Silly Reason for War: Difference between revisions

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'''Lister:''' You're not kidding. They were supposed to be [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog|green]].|''[[Red Dwarf]]''}}
'''Lister:''' You're not kidding. They were supposed to be [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog|green]].|''[[Red Dwarf]]''}}


The protagonists encounter two (or more) groups who are in a [[Serious Business|deadly serious]] conflict over what the protagonists (and likely the audience) perceive to be a trivial and petty difference or issue. Like what color scarf they wear, [[Dr. Seuss|or whether toast should be eaten butter side up or down]], or even body features such as which [[Star Trek|half of their face is black and which is white]].
The protagonists encounter two (or more) groups who are in a [[Serious Business|deadly serious]] conflict over what the protagonists (and likely the audience) perceive to be a trivial and petty difference or issue. Like what color scarf they wear, [[Dr. Seuss|or whether toast should be eaten butter side up or down]], or even body features such as which [[Star Trek|half of their face is black and which is white]].


This trope is often paired with [[An Aesop]] about how what we consider life-and-death, irreconcilable differences may be based on cultural norms and would seem just as petty from an outsider's perspective, and maybe we should reconsider our intolerance. If the writer wants to be extra [[Anvilicious]] about the message, expect the alien group to counter any perplexed queries about why they're willing to segregate, oppress, ostracise, or even kill each other over something so asinine with a retort like ''"humans kill each other over less"''. Like what pigment their skin has, which phrases they pray with, politics, and gender. And the aliens killing each other over what color hat they wear are ''far'' above that kind of petty bickering. The fact that they're comparing what select groups of humans do (or [[Values Dissonance|did waaay back in human history]]) to [[Planet of Hats|their entire species]] being willing to kill each other over this stuff won't really be addressed.
This trope is often paired with [[An Aesop]] about how what we consider life-and-death, irreconcilable differences may be based on cultural norms and would seem just as petty from an outsider's perspective, and maybe we should reconsider our intolerance. If the writer wants to be extra [[Anvilicious]] about the message, expect the alien group to counter any perplexed queries about why they're willing to segregate, oppress, ostracise, or even kill each other over something so asinine with a retort like ''"humans kill each other over less"''. Like what pigment their skin has, which phrases they pray with, politics, and gender. And the aliens killing each other over what color hat they wear are ''far'' above that kind of petty bickering. The fact that they're comparing what select groups of humans do (or [[Values Dissonance|did waaay back in human history]]) to [[Planet of Hats|their entire species]] being willing to kill each other over this stuff won't really be addressed.


Depending on how [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|idealistic]] the story is, the protagonists may persuade the aliens/elves/mutants/pastry chefs to reconcile their differences or accept their differences and finally give living peacefully a shot. However, if it's going for the [[Downer Ending]], then expect the hero's efforts to be for naught as the conflict escalates and they wipe each other out.
Depending on how [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|idealistic]] the story is, the protagonists may persuade the aliens/elves/mutants/pastry chefs to reconcile their differences or accept their differences and finally give living peacefully a shot. However, if it's going for the [[Downer Ending]], then expect the hero's efforts to be for naught as the conflict escalates and they wipe each other out.
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This is a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Serious Business]]. Related to [[Fantastic Racism]]. See [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?]] for when it's humans acting like this, and it doesn't (usually) end in war. Compare [[Pretext for War]], where two sides seize upon any reason they can to go to war, without actually caring about the reason itself. When it's a mere domestic squable, it might be a [[Toilet Seat Divorce]].
This is a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Serious Business]]. Related to [[Fantastic Racism]]. See [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?]] for when it's humans acting like this, and it doesn't (usually) end in war. Compare [[Pretext for War]], where two sides seize upon any reason they can to go to war, without actually caring about the reason itself. When it's a mere domestic squable, it might be a [[Toilet Seat Divorce]].


When adding examples, please keep in mind that a silly ''[[Deceptively Silly Title|name]]'' for a war [[I Thought It Meant|is not the same]] as a silly ''reason'' for a war.
