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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