2,017
edits
Anarchy Is Chaos: Difference between revisions
→Western Animation
m (clean up) |
|||
| (8 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Evey:''' All this riot and uproar, V... is this Anarchy? Is this the Land of Do-As-You-Please?
'''V:''' [[Subverted Trope|No. This is only the land of take-what-you-want. Anarchy means 'without leaders', not 'without order'.]] With anarchy comes an age of ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order... this age of ordnung will begin when the mad and incoherent cycle of verwirrung that these bulletins reveal has run its course... This is not anarchy, Evey. This is chaos.
|''[[V for Vendetta]]''}}
A virtually ubiquitous trope, both in fiction and [[Real Life]], is the misconception that anarchists have no beliefs, that [[Title Drop|anarchy is chaos.]] While anarchy and chaos are not mutually exclusive (chaos is anarchic, although it often devolves into warlordism, but anarchy is not necessarily chaotic) such an un-mindset is properly called [[Nietzsche Wannabe|nihilism, the belief in nothing]]. However, the actual definition of Anarchism is ''the belief that rulership should not exist'' (as indicated in its Greek roots, an- [no] -arkhos [ruler]). There is much division on the extent and nature of rulership, and what it means. Regardless of this division, ''in fiction'', Anarchists (of any stripe) are often accused of [[Chaotic Stupid|favoring a Hobbesian-style war of all against all]].
Line 16 ⟶ 17:
For a more analytical look at Anarchy, see the [[Anarchism|Useful Notes page]].
{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In ''[[Persepolis]]'', Marjane believes that the anarchist commune that her boyfriend brings her to in Vienna will engage in this. She remembers her uncle Anoosh talking about being a revolutionary that wanted to make Iran his home again. Instead, the group roasts marshmallows, plays hide-and-seek, and smokes hash. She's disappointed, but later visits the commune regularly after Enrique breaks up with her.
* Both the comic book and film version of ''[[V for Vendetta]]'' discuss this. When V kidnaps Evey and starts grooming her as his successor, she asks if his end-goal is anarchy when riots start. He corrects her that this is a chaos stage, and anarchy will come after. After {{spoiler|he dies, Evey watches the riots continue and kidnaps someone else to be ''her'' successor.}} The people are more civilized in the film, where they march with V masks and {{spoiler|watch Evey blow up Parliament}}.
== [[Film]] ==
* This is the premise of the ''[[Mad Max]]'' films. With water and food in short supply, society has broken down into factions that attack either for their resources, or because of grudges.
* ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'''s take on the Joker has him believe in this. He causes chaos in Gotham City just because he finds it funny, and admits after grappling with Batman that it's more fun to keep him alive. Joker tells a hospitalized Harvey Dent that when you introduce a little bit of anarchy or chaos, you get total disruption. {{spoiler|While Joker succeeds in corrupting Harvey Dent, he's proven wrong with the two boats, where neither will blow up the other. As Batman points out, not everyone thinks like the Joker.}}
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' discusses this, with how the different noble houses try to control Westeros following the end of ''[[A Game of Thrones (novel)|A Game of Thrones]]''. No one believes that the lower-class can rule themselves, with Joffrey getting Mycah the Butcher Boy killed because Arya asked a commoner boy for fencing lessons. Some have more benevolent intentions than other, with Robb's Rebellion starting because the noble houses loved his father Ned {{spoiler|and wish to avenge him by dethroning Joffrey, his executioner.}} Regardless, the war affects everyone involved, including the townsfolk, villagers and farmers who have minded their own business for decades. They only need one excuse of Joffrey's behavior to riot. As Tyrion points out with frustration after the fact, the commoners just want to have enough food to survive and not worry that the next ruler will swipe in and murder their babies. It's the rich who are causing the real chaos because everyone wants power, or will abide by outdated honor codes that get them killed.
* ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'' posits that if a bunch of boys are stranded on an island with no adults, chaos will set in despite attempts to signal for help and establish order. By the time actual adults come and rescue them, one child is dead and the rest are hunting down the protagonist.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'': Zaheer believes in this trope, and thinks it's a good thing. He says that people rely on outdated political systems that oppress them, putting idiot leaders like the Earth Queen or President Raiko in charge. He believes that if the Avatar is wiped out for good, without reincarnation, then the world will truly come into its natural order. Book Four has reality, and Korra herself, pointing out that he was wrong: {{spoiler|rather than anarchy coming to Ba Sing Se, he created a power vacuum for Kuvira to come in and become an even worse dictator. And if he had succeeded in killing Korra while she was in the Avatar State? There would be no one to stop Kuvira. As karma goes, an imprisoned Zaheer realizes that to dethrone Kuvira, he has to help Korra overcome the trauma he gave her, restoring her connection to Raava.}}
* ''[[Recess]]'': Any episode that shows Finster distracted or otherwise incapacitated will lead to this trope. We find out that Ms. Finster doesn't ''want'' to be a mean teacher punishing the kids; she has to be the bad guy or they will run roughshod over her. Even the kindergartners, who don't listen to their own teacher, have a healthy respect for her.
** "Finster in Love" has the gang scheme to pair up Hank with Finster after realizing they have sparks, and Ms. Finster is nicer in Hank's presence. It ends up [[Gone Horribly Right]]; Finster is ''so'' in love that the kindergartners, fifth graders and everyone else run rampant. Even King Bob gets dethroned. The gang is forced to show Ms. Finster what is happening; Hank also admits he's been neglecting his janitorial duties. They part amicably, so they can focus on their jobs.
** Zigzagged in "Omega Kids"; the whole student body minus the main 6 gets sick from food poisoning, and Miss Finster goes from house-to-house to offer assistance to their parents. This leaves T.J. and his friends free to do whatever they want on the playground, and they take advantage of it, albeit by using the swings and jungle gym without waiting in line, and T.J. wears King Bob's hat. By the second day, however, they get bored; there aren't enough kids to play kickball, and it's no fun to mess with the Ashleys if they aren't there to scream.
** "The Fuss Over Finster" features Ms. Finster injuring her ankle after the candy that she confiscates spills out of her bag and cause her to slip. While T.J. comes up with a plan to steal the candy back, Gus reveals they didn't need it: Finster can't enforce order while walking on crutches and shouting at the kids, who are much faster than her. Randall is no help, and chaos returns to the playground. Seeing how overwhelmed she is, T.J. feels guilty and organizes a playground-wide truce, including the kindergartners, until Ms. Finster's ankle recovers. He tells Finster that it will be back to business when she heals up.
* ''[[Futurama]]'': In "A Farewell to Arms," the gang finds an ancient Martian pyramid and calendar saying the world will end in 3012, with a solar flare aimed at Earth. No regular electronics work, only a stone spaceship. When President Nixon gets wind of it, a Choose-Matron decides who will take the ship to Mars and who will stay behind. After the ship leaves, Earth falls to looting and anarchy, with Bender enjoying it.
{{Needs More Examples}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Did Not Do the Research]]
[[Category:Civil Unrest Tropes]]
[[Category:Politics Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Anarchy Is Chaos]]
| |||