History Main / GenreSavvy

** In Volume 6, the heroes are forced to fight a HumongousMecha. As Oscar uses his vantage point in the airship to try and identify the location of the mecha's shield generator, Ruby suggests over comms that it might be on the back because, in the video games she plays, that's where they're always located. Weiss interrupts the conversation to complain that Ruby's being stupid because this isn't a video game. However, both Oscar and Ren identify the location of the shield generator to be exactly where Ruby anticipated.

** In Volume 6, the heroes are forced to fight a HumongousMecha. As Oscar uses his vantage point in the airship to try and identify the location of the mecha's shield generator, Ruby suggests over comms that it might be on the back because in the video games she always plays, that's where they're always located. Weiss interrupts the conversation to complain that Ruby's being stupid because this isn't a video game. However, both Oscar and Ren identify the location of the shield generator to be exactly where Ruby anticipated.

** In the fairy tale ''[[Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant The Girl in the Tower]]'', [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] observes that the girl effectively rescued herself. Growing up secretly reading fairy tales and dreaming of being rescued by a fairy tale prince, she is inspired to turn her situation into a fairy tale that will attract heroes from far and wide to rescue her. One hero succeeds, but only after many have died trying. Ozpin concludes the tale by speculating whether she lied to achieve her goal. [[spoiler:The tale is a sanitised version of how he and [[BigBad Salem]] first met, and Ozpin implies this version is the very tale she crafted while imprisoned. However, his notes strongly imply that, after having been worn down by thousands of years [[ForeverWar endlessly fighting]] his ex-wife, he is haunted by the possibility that he never truly knew her at all.]]

** In the fairy tale ''[[Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant The Girl in the Tower]]'', [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] observes that the girl effectively rescued herself. Growing up secretly reading fairy tales and dreaming of being rescued by a fairy tale prince, she is inspired to turn her situation into a fairy tale that will attract heroes from far and wide to rescue her. One hero succeeds, but only after many have died trying. Ozpin concludes the tale by speculating whether the story she told was a lie. [[spoiler:The tale is a sanitised version of how he and [[BigBad Salem]] first met, and Ozpin implies this version is the very tale she crafted while imprisoned. However, his notes strongly imply that, after having been worn down by thousands of years [[ForeverWar endlessly fighting]] his ex-wife, he is haunted by the possibility that he never truly knew her at all.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}:

** In the fairy tale ''[[Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant The Girl in the Tower]]'', [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] observes that the girl effectively rescued herself. Growing up secretly reading fairy tales and dreaming of being rescued by a fairy tale prince, she is inspired to turn her situation into a fairy tale that will attract heroes from far and wide to rescue her. One hero succeeds, but only after many have died trying. Ozpin concludes the tale by speculating whether the story she told was a lie. [[spoiler:The tale is a sanitised version of how he and [[BigBad Salem]] first met, and Ozpin implies this version is the very tale she crafted while imprisoned. However, his notes strongly imply that, after having been worn down by thousands of years fighting his ex-wife [[ForeverWar without end]], he is haunted by the possibility that he never truly knew her at all.]]

** In the fairy tale ''[[Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant The Girl in the Tower]]'', [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] observes that the girl effectively rescued herself. Growing up secretly reading fairy tales and dreaming of being rescued by a fairy tale prince, she is inspired to turn her situation into a fairy tale that will attract heroes from far and wide to rescue her. One hero succeeds, but only after many have died trying. Ozpin concludes the tale by speculating whether the story she told was ever true to begin with. [[spoiler:The tale is a sanitised version of how he and [[BigBad Salem]] first met, and Ozpin implies this version is the very tale she crafted while imprisoned. However, his notes strongly imply that, after having been worn down by thousands of years fighting his ex-wife [[ForeverWar without end]], he is haunted by the possibility that he never truly knew her at all.]]

