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Reactionary Fantasy: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
An attempt to profit from any new (particularly socially radical) trend or subculture while at the same time [[Rule
This was common in [[The Sixties]]. For instance, as feminism was breaking out all over, television produced shows that featured [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|powerful women]] cheerfully suppressing their true natures in order to be a loving, compliant, submissive helpmeet to an average guy. For instance, Jeannie of ''[[I Dreamof Jeannie]]'' must hide that she was a genie, and Samantha of ''[[Bewitched (TV)|Bewitched]]'' must deny her supernatural heritage to be a "good wife" to Darrin. The message was clear: even women with superpowers should be content to [[Stay in The Kitchen]].
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[[Detournement]] is not only inevitable, but is counted on. A [[Reactionary Fantasy]], done properly, is very like a [[Kansas City Shuffle]]: the writers get fans of the social movement when they're actually skewering it.
If it's just for an episode, rather than a series concept, see [[Freaks of the Week]]. If the creators play their cards right (or if no one reads too closely), they may even come to be considered a [[Rule
Contrast [[Feminist Fantasy]]. Only tangentially related to [[Michael Moorcock]]'s famous essay [http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh], which deals with much more overt reactionary attitudes in the fantasy genre.
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* It's not hard to see many [[Slasher Film|Slasher Films]] of the '80s this way either. The victims of the killer are nearly always teenagers who rebelled against society through drinking, doing drugs, having sex, partying, listening to rock, and other things. The [[Final Girl]] of nearly all of these movies was invariably a [[Token Wholesome]] virgin. Starting in the late '90s, however, slasher films tended more towards subverting, parodying and/or [[Genre Deconstruction|deconstructing]] these aspects more than they played them straight.
** Of course, since most 1980s film studio executives were old enough to remember when the [[Hays Code]] was at the height of its power, [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|simply]] ''[[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|showing]]'' [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|some kind of subversive behavior might have seemed shocking to them, irrespective of whether or not it was depicted sympathetically]].
* During the reign of the [[Hays Code]] (which coincided with the height of [[The Mafia]]'s power), there were rules that essentially prevented [[Villain Protagonist|villain protagonists]] from winning in the end. So there's a plethora of Gangster movies from the era which are 95% [[Damn, It Feels Good to Be A Gangster!]] followed by the Feds kicking in the door at the end and killing or arresting everyone just to satisfy the censors.
** Much like many Biblical epics of the same era implied a lot of fornication and orgies, but in the end the sinners would be punished and God's prophet and his followers would be triumphant.
** Hong Kong [[Heroic Bloodshed]] films also operate like this; the [[Villain Protagonist]] can kill every damn officer on the island, just as long as ''someone'' from ''somewhere'' comes to arrest or kill him at the literal last minute of the film.
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* And Dr. [[House (TV)|House]]. If sex doesn't kill you, you'll survive to have death-sentenced children. Gregory House is somehow needed to keep a decent reproductive rate on Earth.
** ''[[House (TV)|House]]'' has gone both ways (though not, [[Ho Yay|regrettably]], [[Incredibly Lame Pun|with Wilson]]). Cameron gets high on crystal meth taken from a patient and jumps Chase, leading to a relationship which escalates to a wedding in the Season 5 finale. House and Stacy {{spoiler|have adulterous sex}} before House decides that restarting their relationship would be a bad idea. Thirteen's various escapades are a consequence of her discovery that she has Huntington's chorea, but she doesn't catch anything from them. Well, nothing worse than {{spoiler|an incidental fungal infection which gives her cracked lips and}} helps House [[Eureka Moment|solve a case]]. "Another life saved by girl-on-girl action!"
** [[Hey, It's That Guy!|Hey]], [[Star Trek (Film)|Ensign Sulu]]/[[Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle|Kumar's friend Harold]] is a submissive with a choking fetish ("Love Hurts", 1.20)! While it turns out his preferred form of play has dangerous health consequences, the parents who disowned him for being kinky aren't portrayed sympathetically, and the episode ends with ''House suggesting to the patient's dominatrix a healthier way of humiliating him.''
* Even ''[[Bones]]'' couldn't resist some [[Acceptable Lifestyle Targets]] with the episode ''Death in the Saddle'' where a man is killed by his depraved sexual partner after he told her that he was not going to see her any more. (They were into pony play.) There is even an [[Anvilicious]] speech at the end by Booth stating that [[Good People Have Good Sex]].
* The subversion/reversal to end all subversions: ''[[The Addams Family (TV)|The Addams Family]].'' Not only were they eccentric (read: crazy), but Gomez and Morticia kissed ''all the time''. And all the "[[Muggles|normal people]]" on the show were shocked -- but the audience wasn't, and wasn't supposed to be, despite [[No Hugging, No Kissing|the usual behavior of married couples on early 1960s TV]].
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[[Category:Plots]]
[[Category:Reactionary Fantasy]]
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