Rite of Passage: Difference between revisions

Lots of cultures have a special ceremony that marks the transition from teen to adult. It's both a celebration of a major life landmark and an acknowledgment that the celebrant is a part of the mystical society of grownups. In cultures without such a ceremony, other major life landmarks are celebrated instead. May include a [[Meaningful Rename]].

 

 

 

* ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'' (1980). A young Arborean man is initiated into adulthood through the "test of manhood", which involves [[Hand in the Hole|sticking your arm into a stump]] and hoping you don't get stung by the monster inside.

* ''[[The Warriors (film)|The Warriors]]'' has a gang whose members must first get punched out without flinching or screaming.

* The Na'vi of ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'' climb to the top of the floating mountains where the banshees live, and [[Bond Creatures|subdue and bond one of them]], to become hunters and adults.

* ''[[Star Trek Generations]]'' features a ritual where the Enterprise-D crew impersonate 19th century British Naval officers aboard a holodeck simulation of a wooden ship, charging Worf in a staged court martial with "performing above and beyond the call of duty on countless occasions," and "having earned the admiration and respect of the entire crew," before Picard "sentences" him with promotion to Lieutenant-Commander. Worf then had to jump from a plank to grab an officer's hat on a rope above his head. Riker comments to Picard that no one else had succeeded in doing so before. When Worf succeeds, Picard answers, "If there's one thing I've learned, Number One, is never underestimate a Klingon."

{{quote|"Computer, [[Exact Words|remove plank]]!"}}

 

* Alexei Panshin's SF novel ''[[wikipedia:Rite of Passage|Rite of Passage]]''. 14-year-old children on a starship must go through a Trial before being considered adults: surviving on a hostile colony planet for 30 days with minimal equipment.

* In ''[[The Giver]]'', getting assigned a job is an important rite that determines the rest of a person's life; being assigned the unusual job of Receiver is what marks Jonas as special in the community.

* In ''[[Dune]]'', Fremen must be able to steer a sandworm before they are considered adults.

* In the ''Liveship Traders'' books, girls aged thirteen or fourteen "come out" (no, still not like that) at the summer ball, which is pretty much a debutante ball. After this, they are expected to act (and allowed to dress) like adult women.

* In the ''[[Women of the Otherworld]]'' series, witches much undergo a special ceremony after their first period, but before their second to unlock their full power. Failure to do so leaves the witch with the same power levels she had as a child. Unfortunately for Paige, in ''Dime Store Magic'', she learns that the rites she was taught was actually a [[Nerf|nerfed]] version of the real thing. The clear implication was that, somewhere along the way, the witch elders intentionally altered the ceremony to ensure none of their number could grow too powerful, hence bringing unwanted attention on the rest. She uses the real thing on her ward, Savannah.

* In the novel ''[[Nation]]'' by [[Terry Pratchett]] when a boy comes of age he is left on an island and must construct a canoe and get back to his village as a rite of passage, to receive his adult soul so the tribe believes. Mau is on his way home when the tsunami hits, which is why he's [[Last of His Kind|the only survivor]].

** ''Nation'' has a notable twist to this trope; while many similar 'rites of manhood' stress self-reliance, Mau's rite stresses community; when he is left alone on the island, he discovers that the tribe left behind tools to complete his task, along with a large stone bearing the inscription, "Men help other men."

 

* Example from ''[[Community]]'', according to Pierce, being punched in the face is one for men.

 

* ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' as a highly developed setting have such cultural details:

 

* The Vortixx race in ''[[Bionicle]]'' must climb "The Mountain", one pair at a time. Said large rock is actually a sentient but immobile animal who eats one of the climbers, allowing the other to finish. Roodaka even went through the passage twice, just to prove how much of a [[Badass]] she is (not that she really needed to).

 

* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has two: the turians undergo a period of compulsory military service to earn citizenship, while any quarian you meet outside the Flotilla is likely undergoing their [[Going to See the Elephant|Pilgrimage]] to earn a place on a ship's crew and a [[Meaningful Rename]].

** And the sequel introduces the Krogan rite to establish themselves as a true warrior. It's tradition, and you get to go through the process with Grunt if you choose to take on the side-mission.

* In ''[[Dragon Quest VI]]'', the heroes must help [[Royal Brat|Prince Holse]] complete his [[Rite of Passage]] by acting as his bodyguards. While he starts out a [[Dirty Coward]], the heroes' courage [[Character Development|really effects and inspires him]], enabling the rite to bring out the best in him and prove his ability to succeed his father as future ruler.

