Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:Illuminicey 6904.jpg|link=Sinfest|rightframe]]
 
{{quote|''The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at all. Winston had never been inside the Ministry of Love, nor within half a kilometer of it. It was a place impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests. Even the streets leading up to its outer barriers were roamed by gorilla-faced guards in black uniforms, armed with jointed truncheons.''|''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]''}}
|''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]''}}
 
Something, often a company, that is described with an adjective in the title that is entirely at odds with what it actually does. Commonly, something evil will be paired with a nice-sounding adjective. This also applies when the title's implications are opposed to what the company/organization/EvilOverlord does. Basically, when you apply a completely inappropriate adjective to something ([[Villain with Good Publicity|often to make it seem better)]], that's this trope. Look for characters exclaiming "Hey...this isn't happy!" or something similar.
 
This is a [[Newspeak]] trope. There is usually a rather pointed takeaway for the audience about the people doing the naming: a society that uses vicious irony like this is never ''ever'' nice or just misunderstood.
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* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: for broader cases of name not matching reality.
* [[Fluffy the Terrible]]: also a trope where something fearsome has a harmless name; generally, though, [[Fluffy the Terrible]] tends to be silly or goofy, while '''Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom''' tends to be a lot darker.
* [[Happy Fun Ball]]: a trope where something's ''appearance'' doesn't match its function.
* [[The Not-So-Harmless Punishment]]
 
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] &and [[Manga]] ==
* The Summer of Love in [[Eureka Seven]] was a worldwide catastrophe that sparked tremendous conflict and civil war. It is feared that, if it is allowed to occur, the Second Summer of Love could mean [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
** Also, the research station that performs inhumane and usually fatal experiments on teenage girls is nicknamed "Joy Division" by the scientists there.
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* The F.L.E.I.A. in [[Code Geass]] is named for Freya, the Norse goddess of love and beauty. Its function is to create a huge [[Sphere of Destruction]] using a combination of nuclear fission and [[Green Rocks|Sakuradite]].
** Perhaps also a subversion through as it can easily be mistaken for [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Flayer]].
* The bad guys of ''[[Twentieth20th Century Boys]]'' are the "Friendship Democratic Party". They're a front for an evil [[Big Bad|cult]].
* ''Flying Ghost Ship'' has a very cheerful [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F26V72seAAM advertisment] for the "Boa Juice". Which melts people alive.
* The [[Implacable Man|Satchi]], cyber law-enforcers in ''[[Dennou Coil]]''. They look like giant brown standing peanuts with smiley-faces painted on. [[Nightmare Fuel|Yeah]].
* This has to be the only reason [[Kirby|King Dedede]] ordered monsters from ''Holy'' Nightmare in [[Kirby: ofRight theBack Starsat Ya!]] (the dub doesn't have this, of course...making Dedede look like more of an idiot in the process, if it was possible). Doesn't help that a few of the soon-to-be gigantic enemies ''are'' [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|pretty cute]] [[Killer Rabbit|at first]].
 
== [[Film]] ==
 
== Film ==
* The Lemarchand puzzle boxes from ''[[Hellraiser]]''. Their real name is the Lament Configuration.
* Consumer Recreation Services in ''[[The Game (film)|The Game]]''.
 
== [[Live -Action TV]] ==
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* [[Saturday Night Live|Anything to do with]] [[Happy Fun Ball]].
* In season two of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', Earth's government actually creates a Ministry of Peace (or [[Double-Speak|minipax]] [[Shout-Out|as they like to call it]]). The results are predictable.
 
 
== [[Literature]] ==
* The most famous of these is from Orwell's ''[[1984Nineteen Eighty-Four]]''. The government has four chief buildings: The Ministry of Truth, in charge of propaganda, the Ministry of Peace, in charge of the military, the Ministry of Plenty, in charge of rationing supplies, and the Ministry of Love, described in the page quote.
** And don't forget the 5th one, the Ministry of Ironic Naming.
*** No, you mean "the Ministry of Totally Appropriate Naming". That's a different ministry entirely.
** And Big Brother itself, really.
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People's Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lies in name; 3. Oppression level; inhuman.
Shiny, Happy, People's Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lies in name; 5. Oppression level; hide. }}
* In the [[Strugatsky Brothers]]' novel ''[[Hard to Be A God]]'', a lot a villages were renamed from their [[Wretched Hive]] names to this trope. Perhaps in hopes it will make them better.
* ''[[The Hunger Games]]''. Gather round, everybody! Celebrate! We're going to take your children and make them kill each other. Brutally! And you will have to watch every second of it! And you will enjoy it!
* ''[[Animorphs]]'' gives us The Sharing, an organization full of nice, friendly people who do charity work and have a great time doing it. And after you are initiated, a parasitic alien crawls into your ear and you are a slave to the invading alien race.
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* In [[The Grimnoir Chronicles]], the world is protected by "Peace Rays," invented by none other than [[Nikola Tesla]] himself.
* In the novel ''The Tomorrow File'' the United States [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] renames the government departments. The Department of Defense is called the Department of Peace. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare becomes the Department of Bliss. Other departments are also renamed.
 
