History Main / AuthorFilibuster

* Terry Pratchett succumbed to this in later ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' books, as he began to use the series to express his views on the world. A major example is the argument between Sacharissa and William in ''The Truth'' on the true purpose of news media, in which William may as well be holding a card that says "VIEWPOINT OF TERRY PRATCHETT". Pratchett was an atheist and a humanist, something that won't surprise anyone who has read ''Literature/SmallGods'' or the exchanges between Granny Weatherwax and Oates in ''Literature/CarpeJugulum''.
* Like so many other things of the literature scene, this gets heavily satirized by Creator/WalterMoers in many of his books through his [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny Ears]] AuthorAvatar Hildegunst von Mythenmetz (Optimus Yarnspinner in the English translation). The plot of the books is actually a story inside a story, that is told by Hildegunst who is constantly breaking the fourth wall (which is in fact, an in-story fourth wall) to comment on the story he is currently writing down. Moers hangs a giant lampshade on it by having Hildegunst invent the ''Mythenmetzian Tangent'', a literary device in which the author stops telling his story and instead talks about something entirely else. Be it the interior decoration of his study, or a rant directed at his most hated critic, or just [[MindScrew entire pages of the word "Brumli"]]. Hildegunst does, however, fail to explain the purpose of this device, which is completely intentional.

* Ulysses from ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' ''Lonesome Road'' [=DLC=], who spends most of his on-screen (and [[TheVoice off]]) saying how he wants to "wipe the slate clean" by nuking NCR (which will also destroy the Legion in due time, due to them no longer having a strong enemy to fight). It's basically Chris Avellone projecting his ideas of how the series is straying away from his original vision: a desolate wasteland, which no larger law to govern it.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}': Kevin Siembieda enters Author Filibuster mode regularly. He instructs gamemasters in "the only right way" to run their games. It ranges from core game mechanics ("There are no neutral alignments") to ethical matters ("Faction A is intrinsically evil because..."). Most players just ignore these statements and run things their way, which only fuels further Author Filibusters.

** ''Literature/{{Holly}}'' is a borderline AuthorTract with how much it brings up Donald Trump. The story establishes the title character’s heroicness by having her her recount events so traumatic that she cries in recollection - Trump, the election, and oh yeah there was that shapeshifting, child-murdering EldritchAbomination that attacked her. All very similar situations.

-> “And bonus! Trump's gone.” ''Leaving behind a country at war with itself,'' Holly thinks. And who's to say he won't reappear in 2024? She thinks of Arnie's promise from ''Film/TheTerminator'': “I'll be back.”

* Near the end of ''Literature/RobotsAndEmpire'', Creator/IsaacAsimov put in an {{Anvilicious}} and story-derailing diatribe against nuclear fission power. It is stated that the Three Mile Island accident forever turned the world against its use, to the extent that humans would rather burn oil or coal instead. Even the name of the place is taboo to mention centuries afterward. This doesn't bear any resemblance to the real world even when the book was published (in 1985, six years after the accident).

* Literature/MaximumRide goes this direction in ''The Final Warning''. In the first three books, the main characters were always on the move and in danger, fighting for their lives against evil scientists, and keeping a low profile. In this book, Max and the flock are brought to Antarctica to combat '''global warming'''. The commentary is there but not overwhelming until the last few pages of the book (before the epilogue), which has Max ''making a speech to the US Congress'' (a ''literal'' filibuster) concerning global warming and referencing the current big thing about compact fluorescent light bulbs (that if every house replaced one normal bulb with one of these, it would be "like taking a million cars off the road"). The protagonist of this series was the subject of kidnapping and human experimentation but goes out of his way to state that global warming is worse than those things. The speech also contains a lot of America-bashing (pig-headed, short-sighted, arrogant, etc).

If the author's opinion is the purpose of the work, it's an AuthorTract. If this is the climax of the book, it's often a case of TalkingTheMonsterToDeath. If a character is delivering the rant, it's also a CharacterFilibuster. A main cause of DontShootTheMessage.

