| abstract
| - A fundamental part of telling a story is conflict: you want the hero to have their problems and, hopefully, overcome them in a satisfactory manner. In many cases that conflict is entirely external; the Big Bad is plotting to Take Over the World and The Hero is out to stop them. But there is also that conflict which is emotional; it exists in their mind and usually forms a mental block that they cannot break through. A "World of Cardboard" speech is where the hero acknowledges that this mental block has been limiting them. And because of a recent personal revelation about themselves and/or their situation, they have found a way to excel past their previous limits. This trope is heavily dependent on the context of the story and the life of the character. Despite the room for variation, each speech has to follow the same pattern to be a world of cardboard speech: the hero is having trouble from an emotional/psychological viewpoint, the hero has a powerful revelation, and then they give the speech. In effect, this is a Eureka Moment that leads to a Heroic Resolve. The speech itself can vary depending on the revelation, but the crux of this trope revolves around the epiphany. Universal to all of these speeches is that realization and being subsequently empowered because of it. Because of how dependent it is on the individual character and story, the speech can overlap with any number of tropes, due to the context, and can come in many different variations:
* The hero says I Am What I Am, realizing that he or she doesn't have to be ashamed.
* A mild contemplation at the end of the story, possibly even after the Big Bad has been defeated, and the hero explains the revelation long after the fact.
* "The Reason You Suck" Speech against the villain. In this case, the hero has a renewing of confidence because he realizes how pathetic the villain is. This may overlap with a Kirk Summation.
* A Shut UP, Hannibal, which is short and to the point. The epiphany is still there, but they don't feel the need to illustrate their thoughts with a powerpoint presentation.
* The hero Does Not Know His Own Strength (or, perhaps, is all too aware of it), but realizes that now, in this place and circumstance, shouldn't hold back. This is the context of the Trope Namer speech.
* In a Coming of Age story, the hero accepts The Call, rejecting immaturity, irresponsibility, and in effect, childhood.
* A loner and/or Death Seeker, finding something Worth Living For. Named for a popular scene from Justice League Unlimited featuring Superman. Fans have long complained about how widely his power level varies throughout The DCU. This speech has him explaining why he occasionally takes a beating. As for how to interpret the name along with the trope, for most of the examples the world isn't nearly as fragile as Superman sees it, but they still view their own personal world as being far more brittle than it really is. And so the "world of cardboard" revelation is that it isn't as easy to break as they thought it was. Incidentally, because this is supposed to be a big deal for the individual in question, what usually follows is a Crowning Moment of Awesome. Break Them by Talking is essentially the opposite of this, with a villain outlining the hero's flaws and effectively using it against them. You can expect a Crowning Moment of Awesome if the villain attempts Breaking Them By Talking and the hero responds with a World Of Cardboard Speech. The villain may respond with "This Is Gonna Suck." Compare Right Makes Might, Rousing Speech, Heroic Second Wind, He's Back, Fridge Brilliance, Let's Get Dangerous, Patrick Stewart Speech. Not to be confused with a literal World of Cardboard (and other materials). Unless the person giving the speech is a struggling jail warden or something like that, chances are this will have nothing to do with a Cardboard Prison. This is also not the same as the Cardboard World experienced by some LSD users according to Stanislav Grof; that would be more like a feeling that life itself is a Crappy Carnival. Examples of World of Cardboard Speech include:
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)