Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,064
edits
Black and White Morality: Difference between revisions
standardized headers
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (moved real life section to end of page) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (standardized headers) |
||
Line 5:
|'''G'kar''', ''[[Babylon 5]] -- A Late Delivery from Avalon''}}
Good versus Evil. [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|White hat versus black hat.]] The [[Knight in Shining Armor|shining knight]] [[The Messiah|of destiny]] with [[The Cape (trope)|flowing cape]] versus the [[Dastardly Whiplash|mustache-twirling]], [[Card-Carrying Villain|card-carrying]] force of [[Obviously Evil|pure malevolence]]. The most basic form of fictional morality, '''Black
This can come in a variety of forms:
Line 14:
** Occasionally there will be a short scene explaining the neutrality is inherently evil (or, very rarely, good). To avoid an [[Author Tract]] some writers prefer to claim that being neutral is similar to supporting the stronger side.
Stories using this trope usually have a [[Hero Protagonist]] and a [[Villain Antagonist]], though this is not always the case. They're also where you're most likely to find [[Beauty Equals Goodness]], although there are stories with
While it shows up in stories of all kinds, Black
Of course, the prevalence of this moral system may lead to the belief that [[Good Is Boring]]. Thus, the aforementioned grey spots in a setting like this are a common [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]. [[Badass Decay]] occurs when the dark horse is whitewashed to conform to the prevailing system.
Line 27:
{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* Good luck finding any political campaign commercials anywhere which suggest that it is possible to disagree over an issue without being monstrous, or at the very least stupid.
** Campaign commercial? Just about any commercial. Brand loyalty is [[Serious Business]].
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and its sequels (''[[Great Mazinger]]'' and ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]''). Except Shin Mazinger, where the good guys include various criminals, and the bad guy {{spoiler|is a bad guy, but holding back a bunch of even worse guys.}} Which is still within "black and white", but with a small twist.
** Dr. Hell is also consistently shown to not be the kind of [[Bad Boss]] [[You Have Failed Me...|who punishes his subordinates for being unable to beat the heroes]]. The only reason he locks up Baron Ashura in the Mazinkaiser [[OVAs]] is because he went over the Doctor's authority on a matter, and he still was willing to let him fight when Ashura ''begged'' him to let him.
Line 39 ⟶ 38:
* This trope is played straight in ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'': While the kids and their Digimons represent virtues (Courage, Friendship, Love, etc.) their enemies (Such as Devimon, Myotismon and the Dark Masters) are evil incarnate.
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* Most comic books set in the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] (World War II or thereabouts) have this sort of moral code.
* [[Steve Ditko]]'s ''[[Mr. A]]'' comic lives and breathes this trope, being Ditko's interpretation of [[Ayn Rand]]'s Objectivism in vigilante form.
Line 48 ⟶ 46:
* A common element in [[Chick Tracts]], the Christian protagonists are good while the nonbelievers are evil, or at least a [[Jerkass]].
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fanfics featuring a manipulative [[Chessmaster]] Dumbledore, this is frequently a philosophy the Headmaster
==
▲* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fanfics featuring a manipulative [[Chessmaster]] Dumbledore, this is frequently a philosophy the Headmaster i shown embracing -- very often with ''him'' being the sole arbiter of what constitutes black and white. If an individual or family fails to show sufficient slavish adherence to his personal vision of society, these versions of Dumbledore will write them off as "Dark".
* ''[[Star Wars]]'': The [[The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified|rebels are good]], [[The Empire]] is [[Good Republic, Evil Empire|evil]].
** Black And White Morality is ''enforced'' by, well, the Force in the case of the Jedi. If Jedi aren't committed 100% to the Light Side, it's only a matter of time before they become insanely evil [[Complete Monster]]s. There were a few exceptions in the EU(such as the Gray Jedi, who dabble in [[The Dark Side]] only to the point where it does not corrupt them), but those ended up taking a side in the end or died before that became an issue.
Line 69 ⟶ 65:
** [[Black and Gray Morality|Except for]] ''[[Inglorious Basterds]]''.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Silmarillion]]'': Broadly speaking. The respective villains Sauron, Saruman and Morgoth are evil, and those who oppose them are good. On a closer level this is not so - Sauron, Saruman and Morgoth's Orcs are [[Exclusively Evil]], but their human forces are not, which is lost on many a critic. More than one character notes how they must be manipulated or forced to do their will.
