The Moral Substitute: Difference between revisions
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Sometimes even [[Moral Guardians]] have to accept that [[The New Rock and Roll]] isn't going away. They can't stop people from watching/reading/playing/listening to it, and even if they succeed in instituting a [[Censorship Bureau]], it's still not up to their standards.
Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If those works aren't up to their standards, they will make works that are. And they can even throw in a message about their beliefs and views in these works. Thus they make
If everything works out, sure. However almost by definition creating The Moral Substitute means directly competing with what [[Follow the Leader|it is the substitute for]], while explicitly targeting a more specific demographic. Imagine creating a competitor to Coke and Pepsi but targeting only middle-aged mothers at the expense of appeal to the general population. If that sounds like [[Money, Dear Boy|a troubling investment to you]], then you see why production values tend to be lower. Adding to the complications of course is the need to produce ''absolutely nothing'' even ''mildly'' offensive to the specific demographic you are targeting. Put it all together and The Moral Substitute suffers from a reputation of being an [[So Okay It's Average|overly bland]] case of [[Follow the Leader]]. And those that weren't offended by the original are very unlikely to embrace this product.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Superbook]]'' and its companion series ''[[Flying House]]''. An all-CGI reboot of ''Superbook'' was produced and released by the Christian Broadcasting Network in 2011. Unlike the previous incarnation, Tatsunoko is no longer involved in its production.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The ''Eagle'' was launched by an Anglican vicar who saw local children reading adult-oriented American horror comics, and wanted them to read more wholesome material. Fortunately, he made sure to focus on quality, and brought out a very popular and fondly remembered comic which gave us ''[[Dan Dare]]''.
** ''[[Dan Dare]]'' was originally created as a sort of military chaplain [[In Space]], but he was changed to a straightforward pilot to better appeal to children.
* Christian fundamentalist Jack Chick spent decades writing "[[Chick Tracts]]" that laid out his ...[[Insane Troll Logic|''unique'']]... vision of fundamentalist Protestant Christianity. He explicitly stated that they were inspired by Chinese manhua.
** The tract [http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0034/0034_01.asp "Angels"] actually ''denounces'' this trope. Its target? Christian rock music. ''All'' Rock 'n' Roll music is controlled by the Devil, and so-called "Christian" rock plays right into his hands.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Bob Roberts]]'' parodies this idea by having the title character as the fanatically conservative child of hippies who uses the musical style of protest songs to express his ideology.
* ''[[Gamera]]'' was originally intended as a comparatively mild example of this—a [[Lighter and Softer|more kid-friendly alternative]] to ''Godzilla'', featuring a relatively non-threatening, [[Friend to All Children]] giant monster in a series that was lighter on the carnage and senseless death. The '90s reboot tried to [[Darker and Edgier|move away from this origin]], but ''Gamera the Brave'' whole-heartedly embraced it.
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* ''Deti protiv volshebnikov'' (aka, ''Kids against the Sorcerers'', ''Children vs. Wizards'') is a 2016 CGI film that could be best described as the Russian Orthodox equivalent of this trope, as it's in part a response to ''[[Harry Potter]]'' and the supposed moral degeneracy of the West. The end result however, manages to [[So Bad It's Horrible|fail on ''all'' counts]].
== [[Literature]] ==
* There is a "Christian" ''[[Goosebumps]]''-alike. Similar cover font and art design, but all the spooky stuff turns out to be faked (because Satan has no real power), and prayer works coincidental miracles.
* There is a Christian ''[[Choose Your Own Adventure]]''-type series. One was on the dangers of Satanists, New Agers,
* The rise of cheesy [[Airport Fantasy]] and techno-thrillers from authors such as [[Tom Clancy]] and [[Dan Brown]] has led to the creation of the ''[[Left Behind]]'' series, where fundamentalist Christians try to stop the Antichrist with high-tech weaponry. Many books like this start out like normal "apocalypse" books (with the usual waking up one day to find something wrong, everybody in a frenzy), but slowly everything starts becoming Jesus-related.