* The five-issue-long series ''ComicBook/{{Warrior}}'' -- a licensed comic about every ProfessionalWrestling fan's favorite crackpot, the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior -- is one great big WallOfText after another meant to elucidate the reader on Warrior's bizarre mystical-reactionary philosophy and paint Warrior as UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}. Between the sheer density of the text and the preponderance of made up words (just what in the blue hell is "Destrucity", anyway?),[[note]]The comic actually does provide a definition for the word, but somehow it causes the word to make ''even less'' sense than before.[[/note]] it confused its few readers so badly that both the third and the fourth issues had to open with an explanation of the previous issues (with the recap on the fourth issue being a footnote and unreadable due to being black text on black paper). The one issue this doesn't apply to is the Christmas special, a completely [[NoDialogueEpisode dialogue-less issue]] in which Warrior goes to the North Pole, puts SantaClaus [[{{Squick}} in bondage]], steals his clothes, ''[[spoiler:and possibly rapes him]]''. There's a reason that every wrestling fan on the planet has agreed that the guy is nucking futs. It's bad enough to [[http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/bt/spoonyone/reviews/7238-warrior1 mess with the space-time continuum!]]

* [[WebVideo/KingdomHeartsInANutshell Just A Pancake]] does this in his 'in a nutshell' of [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3dDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]

--> Ansem: Darkness within darkness awaits you
--> Pancake: Okay, time out! [[WhoWritesThisCrap Who the hell wrote these scripts?]] I mean, really! Darkness within darkness? Darkness within freaking darkness?!

* People familiar with [[Theatre/LesMiserables the musical version]] of ''Les Misérables'' are certain to be rather confused by numerous dissertations on such things as local linguistics, Hugo's thoughts on convents, the life of a side character bishop, the governance of a town, the Battle of Waterloo, and the Paris sewer system in [[Literature/LesMiserables the original work]] so that the filibustering seems to take up more space than the actual storytelling.

* A long section of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' consists of Creator/VictorHugo telling us how horrible the French Revolution was.

* In ''Literature/AmericaTheBook'', Creator/JonStewart referenced ''ComicStrip/MallardFillmore'''s use of this trope, in the form of a [[https://i.imgur.com/LPQ7Rlr.png parody strip]] with the punchline "Oops! I forgot to tell a joke!"

* At first glance, one might think ''VideoGame/MemberTheAlamo''[='=]s offensive content is simply edgy ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''-style humor. However, the final level is preceded by an 18-minute long unskippable cutscene where, after a living gun sings "Amazing Grace", a character delivers a sermon preaching the views of Catholic, far-right, anti-Semitic writer E. Michael Jones, pushing conspiracy theories claiming that the Administrivia/COVID19Pandemic was engineered to control the masses and that pornography is used to dismantle organized religion, among other things. All of this is delivered completely straight, without any hint of comedy, and it includes a plug for one of Jones' e-books.

** Yahtzee has taken this stance against the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series by taking time out of his review of a Sonic game to remind viewers that Sonic is beyond the point of saving and how Sega should just put Sonic out of his misery.

* Creator/BillOReilly's fiction book, from before he was really famous, ''Those Who Trespass'', can be bolied down one filibuster after the other , from two characters that essentially play two sides of his personality, one of which is a cold-blooded killer who takes revenge on those who fired him from television, while the other is an Irish cop who blabs on about the errors he predicts in the OJ Simpson trial, which was a few months away in the book's time.

* Given that Froghand is a blog, as evidenced by hovering over that link, Froge has ample opportunity to express his opinions, including the [[https://froghand.neocities.org/10xrule.html The 10X Rule Review]] where he talks about what it means to be a great person, yet still staying within the scope of the review instead of going completely off the rails.

** ''Literature/{{Next}}'' warns of the dangers of Big Genetics, hamfisting the point in at every available opportunity, with an epilogue followed by a didactic author's note, just to make sure that the subtlety of his point could, in fact, cause a concussion.

* ''[[FanFic/UltimateSleepwalker Ultimate Sleepwalker: The New Dreams]]'' has a one-scene filibuster that illustrates the author's hatred of the CListFodder trope, as well as the frequent depiction of C- and D-list characters as losers or otherwise ineffective in the official comics. A villain who's considered an A-list psychopath in the official comics gets into a fight with a villain who's a D-list loser at best, and the scene throws traditional expectations out the window by having the D-lister win. The D-lister then points out to his dying opponent that a character's ranking on "some glorified pecking order" doesn't necessarily reflect their true potential.

