The Moral Substitute: Difference between revisions
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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]] ==
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** 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]] ==
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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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