* The ''[[Narnia]]'' series wasn't written as this, although [[C. S. Lewis]] was very conscious of and open about his inclusion of Christian themes in the books. However, these days (especially after [[The Film of the Book]]), it seems to be treated as such against secular kid-lit fantasy lines like ''[[Harry Potter]]''. Still, the Narnia fanbase isn't entirely composed of Christians.
** And, of course, ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' was written as a substitute for the ''Narnia''
* The [[wikipedia:Romance novel#Inspirational romance|inspirational romance]] genre serves as the moral substitute for steamy, bodice-ripping romances. While the above link to the Other Wiki doesn't note it, leading publisher Harlequin has a successful imprint (Steeple Hill) that only turns out books of this kind using the parent company's [[Strictly Formula]] approach.
** Taking this methodology a step farther, there exists Christian spanking porn. Of course, the makers deny that it's porn at all and prefer the term "Christian domestic discipline romance fiction". They claim it was created for Christian couples to explore what God intended for marriage (i.e. According to the makers, He wants husbands to spank their wives) without having to look at anything icky.
* ''The Twelve Candles Club'' was a
* Some reviewers consider ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' to be the moral substitute for other vampire and romance novels, which are generally less pro-abstinence. More than that, [http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html this] series of Livejournal posts makes a pretty solid argument that it's the ''Mormon'' Alternative.
* [[Frank Peretti]] wrote a number of novels, many of which could be considered Moral Substitutes for the paranormal/occult detective and action and adventure genres.
* Erik, the titular phantom of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' original book, is ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' done right
* The New Basic Readers were a series of grade school primers published in the
* The ''Anti-Princess Series'' and ''Anti-Hero Series'' written by [[Nadia Fink]] and illustrated by [[Pitu Saá]] sought to challenge the traditional "princess stereotypes" exhibited by the likes of [[Barbie]] and the [[Disney Princess]] line, which young girls typically look up to but are criticised in recent years{{when}} for what is perceived as shallow, saccharine and one-dimensional [[Disneyfication|Disneyfied]] tales (though in fairness the original folk tales the Disney Princess character arcs were based on weren't all that sunshine and rainbows anyway). Instead of princes to save [[Snow White]] or [[Sleeping Beauty]] or a [[Fairy Godmother]] to come to [[Cinderella]]'s aid, the ''Anti-Princess'' and ''Anti-Prince'' books portray real-world Central and South American historical figures in a realistic manner that still appeals to its target audience, though it has notably glossed over certain aspects of the subjects' lives.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* The Jewish ''[[Superman]]'' clone "Shaloman", who'll help anyone who shouts "[[Yiddish as a Second Language|Oy vey!]]". The fact that Superman himself was inspired by Judaism and was created by two Jewish people seems to have been overlooked.
* ''The Half Hour News Hour'', a [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] show that aimed to be the conservative version of the left-leaning ''[[The Daily Show|Daily Show]]''. Most of its humor was based around taking cheap potshots at Democrats and liberals to canned laughter, not to mention had a bad timeslot. It only got a half-season's worth of episodes.
** ''[[Red Eye With Greg Gutfeld]]'' worked out better thanks to it having better time slots, and being more of an imitation of ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' (which wasn't a left leaning show anyway) than the Daily Show.
** Fox News in general explicitly styles itself as the moral substitute to allegedly left-leaning news sources.
* Arguably, ''all'' TV channels owned by the Venezuelan government under Hugo Chavez's (and his
* Arguably, the requirements various countries have of a mandated amount of locally produced TV and film.
** This was how the ultra-Canadian stereotypes of [[wikipedia:Bob & Doug MacKenzie|Bob & Doug Mackenzie]] originated. ''[[SCTV]]'' had to fill Canadian TV's extra two minutes per half-hour with "Required Canadian Content", miffed at the fact that a Canadian production, with all-Canadian writers, actors and producers was not enough in and of itself to meet requirements.
