Fantastic Aesop: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|'''Calvin''': Well, Hobbes, I guess there's a moral to all this.

'''Hobbes''': What's that?

 

One of the greatest strengths of [[Speculative Fiction|Sci-Fi and Fantasy]] is that they can convey real-life situations in a new context by showing everyday problems, humanity's greatest challenges, and even social commentary that's ostensibly free of the prejudices and preconceptions that weigh them down in [[Real Life]], giving us a more detached view of a given problem...as if we were aliens [[Humans Through Alien Eyes|visiting Earth]], or rather Earthlings visiting [[Planet Eris]].

However, the [[An Aesop|Aesops]] delivered via unicorn or rocket ship sometimes get [[Lost Aesop]] or [[Broken Aesop|break]]. In the course of presenting the story the Aesop either gets shoehorned to fit into [[The Verse|that world]] or is arbitrarily discarded. The problem isn't that we can't relate to it. [[Rule of Empathy|We usually can]], because the metaphor is [[Anvilicious|so obvious]]. The problem is that the deck is stacked, causing one of two problems:

# The writer tries to use the story as a metaphor for a [[Real Life|real-life]] issue without properly considering the differences between the settings that [[Metaphorgotten|cause the metaphor to break down]]. Often falls into [[Misapplied Phlebotinum]] territory.

# The writer, in order to prevent [[Misapplied Phlebotinum]], provides [[Holding Back the Phlebotinum|arbitrary rules and restrictions on the phlebotinum]]. Now the Aesop makes sense within the fictional universe, but makes no sense as a metaphor. A variety of [[Aesoptinum]], and often a [[Space Whale Aesop]].

 

''{{color|000000|Vampire Blood}} vs. {{color|000000|Holy Water}} Swirl''.

 

** '''Type I:''' A resurrection spell would bring the loved one back [[Death Is Cheap|without trouble]], but the characters act as if it wouldn't, often for no reason other than "[[Humans Are Flawed|death is a part of life]] and [[Failure Is the Only Option|must be accepted]]" when they use magic to solve problems every day.

** '''Type II:''' A resurrection spell has [[Be Careful What You Wish For|horrible side effects]] that makes those resurrected [[Came Back Wrong|come back wrong]], so it's better to accept what cannot be changed. But in the real world, it can't be changed because it can't, while in the fictional world, it can't be changed because of some [[Fake Difficulty|arbitrary problem]] the writer made up to ensure it can't be changed. Alternatively, resurrecting a person may [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|require harming or killing someone else]].

** '''Type I:''' Time travel exists, but the characters think they shouldn't use it to benefit either themselves, loved ones, or [[Reed Richards Is Useless|humanity in general]] because, like Resurrection: "It [[Science Is Bad|isn't natural]], you should [[Apathetic Citizens|accept the past for how it is]]."

** '''Type II:''' ''<small>ahem:</small>'' [[Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act]], [[Clock Roaches]], [[Butterfly of Doom]], and [[Rubber Band History]].

** '''Type II:''' The authors have arbitrarily given the robots [[Do Androids Dream?|so many human qualities]] that anti-robot sentiment and discrimination is [[Anvilicious|obviously]] like doing the same thing to human beings... making them not very much like robots. It's not like every robot needs to have [[Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence|the same level of intelligence,]] or even be capable of genuine thought like, well, none are at present.

** '''Type II:''' Same as above, using powers for self gain is bad, except this time it's not because of any corrupting influence... but because it never works. [[Useless Superpowers]] are the order of the day, [[Reed Richards Is Useless]] and the poor witch is really [[Blessed with Suck]]. Chores done with magic are sloppy, things made with super powers lack heart, and in general "laziness" begets problems. Particularly common for Teenage Witches and pre-teen Super Heroes. Perhaps this [[broken Aesop]] can be repaired, if this trope variant were ever to be subverted with the message that "Just because magic is no substitute for good hard work doesn't excuse you from putting in some good hard work practicing your magic!" With sufficiently refined skill and subtlety, even super powers that were once [[Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality|only good for beating stuff up]] could realistically find broader application with an artisan's approach to spellcraft.

** '''Type I:''' Immortality works as advertised, but characters should not seek it because, well, [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|you wouldn't really want it anyway, trust me]] (even though the author has no actual experience with immortality, somehow they [[Sour Grapes Tropes|just]] ''[[Sour Grapes Tropes|know]]'' [[Sour Grapes Tropes|it would suck]]). Oddly, even in worlds where immortals aren't indestructible, they [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|never choose to simply kill themselves]] if they ''really'' decide that 1000 years is enough.

