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What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Difference between revisions
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* Obviously nonliving things like inanimate objects do not figure into this at all... Unless you're in an [[Everything Talks]] situation where the objects are given names, faces, personalities, and so on. And especially if, in the case of the broken-down cars in ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]]'' and Jessie from ''[[Toy Story]] 2'', they sing sad, sad songs about the day their owners threw them away. Mileage on a [[Companion Cube]] may vary, though usually if it gets destroyed/damaged, other ''characters'' will react as if you'd just killed something that was alive.
** Special exceptions may apply in the case of great historical and cultural treasures, usually because someone who values them may opt for a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] rather than allow them to be destroyed.
* Robots and Artificial Intelligence stories examine this quite a lot in their plots, possibly because of the writings of [[Isaac Asimov]]. Good robots and other [[Mechanical Lifeforms]] are considered people most of the time. Killing one is generally the karmic equivalent of killing a human the same way -- except that it is easier to show them getting hurt (think of poor Bishop in ''[[Alien (Film)|Aliens]]''), which gets awkward. [[Mecha Mooks]] and bad robots almost always have a very low value in this regard, even if they demonstrate [[Ridiculously Human Robots|obvious personalities, emotions]], and [[Creative Sterility|humanlike intelligence]]. Regardless, robots are the most frequent victims of the "[[How Did You Know? I Didn't.|How Did You Know That Mook]] [[Not Even Human|Wasn't Human]]?" "[[How Did You Know? I Didn't.|I Didn't!]]" trope. It's [[Just a Machine]], after all. It probably helps that when a robot dies [[We Can Rebuild Him]] more easily than [[Came Back Wrong|bring back a human]] (which is a souce of superiority as well: human life is more complicated, probably because robots are ''always'' written as not having [[Our Souls Are Different|souls]] even if they are sentient), making them more expendable.
* [[The Undead|Undead]] beings like [[Dem Bones|skeletons]], [[Zombie Apocalypse|zombies, ghouls]], and victims of certain strains of [[The Virus]] do not blip ''at all'' in this value (despite still being Homo Sapiens). There's hardly any controversy about it either,probably because they're trying to kill you. In fact, killing one is seen as only helping along a [[Undeath Always Ends|natural process]].
** There are some exceptions in the very, very rare works where the zombies are not entirely mindless and retain a bit more personality and/or self-control. One example of this (albeit one that some viewers found ridiculous) is the 2008 remake of ''Day of the Dead''. It is eventually revealed that certain zombies not only don't eat people, but are completely non-violent. Because of this, multiple characters argue over whether or not it's okay to kill them. They ''are'' [[Carnivore Confusion|zombies]], but they aren't hurting anyone. More on this in the Film section.
** There are other exceptions in cases where someone close to the hero of a story gets [[What Happened to Mommy|turned into a zombie or in-world equivalent]]. The good guys usually can't bring themselves to pull the trigger on what is still outwardly a loved one. This often leads to a [[Shoot the Dog]] moment. A major factor in this is whether or not the infected person's [[Our Souls Are Different|mind or soul]] has been irretrievably destroyed by whatever overtook them, which often leads to a [[Find the Cure]] situation. (Too damn bad about [[What Measure Is a Mook?|all the nameless assimilated people]].)
* Vampires, while they are technically among the undead, have variable ranges simply because they usually have more personality. Most characters can kill them anyway even if they're [[Technical Pacifist|Technical Pacifists]]. Certain depictions of [[Batman (Comic Book)|Batman]] and King Graham from ''[[King's Quest]]'' have killed off [[Dracula]] with favorable karmic results, even when killing ''anything'' is anathema to them. The idea here, as well as with the other undead mentioned above, may be "Well, technically, they're ''already'' dead, so it's okay! And anyway, Vampires are [[Always Chaotic Evil]]!"
** Expect that last detail to [[Van Helsing Hate Crimes|make things awkward]] in fiction where there are [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampires|good vampires]], or vampires who aren't evil, [[Carnivore Confusion|just hungry]], operating in the same world.
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*** Even a plant's life may be deemed quite valuable if it's known to be of an endangered species.
* [[Monster of the Week|Monsters Of The Week]], [[Robeast|Giant Monsters]] and [[Big Creepy Crawlies]] are generally treated as huge pests and exterminated as such without much controversy, typically in self defense. There are some exceptions. If you are a monster, the more you resemble a more conventional specimen of the creature you are based upon, the fewer people you directly harm, and (most importantly) the more personality you have, the better your chances are for surviving. Some human or other will recognize that you are merely misunderstood and may try to help you. Of course, if you eat ''that'' human, you're pretty much boned.
* If the [[Big Bad]] is revealed to be [[Not Even Human|non-human]] as a [[Tomato Surprise]] or [[One
* [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]] rarely have this problem - as their actors are obviously human, it is easy to transfer the value (this is largely why the trope persists even into the modern, CG-heavy era). [[Humanoid Animals]] and [[Half
* As far as other fantastic races, it often seems that the morality of killing the race depends on how much they resemble humans either culturally or physically. [[Five Races|Dwarves, elves, gnomes and halflings]] all look relatively human, and so killing them is bad, but the bestial-looking [[Always Chaotic Evil|orcs, goblins and trolls]] are evil and should be killed. Other races who obviously are not human, but possess cultural traits such as music or clothing styles that the human audience can easily recognize or identify with, are also given preferential treatment over whatever evil races exist.
* And then there is an uncomfortable border line occupied by characters who ''are'' human -- but since they aren't "normal", they aren't considered as such. Good [[Cyborg|Cyborgs]], if the brain is still intact, are almost always considered human, except by the persecutors who harass them. Bad Cyborgs are treated on the same scale as [[Mecha Mooks]]. Other "partially disembodied" entities, whether they [[
** [[Cloning Blues|Clones]], [[All the Myriad Ways|parallel universe duplicates]], and other [[Doppelganger|Doppelgangers]] are [[Expendable Clone|often considered expendable]], even if they absolutely ''are'' biologically human and independent individuals with unique personalities. Restoring an AI from a backup copy is often treated like a [[Disney Death]]. This is all provided at least one "instance" of each character survives. ("Sorry, but we only need one flannel shirt-wearing comic relief guy.") The thing is, [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00383.htm it should be more like a twin sibling dying,] instead it's a more casual [[Immortal Life Is Cheap]]. See also [[Angsty Surviving Twin]].
* Supernatural entities vary depending on alignment. Typically demons are on the same level as undead.
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This is often one of the reasons why [[Humans Are Bastards]]. It can get especially awkward, however, when it happens in works of fiction where many of the ''heroes'' aren't human either, leading to uncomfortable [[Fridge Logic]].
In general, the more thought that is put into the script, the more value nonhuman life will have. This trope is often used as a metaphor for the [[Real Life]] issues of animal and human rights. See also [[That Poor Plant]], [[Of the People]], [[Zombie Advocate]] and [[Van Helsing Hate Crimes]]. The flipside of sorts is [[What Measure Is a Non Super]]. Related tropes are [[Uncanny Valley]], [[They Would Cut You Up]], and [[Emergency Transformation]]. Contrast with [[Androids Are People, Too]].
For cases in which this treatment applies to characters who ''are'' human, see [[What Measure Is a Mook?]], [[Moral Myopia]], [[Immortal Life Is Cheap]], and [[A Million Is a Statistic]].
[[No Real Life Examples Please]]
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