History WesternAnimation / ShopAPopOpera

** '''Milk''': Be sure to live your life meaningfully and to the fullest so once your time has "expire", you can so knowing you didn't waste it.

* NonIndicativeName: The "Bread" song doesn't feature its title grocery as a motif, instead focusing of the use of "Artisanal" on the loaf he found. The concluding song reveals the metaphor is a bit more stealthy, as it refers to "bread" in the wealth sense.

Moderation is great,\\

** '''Milk''': Be sure to live a meaningful life once your time has come.
** '''Bread''': It's not wise to let flashy possessions define who you are.
** '''Paper Towels''': You have to be prepared that there will always be problems in life and that some may not be possible to solve easily.
** '''Oatmeal''': Getting too used to following a routine will leave you unprepared to unexpected outcomes that are out of your control.
** '''Coffee''': Don't let addictions consume you and know when to keep what you crave in moderation.
** '''Cheese''': Don't get hung up on everything and know when you're making the right call.

* AnAesop: This is illustrated in song for each installment
** '''Milk''': Live a good life and be a good person, so that when you "expire" you can do so knowing you left a good impact on this world.
** '''Bread''': Impress people with your personality instead of your possessions. Just be yourself. There's nothing wrong with being plain "Wonder Bread."
** '''Paper Towels''': Life is chaotic and messy. That's just how it is and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't get caught up with the giant messes in life, just push forward.
** '''Oatmeal''': You could follow a routine and feel comfortable having everything planned out, but life never really follows your plans and road bumps will always get in the way. Just go with the flow instead of trying to plan against it.
** '''Coffee''': Everything in moderation. You don't need the things you enjoy to survive. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a cup of coffee but don't get addicted to the caffeine.
** '''Cheese''' (and the story by large): [[spoiler: Don't obsess over every detail of your life. Trust your judgement.]]
--->''Every Milk will expire,\\
so toss your Oatmeal and eat something new.\\
Moderation is great,\\
Life is Messy,\\
and your Bread isn't you.''

* SurpriseCreepy: In in the song for Oatmeal.

* NoNameGiven: Arlene the Coffee Lady is the '''only''' character in the entire story whose name is revealed, including our main character.

* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: Each focal point character's head is shaped like the item that the guy met them in the aisle for. [[spoiler: This includes him, as his hair has a curl representing a yogurt sample.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: The protagonist is confused and slightly unnerved by the Paper Towel guy waxing philosophical about cleaning up a spill. He then spends the next minute or so having an existential crisis over the word "Mess" in his head.

* [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Lady]]: The Old Milk Woman is a bit rude. Instead of asking the protagonist to hand her the cookies from the shelf, she simply repeats "pecan", is dismissive, and tells him he seems deaf for not following her unclear directions.

* {{Retraux}}: Like most of Jack's creations, the animation is run through a VHS to give it a grainy, old feel.

* PhraseCatcher: Several characters ask the protagonist some variant of "What are you, deaf?" when they either mishear him or he takes too long to respond.

* PhraseCatcher: Several characters ask the protagonist some variant of "What are you, deaf?" when they either mishear him or he takes too ling to respond.

* ArcWords: "What are you, deaf?"

* TemptingFate: After overthinking his entire grocery list, the protagonist comes the very last item, anticipating that he can probably pick out some cheese without going through a whole song and dance about it. Not even two seconds later...

* NoNameGiven: Arlene the Coffee Lady is the '''only''' character in the entire story who's name is revealed, including our main character.

** The first and last items on the main character's list are dairy products: Milk's focus song was about its shelf life and signals the start of his grocery overthinking, while Cheese [[spoiler:and Yogurt]] is a byproduct of what happens after milk expires, signalling [[spoiler:his desire to not overthink things too much and roll with the punches.]]

* MotorMouth: The Coffee Lady is so hopped up on coffee that nearly everything she says is one big run-on sentence.
* MustHaveCaffeine: The Coffee Lady drinks so much coffee that she barely takes a breath between any of her words and seems dead if she doesn't continuously sip her cup.
* NoNameGiven: Eileen the Coffee Lady is the '''only''' character in the entire story who's name is revealed, including our main character.

** '''Bread:''' A loaf of plain bread, as he'll let what's on the bread speak for him rather than show off with something fancier.

''SHOP: A Pop Opera'' is an animated 2018 miniseries created by Music/JackStauber for Creator/AdultSwim as one of their [[ShortFilm "smalls"]].

* BookEnds: The series begins with the main character unable to decide what free sample he wants. The series ends with the main character going back and deciding on a sample.
* DenserAndWackier: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] Unlike the incredibly weird videos that Jack Stauber usually makes, SHOP has a story that's relatively easy to follow, songs with lyrics that are clear, and a message that's clear cut. It's still weirder than most things you'll come across, though.

* RuleOfSymbolism: Each character (except the protagonist and the samples guy at the beginning and end) look like and represent the item the episode they're featured in is based around.

* RunningGag: The people that the main character meets asking "are you deaf?"

* IncrediblyLamePun: The main character asks the "Bread" man, who is getting Artisanal bread for his dog, if his dog is "artisanally bred". The "Bread" man doesn't get the joke.

* SuperOCD: The Oatmeal Guy is so obsessed with scheduling his life that he has his '''meals''' [[ClockKing planned out through the next week]].