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Cargo Cult: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Calvin-worship-TV_3852.jpg|link=Calvin and Hobbes|right]]
Cargo Cult is the trope when a group of people worship an object as Gods or deities. This usually happens either because of its [[Clarke's Third Law|advanced technology]], or a coincidental resemblance to figures in the local religion.
The trope name comes from the documented effect that [[World War II]] military forces had upon natives of various South Pacific islands. Sixty years after the war, some tribes in Vanuatu are still building elaborate fake airfields and praying to idols shaped like DC-3 cargo planes.
There is a mythical character they call "John Frum", who they believe to be the source or harbinger of their prosperity (some anthropologists think this may have been the result of American soldiers introducing themselves as "John, from [America]"). Interestingly, it has helped prevent many older traditions of the islanders being wiped out by conversion to Christianity.
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Captain America (comics)]] was worshiped by a tribe of Eskimos after WWII while he was still frozen in a block of Arctic ice. Part of why he eventually thawed was because Namor, furious at what he perceived to be the Eskimo's idiocy in their choice of religion, hurled Cap's ice block into the ocean, and the currents pulled it into warmer climes.
* ''The Tower King'', a strip that ran in the British comic book ''Eagle'', was set on an Earth that had collapsed into anarchy when a malfunctioning solar-powered satellite somehow bathed the Earth in radiation that made the production of electricity in any form impossible. A cult worshiping electricity set itself inside a power station, carefully maintaining the generators and pretending that electricity still existed.
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** Compare ''Gods Must Be Crazy'' to ''[[Lord of the Rings]]''. [[Nigh Invulnerable|Indestructible]] [[Artifact of Doom|evil bottle]]. Recalls the [[Death of the Author|revisionist interpretation]] that the whole notion of the One Ring was a primitive misunderstanding, or a [[Xanatos Gambit|Big Lie]] designed to mask an economic fight over resources.
* In ''[[Rango]]'', the animals treat human artifacts like pipes this way for their 'divine' ability to provide water in a desert. Verges on [[Humans Are Cthulhu]] at points.
* In the sequel to ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'', Taylor uncovers a group of humans survived the apocalypse but had been turned into disfigured mutants. They worship an intact, unexploded bomb which they keep enshrined in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
* Depending on your interpretation of "object," the Ewoks bowing down to worship C-3PO in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' counts as this.
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* The 1984 book ''[[Interstellar Pig]]'' by [[William Sleator]] featured a small spherical object with a face -- referred to as the "Pig" -- which was highly sought-after by several species. At least one, an all-consuming [[Hive Mind]] ooze called the "lichen", believed it was a god of some sort that would bestow upon them eternal wisdom. Of course it turns out that it's more like [[MacGuffin|the Winslow]] than anything else -- an incredibly annoying embodiment of ADHD that uses its reputation as an object of great power (religious or otherwise) to planet-hop like some kind of obnoxious freeloading tourist.
* [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]' [[John Carter of Mars]] novel ''The Master Mind of Mars''. In the Martian city of Phundahl, the idol of the god Tur has a system of controls that allow the operator inside to control the idol's eyes and speak through its mouth. The protagonists use this to their advantage by pretending to be Tur and giving the Phundahlians instructions.
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: The infamous Golden Calf in ''[[The Bible]]''. The Israelites wanted a tangible god, so they melted down some gold and sculpted a calf and worshiped the statue ... and were severely punished.
* [[Harry Harrison]] has a story where a man is sent to repair an ancient, [[Ragnarok Proofing|RagnarokProof]] hyperspace beacon on a distant planet. It turns out the builders failed to notice a few stone age reptiles. Since then, the natives found the beacon (a huge tower), and made it a holy shrine (it produced an endless spring of water as part of its coolant system). One of the priests, while cleaning inside, hit the emergency shutdown switch. The protagonist pretends to be a sentry of heaven, sent to restore the spring. After he finishes the repairs, the reptiles attempt to keep him in as a permanent caretaker -- in response, he claims the heaven is angry enough to forbid entry into the tower altogether (reinforced by him welding the door shut).
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novel ''Night of the Humans'', the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond find themselves on a giant space junkyard in the year 250,339. One of the first pieces found by the doctor is the ''Pioneer 10'' probe launched back in 1972 with the plaque showing naked humans still intact. And no, despite the potential, the plaque is not the object of worship (in fact, the probe is run over by a vehicle in the first chapter). They find a primitive group of humans living in the shadow of the Tower of Gobo, the hulk of a spaceship of the Gobo Corporation (or [[We Will Use Wiki Words in the Future|Gobocorp]]) that crashed there thousands of years ago. The humans are the descendants of the surviving crewmembers, having regressed into savagery. They worship Gobo, the clown mascot of Gobocorp proudly painted on the side of the ship, as their deity, believing him to have created them on Earth (yes, they believe they're on Earth) and who will eventually take them away to the mythical land of El Paso. The latter they got from a broken projector showing westerns with no sound, or as they call them "Stories". It helps that Westerns usually have clearly-defined good guys and bad guys, allowing the humans to interpret the good guys as Gobo's children/apostles and the bad guys as the Bad, the enemy of Gobo. Anyone who disagrees with the teachings or claiming that the junkyard is not Earth is considered a heretic and put to death, as they must be the servants of the Bad.
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'''Vyolet:''' Yeah, but nobody's that observant. It's mainly a Christmas and Easter thing. }}
* In ''[[Thundercats 2011]]'' the Book of Omens is a [[Ancient Artifact]], the singular source of history, mythology and theology for the [[Catfolk|Cats]] of the kingdom of Thundera. Lost for generations, [[Shrouded in Myth]], [[Famed in Story]] and dogged by [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions|skepticism]], its reputed as a [[Great Big Book of Everything]], the source by which its kings orate their history, a [[Tome of Fate]] to the [[The Order|order]] of [[Church Militant|Clerics]] who maintain its [[Ancient Tradition|Ancient Traditions]], and a source of fascination to those who believe its tales of [[Lost Technology]]. Two of Thundera's best generals were sent questing for it for years, but when Thundera is invaded by ancient [[Outside Context Villain]] Mumm-Ra, head Cleric Jaga reveals that its definitely real, and sends young Prince Lion-O racing to find it before Mumm-Ra can. Once discovered it {{spoiler|appears to be a [[Blank Book]], but is actually a [[Magitek]] computer that}} will reveal the key to defeating Mumm-Ra.
* In ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' Heffer joins a cult that worships sausage.
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