** '''Type II:''' Immortality exists, but you can only get it by [[Liquid Assets|draining life]] from other people, or [[Deal with the Devil|selling your soul]], or some other [[Bad Powers, Bad People|obviously bad method]]. See [[Immortality Immorality]].

** '''Type I:''' [[Muggles|Normal people]] can be and are [[The Real Heroes|heroes without having powers]], which are superfluous to true heroism. ''However'', ordinary civilians should act like [[Innocent Bystanders]] and let the <s>real</s> [[Superhero|Super Heroes]] [[Holding Out for a Hero|do all the work.]] Anyone trying to get powers, keep those they get, or otherwise "encroach" on the hero's work is thus being a [[Hero for a Day|dangerously irresponsible]] [[Jerkass]] (even if a hero started out this exact same way, there's only ''one'' [[Designated Hero]] after all). Falls flat because people don't spontaneously become [[Badass Normal|paramedics and firemen]] in [[Real Life]]. "Emergency room training, ACTIVATE!"

** '''Type II:''' Getting and then using superpowers to emulate a superhero is never advisable for the former [[Muggles]]. The [[Phlebotinum]] may be [[Psycho Serum|dangerous]] or [[The Dark Side|addictive]], only the hero can wield the [[Empathic Weapon]], or there will be [[How Do I Shot Web?|accidents while learning to control their powers]]. Essentially, only the hero can be [[The Hero]] because he's a [[Born Winner]], no one else can even try.

** '''Type I:''' The differences between two groups are not trivial, and in fact a case can be made for treating those involved differently. Like a vampire needing human blood to "live", or an alien [[Emotion Eater|feeding detrimentally on another's emotions.]] While the author would like us to consider this as a clear metaphor for racism, sexism, or other forms of segregation, the situation shown is less about trivial surface differences and more substantial.

** '''Type II:''' The author provides a means for both sides to live together easily and/or render the core of the dispute moot (artificial blood for vampires, for example). This breaks the Aesop of not fighting others for trivial differences because now the differences that they were fighting over ''are effectively gone.''

 

 

 

Contrast [[Space Whale Aesop]], which is when realistic actions ''cause'' fantastic consequences.

 

* At the end of ''[[Gurren Lagann]]'' {{spoiler|it's not really clear whether Spiral Energy ''can'' resurrect the dead, or if the characters are speculating if it could. Regardless though, the characters conclude they shouldn't bring back the dead.}} ''Gurren Lagann'' has the major theme of accepting and moving on after death. While a good value in real life, this might not be as good in a world where resurrection is possible.

** Except the villains of the stories very firmly establish real consequences for such an ability; in fact, all of the "Spiral Power" the heroes use {{spoiler|violates the conservation of matter and energy and speeds up the collapse of the universe into a supermassive black hole.}}. Making this more of a [[Comes Great Responsibility|"Don't abuse your power"]] aesop.

 

 

** The issue is spoofed in [http://failatlife.blogspot.com/2010/08/dc-quick-fixes.html this comic] by Erica Henderson.

** With the relaunch of all of DC's titles, she's no longer in a wheelchair.

 

 

* ''[[Legend (film)|Legend]]'': NEVER, EVER, TOUCH A UNICORN, as you'll unleash Armageddon and the devil will try to seduce and marry you.

** To be fair, he might have also been bullshitting in an attempt to manipulate Anakin. This is upheld by the novelization, where {{spoiler|the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn tells Yoda how to reach immortality as a Jedi, through a Force Ghost.}}

* ''[[Film/Harmless|Harmless]]'' is about a sentient [[Porn Stash]] that harms its owner's family. Say what you will about the moral itself ([[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|elsewhere, please]]), but it breaks down somewhat since real porn stashes, um, aren't sentient.

 

 

* In [[Latawnya the Naughty Horse Learns to Say No to Drugs]], the author tries to present a [[Drugs Are Bad]] message. One scene in this book features a horse die from a marijuana overdose, to warn kids that this could happen to them. But while marijuana is toxic to ''horses'', it cannot kill a ''human''.

* In ''[[Star Shards Chronicles|Shattered Sky]]'', the protagonists struggle with the moral implications of their ability to combine their powers to raise the dead. When [[Eccentric Millionaire]] Elon Tessic suggests they use this power to bring back the six million victims of the holocaust, they run into a variation of [[Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act]], deciding that undoing historical atrocities is wrong because people need to remember them to keep history from repeating itself. So, don't use your magical powers to bring back the dead.

