Good Hurts Evil: Difference between revisions

Line 15:

Note that [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|differences of belief]] weren't ever an issue because it was taken for granted that the good thing or person really was good, and not just belonging to the majority faith, sometimes resulting in a [[Anvilicious|rather heavy handed]] [[An Aesop|Aesop]] for characters who ''were'' from the dominant church or [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|local equivalent]].

Now the only reason it's probably discredited is that it's largely been absorbed by the [[Holy Hand Grenade]] and [[Smite Evil]] ~~tropes -- which~~ could be an interesting cultural study, in that now apparently people no longer think that Good, itself, is invincible, but used correctly it can really kick ass! If it is used in modern works, it's usually in works centered squarely on the Idealistic side of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], or at the very least in a work where the baddies ARE shadows/darkness and thus are [[Weakened by the Light]]. It's often utilized alongside [[Only the Pure of Heart]]. [[Holy Burns Evil]] is a subtrope,. The inverse of this trope is [[Allergic to Evil]] (for people) and [[Cross-Melting Aura]] (for [[Protective Charm|holy artifacts]]). Might be a reason for [[Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth]]. See also [[Revive Kills Zombie]].

Now the only reason it's probably discredited is that it's largely been absorbed by the [[Holy Hand Grenade]] and [[Smite Evil]] tropes—which could be an interesting cultural study, in that now apparently people no longer think that Good, itself, is invincible, but used correctly it can really kick ass! If it is used in modern works, it's usually in works centered squarely on the Idealistic side of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], or at the very least in a work where the baddies ARE shadows/darkness and thus are [[Weakened by the Light]]. It's often utilized alongside [[Only the Pure of Heart]]. [[Holy Burns Evil]] is a subtrope,. The inverse of this trope is [[Allergic to Evil]] (for people) and [[Cross-Melting Aura]] (for [[Protective Charm|holy artifacts]]). Might be a reason for [[Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth]]. See also [[Revive Kills Zombie]].

Line 31:

** Gollum feels pain when he comes into physical contact with the enchanted rope the Elves gave to Sam. Also his aversion to the sun might qualify.

** So does the Nazgûls' fear of running water; the power of Vala Ulmo still runs strong in the Middle-Earth's waters.

** The Silmarils of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' burn anyone of evil heart who comes into contact with them, as they contain the trapped holy light of the lost Two Trees. This is a plot point several ~~times -- Morgoth~~ burns his hands when he originally steals them and is forever in pain afterwards (but still covets them and wears them in his iron crown), the great wolf Carcharoth goes on a panicked rampage being burned from the inside out after [[Too Dumb to Live|swallowing one]], and when the Silmarils' creator Feanor's sons Maedhros and Maglor find that stolen Silmarils burn them, they realise that their evil deeds mean they have lost all right to them.

** The Silmarils of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' burn anyone of evil heart who comes into contact with them, as they contain the trapped holy light of the lost Two Trees. This is a plot point several times—Morgoth burns his hands when he originally steals them and is forever in pain afterwards (but still covets them and wears them in his iron crown), the great wolf Carcharoth goes on a panicked rampage being burned from the inside out after [[Too Dumb to Live|swallowing one]], and when the Silmarils' creator Feanor's sons Maedhros and Maglor find that stolen Silmarils burn them, they realise that their evil deeds mean they have lost all right to them.

** The light in the vial that Galadriel gives to Frodo, which Sam uses against Shelob? That light is the concentrated essence of one star - but that's not really a star at all, it's a Silmaril in the sky. And the Silmarils are made from the light of the Two Trees, and therefore the light of Iluvatar itself. By the Transitive Property of Holiness, ''Sam fights Shelob with the light of God.''

** Then, it's brutally subverted at Mount Doom, where Sam pulls out the vial for some kind of help... only to watch in terror as it grows dim. Mount Doom, apparently, is an evil so absolute, even the (reflected) glory of God gives way.

Line 40:

** Something of a subversion in that it wasn't sprinkled at him with a chant by a robed holy man; it was weaponized into booby traps and squirt guns by another demon who premeditated his defense.

** The good/evil lines on ''[[Good Omens]]'' are all blurred, which is sort of the point; Crowley isn't very evil, but he is still a demon and he still treats holy water with the caution a chemist gives to concentrated acid.

* All over the place in ''[[Left Behind]]'', of course, but most [[~~Squick|squickily~~]] in ''Glorious Appearing'', where a would-be rapist of a returned immortal Christian bursts into ~~flames--but~~ only after being allowed to begin the attack, and even though traditional narratives allow for less violent methods of defense, such as intangibility.

* All over the place in ''[[Left Behind]]'', of course, but most [[squick]]ily in ''Glorious Appearing'', where a would-be rapist of a returned immortal Christian bursts into flames—but only after being allowed to begin the attack, and even though traditional narratives allow for less violent methods of defense, such as intangibility.

* The protagonist in ''[[Sorcerer On the Rocks]]'', Shibas Scotch, is such a bad person that being in a nice place like a clear meadow on a sunny day makes him ill.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', the [[Emotion Eater|White Court]] of vampires is harmed if their victims express the positive emotion that is anathema to what they feed on: The lust-eating Raiths are harmed by true love, the despair-eating Skavis by true hope/optimism, and the fear-eating Malvola by true courage and bravery. Things get complicated when [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampires|Thomas]] falls in love with his favorite 'food'. Also, in a twist, if the offspring of a White Court vampire experiences their opposite emotion before they start learning how to truly 'feed', they never develop into vampires and turn human instead.

Line 47:

* In [[Lord Dunsany]]'s ''[[The Charwomans Shadow]]'', the false shadow is driven off by the [[Good Shepherd|priest]] and his bell.

* {{spoiler|Rand al'Thor}} from ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' seems to have gained this ability as of book 13. {{spoiler|Though it can't be perceived by the eyes of someone who is good, he apparently has a radiant aura that blinds Darkfriends.}} We have yet to see what this will do to more evil creatures.

* John Galt from [[Atlas Shrugged]] is supposed to be so awesome that merely talking with him and beholding his face makes any evil character very uncomfortable with all the self-deceptions that they live with. This effect is worst for the most self-deceived characters like Eugene Lawson and Jim ~~Taggart--the~~ latter of whom [[Villainous BSOD|actually loses his mind when he is interrogating Galt]].

* John Galt from [[Atlas Shrugged]] is supposed to be so awesome that merely talking with him and beholding his face makes any evil character very uncomfortable with all the self-deceptions that they live with. This effect is worst for the most self-deceived characters like Eugene Lawson and Jim Taggart—the latter of whom [[Villainous BSOD|actually loses his mind when he is interrogating Galt]].

== Film ==

* Played with in ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'', when Benny holds up a series of holy symbols hanging around his ~~neck -- accompanied~~ by appropriate ~~incantations -- to~~ try to find one that will fend off the titular monster. (Turns out Imphotep doesn't fear crosses or stars of David ... just cats.)

* Played with in ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'', when Benny holds up a series of holy symbols hanging around his neck—accompanied by appropriate incantations—to try to find one that will fend off the titular monster. (Turns out Imphotep doesn't fear crosses or stars of David ... just cats.)

* Chernobog in ''[[Fantasia]]'' is driven away by the forces of "the sacred".