* The PAX television network was intended to be a family-friendly alternative to the major broadcast networks, but ended up being mostly infomercials and reruns, along with [[Glurge|Billy Ray Cyrus as]] ''[[Glurge|Doc]]''. It's since changed its name to [[ION]] and its programming now consists ''entirely'' of infomercials and reruns, with the occasional movie during prime time hours (including, oddly enough, ''[[
* Like the ''Narnia'' example above, many of the children's shows aired by the American network [[PBS]] (''[[Sesame Street]]'', ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'', ''[[Bill Nye the Science Guy]]'', ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]'') weren't intended as Moral Substitutes. However, once [[Saturday Morning Cartoon|Saturday mornings]] (and, later, cable networks like [[Nickelodeon]], [[Cartoon Network]] and the [[Disney Channel]]) became increasingly filled with [[Merchandise-Driven|half-hour toy commercials]] and shows that certain parents and [[Media Watchdogs]] considered to [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|glamorize consumerism and materialism]], PBS Kids started to be treated as this by a number of parents who wanted their children watching [[Edutainment Show|more educational fare]].
** Ironically, ''Sesame Street'' itself has came under fire from some quarters for allegedly being "subversive" and "immoral".
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* [http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/top-stories/The-Real-Housewives-Of-The-Bible-Hope-To-Relate-To-Modern-Women-125254259.html Evangelist Ty Adams] has created an alternative to ''The Real Housewives'' series, called ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110915034141/http://www.ity.tv/real-housewives#!__real-housewives/videos The Real Housewives of the Bible]'', which is supposed to profile 12 women from [[The Bible]]. It apparently emphasizes the solution instead of the problem.
== [[Music]] ==
* The entire genre of White Power and neo-Nazi music, which includes rock, metal, ska and, amusingly enough, rap. Whether it can be called a ''moral'' substitute...
** The entire [[Skinheads|skinhead]] movement can trace its roots back to ska. Also, keep in mind that calling skinheads racist is a great way to [[Berserk Button|find out what the bottom of a pair of Doc Martens looks like]]—most skinheads are explicitly anti-racist, primarily because of the minority of neo-Nazis that has tarnished the scene.
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* [[Stryper]] is a stand-out example of Christian metal, having gained popularity even among the secular crowd, although their brand of Christian glam metal did not sit well with the more conservative Christian crowd, who viewed Stryper's faith to be anathema to the heavy metal subculture which has often been associated with satanic imagery. Japanese metal critic Masanori Ito praised the band and promoted them both in the metal magazine ''Burrn!'' and on his radio show, which led Stryper to gain a following in Japan and secure a deal with CBS Sony. And speaking of satanic imagery, Michael Sweet admitted in an interview<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcOqe73NICg MICHAEL SWEET of STRYPER: Giant Coffee Machines in Heaven, Satanist Fans, Equality, More]</ref> that even ''Satanists themselves'' listen to Stryper even if it's just for the music, though he did opine that the band's message would still sneak through them.
== [[New Media]] ==
* [[Conservapedia]] is the conservative Christian's substitute for [[Wikipedia]], in response to what the site's founders view as left-wing, anti-American bias on Wikipedia. The site's take on things especially regarding evolution and other scientific subjects is so laughably bad that a number of disillusioned Conservapedians left the site [[Start My Own|to start]] [[RationalWiki]]. While RationalWiki was initially founded to throw potshots at Conservapedia, it has since become a group blog whose contributors either denounce, refute or otherwise make fun of those seen as fringe, pseudoscience or fundamentalist.
** [[Sarcasm Mode|And it gets better]]: As if their [[Cloudcuckoolander|staunch conservatism]] wasn't enough, they even had the audacity to make a "moral" substitute to [[The Bible]] which they somehow perceived as having being tainted with "liberal bias"! Called the Conservative Bible Project, it was an attempt to align the Holy Scripture to their beliefs, though it remains to be finished due to lack of editors with intimate knowledge of ancient Hebrew and Greek, and those that do know the languages were booted out for some reason. The project received criticism even from its intended conservative audience (including [[Chick Tracts|Jack Chick]] of all people) who found the idea as disgusting if not outright blasphemous.
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** And for "confurvatives".
