Stepford Suburbia: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''It looks like domestic bliss, but it feels awful.''|stage direction, ''Trouble in Tahiti''}}

Ah, [[Suburbia]]: the sunny lanes, the friendly neighbours, the smiling children, the pastel colour scheme, [[Bread Eggs Milk Squick|the rotting skeletons hiding in everyone's closet]].

Ah, [[Suburbia]]: the sunny lanes, the friendly neighbours, the smiling children, the pastel colour scheme, [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|the rotting skeletons hiding in everyone's closet]].

When they are too perfect to be true, [[Cut and Paste Suburb|the suburbs of The Fifties and the present]] can be downright ''creepy''. Mom baking fresh apple pies every day, the kids getting A's in every subject on their report card, neighbours who [[Slasher Smile|grin like their teeth are wired open]]... there's something [[Uncanny Valley|unsettling]] about it.

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[[Stepford Suburbia]] is the sister-city to the [[Uncanny Village]], and both are located in the [[Crap Saccharine World]]. Its residents include [[Teen Drama|angsty teens]], [[The Beautiful Elite]] and, of course, the [[Stepford Smiler]].

== Anime and Manga ==

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== Literature ==

* [[Jasper Fforde]]'s ''[[Nursery Crime|The Fourth Bear]]'' opens in one of these, where creatures from cautionary tales, such as monsters under the bed, really exist to keep the kids in line.

* Camazotz from ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]'' appears to be an entire planet of [[Stepford Suburbia]]. Controlled by a [[~~Brainina~~ Jar|disembodied brain]].

* Camazotz from ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]'' appears to be an entire planet of [[Stepford Suburbia]]. Controlled by a [[Brain In A Jar|disembodied brain]].

* "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by [[Ursula K Le Guin]] is about a town where everyone's happiness is [[Powered By a Forsaken Child]] - literally.

* Waverton in the story of the same name. In this case, everyone in the neighborhood [[I'm a Humanitarian|is a cannibal.]] But the new couple in town doesn't know that.

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== Theatre ==

* The [[Ur Example]] is [[Leonard Bernstein]]'s 1952 mini-opera ''Trouble In Tahiti'', whose [[Where the Hell Is Springfield|generic American setting]] is even called [[Suburbia]]. It has a vocal trio cheerfully singing about the lovely life of a [[Happily Married]] couple, providing extreme [[Mood Dissonance]] counterpoint to the couple actually featured in the show, who are so "sharing, smiling, confiding, loving" that they struggle to remain on speaking terms with each other.

* The [[Ur Example]] is [[Leonard Bernstein]]'s 1952 mini-opera ''Trouble In Tahiti'', whose [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|generic American setting]] is even called [[Suburbia]]. It has a vocal trio cheerfully singing about the lovely life of a [[Happily Married]] couple, providing extreme [[Mood Dissonance]] counterpoint to the couple actually featured in the show, who are so "sharing, smiling, confiding, loving" that they struggle to remain on speaking terms with each other.

* Flaming Tree Grove, setting for the Australian play [[Ruby Moon (Theatre)|Ruby Moon]]

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== Webcomics ==

* ''[[City of Reality]]'' is both a [[Subversion]] and a [[Double Subversion]] of this trope. While it's very easy to believe that Reality is hiding a deep, dark secret beneath its saccharinely idealistic exterior, it really is exactly what it appears to be: [[Mary Suetopia|a place without negative emotions where everyone looks out for everyone else]]. However, some of its inhabitants are [[Well Intentioned Extremist|willing to go a bit too far]] to protect Reality from outsiders.

* ''[[City of Reality]]'' is both a [[Subversion]] and a [[Double Subversion]] of this trope. While it's very easy to believe that Reality is hiding a deep, dark secret beneath its saccharinely idealistic exterior, it really is exactly what it appears to be: [[Mary Suetopia|a place without negative emotions where everyone looks out for everyone else]]. However, some of its inhabitants are [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|willing to go a bit too far]] to protect Reality from outsiders.

* ''[[Fabuland Housewives]]'' - a [[Funny Animal]] [[Photo Comic]] parody of ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' using LEGO Fabuland characters.