Cavemen vs. Astronauts Debate/Playing With
Basic Trope: An argument about nothing important.
- Played Straight: Alice and Bob quibble over whether a tomato counts as a vegetable or a fruit.
- Exaggerated:
- The argument includes hurling vicious insults...and chairs.
- Or Silly Reason for War.
- Downplayed: Seinfeldian Conversation.
- Justified:
- Sometimes people have disagreements...and too much free time.
- They're practicing for debate club.
- Alice and Bob have made a bet and the otherwise inconsequential topic is central to determining who wins.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob agree on whether a tomato counts as a vegetable or a fruit.
- Alice and Bob argue over something that really is Serious Business.
- Subverted: Eventually, Alice and Bob come to the conclusion that a tomato is botanically a fruit and culinarily a vegetable.
- Double Subverted: But then Carl interjects with, "But what about rhubarb?"
- Deconstructed: They're arguing about something pointless, and insulting each other!
- Reconstructed: They agree to disagree and discuss something, you know, relevant.
- Parodied: World War III begins over the issue of whether a tomato counts as a fruit or a vegetable.
- Lampshaded: "It's a fruit, you idiot!"
- Zig Zagged: Sometimes they argue over dumb stuff, sometimes they don't.
- Averted: Alice and Bob don't have any such arguments.
- Enforced: Rule of Funny
- Invoked: A Seinfeldian Conversation about food begins.
- Defied: Alice and Bob change the subject.
- Discussed: "So, where do you stand on the fruit vs. vegetable debate?"
- Conversed: "This is stupid! Why the @%#!$! are we even talking about this?!"
- Played For Laughs: This argument becomes an Overly Long Gag. Cue Flash Forward, showing a very elderly Alice and Bob, still arguing over this.
- Played For Drama: The argument gets too personal and ruins their friendship/marriage/romance/family/what have you.
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