== [[Radio]] ==
* Air America Radio was created as the left-wing alternative to conservative talk radio, and managed to pick up such hosts as [[Jerry Springer]] and former ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' stars [[Janeane Garofalo]] and Al Franken (a future senator). It sputtered on for several years on corporate life support (Even [[Neal Boortz]], noted for his opposing views, donated money!) before it shut down.
==
* The Soviet Union formed the [[wikipedia:Spartakiad|Spartakiads]] from 1928 to 1937 as they initially branded the Olympics as "bourgeois". The event was put on the backburner when World War II broke out; after the war, they finally relented and sent a team at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. They still continued to hold Spartakiads within the Soviet Union up until 1991.▼
* In response to the rash of political drama spilling over to the Olympics, particularly the wave of boycotts such as the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as the retaliatory boycott by the Soviets in 1984 in the Los Angeles Olympiad, American broadcaster Ted Turner (of CNN and ''[[Captain Planet]]'' fame) organised the [[wikipedia:Goodwill Games|Goodwill Games]], a charitable sporting series made with the intent on providing a much less politicised alternative to an event which Turner felt has degenerated more into national or [[Cold War]] posturing than sport.▼
* "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/808361.stm Christian Power Cards]", a Moral Substitute for ''[[Pokémon]]'' cards, featuring characters from [[The Bible]].
** Also, [[wikipedia:Redemption (card game)|Redemption.]]
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** The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammily Lammily] doll isn't as concerned with religious conservatism either, but rather to address body image and role model concerns leveled against the Barbie line. While Barbie is the idealised, fanciful depiction of a young American woman, Lammily is a more down-to-earth counterpoint to Mattel's flagship character, with proportions based off an average 19-year old girl.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The game developer Color Dreams
**It is widely believed that the reason Color Dreams turned into Wisdom Tree was not out of piety, but so that they could get around Nintendo's licensing–in fact, at least some of the developers were atheists or at least irreligious, and it is said that Color Dreams founder Dan Lawton simply came up with the shrewd strategy of selling to Christian audiences as a joke perhaps to troll both Nintendo and Christian groups. Nintendo's primary pressure tactic was refusing to sell their games to retailers that sold unlicensed games. Christian bookstores were immune to this, as they didn't stock video games in the first place. Seeing an opportunity, the newly-renamed Wisdom Tree convinced the bookstores that their games would bring kids to God, and started selling their games to them. Another theory is that Color Dreams changed their modus operandi after Nintendo sued them for selling unlicensed games—after all, what sort of evil company (and [[Japan Takes Over the World|a Japanese one]], [[Evil Foreigner|at that]]) would [[Even Evil Has Standards|hate on a Christian game developer anyway]]?
** One Wisdom Tree game, ''Super 3D Noah's Ark'' for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]], is particularly famous among hardcore gamers for being the only unlicensed SNES cartridge released in the US. The game was essentially ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' [[Serial Numbers Filed Off|with the guns replaced with food and the Nazis replaced with goats]]. (Apparently, gathering ''different'' animals was too much trouble for Noah.) An urban legend claims that id Software actually gave Wisdom Tree the ''Wolfenstein 3D'' code and SNES lockout codes just to spite [[Nintendo]] after the SNES port of ''Wolfenstein 3D'' was [[Bowdlerise]]d. id Software [[Jossed|denies this]], claiming that Wisdom Tree was just another Id Tech 0 engine licensee.
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* Stretching the definition a little, while [[CD Projekt]]'s games are just about as edgy and mature as every other AAA blockbuster video game, the company presents its business practices as a more moral substitute to the unabashed avarice shown by the likes of [[Electronic Arts]], [[Take-Two Interactive]] and [[Ubisoft]], who were the staple of criticism for their shady business practices such as the pervasive use of microtransactions and [[Loot Boxes]], none of which were implemented by CDPR out of principle. CD Projekt even went on to proclaim "[[Take That|we leave greed to others]]" on Twitter.<ref>[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-11-19-cd-projekt-red-greed-cyberpunk-2077-multiplayer CD Projekt Red: "We leave greed to others"]</ref> Not that they weren't criticised for their labour conditions and their handling of ''[[Cyberpunk 2077]]'' though.
