Basic Trope: "Real" men have no interest in True Art.
- Straight: Alice suggests going to the opera. Bob doesn't want to go.
- Exaggerated: Alice suggests going to the opera. Bob has a face-down-on-the-floor tantrum.
- Downplayed:
- Alice suggests going to the opera. Bob says he doesn't want to go because it's just a bunch of people singing and playing instruments.
- Alice and Bob like Shakespeare. But Bob's favorite thing about his works are some of the old timey dirty jokes. While Alice prefers to analyze their cultural significance and the satirical elements of Romeo and Juliet.
- While Bob happily goes to the opera, he only goes because Alice decides to go.
- Justified:
- Some people just don't have an interest in opera. Bob is one of them.
- Bob's father got shot in the head by an assassin while they were visiting an opera. Going to the opera (or at least suggesting it to him) reminds him of that day.
- Inverted:
- Bob suggests going to the ballet, but Alice doesn't want to go.
- Ludwig is a great composer.
- Subverted:
- Bob goes to the opera with Alice (and with no complaints).
- Alternatively, Alice suggests going to a monster-truck rally, because she knows it's something he'd like.
- Double Subverted: But grudgingly... he only wants to make her happy.
- Parodied: Alice suggests going to the ballet. Bob sets himself on fire.
- Zig Zagged:
- Alice suggests going to the opera several times through the show's run. Bob goes some times, balks at others, and goes nuts at others.
- Bob hates opera, but loves Shakespeare's plays (or likes certain cultural activities and dislikes others).
- Bob pretends to hate opera so that his father will accept him, but shows his love of opera around Alice, who likes it.
- Averted:
- Bob goes to the ballet with no complaints, as he likes opera as much as Alice does.
- Alice does not suggest going to the opera.
- Enforced: Closer to Earth and similar paradigms
- Lampshaded: "Aw, do I have to go?!"
- Invoked: Alice suggests going to the opera, even though she knows full well that it's probably the last thing Bob would be interested in.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Bob likes opera as much as (or more than) Alice does; he's the one that suggests going and springs for the tickets.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- Bob could be missing out on something he might actually find interesting. He won't know until he tries. Also, Alice does things with Bob that she may not necessarily want to do (such as attending a monster truck rally); skipping out on this would be kind of unfair.
- Bill is a man who enjoys both sports and art galleries, yet the stereotype that men are uncultured leads to him being shunned for not being a "real" man.
- Reconstructed: Bob finds he actually likes opera; he now has one more thing to talk about with Alice.
- Played For Drama:
- Bob's refusal to attend the opera sparks a huge argument; Alice's suggestion was about so much more than just watching Swan Lake.
- Bob's high-school girlfriend was the star of her local musical theater, and was going to sing professionally until she was killed in a car crash. Bob still has feelings for her, and the mere mention of opera triggers them.
Fine, fine. I'll go back to Men Are Uncultured, if that'll make you happy. Sheesh...women and their dances and whatnot...
