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Stock Aesops
aka: Stock Morals

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"If you believe in yourself, eat all your school, stay in milk, drink your teeth, don't do sleep, and get 8 hours of drugs, you can get work!"

Stock Aesops are the morals that the writers and producers of TV most often love to explore. They sometimes contradict each other, but it's a clumsy writer indeed who sticks two contradictory aesops into the same script, which can either prove them both to be good advice or create a Broken Aesop. When An Aesop contradicts the typical beliefs of society, offends the Moral Guardians, or promotes an "unconventional" belief, it's a Hard Truth Aesop.

Because times change, some older Aesops tend to be seen as Fair For Their Day or Values Dissonance.

On the other hand, if they're treated as profound moral insights, they risk being seen as a Captain Obvious Aesop to the audience.

Many are Older Than Feudalism. And some, indeed, come straight from the original Aesop's Fables.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    On Agreement 

    On Ambition 

    On Appearance, Beauty, and Clothing 

    On Authority, Government 

    On Belief 

    On Caution and Planning 

    On Change, Progress, and Technology 

    On Conformity, Individuality, and Tradition 
  • Be Yourself: Accept who you are.
  • Blithe Spirit: Change tradition and convert everyone else to your views.
  • The Complainer Is Always Wrong: You should always agree with your friends.
  • Conform to Expectations, 'cause great-grandma knows best.
    • Subverted: Giving in to expectations are more trouble than it's worth.
  • Crying Wolf: If you lie about danger too often, no one will believe you when the day comes that you're being truthful about it.
  • Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: Don't give into peer pressure.
  • Pygmalion Snap Back: Accept people for who they are and let others be themselves.
  • Tall Poppy Syndrome: The Nail That Stands Out Gets Hammered Flat.
  • Trend Aesop: Giving into materialism, peer pressure, and/or the silly/fickle nature of fashion is more trouble than it is worth.

    On Cruelty, Kindness, and Trust 

    On Curiosity and Science 

    On Destiny 

    On Differences 

    On Effort 

    On Family 

    On Force 

    On Friendship 

    On Health and Safety 

    On Honesty and Integrity 

    On Honor 

    On Immortality 

    On Initiative 

    On Intellectualism 

    On Intuition and First Impressions 

    On Justice 

    On Kinship 

    On Literature 

    On Love 

    On Material Possessions and Wealth 

    On Media and Entertainment 

    On the Natural World 
  • Green Aesop: Earth's natural environment is being threatened by the growth of human civilization, so let's try to protect and save it.
  • Nature Is Not Nice: The natural wilderness is a harsh, hostile, and indifferent place where animals suffer and die. And humans are not safe from it either.

    On Patience 

    On Perseverance 

    On Positive and Negative Attitude 

    On Power 

    On Pride 

    On Principle 
  • You Have To Be Willing To Compromise
  • Stick To Your Guns

    On Relationships 

    On Sex 

    On Specialization 

    On Spontaneity 
  • Don't Be Shy
  • Don't Get In Over Your Head

    On Teamwork 
  • Two heads are better than one. Many hands make light work.
  • Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup: A project can go awry if there are too many people involved in it.

    On Time 

    On War 

    On Women 

    The Lessons of History 

    Other Aesops 


For every proverb, there is an equal and opposite proverb.

Alternative Title(s): Stock Morals, Stock Aesop, Stock Moral

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