* CD Projekt's sister company [[GOG.com]] is this in comparison to [[Steam]] and other content providers in that they discourage the use of DRM in favour of games released without any sort of copy protection at all, under the principle that such restrictive measures only serve to inconvenience the consumer and actually drive them into piracy. Indeed, the lack of copy protection has attracted those who are ''willing'' to buy games legitimately but are turned off by the horror stories associated with DRM.
* The now-defunct Big Top Productions, best known for the ''Simpsons Cartoon Toolbox'' (which was published by Fox Interactive) was established in 1994 "to counter the trend toward passive children's software aimed only at boys and emphasizing violence at the expense of educational content" especially with the rise of mature-oriented titles such as ''[[Doom (series)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Mortal Kombat (video game)|Mortal Kombat]]'' among others. Their aversion to the usual fare of blood, gore and edginess was also reflected in the "Promise" section of the demo (which came with compilation discs bundled with certain pre-built computers from the era such as those from NEC): "We do not produce violent products. We do not produce titles with wars, battles, marauders or murders. We don't want to." Surprisingly enough, their site is still up to this day, albeit more as a [https://bigtop1996.com/ time capsule] of what the early internet was back in 1996. Former BigTop staffer Neil McAllister now works as [https://www.pcmag.com/authors/neil-mcallister a writer] for PC World.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [[Filthy Figments]], the "positive" alternative to [[Slipshine]], for those who object to eroticism with men holding the strings. It's just as smutty as regular porn but it's drawn by women.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130911122323/http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/ Stuff Christians Like]'', compared to Stuff White People Like, though it leans more in the [[Affectionate Parody]] direction. This is lampshaded by its [https://web.archive.org/web/20130605010114/http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2008/01/1-putting-a-god-spin-on-popular-secular-ideas/ first post] and in the book article: "Stuff Christians Like: Ignoring all Copyright Laws".
* Spoofed in a [[YouTube]] video starring a troupe of rapping kids promoting the "Christian Side Hug," which avoids the "sinful" crotch contact of the traditional hug. No, as much as [[Poe's Law|it might seem to be par for the course]], and as much as you might [[Snark Bait|want it to be]], it's not even the tiniest bit real.
** It seems like the video may not be a parody, and those guys were dead serious. It's supposed to be a parody, yet [[Word of God]] states that they were serious about keeping physical contact to a minimum.
** And, of course, the "side hug" is a real thing which is suggested for anyone working with children, in secular or sacred settings, in hopes to avoid anyone suggesting that there's intentional "crotch contact".
* [[TV Tropes]]: Although they formally deny it, if one reads the threads in which wiki pages are reported and judged for possibly violating TVT's content restrictions, one will see that work pages are not judged by their content but by the work they describe. One will almost never see a discussion like "Will this page as written cause us trouble with Google Ads? Can we change it so that it doesn't?" Rather, the commentary is almost universally along the lines of "the work this page describes is offensive to me, we should not even acknowledge it exists" and decisions are made on that basis alone. Regardless of what they claim to the contrary, except in the cases of certain famous works whose removal would bring (and have brought) negative press attention, TVT imposes a moral standard for the works that are allowed to appear on the wiki. That standard is determined by the [[Lowest Common Denominator]] of [[Squick]] and/or prudery found among the vocal minority who report (and demand removal of) pages.
* So-called "alt-tech" social media sites like Bitchute, Gab and Parler attracted those from the alt-right and extreme right-wing political spectrums, especially those who've been granted [[Persona Non Grata]] status such as [[Alex Jones]] and [[Donald Trump]] among others, due to what they perceive as "politically correct" [[Culture Police|censorship]] from liberal, corporate-run social media sites. Stretching the "moral" definition even further was the Patreon alternative called "Hatreon" founded by right-wing extremist Cody Wilson. Contrary to claims that the site accepted "right-wing women, people of color, and transgender people," Hatreon, as the name implies, clearly caters to those sowing discord against minorities e.g. white supremacists and extremist hate groups such as The Proud Boys. Parler received increased scrutiny in early 2021 however, following the riots which took place in and around the United States Capitol. Amazon (through its Web Services division) wanted nothing to do with them and ceased hosting the service citing threats to public safety, and while the service assured its users that "our return is inevitable", House Oversight and Reform Committee Carolyn Maloney called for an FBI probe over its role in the attempted insurrection.