When adding examples, please keep in mind that a silly ''[[Deceptively Silly Title|name]]'' for a war [[I Thought It Meant|is not the same]] as a silly ''reason'' for a war.
{{examples}}
{{examples}}


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== Films -- Animation ==
== Films -- Animation ==
* The [[The Golden Age of Animation|1939]] [[Fleischer Studios]] animated adaptation of ''[[Max Fleischers Gullivers Travels|Gulliver's Travels]]'', the holy war over egg ends was changed to a fight over which sappy love song should be played at the wedding of the Prince of Blefescu and Princess of Lilliput: "Faithful" or "Forever". In theory, this is supposed to have been a nod to the satirical tone of the source material, but the film plays it ''completely serious''. {{spoiler|Gulliver suggests that the couple [[Take a Third Option|combine both songs]] to settle the matter, and it works.}}
* The [[The Golden Age of Animation|1939]] [[Fleischer Studios]] animated adaptation of ''[[Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels|Gulliver's Travels]]'', the holy war over egg ends was changed to a fight over which sappy love song should be played at the wedding of the Prince of Blefescu and Princess of Lilliput: "Faithful" or "Forever". In theory, this is supposed to have been a nod to the satirical tone of the source material, but the film plays it ''completely serious''. {{spoiler|Gulliver suggests that the couple [[Take a Third Option|combine both songs]] to settle the matter, and it works.}}
* [[South Park]] [[The Movie]] has them go to war with Canada because they didn't want to take responsibility for letting their kids see a movie.
* [[South Park]] [[The Movie]] has them go to war with Canada because they didn't want to take responsibility for letting their kids see a movie.


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** The way Miles tells it in-story, it was the sort of war that underemployed minor aristocrats start whenever they have a cashflow problem or feel like expanding their territory and think they can get away with it, but it seems to have ground to a halt quite quickly when the [[Honour Before Reason|Barrayaran]] [[Proud Warrior Race|Vor ruling class]] became dimly aware it was a silly [[Pretext for War]] even by their standards.
** The way Miles tells it in-story, it was the sort of war that underemployed minor aristocrats start whenever they have a cashflow problem or feel like expanding their territory and think they can get away with it, but it seems to have ground to a halt quite quickly when the [[Honour Before Reason|Barrayaran]] [[Proud Warrior Race|Vor ruling class]] became dimly aware it was a silly [[Pretext for War]] even by their standards.
* In [[Use of Weapons]], part of the [[Culture Series]] of sci-fi novels, one of the many, many, many military conflicts the protoganist took part in was an unending and brutal war on an ice planet. Ostensibly, the war was for control of the constantly shifting iceberg masses that made up the only land surface on the planet. But since these icebergs are inevitably destroyed/melt as they move towards the equator, no victory ever means anything for more than a few months, but the war continues on and on, as both sides had grown to hate the other too much to admit the whole thing was pointless...
* In [[Use of Weapons]], part of the [[Culture Series]] of sci-fi novels, one of the many, many, many military conflicts the protoganist took part in was an unending and brutal war on an ice planet. Ostensibly, the war was for control of the constantly shifting iceberg masses that made up the only land surface on the planet. But since these icebergs are inevitably destroyed/melt as they move towards the equator, no victory ever means anything for more than a few months, but the war continues on and on, as both sides had grown to hate the other too much to admit the whole thing was pointless...
* In ''[[Discworld/Jingo|Jingo]]'', two smaller nations nominally claimed by the Klatchian empire had only recently eased off on a centuries-old war, having run out of rocks to throw. The reason for the conflict is a one-word difference in their holy book, which one country translates as "man" and the other translates as "god". This trope is applicable because the difference between the two words, in Klatchian script, comes down to how a single dot is positioned over one letter ... and it ''especially'' applies if, as heretical theologians suggest, the dot is actually a bit of fly poo. Apparently if the dot was moved slightly more it would mean "licorice".
