All The Tropes

The Last DJ: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

The Last DJ (view source)

Revision as of 22:00, 8 April 2014

177 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
(fixed bogus template)
m (Mass update links)
Line 12:
Compare [[Rebellious Rebel]], whose conflicts with his superior are acute, not chronic, and who rapidly ends up dead or fleeing.
 
Contrast [[Limited Advancement Opportunities]], where characters never advance in their position because that would force the writing team to separate the cast. The exact opposite of [[Kicked Upstairs]], where an unwanted and incompetent person ''is'' promoted, to get them away from the real work so they can no longer screw things up. See also [[Bothering Byby the Book]] and [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]. Also compare [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]], where the traits that would hold back a Last DJ get overlooked on account of how much of an asset the character is otherwise. Will very frequently overlap with [[Knight in Sour Armor]]. Music wise it overlaps with [[Music Is Politics]].
----
'''Examples:'''
Line 18:
== Music ==
 
* The [[Trope Namer]] is the song "The Last DJ" by Tom Petty, quoted above. Over the course of the song the titular DJ gets pushed out of the industry for his refusal to play mediocre music, until he winds up playing a station in Mexico. The song is about [[wikipedia:Jim Ladd|Jim Ladd]], widely regarded as a hero of [[Broadcasting in Thethe United States]] and the last free-form rock announcer-programmer on mainstream radio.
* And before Petty, folk singer Mike Agranoff wrote [http://www.mikeagranoff.com/lyrics/Sandman.htm "The Ballad of the Sandman."]
* John Peel, late legendary British DJ, was an example of this trope: His show had enough fans so that it couldn't be canceled, but Radio 1 still shoved it into the graveyard slot so that he wouldn't disrupt the non-stop commercial pap (thankfully, they respected him enough to hold an all day tribute to him on the day of his funeral in 2004). Up until his death, his show was one of the major importers of new music in the United Kingdom and was a major stepping stone for the mainstream success of the indie rock genre in the UK. If you can think of a popular rock band who formed anywhere between 1967 and 2004, chances are John Peel played the band several times before they even had a record deal. Pretty much every ''un''popular band, too. And anywhere doesn't mean "anywhere in the UK", or even "anywhere in the Western Hemisphere". It is just about restricted to this one planet, though.
Line 34:
== Anime and Manga ==
 
