This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Describe Tropes For Dummies Discussion here.
Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: This is not simply a The Joy of X type thing. After all, even without fictional examples, there are a lot of books in that series. "X for Dummies" is the most popular recent series of how-to guides and information manuals, written on the assumption that Viewers Are Morons but should know anyway. One of those in a fictional work can often be a plot launcher or a Chekhov's Gun - it's not simply that it's "X for Dummies," it's that the character in possession of the book clearly wants to know about X....