* The Windy City arc of ''FanFic/TheGreatAlicornHunt'' is a long rant about how the author thinks "anti-ableism SJW's" are "infesting the medical profession with their wrongheaded ideas".

** Theatre/HolyMusicalBatman: Batman gives [[spoiler: Superman]] a pep talk that enthuses about just how awesome superheroes are and defends less serious characters like Robin that tend to get a lot of bashing from fans.

** Theatre/AVeryPotterSequel: Harry gets a speech that uses Hogwarts as a metaphor for the whole Literature/HarryPotter franchise.

--> '''DWK:''' There, I made an analytical video, and as you know, having just watched it, it was shit.

* Professor Michael Murphy in the Literature/BabylonRising series frequently lectures his students, friends, and acquaintances on the correctness of his conservative Christian views. It just so happens that Murphy's creator, Tim [=LaHaye=] (of ''Literature/LeftBehind'' fame) is a conservative Christian.

* Literature/SisterhoodSeries by Creator/FernMichaels: Well, this series has gone into this trope a number of times. The book ''Payback'' portrays a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) as the scum of the earth who suck up your money like leeches, use that money to pamper themselves, and will simply stand back and not lift a finger to help you as you die of a life-threatening illness. The book ''Vendetta'' portrays China as a CrapsackWorld that cheerfully brings YellowPeril wherever it goes! The book ''The Jury'' has one character Nikki Quinn tell the other characters about the vicious cycle of abuse between spouses. The book ''Fast Track'' portrays the World Bank (particularly its president) as a money-sucker that will leave poor countries to rot and die. The book ''Under the Radar'' portrays a polygamist sect as a cult made up of a SmallTownTyrant, rapists, and pedophiles hiding behind religion and treating women as a BabyFactory.

* In Joseph Heller's novel ''Good as Gold'', the narrative stops dead for about forty pages while the author delivers a massive rant about Henry Kissinger, how he's a lying, murdering scumbag and how, worst of all, [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking he isn't even really Jewish]].

* ''Literature/SpectralShadows'' got this with Serial 11, which serves as a vehicle for the author to do various [[{{TakeThat}} "Take That!"s]] to, well, anything they didn't like. Somewhat of a subversion in that, while the author does use the plot and characters to express her viewpoints the story doesn't grind to a halt. The closest you get to the plot stopping are characters discussing ideas for a few minutes of plot time.
* In ''Literature/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre'', the narrator takes time out to give his opinions on the Catholic Church, the rich, and colonial governments. (He's not a fan of any of them). On one occasion, the headman of an Indian village delivers a [[CharacterFilibuster page and a half long sermon]] on the futility of seeking gold and the value of [[Main/{{Arcadia}} good company, good farmland and good livestock]].

* Fit the Eleventh of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' is largely a filibuster about -- of all things -- the fact there are too many shoe shops around, and the shoes they sell are all rubbish, suggesting that eventually, we will reach the Shoe Event Horizon, where it will be economically impossible to make or sell anything except ill-fitting shoes. Apparently, Creator/DouglasAdams wrote it after failing to find a decent pair of shoes in Oxford Street.

* TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}: Kevin Siembieda enters Author Filibuster mode regularly. He instructs gamemasters in "the only right way" to run their games. It ranges from core game mechanics ("There are no neutral alignments") to ethical matters ("Faction A is intrinsically evil because..."). Most players just ignore these statements and run things their way, which only fuels further Author Filibusters.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Kiki, of all people]], breaks into [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20090830 an eight-panel rant]] about how [[{{Fandom}} Fandoms]] shouldn't be upset when authors kill off beloved characters ([[spoiler:which Pete had done once]]). It's [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], however, when Kiki ends the rant complaining about Author Filibusters, [[HypocriticalHumor completely unaware of the irony]].

* ''WebComic/LeastICouldDo'' has a few arcs where protagonist Rayne will lecture other characters (and usually the audience) about how he's right and anyone who disagrees is wrong; probably the most infamous example is an arc set at a convention where he outright says "Webcomics suck", mainly because most webcomic artists don't[=/=]can't keep a consistent release schedule. The fact that nobody can ever debate Rayne, and that onlookers usually treat him like a genius, does nothing to help the perception that Rayne is Ryan Sohmer's AuthorAvatar GaryStu character.
* ''WebComic/PlanetZebeth'' had multiple times where the story would pause in place for political rants, some that would go on for weeks or even ''months''. It got bad enough to where the creator outright apologized and swore the comic would go back on track to being just the ''Metroid'' parody it was originally intended to be.

