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Martyrdom Culture (view source)

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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Bushido is realised in the presence of death. In the case of having to choose between life and death you should choose death. There is no other reasoning. Move on with determination."''|'''Tsunetomo Yamamoto''', ''[[The Hagakure (Literature)|The Hagakure]]''}}
 
At least according to [[Agent Scully]] of ''[[The X -Files]]'', [[Immortality Seeker|most people want to live forever]]. Of course, [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|that is not the case in reality]]. For some the [[You Can't Fight Fate|inevitability]] of death is just [[Crapsack World|the way things are]]. For the [[Death Seeker]], on the other hand, death can't come soon enough. In many modern societies, [[Death Seeker|Death Seekers]] are very rare, and in many they are regarded as mentally unstable, but sometimes, the [[Death Seeker]] can become a role model.
 
For this society, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V30tyaXv6EI what is best in life] is to die knowing that one has done so for the right cause. In extreme cases, to die for one's beliefs is seen as the only truly worthwhile thing one ''can'' do with one's life, and living a long, happy, and healthy life to a ripe old age and [[Obi-Wan Moment|dying peacefully]] is seen as undesirable, dishonorable, or a burden. Children are encouraged to grow up to be a [[Death Seeker]]. Soldiers who died in suicidal attacks, victims of cannibalism or [[Human Sacrifice]] practices, women who suffered [[Death Byby Childbirth]], and sometimes even executed prisoners, are remembered as heroes.
 
In some cases, the optimum death is an [[Obi-Wan Moment]] on a battlefield, for others it is a long and painful death, so one can not merely die, but ''suffer'' for one's beliefs. This can sometimes lead to a culture of [[Nightmare Fetishist|Nightmare Fetishists]] which may appear to be [[Always Chaotic Evil]] to outsiders [[Squick|squicked]] by their rituals; See [[Blue and Orange Morality]].
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== [[Film]] ==
* [[Lampshaded]] in ''[[300 (Film)|Three Hundred]]'': "...Taught that death on the battlefield is the greatest honor he could achieve..."
* In ''[[Conan the Barbarian (Film)|Conan the Barbarian]]'', Thulsa Doom demonstrates his power by calmly ordering one of his worshippers to leap to her death. "Come to me, my child."
* An old martial arts movie where a student at a martial arts school bows before the masters and a visiting champion. The champion proceeds to kill the student, and two younger students silently remove the body. It is explained that to die in the process of creating such a great master is an honor that students would compete to obtain.
* In the [[Monty Python]] film ''[[Life of Brian]]'': the Judean People's Front "crack suicide squad." They attack by killing themselves.
{{quote| '''Otto''': That showed them, huh?<br />
'''Brian''': You silly sods! }}
* Indirectly inverted in the famous opening (and entirely fictitious) speech of ''[[Patton (Film)|Patton]]'':
{{quote| "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country."}}
 
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* In ''[[The Lost Fleet]]'' series, after spending a century locked in a [[Forever War]], both sides are churning through troops so fast that they actively promote [[Honor Before Reason]] mindsets, lacking the time and will for any proper military training.
* The Kandilkari in ''[[Star Trek Stargazer]]'' are an extreme example. Picard is rather disconcerted by the one under his command, and his desperation to sacrifice himself for the good of the ship, even if such a sacrifice is not remotely warranted.
* To a lesser extent, the [[Lizard Folk|Race]] in [[Harry Turtledove]]'s ''[[Worldwar (Literature)]]'' series. While they don't actively seek to die, they will gladly do so, as they believe that, after death, they will eternally serve the spirits of the past emperors. That's the only thing they find in common with the Japanese (or Nipponese, as they call them). However, they have no problem surrendering to the enemy in battle if surrounded, as dying needlessly serves no purpose. Not only do they ''not'' go the name-rank-serial-number route, they will often actively assist the captors to the detriment of the Race. This is because anyone who has captured them is automatically their "Superior Sir" and thus must be obeyed.
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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