'''Shawn Hunter:''' It does if you've seen as many horror movies as I have. This is classic. The locked door, the scary janitor, the bloody warning and...our soon-to-be first victim.\\

Not to be confused with a character who has observed what works and what doesn't in their ''own'' world, which is TaughtByExperience.

!!Examples:

* GenreSavvy/WesternAnimation

'''Shawn Hunter:''' It does if you've seen as many horror movies as I have. This is classic. The locked door, the scary janitor, the bloody warning and... our soon to be first victim.\\

* GenreSavvy/{{Music}}

For cases when a Genre Savvy character attempts to apply the tropes of a different genre of story to their own situation, see WrongGenreSavvy. When a person becomes too Genre Savvy for their own good and off themselves, see DeathByGenreSavviness. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. If a character acts like a Genre Blind person due to their Genre Savviness, this is ContractualGenreBlindness. Compare with MediumAwareness where the character knows that they're in a story and what medium they are in. May result in YouWatchTooMuchX.

For cases when a Genre Savvy character attempts to apply the tropes of a different genre of story to their own situation, see WrongGenreSavvy. When a person becomes too Genre Savvy for their own good and off themselves, see DeathByGenreSavviness. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. Compare with MediumAwareness where the character knows that they're in a story and what medium they are in. May result in YouWatchTooMuchX.

* GenreSavvy/VisualNovels

For cases when a Genre Savvy character attempts to apply the tropes of a different genre of story to their own situation, see WrongGenreSavvy. When a person becomes too Genre Savvy for their own good and off themselves, see DeathByGenreSavviness. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. Compare with MediumAwareness where the character knows that they're in a story and what medium they are in.

The exact opposite of GenreBlindness. A Genre Savvy character doesn't necessarily [[MediumAwareness know they're in a story]], but they do know of stories like their own and what worked in them and what didn't. More sophisticated versions will also know they can't tell which genre they are in (and are often in far more realistic or complicated genres than the stories they remember), or which characters they are.

They know every [[ASimplePlan Simple Plan]] is doomed to failure from the start and instead of participating, sit back and wait to get in their "I told you so", or even a "[[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot We could have avoided this]]." They can spot someone being controlled by a PuppeteerParasite from a mile away ([[NotBrainwashed usually]]). They're more likely to listen when they catch someone in a compromising position who sputters "It's NotWhatItLooksLike!".

They can tell fairly early that the [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter strange old man who's offering free lollipops]] is probably best avoided. And they've seen enough [[{{Horror}} Horror movies]] to know that when there's an AxCrazy murderer on the loose, the ''last'' thing you want to do is either [[NeverSplitTheParty split]] [[AloneWithThePsycho up]], [[DeathBySex boink your significant other]], or [[CuriosityKilledTheCast investigate strange noises]] in the SinisterSubway. They know how to avoid getting a bad rank on the SortingAlgorithmOfMortality. They'll take precautions and insurance policies to ensure that they're less at the risk of YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness.

The Genre Savvy live to [[LampshadeHanging hang lampshades]], give {{Aside Glance}}s, and say, "{{You just had to say it}}, didn't you?" right after use of a TemptingFate [[StockPhrases Stock Phrase]]. Their [[FacePalm exasperation]] with the [[TooDumbToLive sheer stupidity]] [[FinaglesLaw of the entire universe]] usually makes them a DeadpanSnarker. They are likely to be told that ThisIsReality or [[BystanderSyndrome just ignored]], and likely to be the one who [[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat always wanted to say that]]. A useful person to have around if you get TrappedInTVLand.

They will often try to [[ExploitedTrope take advantage of tropes]], either to fail embarrassingly (often because they're actually WrongGenreSavvy), or to achieve remarkable feats to everyone else's astonishment. The sophisticated savvy can realize that they do not know what characters they are playing, or whether they are exactly in the same genre as the books they read. If they are very good at taking advantage of tropes, they may evolve into CombatPragmatist and fight by their own rules.

Genre savviness sometimes occurs when AndYouThoughtItWasAGame shows up. This is a JustifiedTrope in situations where the character was initially recruited for their knowledge of the genre like in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'', and ''Film/ThreeAmigos!''.