* One ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' episode features Marcelo Jarti, a popular South American war hero, revolutionary, and [[Grey and Grey Morality|drug kingpin]] who spends half his time dodging assassination attempts from the US and Britain because he refuses to go along with their plans for South American politics. {{spoiler|Turns out that he was actually put in a machine that made copies of him and the original died a while ago. It isn't made clear whether he chose this or not.}}
* Kenzo Tenma in ''[[Monster (Animemanga)|Monster]]'' ultimately counts as an aversion. It looks like he is being set up for this when he chooses to treat an injured child instead of the Mayor, who dies while being treated by less talented surgeons, but then his superiors died mysteriously, {{spoiler|at the hands of the very psychopathic child Tenma had treated}} leaving Tenma clear to advance his career. After that he does choose to play it straight and leaves the better job to follow what he feels is a moral obligation.
* Jin from ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' has most elements of this. Believing in the purity of martial arts, he objected to his sensei's plan to work with Kagetoki Kariya, the Shogun's chief assassin, knowing that it would result in the entire school being forced to become assassins as well. For this defiance Kariya ordered Jin's master to kill him, but Jin won the fight. Nevertheless he never spoke a word against his teacher, and took the blame for his sensei's death without revealing his sensei's potential plan, which saved his sensei from public disgrace after his death. Later, despite [[Walking the Earth|wandering Japan aimlessly]] living as a near penniless [[Ronin]], he refuses to work for the [[Aristocrats Are Evil|corrupt lords]] of Japan because of their evil ways and in one case we even see him mouth off about it to that lord's face.
** Which earns him a [[Not So Different]] from [[Big Bad|Kariya]], who claims that they are true swordsmen who were [[Born in Thethe Wrong Century]].
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'':
** Roy Mustang presents himself as an inversion, a loyal kiss-up who will do anything to gain favor with the system and be promoted. Eventually however we learn that in truth Mustang is an [[Internal Reformist]] who was disgusted by the horrors and slaughter he participated in during the Ishval War. As a result he wants to gain control of the military dictatorship, topple it, and (depending on the version) either reform it forever or return the country to democracy even though, as the manga points out {{spoiler|the military is the only thing shielding Mustang and numerous other soldiers and officers from being tried for war crimes. In fact, in the manga version, it's specifically said that Roy ''wants'' to be put on trial for his part in things}}. And regardless of the personal dangers, the attempts to isolate, bribe, or coerce him, nothing can stop Roy from working towards his goal. (Although it should be noted that exact details on how and why Roy is taking these actions differ slightly depending on which anime you're watching or if you're reading the manga.)
Line 58:
* ''[[Star Wars]]'' series - Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was allegedly never chosen to join the Jedi Council because of his unorthodox views, and his questioning of/refusal to just go along with the council's views and decisions.
** He ends up (by complex means) becoming ''Yoda's master''.
* Captain Gordon from ''[[Godzilla Final Wars (Film)|Godzilla: Final Wars]]''. When the Earth Defense Force is infiltrated at the command level, the soldiers nonetheless implicitly trust Gordon, who would never become "one of them."
* In ''[[The Untouchables]]'', when Elliott Ness asks Malone why he's still a beat cop at his age, the latter answers that he's one of the few policemen in Chicago who isn't on the take.
* In ''[[Batman Begins]]'', Lucius Fox was shifted away to the Applied Sciences division for making too much trouble for the Wayne Industries Board of Directors. {{spoiler|At the end of the movie, he becomes CEO of the company.}}
Line 64:
* The main character in the 1978 comedy ''FM'', although he's a station manager rather than a literal DJ.
* In ''[[Soul Kitchen]]'', a chef gets fired for declining to cook food that is not up to his high standards ([[Comically Missing the Point|warm]] gazpacho soup, namely).
* One of the most extreme cases of this trope is the film, ''[[Hive Mind (Filmfilm)|Hive Mind]]'', where the main character's sticking to his standards have made him the last [[You Will Be Assimilated|unassimilated]] human in a post-apocalyptic future. Interestingly, he literally ''was'' a DJ in his younger years.
* In ''[[Tron Legacy (Film)|Tron: Legacy]]'', the boardroom scene heavily implied that this became the case for Alan Bradley, who questioned the rest of the executives on their improvments to the new operating system, and got "we put a twelve on the box" in response.
** The [[Tron (Film)|first film]] had the same for Walter Gibbs, who was essentially locked out of his own company for protesting Dillinger's shoddy treatments of programmers and [[Information Wants to Be Free|lockdown of data through the system.]] His counterpart, Dumont, was almost a literal case, operating the last free I/O Tower on the System in defiance of Master Control.
 
