Unfortunate Implications: Difference between revisions

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"Someone wrote this... in 1999... and didn't realize that there would be... implications... Or worse, they did understand."

—Y: Ruler of Time, in his review of the manga Alive

The media to which This Very Wiki is devoted generally exhibit greater sensitivity now than in the past, but sometimes something appears that... raises eyebrows. Even when authors are being careful with story elements, it is impossible for one or a couple of creators to really consider every perspective of the audience and just how certain tropes can be construed as troublesome. Especially when you consider just how diverse human beings are and that audiences that were ignored in the past now demand representation and respect.

This is a highly subjective trope, and some tropers may believe concerns about such matters simply relate to political correctness rather than anything substantive. Other tropers may see the entire "political correctness" argument as a plausibly deniable defense of racism and other types of outdated thinking. Still others would point out that if you want to be offended (for whatever reason), then you're certainly going to be able to find an excuse to, no matter how far you have to reach to find something "implied" by a work.

Important Note: Just because a work has Unfortunate Implications does not mean that the author was thinking of it that way. In fact, that's the point of it being unfortunate. So, please, no Justifying Edits about "what the authors really meant." The way an author handles a trope is an important factor here; handling a trope in a clumsy manner can certainly create unintentional impressions for readers. Likewise, if a work intends the offensive message (for example, a piece of Nazi propaganda about Jews), it wouldn't count. Also, for something that may not be offensive to you personally but may offend others in a different culture or time period, see Values Dissonance.

If you came here looking for unfortunate implications of the Nightmare Fuel variety, rather than the hopefully accidental offenses with which this trope concerns itself, see Fridge Horror.

To avoid these pitfalls, please see So You Want To Avoid Unfortunate Implications.

Subjects susceptible to Unfortunate Implications include

Hot-button controversial topics such as war, abortion, and politics.
Subject matter related to race, ethnicity and class.
Most tropes that fit the pattern "All [group of people] are [insert characteristic here]."
Stereotypes of any kind.
Religious subject matter.
Double Standards and sexism.
Material relating to sexual orientation or gender identity, especially due to the Values Dissonance many people have regarding homosexuality and transgender people.
Parallels between fantasy/science fiction works and the real world, especially with Fantasy Counterpart Cultures.
Subject matter related to disabilities and handicapped people.
Lifestyle choices such as being childless, single, or married.
Any of the Rape Tropes, especially in the hands of a clumsy author.

No real life examples, please; Real Life as a whole does not imply anything. Individual people imply things in their works.