** ''Broadly'' speaking. See the quote at the top of [[Grey and Gray Morality]]. ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' in particular tends to be [[The Good, the Bad, and The Evil|white, grey and black]]. (Surely people like Feanor, his sons, the Noldor in general, Thingol, Turin, etc. cannot be thought of as all black or all white.)
Line 92 ⟶ 87:
* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Almost all the good guys are handsome/beautiful, and the bad guys are either ugly as sin or ordinary-looking. The choices the characters make are unambiguously good or evil. The characterization of the characters is either totally good or totally evil.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Power Rangers]] and [[Super Sentai]]'': Rangers and their friends are good; even the shady ones have an excuse: [[Power Rangers SPD|street-level hoods]]? Stealing to survive and help other homeless! [[Power Rangers RPM|Guy working with the mob]]? Screwed them all over to help an orphanage of [[Littlest Cancer Patient]]s! [[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive|Professional thief]]? ...Okay, that one was just glossed over, but he's probably one of those guys who's legitimately hired by companies to test security.
** Special mention must go to ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'s'' Mesogog, who, while still black, was a ''particularly grey shade'' of black, as he is the sole villain of the series to not [[Card-Carrying Villain|carry an evil business card]]. He was a dinosaur hybrid who wanted to wipe out us filthy mammals and restore dinosaurs to their rightful place as the dominant creatures, and so thought what he was doing to be right, although his methods and manner make it dark enough to still be evil. Its grey, but only in comparison to the villains whose goals are ''stated'' to be "to be as evil as possible, nyahaha".
Line 104 ⟶ 98:
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and its spinoff ''[[Angel]]'' both [[Playing with a Trope|play with this]]. Each starts out as a clear-cut example, but later seems to drift to somewhere between this and [[Black and Gray Morality]], with the protagonists ''usually'' doing the right thing, but not always, and most of the antagonists remaining [[Kick the Dog|dog-kicking]] villains. Also, despite usually being portrayed as good in the sense that they're well-meaning, the heroes of both shows often encounter situations that are portrayed as morally gray, leading them to disagree with each other on what the good course of action is.
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* In religion, this idea is often called ([[Trope Maker|Manichean]]) dualism:
** God is good, Satan is evil. (Christianity)
Line 112 ⟶ 105:
* [[Everybody Hates Hades|The Hollywood version of many mythologies]] tends to fit this; the real mores of such cases tend to be much more, [[Blue and Orange Morality|subtle]].
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
▲== Tabletop Games ==
* Most ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' settings: People who go "ping!" on Detect Good are good. People who [[Detect Evil|set off the paladin's slaydar]] are evil. (People who don't trigger either are either using Undetectable Alignment or are the resident shade of grey, the neutral alignments).
** Playable races (such as humans, elves, dwarves, and such) tend to be good, while orcs, goblins, and other 'monstrous' humanoids tend to be [[Exclusively Evil]]. There are plenty of exceptions, though, with a number of villains from PC races showing up from time to time. The occasional good orc or goblin may make an appearance as well (especially in ''[[Eberron]]'', which subverts a lot of the common expectations about alignment and race).
Line 120 ⟶ 112:
* In ''[[Blue Rose]]'' your [[Character Alignment]] is either [[Light Is Good]], [[Dark Is Evil|Shadow]] or Twilight (neutral). There's a magic artifact used to make sure [[Only the Pure of Heart|only light-aligned people]] get to become nobles in [[The Kingdom]] of Aldis.
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* Early [[Video Games]] with [[Excuse Plot]] or plot with little-to-no cutscenes are likely to be this. Even ''[[Bad Dudes]]'' do not seem to be any kind of bad other than [[Badass]].
* Link, Zelda, and their allies are good; Ganon and his followers are evil.
Line 149 ⟶ 140:
* ''[[Star Fox]]'' and the Cornerian army are good. Andross, Anglar Emperor, and their armies are bad. The Aparoids were created solely to be [[The Virus]], and were nothing but evil and trouble.