== Literature ==
 
* ''[[Discworld]]''
** Captain Vimes in [[Discworld (Literature)/Guards Guards|Guards Guards]] felt that he was in this situation. In his own words: "Every time he seemed to be getting anywhere he spoke his mind, or said the wrong thing. Usually at the same time."<br /><br />However, this has become inverted as the series progresses, as Vimes is repeatedly promoted and ennobled against his wishes, having to be coerced into accepting by the Patrician. Vetinari ''likes'' having a powerful person who won't play the game; it keeps the people who ''are'' playing it worried. The ultimate example is probably the end of ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Feet of Clay|Feet of Clay]]'' where, much to Vimes's own bewilderment, Vetinari gives him a pay rise for upsetting everyone important in the city, and bursting into a council meeting with an axe. Vetinari muses in one book that having an authority figure who is so staunchly ''anti-''authoritarian is "practically zen".
** Vetinari himself holds the unique position of being this trope, in a position of power. Vetinari believes in only as much authority as absolutely necessary; since this is far less authority than many influential people think is natural (and especially far less than they think should naturally be held by them), they'd love to be rid of him. But at the same time, he's managed to get the city working far better than any of the previous patricians, and he's the only one who knows the language the instruction manual is written in; in other words, he's made himself not just effective, but ''[[Vetinari Job Security|necessary]]'', which (as is noted with some frequency) has far better staying power than being feared, and thus puts him leagues ahead of Machiavelli by just about every metric.
* Eva Wolfe from the ''[[Burke]]'' series by [[Andrew Vachss]] was fired from her job as the head of City-wide Special Victims for refusing to "go along to get along", in the form of giving a pedophile a merciful deal.
Line 89:
* Howard Roark in ''[[The Fountainhead]]'', which is essentially [[Objectivism|the whole point of the book]].
** John Galt from [[Atlas Shrugged]], by the same author. [[Ayn Rand]] seems to love this type of character.
* Detective Rivera, a character who shows up in many of [[Christopher Moore|Christopher Moore's]] San Francisco based books, is described in one of the books from the ''[[Bloodsucking Fiends (Literature)|Bloodsucking Fiends]]'' series as a good cop who, "In 25 years on the force had [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules|never taken a bribe]], [[Police Brutality|never used excessive force]], and never done special favors for powerful people. (Which was why he was still just a detective)".
* This is essentially what happens to Violet in [[Feed]], except without the "world renowned skills" part. Because of her active refusal to conform and be a mindless Feed user like many other teenagers she rebels and basically tries to [[Troll]] the Feed company. Unfortunately, {{spoiler|because she never expressed interests that would make her needs marketable, no company is willing to invest in saving her.}}
* In the ''[[Elemental Logic]]'' series, [[Supreme Chef]] Garland deserted the Sainnite army because the General ordered him to cook badly, which he was completely unwilling to do.
Line 103:
** Gus Haynes, the City Desk Editor for the ''Baltimore Sun'' is another example. He seems to be the only one who still values journalistic integrity and the proper process while everyone else keeps their head down to avoid being laid off or actively games the system.
* Dr. Johnny Fever, a DJ from ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]].'' A former successful DJ in Los Angeles, he was fired for saying "booger" on the air in [[The Seventies]]. Something of a burnout, he still refused to play songs from the station's Top 40 play list.
* ''[[The Last Detective]]'' features 'Dangerous' Davies, who, despite his obvious brilliance, is always the.. [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|well...]]
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' - There are many subversions where Starfleet, being the dream-version of the U.S. military, actually ''promotes'' its mavericks. It's the heroes who just don't want to accept.
** Commander Riker who holds the record for most turned-down promotions. And of course, you had Admiral Kirk who got himself demoted back to Captain, some would think on purpose.
** And in the [[Expanded Universe]], still-after-all-these-years-Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who actually turns down a promotion in the latest offering, 'Losing the Peace'. To be fair, Picard's only following the advice Kirk gave him in ''[[Star Trek Generations]]'': Don't let them promote you out of the center chair; also, he's too valuable as a starship captain to be promoted, and senior enough to take command of the entire fleet in the absence of a normal command authority (see ''[[Star Trek: First Contact|First Contact]]''). The fact that Starfleet has a position for people in exactly that position that he has yet to be promoted to (Commodore) hasn't yet been raised.
* Lt. Col. John Sheppard from ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'' said a lot of people never thought he'd make it past Captain, due to his tendency for insubordination. But as Elizabeth Weir reminded General Jack O'Neill, it ain't like Sheppard was alone in that regard...
* Grissom from ''[[CSI]]'' qualifies in spades. In fact this is arguably the central theme of the show; pretty much every member of the night shift is like this -- they're good at the job, but not good at playing office politics. Ecklie, on the other hand, is the exact opposite.
* The Last DJ was done very literally on ''[[Cupid (TV)|Cupid]]'' 2009.
* The protagonists of many British drama series are like this, including ''[[Inspector Morse]]'' and ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]''.
* ''[[NCIS]]'' - Jenny Shepherd on why Gibbs isn't Director: "Jethro's a great field agent. He's a great team leader. And he deals more efficiently with difficult politicians than I do." "Then why isn't he the..." "He shoots them."
** And, indeed, when we see him as Acting Director in one episode where Jenny's out, Gibbs is incredibly maverick and winds up getting involved in field work, despite being the director and having people who could do that for him.
* The premise of ''[[The Good Guys (TV)|The Good Guys]]'' is based on this. Dan and Jack both pissed of their superiors but cannot be fired so they are relegated to investigating property crimes (petty thefts and vandalism). Dan disdains police procedures and disrespects his superiors but is a hero cop with his own TV movie. Jack in turn is a by-the-book cop who is so straitlaced that he once corrected the police chief's grammar at a public event. To be fair these heroes have a big tendency to blow things up and cause tons of property damage and Dan can be a serious menace to society.
* ''[[Babylon Five|Babylon 5]]'' has several cases that are at least alluded to. Dr. Stephen Franklin is the most orthodox one: when the war with the Minbari was going very, very badly for Earth, he and other xenobiologists were called on to create biological weapons to combat the Minbari. He refused, and destroyed his notes so no one else could use them, and promptly spent most of the war in a jail cell as a result. In the pilot, the station's initial [[Number Two]] describes being stuck in a position where the only way to get promoted was to pay for it, which she refused to do.
 