 
== [[Music]] ==
* "Super Duper {{spoiler|Meteor}}" from [[Lemon Demon]]'s ''Dinosaurchestra''.
 
 
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* Raven has invented his own variation on the hardcore match he's dubbed the "[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|Clockwork Orange]] House of Fun", which he's challenged several opponents to in [[Ring of Honor]] and [[TNA]].
 
 
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' spell "Nybor's Joyful Voyage". That Nybor also devised whole ''line'' of [[Agony Beam]] spells can be counted as a subtle hint. It [[Tele Frag|unsafely teleports]] one victim to random place 1–100 miles away from the point of origin (including straight up and down).
{{quote|The "joyful" nature of Nybor's voyage refers to the joy of the spell's caster rather than that of its target.}}
** TheThose [[Agony Beam]] spells also fall into this trope. "Gentle reminder," which inflicts intense pain, "mild admonishment," which causes prolonged torture, and "stern reproof,", which is so painful it can kill its target. By the time you get to "wrathful castigation", it's time to be afraid.
* ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]'': The Computer]] states unequivocally that nothing in ''[[Paranoia]]''Alpha Complex falls under this trope and claiming otherwise is treason. Information about this trope is classified Ultraviolet and access without proper clearance is treason. Traitors will please report to the nearest Funtyme Spa and Reeducation Center. The Computer is your friend, trust The Computer.
* In ''[[Adeptus Evangelion]]'', the weapons company HELIOS manufactures a MASER pistol for Evangelion use. The design puts massive strain on the weapon's internal battery, occasionally causing what HELIOS advertises as a "bonus energy release". {{spoiler|It explodes.}}
 
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
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{{quote|"Tower of Love and Peace. Stay away!" {{spoiler|sign for the Tower of Thunder, which zaps people's houses if they don't obey Porky}}}}
* The Hidden Fun Stuff of ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. {{spoiler|[[Demonic Invaders]] that attack your fortress if you [[Dug Too Deep|dig too deep]].}}
** ''[[Fan Nickname|Dorf]] Fortress'' fandom in general uses the word "fun" to mean "losing," based on the official motto "Losing is Fun!" (i.e. "Forgetting to put in something to keep your well from overflowing can lead to a lot of fun.") Heck, the wiki's [https://web.archive.org/web/20120117115518/http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Fun article on Fun] redirects to "Losing."
*** There are a lot of other fan nicknames for Fun stuff, including "the clown car" and "clowns" for {{spoiler|hell and the afore-mentioned [[Demonic Invaders]]}} and "party guests" for {{spoiler|the restless souls of people who haven't received a proper burial}}.
** Dorf Fortress is also ''full'' of randomly generated names, so occasionally you'll have something like this pop up.
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has Professor Putricide's Laboratory of Alchemical Horrors and Fun. [[That One Boss|It's not that fun.]]
* From [[Final Fantasy VII]], we have [[Mega Corp|Shinra Inc's]] Public Safety Maintenance Department, just fancy euphemism for the company's [[Evil Army|army]] and police force. Said department has a sub-branch known as The Investigative Division of General Affairs Department AKA [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|the Turks]], highly skilled special agents that perform black ops on behalf of the corporation, including kidnappings and assassinations.
 
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
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{{quote|What the HELL is up with these candy companies? Little teeny bars are called 'Fun Size'.. Damn, Whats so fun about a smaller candybar?!? }}
** [[Homestar Runner|Strong Bad]] made the same joke in ''The House That Gave Sucky Treats''.
 
 
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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'''Zola:''' ''Gillll!'' }}
* Done by Ridley in ''[[Planet Zebeth]]'', with his bar's Super Happy Fun Slide. It is a slide, but the wall above the entrance disguises the fact that it leads down to a deep-fryer; any small enemies who enter the slide are cooked up and served to hungry bar patrons. Amazingly, none of the minions notice the deception; presumably due to the state of its riders, word-of-mouth recognition of the slide is based solely on its name.
* ''[[Sinfest]]'' has [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140209160227/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2113 National Perfection Agency], [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140209165939/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2150 Beelze-Bud] and [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140209165752/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3506 Illumi-nicey (the New Illuminati Logo)].
 
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** Also from the show, specifically "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles":
{{quote|'''Farnsworth:''' Teddy Bear Junction: [[Wretched Hive|The worst scum hole in the galaxy.]]}}
* [[The Simpsons (animation)|"Ooh! Super fun happy slide!"]] [[Schmuck Bait|(which just happens to lead into a pit full of vampires)]]
** Also from ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Motherloving Sugar Corporation. Named for its founder, Garth Motherloving, formerly Garth Hitler.
*** Which also somewhat doubles as a form of [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]. Three guesses what the "loving" part ''really'' is supposed to be...
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{{quote|Quinn: "Happy Fun-Time"? Who the hell named this island?
Shanks: [[Rambo]]. }}
 
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Newspeak]]
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:DoomyDoomed Dooms of DoomTropes]]
[[Category:Subverted Innocence Tropes]]
[[Category:Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom]]