** Prejudice against centaurs might also be well justified. In the fifth book, the Centaurs are about ready to kill Harry and Hermoine for trespassing. They protest that they were in trouble, and that they were seeking their help. The centaurs then get even more angry that the humans wanted them to do their dirty work. It's probably an old feud where the centaurs are just responding to the prejudice from wizards, but their indiscriminate paranoia, and willingness to murder children who have shown no signs of hostility make them just as bad, if not worse, than wizards.

** Potentially averted with House Elves. Keeping slaves is bad. But if the slaves WANT to do your dishes, and actively refuse pay, wouldn't it be immoral to treat them differently than how they want to be treated? The books seem to settle that there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping house elf 'servants' as long as you are kind and treat them well. And, [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|if they are really weird]], remember to pay them if they ask, but never more than they ask, because they might find that insulting.

* The ''[[Literature/Sword Of Truth|Sword Of Truth]]'' books have a lot of Objectivist Aesops, including on how religion is denounced by the protagonist because there is no evidence of the afterlife. That argument might sound reasonable in this world, but in this story [[Flat Earth Atheist|said protagonist has encountered ghosts and spirits, and even summoned some himself from the afterlife.]]

 

 

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' has drug issues.

** The magic-as-drug plotline, where "overuse" of magic was suddenly revealed to cause addictive behavior, came complete with a "magic pusher" and after-school special-esque behavior by Willow. This was rather jolting to many fans, as during the prior two seasons, Wicca/magic was used as a metaphor for Willow and Tara's love and their sexual relationship. In fact, it continued to be used to refer to their relationship with Tara's song, ''I'm Under Your Spell'' when Willow was already showing signs of magical "dependance." The reprise of the song later in the episode is probably the moment it flips, when Tara realises just how under Willow's spell she actually is.

* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' plays this for laughs: "Oh, now this is where Mr. Podgorny could have saved his wife's life. If he'd gone to the police and told them that he'd been approached by unearthly beings, from the galaxy of Andromeda, we'd have sent a man round to investigate. As it was, he did a deal with a blancmange and the blancmange ate his wife. So if you're going out or anything strange happens involving other galaxies, just nip round to your local police station and tell the sergeant on duty, or his wife, of your suspicions. And the same goes for dogs."

* One episode of ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' has Zelda and Hilda deciding to hire someone to clean the house. Zelda rationalises that they can't use their magic to clean in case they just get lazy.

 

* Much of the criticism of ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' stems from the attempt to use an idealized fantasy world as a metaphor for escapism, with critics arguing that Alterna-Ivalice is just as "real" as Earth in any practical sense.

** Related but not strictly falling into any of the prescribed types, the game uses Valkyria powers as a metaphor for nuclear weapons/WMD's, which is part of why they're portrayed as being as negative as possible, and {{spoiler|Alicia}} stops using her powers because she's afraid of the one-instance dehumanizing effect they have on her, which basically renders that aspect of the Aesop down to ''Won't somebody please think of the hydrogen bombs?!''. Because the game's presentation of the Valkyria as a race [[Broken Aesop|tries to satisfy the needs of two conflicting moral lessons]], the Valkyria are said to be mindless, soulless monsters that can do nothing but bring ruin, but the two we actually see in the game are good people with human emotions and free will; it's just that one of them is slavishly devoted to the villain and the other [[Internalized Categorism|just doesn't think for herself]]. This is exemplified in the ending, {{spoiler|where Alicia abandons her powers, essentially because she couldn't remain a Valkyria and still live a normal life.}}

 

 

* ''[[Tales of MU]]''. While prejudices exist against most non-human species in a manner clearly resembling real racism, a few of those discriminated against are [[I'm a Humanitarian|literal man-eaters]] by dietary preference or culture. (Though nobody dares to discriminate against dragons on this basis.)

 

 

* ''[[Captain Planet]]''

** Many or most of the ecological problems depicted are caused by supervillains doing things like making monsters that eat rainforests or building factories to build air conditioners which are then torn open to release CFCs. The only solutions to the problems are the ring-wielding kids or Captain Planet fixing things. The series is supposed to teach about protecting the environment, but the overarching morals seem to be"Don't be a supervillain. Let people with magic rings do all the work." The only attempt to counteract this message is in the [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle]] segments at the end of each episode that usually show something an actual viewer can do.

 

 

* In the universe of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', raising the dead will [[Incredibly Lame Pun|cost you an arm and a leg]]. Results may vary. (Or you could sell your organs on the ''black'' market, but look where that got Izumi.)