== Theater ==
Line 127:
* ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' - Going by the [[Flash Back]] scene in a recording sphere, [[Badass Longcoat|Auron]] could also fit into this before embarking on the pilgrimage with Braska. A promising [[Warrior Monk]] within the [[Corrupt Church|theocratic church]] and a true believer, Auron's career was blacklisted and at least one promotion that was meant for him went to others after he refused to marry the daughter of a high priest.
* Captain Bartlett from ''[[Ace Combat]] 5'' probably counts. "Why do they even bother reprimanding me anymore? I know I'm gonna be stuck at Captain forever." He's too much attitude to promote, but too much skill and reputation to just court martial.
* ''[[Max Payne (Video Gameseries)|Max Payne]]'' -- Max is something of a [[Cowboy Cop]], and often disregards proper procedure in favour of following leads and going after perps.
* Subverted and parodied in the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series -- [[GTA Radio|Lazlow]] ''thinks'' that he's this, but is really just an arrogant, [[Small Name, Big Ego|egotistical]] [[Jerkass]] who doesn't realize that he's no longer relevant, with most people treating him as a joke.
* Junichiro Tokuoka from the [[.hack]] franchise was an eccentric, almost-worshiped director for The World's Japanese localization. After The World hit the jackpot, he was discarded by CC Corp because of his behavior and how it conflicted with the executives.
Line 142:
** Booker and manager [[Jim Cornette]] has worked for most every major wrestling promotion under the sun and wishes most would fuck off. Cornette is a traditionalist booker, emphasizing in-ring skill and younger talent over backstage politicians and older primadonnas like [[Hulk Hogan]] and [[Kevin Nash]]. As such, Cornette tends to shred just about any and everyone who uses politics and hype to further their career in the sport, leading him to leave company after company after company. He currently has found a home with [[Ring of Honor]] which is pretty much a entire company of Last DJ's.
* Artists in [[East Germany]] who refused to serve the state were often this trope.
* Dave Chappelle left [[ChappellesChappelle's Show|his hit television show]] because, among other reasons, he felt that the game was starting to corrupt and/or change him and that the business was trying to control him, an idea he showed in his "Almighty Showbiz" skit, which aired on the final season. Other artists, comedians, writers, etc, often act on the same ideas.
* Some people saw journalist Gary Webb as this.
* Professor David Nutt of the ACMD was forced to resign from his position by the British Home Secretary for his research into drugs and their effects on society, because it didn't cohere with their policy, despite being scientifically accurate.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/909883"