** Despite being ideologically neutral themselves, Discord and Telegram were also noted by some organisations as having been used by right-wing extremist groups as well, though Discord has since shut down and banned those who sympathise with such movements.
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** ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' creator Butch Hartman attempted to start his own family-friendly streaming service called "Oaxis", but that fell through when it was revealed that the "family-friendly" moniker actually meant it was more aligned to his fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
** [[Disney+]] is this for the most part, as they do not carry any R-rated content. It is averted internationally, however, as their Star section features R-rated films. Not to mention that films whose content would otherwise be unsuitable for the platform such as ''X-Men: Days of Future Past'', which contains both nudity and the word "fuck", have started to be aired uncensored in 2020.
** Bentkey was launched as a youth-oriented video-on-demand service by conservative media company ''The Daily Wire'' as a counter to perceived "wokeness" and liberal bias by Disney, complete with [[Shoddy Knockoff Product|ripoffs]] of both ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'' and ''[[Bluey]]''. Unsurprisingly, some have [https://www.themarysue.com/daily-wire-snow-white-movie-explained/ called into question] the motives behind Ben Shapiro's children's media outlet especially considering the ideology being pushed.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Veggie Tales]]'' is a Christian Moral Substitute to (often [[Merchandise-Driven]]) [[Saturday Morning Cartoon|Saturday morning cartoons]]. Unlike most examples here (and indeed, contrary to the expectations of those who haven't watched it), it's actually high quality for its genre and is often enjoyed beyond the [[Animation Age Ghetto]] and even beyond its Christian target audience (to wit, the jokes are actually funny and the references are actually clever, and it's wholly independent of the show's religious angle), in addition to having pioneered the use of [[All CGI Cartoon|3D in children's animation]]. Just goes to show that [[Tropes Are Not Bad]].
** At least until it was syndicated for national broadcast, meaning all references to Christianity were removed. However, after a [[Creator Backlash]] and protests from [[Moral Guardians]], the references were restored.
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* ''[[Davey and Goliath]]'', a stop-motion cartoon from the maker of ''[[Gumby]]''...
** ...only to have this trope inverted with ''[[Moral Orel]]'', its very ''immoral'' substitute.
* Moral video games was spoofed on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', with ''Billy Graham's Bible Blaster'' at the Flanders' house.
{{quote|'''Rod Flanders:''' "No, you just winged him and turned him into a Unitarian!"}}
** Which isn't really fair to Graham, because he's stated that he has respect for other religions even though he ideally wants them to convert to Christianity. His ''son'', on the other hand, is indeed something of a blockhead.
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== Other Media ==
* Branson, Missouri, in the words of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', is "Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders." <ref>Unless, of course, you take the wrong bus and end up in ''[[Charles Bronson|Bronson]]'', Missouri...</ref> To explain: the city offers elaborate hotels, shopping, and tons of live shows, but there's no gambling or "party scene". The shows focus on G-rated entertainment, especially musical revues—oldies, [[Country Music|country]], and Broadway are the most frequently appearing genres. Other shows include grand-scale musical adaptations of Bible stories, and such headliners as Andy Williams (Nelson Muntz's favorite!), Yakov Smirnoff, the Oak Ridge Boys, Tony Orlando, and [[Riding With Death|Jim Stafford.]]
* There have been "alternatives" to [[Scout Out|the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts]] from every direction. [[Glorious Mother Russia|The Soviet Union]], for instance, had the Pioneers, and [[Nazi Germany]] had the infamous Hitler Youth. A number of churches have also created their own "scouting" organizations, such as the Pathfinders (Seventh Day Adventists), the Royal Rangers for boys and Missionettes for girls (Assemblies of God), and Awana (Southern Baptists). More recently, due to the increasingly conservative bent of the Boy Scouts of America (not surprising, since Lord Baden-Powell came up with the idea during one of Britain's imperial wars of conquest, and "scouts" throughout history have traditionally been connected to the military), there are also a few scouting organizations that have sprung up with the aim of being more accepting of gays, lesbians, and non-Christians.