** Oh, and dabbling in magic is '''trading in souls!!!!!'''

*** Only if you live in Amestris.

** Well, the issue is dealt to some degree in all the incarnations of the story. For example, the Tachikomas are initially decommissioned after their sentience is found out, because a weapon that may decide on its own that [[I Am Not a Gun|all life is precious]] is a major liability. Later they circle around the issue by treating them more like teammates than tools.

 

 

* The replicants in ''[[Blade Runner]]'' are treated as slaves because they aren't quite up there in terms of human emotional capability. However; they are more akin to clones than robots, so there is never a question of "if" they are sentient so much as "when". They are designed with an incredibly short lifespan to prevent them from becoming too human through observation. Essentially, they are made to die young to avoid them becoming smart or organized enough to stage a new rebellion to gain equal rights to humans. The Fantastic Aesop comes in because they are, for all practical purposes ''human'', or at least human enough to fool others ''and'' fall victim to a [[Tomato in the Mirror]]. "More human than human", as the Tyrell Corporation put it. It crosses into Type I as well, since Replicants have enhanced strength, speed and toughness.

 

 

* At the end of ''[[His Dark Materials]],'' {{spoiler|Will and Lyra go their separate ways and never see each other again}}; the Aesop is that learning how to make sacrifices is part of growing up. But the mechanism {{spoiler|forcing them to separate}} is [[Diabolus Ex Machina|complicated and comes out of nowhere]]: at the end of the story, someone tells them that {{spoiler|living in someone else's world}} makes you sicken and die, opening windows between words creates evil Spectres, and {{spoiler|leaving existing windows open allows Dust to escape}}?so, even though the plot has dictated that they {{spoiler|leave one window open in one spot}} until the end of time, {{spoiler|leaving one more between their worlds for less than 100 years}} would be excessively dangerous.

** And it still manages to enter into Type I territory because, although naturally occurring portals exist without any of these problems, {{spoiler|the angels will close those as well because otherwise Will and Lyra will waste their lives searching for one}}. Because, you know, it's impossible to just tell them where it is.

 

 

** Apparently decades ago (in the current series timeline) a brilliant billionaire industrialist/scientist designed a robot drone with perfectly emulated [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|Human movement, thought process, and emotions]] yet still be expected to act and behave like mindless drones (makes sense....[[Flat What|RIGHT?]]).

** As a final point according to both [[Wild Mass Guessing|fan theory]] and some actual [[Word of God|Canon Explanation]] the entire events of the show were orchestrated by a unseen "god" which may or may not be evil and created the conflict between Humans and Cylons him/itself numerous other times previous, basically meaning even if both Humanity and Cylons learned truly learned their lessons and got along this God could kick start the [[Crapsack World|whole thing all over again]] just [[For the Evulz]] it renders all the previous Fantastic Aesops pointless and moot.

* Both ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' and ''[[Out of This World]]'' relied on "Don't use your special powers to do X" aesops for the majority of their episodes. Thanks to these shows, we have learned that should we ever gain the ability to stop time, we should resist the urge to use it to get out of doing laborious and trivial tasks, for personal gain, or directly to make other people happy. (Using them to triage a friend's problem is sometimes okay, but just magicking your best friend a cute date is right out). It hasn't come up yet (that anyone's admitted), but if it does, we're ready.

** Interestingly subverted in one episode of ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'', where she decides to use magic to interfere with other people's lives (usually Aesops in the show are about her using magic for herself) and does 3 different things to do so. Not sure what the first two were, but the 3rd was to implant knowledge of how to perform "Lead to Gold" Alchemy to her science teacher, making him fabulously rich, and a much better teacher (teaching because he wants to, rather than for the money). When the magical authorities find out, they don't really care that she has messed with her classmates lives, they only care that she ''changed the nature of the universe'' by rewriting atomic law (allowing gold to be created at will by the science teacher who knows how to do it). She ends up getting off scott-free for the other two stunts she pulled (which is probably why they aren't coming to mind). The other two stunts were injuring a first-string football player so Harvey would be called up to the main team to play for one game but he got immediately injured due to his inexperience with football. The second was rigging a class president election with Jenny winning instead of Libby; she immediately discovered she had no real power as class president apart from the lunch menu and school dances. Both Harvey and Jenny got [[Be Careful What You Wish For]] Aesops with Harvey enjoying not having to play football and Jenny offering Libby to take her place.

