A Real Man Is a Killer: Difference between revisions

{{quote|"''Time was you sent a boy off to war. Shootin' someone fixed him right up. But there [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|ain't even no wars no more]], thank you very much Warren Christopher!''"|'''Moe''', ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''}}

Unfortunately, a trope that comes with [[Unfortunate Implications]] in the modern days: if such a rite of passage was justified back in ancient times and still is in some contexts, the trope has now been [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] into a much less noble version, particularly in [[Real Life]], and contends that revelling in violence and deriving pleasure from killing something or someone [[Values Dissonance|is the epitome of manhood]] and the very definition of [[badass]]ery. In fact these days you are MUCH more likely to see the inversion of this trope, where someone is expected to kill to prove something, and it is their refusal to which shows us what kind of character we are dealing with. It's only in places where there are legitimate targets for murder do we see anything like the original spin. Zombies or aliens or anything, no worries, people will be expected to prove they are worth having along by mercilessly killing them. Other people, even bad people, not so much. It's a modern day thing.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', the Hidden Mist village used to be known as the "Bloody Mist" for this reason, as the final exam for pre-Genin under the 4th Mizukage was for students to pair up and fight to the death. The practice ended after the preteen Momochi Zabuza showed up and massacred every one of the students.

{{quote| '''Walter:''' Shock of impact ran along my arm. Jet of warmth spattered on chest, like hot faucet. It was Kovacs who said "Mother" then, muffled under latex. It was Kovacs who closed his eyes. [[Becoming the Mask|It was Rorschach who opened them again]].}}

{{quote| 'I suppose the prince had no arms with him, or else he would have used them?'<br />

'Yes, sire, he had arms; he always carries a dagger in his belt. But when he saw the blood pouring from his face, he went to a corner of the court and began to cry, which was the strangest thing of all.'<br />

On hearing this the king walked to the window and stood for a few minutes with his back to the room, where the company of young men remained silent. Then he came back, his face white and stern.<br />

{{quote| '''Mulan (as Ping):''' But you know how it is when you get those, manly urges, and you just gotta kill something.}}

{{quote| '''Lt. Raine:''' Each and every man under my command owes me [[Punctuated! forFor! Emphasis!|One. Hundred. Nazi. Scalps!]] And I want my scalps.}}

{{quote| "I'm Moe Green! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!"}}

* Subverted in the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Discworld/Pyramids|Pyramids]]'': During the mock assassination that features as the final exam of the Assassin's Guild, the protagonist convinces himself that his target is not a dummy but a person, possibly even one of his fellow candidates. He resolves to fail the test on purpose, but accidentally succeeds in killing {{spoiler|the dummy.}}

** But played straight in that the student is meant to think it's a real person - it is, after all, the final exam for the ''Assassin's'' Guild. While it's true that over the course of his lifetime an Assassin may only be sent out on eight or so commissions, if an Assassin chokes on one of these extremely few commissions, we're looking at loss of revenue, loss of business, and, worst of all, loss of reputation, which will result in further consequences A and B.

{{quote| '''Galen:''' You must learn to kill if you expect to survive.<br />

== Live -Action TV ==

{{quote| '''Person:''' Look at me, Brad. I'm a man now, just like you... except I don't look like a faggot and talk all educated.}}

* Stated outright by Head Six in the ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' episode "Fragged".

{{quote| '''Taryn's Father:''' A man's hands aren't meant for hugging. They're meant for '''killing'''.}}

* A comedic take on this was the topic of an episode of ''[[American Dad]]''. Francine lost all interest in Stan when she learns that Stan had up until that point never actually killed anyone and won't accept him back into bed until he has taken a life. When he finally shoots to kill... he misses the creepy pedophile and hits his own coworker. Francine doesn't care.

* American President [[Lyndon Johnson|Lyndon B. Johnson]] would require anyone seeking his political favor to join him on his Texas ranch where they would go "hunting" (actually, just sit in a blind while someone drove animals to them). If you wanted him to respect you as a man, you had to kill one.

** In recentUS elections of the second half of the 20th century, pretty much every contender for the US presidency has had to have at least one picture of themselveshimself in a blaze orange vest carrying a rifle or shotgun. In the 21st century, [[Barack Obama]], notably,and is[[Donald one of the fewTrump]] that hasnhaven't pretended to be ahunters; perhaps Dick Cheney's hunting "[[Make It Look Like an Accident|malfunction]]" has changed how Joe Public views politicians with hunterguns.

[[Category:A Real Man Is a Killer]][[Category:Big Trope Hunting]]