Reactionary Fantasy: Difference between revisions

Contrast [[Feminist Fantasy]]. Only tangentially related to [[Michael Moorcock]]'s famous essay "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080324100956/http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]", which deals with much more overt reactionary attitudes in the fantasy genre.

* The popularity of [[Dating Sim]]s, [[Magical Girlfriend]] anime, and cute submissive [[Moe]] girls among male [[Otaku]] couldis seen by some to be connected to the rise of feminism and female independence in Japan. There'sThis beentends to be attributed to a rising trend of young Japanese men being unable to deal with the prospect of dating real women and instead turning to fictional [[Yamato Nadeshiko|idealized]] 2D women like those found in [[Moe]] shows and dating games.

* A common feminist criticism of the ''[[Twilight]]'' series is that it's one of these. [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|Let's leave it]] [[Please No Natter|at that]].

* The Reactionary Fantasy can also be a [[Very Special Episode]]. For example, the ''[[Quincy]]'' episode "Next Stop Nowhere", which teaches us that [[Punk Rock]] kills, hence the [[Trope Namer|trope name]] [[The Quincy Punk]].

* Similarly, the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episode "The Way to Eden", which teaches that idealistic dreams of a perfectly enlightened and peaceful Elysian society are deadly self-delusion unless framed within socially acceptable norms.

*** The novelization of ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek the Motion Picture]]'' (credited to Gene Roddenberry but ghostwritten by [[Allan Dean Foster]]) takes time in the preface to state that Kirk and the rest of Starfleet are "Old Humans" as compared to the "New Humans" who are a significant part of Earth's population and are more peaceful and enlightened. This preface inverts the impression of the episode. It is not that those people are "weirdo hippies," it is that Kirk and company are "weirdo throwbacks". "Old humans" make better space explorers. The "weirdo hippies" need the "weirdo throwbacks" to be the "rough men prepared to do violence" on their behalf.

* This is also an aspect of ''[[CSI]],'' which, as [https://web.archive.org/web/20070520093718/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/category_1233.html Television Without Pity] shows us, proves that any unwed man or woman who consents to and enjoys having sex (especially if the sex is in any way [[Good People Have Good Sex|not "normal"]]: obese people, furries, swingers, etc.) will [[Death by Sex|almost certainly die]], while rapists and rape victims often live to tell the tale.

* Women's wrestling in general, particularly in [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]]. Even though all the WWE Divas of at least the past decade have been rigorously trained, and at roughly the same level as the male wrestlers (heck, their coach for many years, Dave Finlay, was male!), after all is said and done they still are viewed - at least by the audience if not necessarily by the bookers - as mere sexual objects, with [[Excuse Plot|lazy storylines]] and often inconsistent characterization. Male wrestlers may be sexually objectified, too, but this has happened much less frequently (Lex Luger and early [[Shawn Michaels]] come to mind, as does [[Cody Rhodes]] in our own era) - and it's not at all uncommon for a [[Hollywood Homely]] male wrestler like [[Chris Benoit]] to be portrayed as a straight-up [[All-American Face]], whereas an equally plain Diva will have to contend with an "ugly" gimmick. The "Knockouts" of [[TNA]] fare a little better, but there are still instances when a match will end with them [[Spank the Cutie|being soundly spanked]].