== [[Web Comics]] ==▼
▲== Web Comics ==
* ''[[Axe Cop]]''. Very evident as it is written by a six-year old. There are good guys (who can do anything they want), and bad guys (who don't need to do anything bad [[Shaped Like Itself|apart from being bad]] to be such).
== [[Web Original]] ==
* This was mostly avoided in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', but was especially enforced in the ''Golden Age'' campaign, which was set during World War II and featured [[Those Wacky Nazis]] as villains (along with [[Super Villain|supervillains]] who were [[For the Evulz|evil for the sake of being evil]] and [[The Mafia|mobsters]], of course).▼
* In ''[[The Fear Mythos]]'', the character "Achromatic Morality" demonstrates this perfectly—the clue's in the name. In her words, "there are two sides. The side that I am on, which is righteous; and the side I am not, which is monstrous."▼
==
▲* This was mostly avoided in the [[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]], but was especially enforced in the ''Golden Age'' campaign, which was set during World War II and featured [[Those Wacky Nazis]] as villains (along with [[Super Villain|supervillains]] who were [[For the Evulz|evil for the sake of being evil]] and [[The Mafia|mobsters]], of course).
▲* In [[The Fear Mythos]], the character "Achromatic Morality" demonstrates this perfectly—the clue's in the name. In her words, "there are two sides. The side that I am on, which is righteous; and the side I am not, which is monstrous."
* Really, about every children's cartoon ever made fits this trope. [[The Smurfs]]? Good ([[Sluggy Freelance|except carnivorous ones]]). Gargamel? Bad. [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]? Good. Skeletor? Bad. [[G.I. Joe]]? Good. COBRA? Bad. [[Thundercats]]? Good. Mum-Ra? Bad. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
* ''[[Transformers]]'': Autobots are good, Decepticons are evil (except in ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass|Shattered Glass]]'', where it's the other way round).
Line 169 ⟶ 157:
* ''[[Ben 10]]'' is mostly this trope, but the main hero's character flaws can push it into [[Black and Gray Morality]].
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and friends are undoubtedly the good guys, but it's her foes that really exemplify this trope. Every one of them [[Card-Carrying Villain|describes themselves as an evil villain]], sometimes worrying if they're [[Slave to PR|being evil enough]]. Evil [[Super Villain|supervillainy]] appears to be a whole subculture in their world.
* Surprisingly subverted in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. At first, the set-up seems to make the Black and the White quite clear: the Fire Nation is the [[Exclusively Evil]] [[The Empire|Empire]] embarking on a campaign of world conquest, and [[La Résistance|those who fight against them]] are good. Then the writers seem to spend the entire remainder of the series picking this stark divide to pieces in every direction, with an abundance of quite likable and sympathetic Fire Nation characters and an abundance of utterly loathsome Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe characters. The Fire Lord and his daughter remain the clear bad guys, and Team Avatar the clear good guys, straight until the end, but beyond that the series drifts closer to [[Grey and
** And even some of the main characters, {{spoiler|primarily Katara,}} come close to [[He Who Fights Monsters|crossing the line]] more than once.
** Zuko [[Incredibly Lame Pun|alone]] is a subversion. It seems like the moral the show's trying to send is that life isn't so straightforward and it's important to remember that. Even Azula, the [[Magnificent Bastard|magnificent bitch]], gets sympathy. {{spoiler|After being betrayed by her friends, abandoned by her father, and given way too much power for her to handle, she has a mental breakdown that all stems from a perceived lack of love from her mother.}}
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* It's a common misconception that [[World War II]] was a case of this. In actually it was closer to [[Black and Gray Morality]] if only due to Joseph Stalin fighting on the Allied side, the Japanese internment camps operated by the United States and Canada(Through their internment camps were far more comfortable and humane, in comparison the hellish treatment received by those unfortunate to be captured by the Japanese.), and continuing moral debates regarding the bombing of Dresden, as well as the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
* The American Civil War is often seen as the heroic Union soldiers fighting to free the slaves from the "evil" Confederates. While it is true that Lincoln freed the slaves, the war itself was about much more than just the issue of slavery and there were quite a few Southerners who objected to it (including General Robert E. Lee). Also the typical idea of "freeing" slaves was a lot different from the modern one, in that even the most committed of abolitionists often argued that slavery, as bad as it was, did ultimately benefit the blacks. Racism was also still a huge issue on both sides.
| |||