Dying Like Animals/Playing With

Basic Trope: The people the hero is trying to save either ignore, harass, or impede his work.


 * Straight: Lionel tries to warn the inhabitant of his hometown Zooburg of an oncoming migration of killer bees, only to get laughed at, ignored and put in the town jail for his efforts.
 * Exaggerated: Lionel is pied in the face, put in the stockade, has his friends and family disown him, and only manages to save the town by organizing a "Lionel Sucks!" party outside the town.
 * Justified: Lionel has a reputation as a boy who cried wolf.
 * Inverted: The whole town tries to convince a skeptical Lionel that killer bees are coming so that he uses his crop duster to poison them.
 * Subverted: The townsfolk believe Lionel and proceed to evacuate the young and old while helping Lionel mass produce anti-killer bee spray.
 * Double Subverted: Except it was all an elaborate prank on Lionel, since no one believes him and they thought it would be hilarious.
 * Parodied: Lionel goes to the town hall meeting, shows evidence of the bees, their migration pattern, and testimony of people who have seen them and experts who vouch for his research. Then a smartass calls out "That's what SHE said!" and the rest of the townsfolk erupt in laughter, and boo him off the stage.
 * Deconstructed: The people of Zooburg are naturally cynical, and their lack of faith in their fellow man is what ultimately dooms them, not the killer bees.
 * Reconstructed: But Lionel's passionate efforts make enough people believe him that they manage to survive the bees, but in so doing rebuild their lost sense of community and humanity.
 * Zig Zagged: No one in Zooburg believes Lionel, but that's because he had no evidence, however when the mayor lays into him no one trusts him again, only to change their minds once they find out the mayor accidentally imported the killer bees himself.
 * Averted: Though skeptical, the town's authorities mobilize on Lionel's warnings, confirm them, and proceed to evacuate.
 * Enforced: The people of Zooburg are all dyed in the black wool cynics, since the town has a "reputation" for attracting misanthropes.
 * Lampshaded: "You know, it seems the more I try to save these people the less they want to be saved."
 * Invoked: Blitzen has hated Lionel since high school, and wants to make others hate him as well. So he tries every trick in the book to paint him as an untrustworthy fearmonger.
 * Defied: Lionel realizes his story is hard to believe, so he gathers evidence and approaches all of the town's authority figures before announcing his find to get their support.
 * Discussed: "The trick with motivating a large group of people to survive a disaster situation is to not only come well prepared, but radiate confidence and trustworthiness."
 * Conversed: "These Disaster Movies are a laugh riot! It's like everyone but the hero wants to win a Darwin Award!"
 * Plotted A Good Waste: The story is an allegory for purgatory, faith and salvation. Only those who believe Lionel's warning and help Fighting for Survival can make it out alive.
 * Played For Laughs: The whole story is a Crapsack World of people who seem to want to die. In the end Lionel saves the world, decides it was all pointless and destroys it while flying off with the aliens who sent the killer bees on magical space adventures.
 * Played For Drama: Lionel goes from town to town trying to warn the inhabitants, and though they don't listen he can never forget their screams as he watches them burn.

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