* In ''[[Discworld/Jingo|Jingo]]'', two smaller nations nominally claimed by the Klatchian empire had only recently eased off on a centuries-old war, having run out of rocks to throw. The reason for the conflict is a one-word difference in their holy book, which one country translates as "man" and the other translates as "god". This trope is applicable because the difference between the two words, in Klatchian script, comes down to how a single dot is positioned over one letter ... and it ''especially'' applies if, as heretical theologians suggest, the dot is actually a bit of fly poo. Apparently if the dot was moved slightly more it would mean "licorice".
** This (well, the first part, not the licorice) is a reference to the split between the Eastern and Western Churches over a Greek word that could mean either 'of God' or 'of man' in the Nicaean Creed depending on if it differed by an iota (the smallest Greek letter). Hence the phrase 'not one iota of difference'.
** This (well, the first part, not the licorice) is a reference to the split between the Eastern and Western Churches over a Greek word that could mean either 'of God' or 'of man' in the Nicaean Creed depending on if it differed by an iota (the smallest Greek letter). Hence the phrase 'not one iota of difference'.
** The war that nearly takes place in the book itself is over something equally silly: a small island that has no usable resources, and no potential for any use economically or industrially and with very slight strategic value (which is only relevant because there is a war being fought over it in the first place), pops up in between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch. What it basically comes down to is that while neither side actually wants the island, they don't want the other side to have it either, since both sides believe it belongs to them. Humorously, {{spoiler|the war is ultimately prevented when [[Magnificent Bastard|Vetinari]], after visiting the island, surrenders it to Klatch because he had determined that the island will inevitably sink again, making it even more worthless than it already is.}}
** The war that nearly takes place in the book itself is over something equally silly: a small island that has no usable resources, and no potential for any use economically or industrially and with very slight strategic value (which is only relevant because there is a war being fought over it in the first place), pops up in between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch. What it basically comes down to is that while neither side actually wants the island, they don't want the other side to have it either, since both sides believe it belongs to them. Humorously, {{spoiler|the war is ultimately prevented when [[Magnificent Bastard|Vetinari]], after visiting the island, surrenders it to Klatch because he had determined that the island will inevitably sink again, making it even more worthless than it already is.}}
** Which is itself a reference to an actual island between Sicily and Malta, called Ferdinandea by Italy, Julia Island by France, and Graham Island by the British. In mid-1831, the volcanic island emerged after an eruption, sparking a brief diplomatic row by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, France, Britain, and Spain over who would claim the new island, {{spoiler|until the "island," actually made of weak [[wikipedia:Tephra|tephra]], washed away over the course of the next six months}}. The Italians (or to be specific, the Sicilians) recently renewed their claims in 2000 by inviting the heir to the defunct Bourbon throne out for a ceremony to plant both a flag and a plaque on the summit, {{spoiler|by sending a diving team down}}.
** Which is itself a reference to an actual island between Sicily and Malta, called Ferdinandea by Italy, Julia Island by France, and Graham Island by the British. In mid-1831, the volcanic island emerged after an eruption, sparking a brief diplomatic row by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, France, Britain, and Spain over who would claim the new island, {{spoiler|until the "island," actually made of weak [[wikipedia:Tephra|tephra]], washed away over the course of the next six months}}. The Italians (or to be specific, the Sicilians) recently renewed their claims in 2000 by inviting the heir to the defunct Bourbon throne out for a ceremony to plant both a flag and a plaque on the summit, {{spoiler|by sending a diving team down}}.
* In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', higher-dimensional beings like playing Brockian Ultra-Cricket, a game so complicated that a complete compilation of its rules became a ''black hole''. The more popular it gets, the less it is being played beacuse almost all the teams (and substantial parts of the population) are now in a state of permanent warfare with each other over the interpretation of these rules. This is, however, all for the best, because in the long run a good solid war is less psychologically damaging than a protracted game of Brockian Ultra-Cricket.
* In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', higher-dimensional beings like playing Brockian Ultra-Cricket, a game so complicated that a complete compilation of its rules became a ''black hole''. The more popular it gets, the less it is being played beacuse almost all the teams (and substantial parts of the population) are now in a state of permanent warfare with each other over the interpretation of these rules. This is, however, all for the best, because in the long run a good solid war is less psychologically damaging than a protracted game of Brockian Ultra-Cricket.