** The Boy Scouts themselves were partly inspired by an organization called the Boys' Brigade, which was (and is) an explicitly Christian youth organization. Therefore, the Boy Scouts were the "less moral" substitute (which is [[Hilarious in Hindsight|pretty funny]] when you consider the controversy over their views on religion and homosexuality). Also, as the name suggests, the Boys' Brigade has even ''stronger'' military overtones than the Boy Scouts: humorist Clive James, who was a member of both groups in his youth, commented that the Scouts emphasize "woodsy lore" and the Brigade prefers "parade ground drill." For example, the adult organizers of the Brigade are called Officers (with the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain), and younger members can become Non-Commissioned Officers, with ranks running from Private through Staff Sergeant.
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* Besides offering insurance to Catholics who often worked in dangerous jobs, the [[wikipedia:Knights of Columbus|Knights of Columbus]] was also established by American Catholic priest Michael J. McGivney as an alternative to the [[wikipedia:Freemasonry|Freemasonry]], whose secretive nature, tenets and adherence to deist beliefs led to animosity from numerous religious groups who either view the Masons with contempt or condemn them as an occult or even a satanic cabal. McGivney believed that Catholicism and fraternalism were compatible and wanted to found a society to encourage men to be proud of their American–Catholic heritage.
* The [https://soulcore.com/ SoulCore] exercise movement was founded by those who used to practice yoga, but are disillusioned by its perceived effects on their Christian (i.e. Catholic) faith, especially when Pope Francis [https://www.catholic.org/news/health/story.php?id=59107 cautioned the faithful] against the (perceived) spiritual dangers of yoga. Similar "Christian asana"/"Christian yoga" movements have sprung up as well, though they have also been criticised as a form of cultural appropriation by Hindu groups.
* Self-styled "Bitcoin millionaire" Erik Finman launched the FreedomPHONE in 2021 as a conservative response to smartphone platforms developed and operated by what is perceived by right-wing and/or conservative groups, particularly that of [[Donald Trump]] supporters, as censorious mainstream tech companies, especially when Trump became a social media pariah in the same year due to his role in the attempted insurrection in Washington D.C. In keeping with its appeal to the alt-right, Finman touts the device as "free speech and privacy" above anything else, and has the phone bundled with many alt-tech apps such as Newsmax, Parler, Rumble,
* The American mobile provider [https://patriotmobile.com/ Patriot Mobile] was founded in 2015 as a conservative Christian counter to perceived liberal bias by major telecom providers, to the point that they'd associate themselves with prominent right-wing groups and write up loads and loads of drivel about how liberals are (supposedly) ruining America, and to top it all off, their [[More Dakka|undying obsession with firearms]]. Never mind the fact that the devices they sell come from companies with decidedly progressive leanings; T-Mobile was criticised for leasing their capacity to such a questionable organisation, but they scoffed off said criticism as they're a utility company with no jurisdiction on who to serve regardless of ideology.
== Real Life ==
=== Sports ===
▲* The Soviet Union formed the [[wikipedia:Spartakiad|Spartakiads]] from 1928 to 1937 as they initially branded the Olympics as "bourgeois". The event was put on the
▲* In response to the rash of political drama spilling over to the Olympics, particularly the wave of tit-for-tat boycotts such as the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as the retaliatory boycott by the Soviets in 1984 in the Los Angeles Olympiad, American broadcaster Ted Turner (of CNN and ''[[Captain Planet]]'' fame) organised the [[wikipedia:Goodwill Games|Goodwill Games]], a charitable sporting series made with the intent on providing a much less politicised alternative to an event which Turner felt has degenerated more into national or [[Cold War]] posturing than sport.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Creator Standpoint Index]]
[[Category:Morality Tropes]]
[[Category:Follow the Leader]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moral Substitute, The}}▼
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Christian Media]]
▲{{DEFAULTSORT:Moral Substitute, The}}
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