Like playing with the FourthWall, having one or more Genre Savvy characters is indicative of PostModernism.

The most extreme, who know what GenreBlindness is and that they're ''supposed'' to be, remain [[ContractualGenreBlindness Contractually Genre Blind]]. On the other hand, when they're incorrect in their assumptions on what they're supposed to be, they're of the WrongGenreSavvy persuasion. Clever characters can be well aware of the possibility of WrongGenreSavvy and additionally that they may not realize what roles they are cast in, and launch many a quip and discussion about whether a certain trope is or is not in play.

While Genre Savvy can be used to add spice to a tired old plot and create self-aware, intelligent characters, [[TropesAreNotGood it's not always the right thing to do]]. A character who is ''too'' Genre Savvy can risk puncturing their story and turning it into a joke, which is a bit of a problem if it's supposed to be taken seriously. Furthermore, it can also ruin drama and suspense. Some genres require a certain amount of the RuleOfDrama and GenreBlindness to effectively function, and in these cases the reader is always going to be asked to embrace the AnthropicPrinciple and WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief to some degree in order to accept the premise of the story. Otherwise, if a character knows exactly what type of story they're in and what to do to get out of their story in a quick, easy and painless fashion, they're going to do it, and consequently lead an easy, trouble-free life, and... why are we watching them again?

Furthermore, characters who are ''too'' GenreSavvy can be just as unrealistic and unbelievable as characters who are too GenreBlind, which can also damage the story. After all, in the real world, people don't often live their lives as if everything they do conforms to a series of overarching narrative conventions, so why would fictional characters? While the IncurableCoughOfDeath may spell doom in fiction, nine out of ten times in the real world it suggests nothing more than a harmless cold, so it's not entirely unreasonable that a fictional character might initially see nothing to worry about either. The more sophisticated works frequently balance a good sense of GenreSavvy with as many references to how this story differs from the ones the reader may have read, just to keep everyone on their toes.

When a person becomes too Genre Savvy for their own good and off themselves, see DeathByGenreSavviness. When a person prepares for every unlikely trope before it happens, they are CrazyPrepared. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. Compare with MediumAwareness where the character knows what medium they are in.

* GenreSavvy/{{Podcasts}}

Genre savviness sometimes occurs when AndYouThoughtItWasAGame shows up. This is a JustifiedTrope in situations where the character was initially recruited for their knowledge of the genre like in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', ''TheLastStarfighter'', and ''Film/ThreeAmigos!''.

They will often try to [[ExploitedTrope take advantage of tropes]], either to fail embarrassingly (often because they're actually WrongGenreSavvy), or to achieve remarkable feats to everyone else's astonishment. The sophisticated savvy can realize that they do not know what characters they are playing, or whether they are exactly in the same genre as the books they read.

When a person decides to weaponize this and [[DefiedTrope dodges every trope]] and IdiotBall that comes their way, they are DangerouslyGenreSavvy. When they don't, it's DeathByGenreSavviness. When a person prepares for every unlikely trope before it happens, they are CrazyPrepared. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. Compare with MediumAwareness where the character knows what medium they are in.

''[[DescribeTopicHere I've seen this movie. The safest thing to do is Describe Genre Savvy Here.]]''

* GenreSavvy/NewspaperComics

* {{GenreSavvy/Webcomics}}

* GenreSavvy/ProfessionalWrestling

When a person decides to weaponize this and [[DefiedTrope dodges every trope]] and IdiotBall that comes their way, they are DangerouslyGenreSavvy. When they don't, it's DeathByGenreSavviness. When a person prepares for every unlikely trope before it happens, they are CrazyPrepared. If a character uses his Genre Savviness just to make humorous observations, he's a MetaGuy. When characters are not consciously Genre Savvy but regularly act within the limitations of the genre they're in anyway, they are FunctionalGenreSavvy. Compare with MediumAwareness.