** Also, the Vl'hurgs and the G'Gugvuntt fought a long war because the Vl'hurg leader was supposedly insulted by the G'Gugvuntt leader. After noticing that it was actually Arthur Dent (and a hole in the space-time continuum), they teamed up and flew '''thousands of years''' towards the Milky Way, only to be swallowed by a little dog.
** Also, the Vl'hurgs and the G'Gugvuntt fought a long war because the Vl'hurg leader was supposedly insulted by the G'Gugvuntt leader. After noticing that it was actually Arthur Dent (and a hole in the space-time continuum), they teamed up and flew '''thousands of years''' towards the Milky Way, only to be swallowed by a little dog.
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** In the novelization, it again conjures the dispute over the Nicaean Creed, as the dispute is over Lister's name -- the difference between the two guesses is one letter, and yet again, ''both'' sides were wrong, as both added an extraneous "c" to the beginning of the name; although, admittedly, the ones who thought he was Clister were at least ''slightly'' closer than the ones who thought he was Cloister.
** In the novelization, it again conjures the dispute over the Nicaean Creed, as the dispute is over Lister's name -- the difference between the two guesses is one letter, and yet again, ''both'' sides were wrong, as both added an extraneous "c" to the beginning of the name; although, admittedly, the ones who thought he was Clister were at least ''slightly'' closer than the ones who thought he was Cloister.
* The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" featured two aliens with their face divided in two halves by black and white, one with the right side white and left side black and the other with the colors reversed. One is a lawman out to capture the other for [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|inciting "race riots"]], and after he hijacks the Enterprise to help him return the fugitive to their planet, they discover it had long since destroyed itself in a race war. Despite this, they just keep fighting and descend to their ruined world, after which a dejected Kirk orders the Enterprise home.
* The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" featured two aliens with their face divided in two halves by black and white, one with the right side white and left side black and the other with the colors reversed. One is a lawman out to capture the other for [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|inciting "race riots"]], and after he hijacks the Enterprise to help him return the fugitive to their planet, they discover it had long since destroyed itself in a race war. Despite this, they just keep fighting and descend to their ruined world, after which a dejected Kirk orders the Enterprise home.
** An episode of ''Enterprise'' featured a slightly updated version of the same basic plot -a War on Terror allegory instead of a Civil Rights one, and not ''quite'' as [[Anvilicious]]- with the titular ship getting caught in the middle of a war started by religious schism over whether creation took nine days or ten. At the end of the episode, it turns out their civilisation had destroyed itself, just like the previous incident.
** An episode of ''Enterprise'' featured a slightly updated version of the same basic plot -a War on Terror allegory instead of a Civil Rights one, and not ''quite'' as [[Anvilicious]]- with the titular ship getting caught in the middle of a war started by religious schism over whether creation took nine days or ten. At the end of the episode, it turns out their civilisation had destroyed itself, just like the previous incident.
* ''[[The Tomorrow People]]'': "The Blue and the Green" has ''most of the world's population'' on the verge of mass violence and riots between those who preferred the color blue to those who preferred the color green. It eventually turned out that this was being psychically induced by the onset of the pupal stage in a brood of aliens left as eggs on Earth during the fall of Rome. The Tomorrow People save both the aliens and the Earth by ''knocking everyone on the planet unconscious and giving them violent dreams'' to provide the necessary psychic energy to the aliens in a comparatively harmless way.
* ''[[The Tomorrow People]]'': "The Blue and the Green" has ''most of the world's population'' on the verge of mass violence and riots between those who preferred the color blue to those who preferred the color green. It eventually turned out that this was being psychically induced by the onset of the pupal stage in a brood of aliens left as eggs on Earth during the fall of Rome. The Tomorrow People save both the aliens and the Earth by ''knocking everyone on the planet unconscious and giving them violent dreams'' to provide the necessary psychic energy to the aliens in a comparatively harmless way.