Examples of Unfortunate Implications are listed on these subpages:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{trope}}
-[[File:lebron-james-destroy-this-mad-brute-350_7118.jpg|frame|Let's just say Vogue managed to [http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-03-24-vogue-controversy_N.htm get] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrU8zCT2_kA themselves] [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080320 into trouble].]]
+[[File:Lebron-james-destory-this-mad-brute-400 copy.jpg|thumb|350px|Let's just say Vogue managed to [http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-03-24-vogue-controversy_N.htm get] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrU8zCT2_kA themselves] [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080320 into trouble].]]
+{{quote|"''Someone wrote this... in 1999... and didn't realize that there would be... '''implications'''... Or worse, they '''did''' understand''."
+|'''[[Y: Ruler of Time]]''', in his review of the manga ''[http://myanimelist.net/manga/965/Alive Alive]}}
-{{quote|"''Someone wrote this... in 1999... and didn't realize that there would be... '''implications'''... Or worse, they '''did''' understand''."|'''[[Y Ruler of Time]]''' on ''Black''.}}
 The media to which [[This Very Wiki]] is devoted ''generally'' exhibit greater sensitivity now than in the past, but sometimes something appears that... ''raises eyebrows''. Even when authors are being careful with story elements, it is impossible for one or a couple of creators to really consider ''every'' perspective of the audience and just how certain tropes can be construed as [[Berserk Button|troublesome.]] Especially when you consider just how diverse human beings are and that audiences that were ignored in the past now demand representation and respect.
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 This is a '''''highly''''' [[Your Mileage May Vary|subjective trope]], and some tropers may believe concerns about such matters simply relate to [[Political Correctness Gone Mad|political correctness]] rather than anything substantive. Other tropers may see the entire "political correctness" argument as a plausibly deniable defense of racism and other types of outdated thinking. Still others would point out that if you ''want'' to be offended (for whatever reason), then you're certainly going to be able to find an excuse to, no matter how far you have to reach to find something "implied" by a work.
-{{smallcaps|Important Note:}} Just because a work has [[Unfortunate Implications]] does ''not'' mean that the author was thinking of it that way. In fact, that's the point of it being ''unfortunate''. So, please, no [[Justifying Edit|Justifying Edits]] about "what the authors really meant." The way an author handles a trope is an important factor here; handling a trope in a clumsy manner can certainly create unintentional impressions for readers. Likewise, if a work ''intends'' the offensive message (for example, a piece of Nazi propaganda about Jews), it wouldn't count. Also, for something that may not be offensive to you personally but may offend others in a different culture or time period, see [[Values Dissonance]].
+{{smallcaps|Important Note:}} Just because a work has [[Unfortunate Implications]] does ''not'' mean that the author was thinking of it that way. In fact, that's the point of it being ''unfortunate''. So, please, no [[Justifying Edit]]s about "what the authors really meant." The way an author handles a trope is an important factor here; handling a trope in a clumsy manner can certainly create unintentional impressions for readers. Likewise, if a work ''intends'' the offensive message (for example, a piece of Nazi propaganda about Jews), it wouldn't count. Also, for something that may not be offensive to you personally but may offend others in a different culture or time period, see [[Values Dissonance]].
 If you came here looking for unfortunate implications of the [[Nightmare Fuel]] variety, rather than the hopefully accidental offenses with which ''this'' trope concerns itself, see [[Fridge Horror]].
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 To avoid these pitfalls, please see [[So You Want To/Avoid Unfortunate Implications|So You Want To Avoid Unfortunate Implications]].
+'''Subjects susceptible to [[Unfortunate Implications]] include'''
-----
-'''Subjects susceptible to [[Unfortunate Implications]] include:'''
 * Hot-button controversial topics such as war, abortion, and politics.
 * Subject matter related to race, ethnicity and class.
@@ Line 23: / Line 21: @@
 * Stereotypes of any kind.
 * Religious subject matter.
-* [[Double Standard|Double Standards]] and sexism.
+* [[Double Standard]]s and sexism.
-* Sexual orientation and transgendered related material, especially due to the [[Values Dissonance]] many people have regarding homosexuality and transgenderism.
+* Material relating to sexual orientation or gender identity, especially due to the [[Values Dissonance]] many people have regarding homosexuality and [[transgender]] people.
-* Parallels between fantasy/science fiction works and the real world, especially with [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|Fantasy Counterpart Cultures]].
+* Parallels between fantasy/science fiction works and the real world, especially with [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]s.
 * Subject matter related to disabilities and handicapped people.
 * [[Acceptable Lifestyle Targets|Lifestyle choices]] such as being childless, single, or married.
 * Any of the [[Rape Tropes]], especially in the hands of a clumsy author.
-----
-==== Now divided into Sub-categories: ====
+{{noreallife|Real Life as a whole does not imply anything. Individual people imply things in their works.}}
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Advertising|Advertising]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Anime|Anime]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Comic Books|Comic Books]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Film|Film]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Literature|Literature]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Live Action TV|Live Action TV]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Music|Music]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Others|Others]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Remix Comics|Remix Comics]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Video Games|Video Games]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Webcomics|Webcomics]]
-* [[Unfortunate Implications/Western Animation|Western Animation]]
+{{examples on subpages}}
 {{reflist}}
 [[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
-[[Category:Home Page/YMMV]]
 [[Category:Bad Writing Index]]
 [[Category:YMMV Trope]]
 [[Category:Unexpected Reactions to This Index]]
-[[Category:The Wild West]]
 [[Category:Race Tropes]]
-[[Category:index]]
+[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
-[[Category:Unfortunate Implications]]