Incest Subtext: Difference between revisions

* The ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' dub creates an interesting [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] with Haruka and Michiru/Amara and Michelle. The romantic subtext is ''meant'' to be there... but they're ''not'' cousins in the original -- they're a lesbian couple. The company that decide to make them cousins did so for the exact reason of preventing there being any openly gay people in the show, without actually changing enough other stuff to even try and hide how they feel for each other, just hoping no one would think it's odd for two cousins to be ''that'' devoted to each other. Cause, you know, having a clear subtext of an incestuous, gay, relationship is so much better then just an open gay one without the incest.

* Many in ''[[Code Geass]]''—of course, everybody already knows about Lelouch and [[Memetic Mutation|memetic]] [[Big Brother Instinct|siscon]], who started a war for his sister Nunnally's sake, but an even better example of this trope would have to be the last episode, where they both tell each other "I love you" using the Japanese terms ''aishiteru'' and ''aishite imasu'', which are generally used for romantic affection. Lelouch has this with his half-sister Euphemia, as well.

* As the title suggests, ''[[Sister Princess]]'' is full of this, particularly with the older sisters to their brother: one actively flirts with him, one gets from him a hairpin that used to be another man's gift to his wife, and one {{spoiler|was his lover in a previous life}}. Oh, and all of them get to have a fake wedding with him. And that's just the start.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', {{spoiler|After he met his mom Kushina in the mindscape, the Naruto/Kushina}} subtext was really blatant, with him calling her a "babe", her blushing multiple times... Of course, this was probably due to {{spoiler|her absence eliminating the possibility of the Westermarck Effect kicking in.}}

** Also, {{spoiler|Naruto only states this ''after'' Kushina told him that she considers herself unattractive.}}

{{quote|Simon: "It's just not something brothers and sisters do. I mean, on some planets... but only pretty bad ones." }}

** Their relationship in general throughout the series is ... greatly textured, mixing sibling, parent, doctor, and lover roles with the necessary abandon. Simon and his mei-mei are all each other have in the world. And when River's upset or sick, it's her brother's bed she curls up in.

** The incest subtext is particularly evident in the scene where Nuada learns of the attraction between Abe and Nuala; Nuada's reaction is more like that of a jealous lover than a brother defending his sister's honor.

* In the French-Canadian movie ''C.R.A.Z.Y.'', the tension between the main character Zac and his older brother Raymond can be interpreted as to being of a sexual nature, at least in part. It's strongly implied that Zac, well, takes pleasure out of seeing his brother having sex with different girls in multiple occasions. It gets even more interesting once it's clear that Zac is, indeed, gay. So who exactly was turning him on?

* [[Two Words: Obvious Trope|Two words...]] [[The Rocky Horror Picture Show|Elbow Sex!!!]]

* The {{spoiler|first}} love interest in Jean-Pierre Meleville's crime thriller ''[[Le Samouraï]]'' was cast because she looked like she could be the sister of Alain Delon, and Melville wanted that sort of awkwardness in their relationship. Made even more bizarre because she was Delon's real-life wife.

*** Well, [[Tangled Family Tree|they are Blacks after all...]]

* Charlie tries this in ''[[Mystery Team]]''. It doesn't work.

* Dee Dee and Dexter from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' invoke this trope once in a while, especially since Dee Dee seems to prefer Dexter over every guy that may be a possible [[Love Interest]], due to the fact that every time guys (particularly Mandark) flirt with her, she sticks to Dexter. One obvious scene is the one in which Dexter and Mandark compete to save Dee Dee and, after she is saved by both, she is disgusted by Mandark, but kisses Dexter on the cheek. In another episode, Dexter becomes an adult to seduce a girl he likes, but guess who ends up attracted to him instead? ''Dee Dee''.

* There is some of this with Sally and Dr. Finklestein in ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' [[Alternative Character Interpretation|possibly]]. In the [[DVD Commentary]], [[Tim Burton]] refers to Sally as a daughter—yet there's lines in-film like "You're mine, you know!" and "You can make ''other'' creations!" that really doesn't sound like a rebellious-daughter/overprotective-dad relationship, but like something else entirely. Consider that the creation Dr. Finklestein makes to replace Sally looks awfully like a wife -- [[Screw Yourself|that looks exactly like him]]—and that an alternate ending had [[Big Bad|Oogie Boogie]] be [[The Man Behind the Curtain|Dr. Finklestein]], jealous that Sally chose Jack over him. In [http://nightmarebeforechristmas.net/nightmare/script/2 an earlier script], the father/daughter relationship was a lot more obvious with lines like "I'm grown up now. I'll have to leave sometime" . . . yet there are bits like ''The scientist smiles, feeling Sally under his sway again'' that sounds [[Parental Incest|rather creepy]].

* This trope creeps into ''[[An American Tail]]'' in an eerily interesting and [[squick]]y way when you consider the song that the two siblings Fievel and Tanya sing to each other, "Somewhere Out There", was turned into a straight love song by Linda Ronstadt in an effort to make it a [[Breakaway Pop Hit]], and not a ''single word'' needed to be changed.

** To add to it, mice have no issue with incest. Speaking as someone who has bred them, they actually seem more inclined to mate with members of their litter than they are with non-relatives.

{{quote|'''Lion-O''': I'm gonna ring that bell.

'''Tygra''': And I'm gonna [[Accidental Innuendo|ring yours]]. ''*wink*'' }}

* Extremely prevalent in ''[[Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure]]''. It stops just short of being text, but the eponymous siblings share a love song ("Candy Hearts And Paper Flowers"), and they have a habit of hugging in ways not commonly seen between siblings (but rather frequently seen in pairs with a rather different relationship, if you get my drift).

* Phil and Lil of the ''[[Rugrats]]'', which is a bit strange since they're only one year old. One episode has the babies put on a [[High School Dance]] in the garden and Phil takes Lil. Another episode has them pretending to be lovers in a soap opera.

* In ''[[Superfriends]]'', the [[Wonder Twins]] had were more [[Like an Old Married Couple]] than any siblings. (Not that real siblings never act in a manner fitting that trope. But these two were ''really'' written like a couple in an old-time sitcom sometimes.)

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Gender and Sexuality Tropes]]