* In one episode of ''[[Cold Case]]'' the team comes across a family that has lost 4 sons successively in a years-long feud with a drug dealer. What started the whole thing? The smallest son ran into a dealer with his kick scooter and the dealer stole it. The eldest son went to ask the dealer for it back, tried to grab it by force and was killed. Then the second son tried to avenge the elder's death and everything went downhill from there. The scooter in question was actually {{spoiler|a prize the youngest son won at a contest and a symbol that the impoverished family, or at least the youngest son, could have a future. Which only makes it worse.}}
* In one episode of ''[[Cold Case]]'' the team comes across a family that has lost 4 sons successively in a years-long feud with a drug dealer. What started the whole thing? The smallest son ran into a dealer with his kick scooter and the dealer stole it. The eldest son went to ask the dealer for it back, tried to grab it by force and was killed. Then the second son tried to avenge the elder's death and everything went downhill from there. The scooter in question was actually {{spoiler|a prize the youngest son won at a contest and a symbol that the impoverished family, or at least the youngest son, could have a future. Which only makes it worse.}}
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* One of the many incidents over Chaco in South America was inflamed by a postage stamp showing it as part of Paraguay.
* One of the many incidents over Chaco in South America was inflamed by a postage stamp showing it as part of Paraguay.
* Subverted and Lampshaded by one King of Prussia who was angry with the King of England. He wanted to issue a challenge to a [[Duel to the Death]] on the grounds that their respective kingdoms had no interest in it, so they shouldn't be dragged in. The [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|Obstructive Bureaucrats]] were of course appalled by this display of comparative [[Common Sense]]. The King of Prussia was still angry but unwilling to start a war over it. So he comforted himself by exchanging insults with the King of England.
* Subverted and Lampshaded by one King of Prussia who was angry with the King of England. He wanted to issue a challenge to a [[Duel to the Death]] on the grounds that their respective kingdoms had no interest in it, so they shouldn't be dragged in. The [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|Obstructive Bureaucrats]] were of course appalled by this display of comparative [[Common Sense]]. The King of Prussia was still angry but unwilling to start a war over it. So he comforted himself by exchanging insults with the King of England.
* Once upon a time, relations between Greece and Bulgaria were rather strained. One day, a dog ran away from his owner in Greece over the boarder into Bulgaria, and his owner, a soldier, ran after him. The solider was shot dead by Bulgarian sentries. The resulting war was called "The War of the Stray Dog."
* Once upon a time, relations between Greece and Bulgaria were rather strained. One day, a dog ran away from his owner in Greece over the boarder into Bulgaria, and his owner, a soldier, ran after him. The solider was shot dead by Bulgarian sentries. The resulting war was called "The War of the Stray Dog."
* In 1976, Operation [[Meaningful Name|Paul Bunyan]] was started because two US Army officers were killed. The reason? They were chopping down a tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Granted, South Korea and North Korea had quite a lot of tension between them, this was supposedly a scheduled trimming.
* In 1976, Operation [[Meaningful Name|Paul Bunyan]] was started because two US Army officers were killed. The reason? They were chopping down a tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Granted, South Korea and North Korea had quite a lot of tension between them, this was supposedly a scheduled trimming.
* The war of Jenkins ear: Britain was looking for a reason to go to war with Spain, and someone pointed out the ''eight years earlier'' Spanish coast guards had boarded a English ship, captained by the aforementioned Jenkins, and cut off his ear. Parliament was outraged, war begun, and it destabilised the Hapsburgs to the point that it was the major cause of the far bloody war of the Austrian succession, with in turn kicked of the Seven years’ war: Three wars and two million dead over an ear.
* The war of Jenkins ear: Britain was looking for a reason to go to war with Spain, and someone pointed out the ''eight years earlier'' Spanish coast guards had boarded a English ship, captained by the aforementioned Jenkins, and cut off his ear. Parliament was outraged, war begun, and it destabilised the Hapsburgs to the point that it was the major cause of the far bloody war of the Austrian succession, with in turn kicked of the Seven years’ war: Three wars and two million dead over an ear.
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