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Anvilicious
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A portmanteau of anvil and delicious, anvilicious describes a writer's and/or director's use of an artistic element, be it line of dialogue, visual motif or plot point, to so unsubtly convey a particular message that they may as well etch it onto an anvil and drop it on your head. The term anvilicious thus qualifies as Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness. "Heavy-handed" for the new millennium. Extreme polar opposite of subtlety. Frequently, the element becomes anvilicious through unnecessary repetition, but true masters can achieve anviliciousness with a single stroke. The easiest way to be anvilicious is through simple cause-and-effect; someone will do something the writers consider "bad" and then something bad happens as a direct result. If the writers prefer not to show the direct consequences of whatever they're crusading for or against, a common alternative is to have a character presented as completely "centred", "unbiased", and "grounded" testify. Surely if this character agrees with something, it must be the right thing to do. Common in kids' shows, since they're less aware of subtle nuances, though not as much as writers and directors seem to think. Bonus points awarded if the supposed message or moral has only but the most tenuous connections to the actual plot, story, or the events of the episode; or, if the consequences brought about to tell the moral are blatantly arbitrary or don't even make any sense (see examples below). If the work goes beyond anvilicious into hectoring lectures, then it has become an Author Filibuster. Note that some works are openly intended to hammer home points, and are essentially teaching material in literary form: fairy tales, religious works, and position papers of all sorts may be heavy-handed, but that doesn't make them anvilicious. To achieve that distinction, the reader has to experience the sense that the author is foisting opinions, in the guise of telling you a supposedly entertaining story — and doing it clumsily enough that it becomes uncomfortable or irritating. Similarly, it is not anvilicious only because you disagree with any inherent message. Which leads us to the deep question: Should authors try to make their Aesops subtle? Or do anvilicious Aesops actually have a good side, i.e. the fact that people immediately see what the author is trying to do with them? There used to be a trope called "Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped," suggesting that some, at least, are good uses. However, this distinction created the problematic implication that if an anvil didn't "need" to be dropped, then the Aesop was automatically bad, and vice versa. This is not true, Tropes Are Tools after all, and while it is more likely that you'll find the moral to be good if you agree with it, it's still possible to think that the lack of subtlety hurts the presentation of the moral even if you find it worthwhile. Remember, this page is about morals and messages that are presented without any subtlety, or at the very least, barely any at all. This is NOT about morals you think are bad or just generally poorly handled, regardless of whether or not they're as such because they are heavy-handed. And it is DEFINITELY NOT a place for you to whine and complain about morals that you dislike, even if you just disagree with them. For the former two, go to Broken Aesop and Clueless Aesop. Compare and contrast Propaganda Piece. See also "Lesson of the Day" Speech, Can't Get Away with Nuthin', Scare 'Em Straight, Glurge, Obviously Evil, And That's Terrible. Black-and-White Morality often results in these kinds of Aesops. Contrast Accidental Aesop for when a work without an intended Aesop/anvil is seen as giving a valid lesson, and Alternate Aesop Interpretation for when audiences see a different lesson than the intended Aesop/anvil. Not to be confused with the literal Anvil on Head. |
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