* ''[[Dragon Quest VIII]]'', on the other hand, has [[Prince Charmless|Prince Charmles]], who ''also'' needs help to complete his rite: obtaining the heart of an Argon Lizard. Unlike Holse, Charmles quickly proves himself to be a complete and utter [[Jerkass]], as well as an [[Entitled Bastard]] who learns ''[[Completely Missing the Point|nothing]]'' from the rite. Although he appears to [[Karma Houdini|get away with this]] at first, his disrespect for the ritual comes back to haunt him in the long run, as it eventually costs him {{spoiler|his right to the throne ''and'' to marry Princess Medea}}.

* In ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', the Great Khans are required to take a beating from the other members of the tribe before becoming a full fledged raider, and the New Canaanites (What Mormons became in the [[Fallout]] 'verse) learn how to shoot with a .45 Auto Pistol.

 

* In ''[[Drowtales]]'', the Sarghress clan has a ''Blood Rite'' which is probably based on ''The Blooding''.

 

* The ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' episode "Yesteryear" introduced the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Kahs-wan kahs-wan], an ordeal in which Vulcan children must survive in the desert for 10 days by themselves with no supplies to prove their courage and strength. For young Spock, it becomes even more when his companion selhat, I-Chaya, who had followed him against his wishes, was mortally wounded and the attending vet could only give Spock two choices, an extended life in agony or putting him out of his misery; Spock made the mature and logical choice to put him down.

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' has "ice-dodging," where young Water Tribe members have to navigate a boat through a field of icebergs. Sokka, Katara, and Aang perform the task through a field of rocks, being too far north for icebergs.

* Every Lord of the [[Thundercats]] has to endure a series of trials before they can be crowned. For Lion-O this meant five different trials spread over five episodes.

 

 

* During Dan Slott's brief run on ''[[Fantastic Four|The Thing]]'', Ben Grimm chose to re-affirm his Jewish heritage. His rabbi allowed him to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah on the thirteenth anniversary of the rocket flight that first turned him into the Thing. No word on whether or not this involved a circumcision.

 

 

* ''[[Sixteen Candles]]''.

* In ''[[Gone with the Wind]]'', Scarlett scandalizes everyone at the debutante ball by showing up in a red dress instead of virginal white.

* In ''[[Keeping the Faith]]'', the preparation leading up to a Bar Mitzvah is shown as well as the Mitvah itself.

 

* In [[Memoirs of a Geisha]], a young apprentice would have to sell her '[[wikipedia:Mizuage|Mizuage]]' as a rite of passage.

 

* A debutante ball happened on ''[[Gilmore Girls]]''.

* Spike TV's ''[[Manswers]]'' once did a "what rite of adulthood is most likely to kill you?" segment focusing on these kinds of ceremonies. (Answer: strapping a bamboo tube filled with fireworks to your crotch and hoping you don't lose a limb or worse.)

* For Kunta Kinte's tribe in ''Roots'', there is a series of rituals that include wrestling, hunting, and at the end, genital mutilation.

 

* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'', Ron was upset when he discovered that his rabbi forgot to sign off on his Bar Mitzvah certificate, fearing that it meant he wasn't really a man. [[Hilarity Ensues|Hilarity]] ([[An Aesop|along with an Aesop]]) [[Hilarity Ensues|ensues]].

* An episode of ''[[King of the Hill]]'' had one of Hank's co-workers planning a Quinceañera for his daughter. Bobby complained that he doesn't get a rite of passage like that, so he comes up with the idea of a "Sweet Fourteeno".

 

* Japan has the [[wikipedia:Seijin shiki|Coming of Age Day]] for reaching twenty and the eating of Red Beans And Rice for a girl's first menarche.

* Women of high society mark their first formal debut in high society with debutante balls. The [[Pimped-Out Dress]] is an important part of this. Also called a [[Have a Gay Old Time|coming-out party]].

* Latin American girls get the Fifteen Years ("Quinceañera" in the USA, "XV Años" elsewhere) and the Catholic rituals (see below).

* An almost universal rite is when you get your first own set of keys, showing that your parents trust you both to be home alone, and to assume partial responsibility for the safety of your home.

* Some people consider being bullied at school as something you have to deal with and learn how to defend themselves instead of always running to an adult for help and by standing up for yourself, you grow up and learn to be independent when being threatened. This may have been fine decades ago, but with the rise of social networking and the aggression in children and teenagers rising, adults can't brush off bullying as a rite of passage anymore.

 

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