** However in his review of Creator/FrankMiller's ''Comicbook/HolyTerror'', he gives quite a moving one about how people in power should treat others well and compassion isn't a weakness, in reaction to the methods used by the DesignatedHero of the book and the very UnfortunateImplications in their treatment of Islam.

* In the middle of his execrable ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' review Davis Aurini gives a long-winded, rambling, barely coherent rant about how [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain feminism is wrong, women shouldn't be allowed to fight in battle, men invented everything significant, women are too slutty, etc]].

* A significant portion of a late ''Manga/FireForce'' chapter is dedicated to battling what the mangaka perceives to be the SlutShaming of ReluctantFanserviceGirl and BaseBreakingCharacter Tamaki, framed as a debate between a young boy who is an obvious author mouthpiece and his {{Moral Guardian|s}} mother. To remove any doubt that this trope is in play, the boy [[spoiler:literally calls his mother a nameless character who only exists for exposition, which causes her to disappear]].

* A significant portion of a late ''Manga/FireForce'' chapter is dedicated to battling what the mangaka perceives to be the SlutShaming of ReluctantFanserviceGirl and BaseBreakingCharacter Tamaki, framed as a debate between a child who is an obvious author mouthpiece and the child's {{Moral Guardian|s}} mother. To remove any doubt that this trope is in play, the child [[spoiler:literally calls his mother a nameless character who only exists for exposition, which causes her to disappear]].

* A significant portion of a late ''Manga/FireForce'' chapter is dedicated to battling what the mangaka perceives to be the SlutShaming of divisive ReluctantFanserviceGirl Tamaki, framed as a debate between a child who is an obvious author mouthpiece and the child's {{Moral Guardian|s}} mother. To remove any doubt that this trope is in play, the child [[spoiler:literally calls his mother a nameless character who only exists for exposition, which causes her to disappear]].

** Whenever Yahtzee's reviewing a Wii-game, expect at least one-and-a-half minutes of bashing the console ''itself'', not because the game was awful, but because he [[ViewersAreGoldfish feels the need to remind us that, yes, he DOES hate this console]].

** And if it's any sort of shooter game (usually involving the American military, but that's not a hard and fast rule), expect a rant about how America is imperialistic and mean and sucks.
** Yahtzee's review of ''The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds'' spends less time making fun of the game and more time making fun of Nintendo's business practices, accusing them of relying on nostalgia and gimmicky peripherals to sell consoles/games.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'', especially during the troll-influenced issues, usually have the eponymous character or the AuthorAvatar complaining about stuff the author hates, mostly trolls and homosexuality. Issue 10 is the worst of the bunch, with at least three filibusters and, at one point, Sonichu even tells Chris to stop and get on with the story!

** ''Literature/StateOfFear''

*** While not a filibuster as such, this book contains an odd and rather distasteful TakeThat at one of the critics of ''UsefulNote/{{StateofFear}}'' by including a suspiciously similar character: a child raper with a small dick.

*** While not a filibuster as such, this book contains an odd and rather distasteful TakeThat at one of the critics of ''State of Fear'' by including a suspiciously similar character: a child raper with a small dick.

* Given that Blog/{{Froghand}} is a blog, as evidenced by hovering over that link, Froge has ample opportunity to express his opinions, including the [[https://froghand.neocities.org/10xrule.html The 10X Rule Review]] where he talks about what it means to be a great person, yet still staying within the scope of the review instead of going completely off the rails.

** ''Making History'' contains at least one conversation full of remarks the author himself has made in interviews. The line "Just because [[ScienceMarchesOn science doesn't know everything]] doesn't mean [[ScienceIsBad science knows nothing]]" stands out. There's also the "beautiful words" sketch from ''A Bit of Fry and Laurie'', which is ''all'' filibuster by an AuthorAvatar character. He did a podcast where he makes many of the same points, only seriously.

* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'': The Special Edition's {{Easy Mode|Mockery}} credits have a brief moment where Doug [=TenNapel=] (a believer in Creationism) briefly starts to complain about evolution, catches himself, and tries to handwave it away by saying that Creator/ShinyEntertainment is not affiliated with his beliefs, or whatever.