there, the colour pucegenta is very bad for organics!"

* FatalMacGuffin: ''Trope Talk'' series, "Macguffins" episode discussed this kind of Macguffin. Called "Instakill Macguffins", here at [[https://youtu.be/_HcZluK6vxg?t=424 7:04]]: