The Xenophile: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Aliens can be [[Intrigued by Humanity]] or a [[Fantastic Anthropologist]], but what about the inverse - when a ''human'' character is obsessed with everything alien? This is often an evolved [[Naive Newcomer]] character in [[Speculative Fiction]], and serves the same function in being a go-between and (sometimes literal) translator between a strange alien culture and the reader/viewer. Unlike a [[Naive Newcomer]], however, the Xenophile doesn't need another character to tell him or her about the alien culture we meet - they can provide all (or at least, most) of the exposition themselves, cheerfully and enthusiastically! In fact, they're so enthusiastic they probably have neglected their relationships with their fellow humans. In addition to appearing in [[Science Fiction]], this trope can also appear in Fantasy literature where a human character is enthusiastic about non-human races and cultures.

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{{examples}}

* The eponymous character from ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

 

* Ellie Arroway from ''[[Contact]]'', both the book and the movie - at least when it comes to the ''idea'' of aliens and how to make contact with them.

* Several main characters in ''[[Avatar]]'' are this to some degree.

* In ''[[Enemy Mine (film)|Enemy Mine]]'', a human and a Drac pilot who are on opposites sides of an space war learn to set aside their racial and political differences to survive on a hostile planet. They start out trying to kill each other, but become good friends.

 

* Bren Cameron of [[C. J. Cherryh]]'s ''[[Foreigner (novel)|Foreigner]]'' series of books. Meant to be an envoy/translator from the human government to the native aliens, he essentially defects to the alien side.

* Arguably, the Pevensie siblings from ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' become this.

* A few different characters in [[Larry Niven]]'s ''Known Space'' books. Beowulf Schaeffer and Louis Wu come to mind. At least one of them explicitly referred to himself as a xenophile.

 

* Many of [[Doctor Who|The Doctor]]'s companions seem to end up like this, so caught up with time travel they don't want to go back to their own time.

* Daniel Jackson of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', seemingly much more at home interacting with the many different cultures and races he's met through the Stargate than he ever is on Earth. He is an anthropologist, after all.

** Sisko meanwhile seems to love Bajoran culture to the point that he decides to build a house there.

 

* "Xenophilia" is one of the possible disadvantages in ''[[GURPS]]'' (applying to anyone exotic, not just nonhumans). It's a disadvantage because it makes you trust potentially nasty creatures more than you should.

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'': this is something the Inquisition works very hard to avert. Many citizens are attracted to the Tau's "Greater good" philosophy and occasionally less brutal treatment of its own citizens, while a very small amount of the Adeptus Mechanicus consider the Necrons holy warriors (it doesn't help that the Omnissiah is possibly the Necron's own omnicidal deity).

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Yeoman Kelly Chambers in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' is thoroughly fascinated by all aliens, which is rather untypical for a member of the pro-human extremist organization Cerberus.

* In ''[[Galactic Civilizations]] II'', when culture suddenly booms it's credited to/blamed on the Xenophiles (Depending on whether your planets are deep in someone else's territory, or theirs are in yours)

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Otherness Tropes]]

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Alien Tropes]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xenophile, The}}