** {{spoiler|Being fair, they eventually reveal that there really is such a thing as a soul, and other non-material aspects to reality. It wouldn't shock if said cure for death isn't just a chemical, but has a non-material component.}}

* One particular episode of the nineties ''[[Outer Limits]]'' dealt with the problems [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]] could cause a society, as [[Designer Babies|"fitter" babies]] grew into supermen and outpaced "normal" people. However, while this made for great drama in ''[[Gattaca]]'' it was not nearly [[Science Is Bad|bad and horrifying enough]] for the show. So to spice things up, around 5% of all genetically modified children turn into the crazed descendants of [[The Igor|Igor]], and are [[Kill It with Fire|killed when found.]] Naturally, the couple who originally wanted this for their child have changed their minds, ''but'' the deformed child of the neighbors kills the back alley scientist before he can undo the changes, so the [[Cruel Twist Ending|episode's sad ending]] is that they'll never fully trust or love their genetically enhanced son.

 

 

 

 

* Stage example: ''The Gingerbread House''. From the New York Times review:

{{quote|The moral of "The Gingerbread House" would appear to be that retailing your children to strangers will not bring satisfaction. [[And That's Terrible|Glad that's been cleared up]].}}

 

 

* ''[[The Dig]]'' adventure game contains crystals that can bring the dead back to life, as long as they have a more or less complete skeleton. However, the crystals eventually [[Came Back Wrong|corrupt the person]]. One part of the game involves a character begging you not to revive her if she dies, and when she does, you can decide to do it anyway or accept [[Humans Are Flawed|death is final]] and not. If you do bring her back, she immediately throws herself off a cliff in horror. [[Broken Aesop|The "death is a part of life," moral is completely lost when everyone who died is revived in the ending, corruption free]].

* Every game in the ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' series features someone trying to bring a loved one back from the dead. In the first game, it's a simple case of creating an [[Eldritch Abomination]] instead of the loved one. In the second game, the protagonist can't get over the death of his love, so he tries - carefully - to bring her back from the dead. Seeing that it's failing, he aborts it before she can become a monster. In the third game, there's actually a successful resurrection, but {{spoiler|only because the resurrection process also resulted in a monster that was an order of magnitude worse than the monster in the first game}}. The lesson the games teach: Accept death, because trying to undo it will create monsters.

 

 

* Most robots in ''[[Freefall]]'' are sentient [[A Is]] to the point of being indistinguishable, Turing-wise, from actual people, but governments (or at least, the only high-ranking government officials the strip has thus far shown) treat them as property, since the law still considers [[A Is]] property. This is troublesome since all AI brains (cybernetic or biological) are based on a neural design pattern devised by [[The Ghost|Dr. Bowman]] which is meant to evolve and become more complex over time; rather than give [[A Is]] proper civil rights, the government opts to have the main robot supply company create an "update patch" that's actually a program to regress the complexity of AI brains to a point where it wasn't an issue. Mostly this works just fine as an anti-oppression Aesop but it gets a little out there when you notice that the robots achieved this sentience within their (relatively short) planned obsolescence timers, so the cackling villainy of the president seems a little harsh when it could just as easily be that robot civil rights are mired in government bureaucracy.

** That's ''government,'' singular: It's only the local (robotic, at least) [[A Is]] that use the neural design, because their terriforming equipment (which included a robot factory) got damaged in transit. Presumably robots on other planets are non-sentient. Also, if you are in power and treat the [[A Is]] as property, they are obliged to respond as if they are. Really, the long-term plot of the series looks to be [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|examining the emergency of true sentient AI.]]

 

 

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' learns through the hard way that if she overuses the [[Super Speed]] for taking care of far too many trivial tasks she doesn't even need to be doing, she gets stuck in hyper speed. Lesson learned: Get regular maintenance for your [[Super Speed]] shoes.

** And again, the wheelchair guy that natural-athlete never-been-sick-a-day-in-her-life Kim felt uncomfortable around, turned out to have a [[Super Wheelchair|flying jet chair]].

* ''[[Futurama]]'''s [[Digital Piracy Is Evil]] episode "I dated a Robot" is about not dating robot copies of people because it destroys your social life and the originals are kidnapped to be copied.

** In "The Prisoner of Benda" all of the regular characters are swapping minds with each other, and swapping back directly is impossible. The Globetrotters reason that with {{spoiler|two}} extra people, it's always possible to get everyone back to normal using the right combination of swaps. The professor remarks "and they say pure math has no real world applications". The writers actually [[Shown Their Work|mathematically proved]] [http://theinfosphere.org/Futurama_theorem that this was so].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:An Aesop]]