History Main / CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'',
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2007-12-26 Lil' E tries this. Jesus ignores him. He's got no right to do that.]]
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2004-02-27 An appreciation of Satan dwells on this.]]

* Played for laughs with Britta Perry on ''Series/{{Community}}''; she clearly ''believes'' this, about herself especially, but her overall cluelessness about many of the things she protests about (or life in general) and the fact that deep down she's basically sweet and {{Adorkable}} no matter how much she wishes she wasn't means that she generally tends to come across as self-righteous, annoying and not nearly as cool as she believes.

* This is essentially the central premise of ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'' by Creator/CTPhipps. Gary Karkofsky is a wannabe supervillain with anarchist tendencies. He is anti-authority and the system as a lifestyle with the belief it makes him cool. The trope is played with as most superheroes are a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and supervillains find the idea of his CardCarryingVillainy ridiculous.

* ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'':
* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'':

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma Saotome has little to no respect for authority. He physically fights with teachers on a regular basis and goes out of his way to piss them off. Then again, one of his teachers disciplines him with [[KiAttacks Ki Attacks]], another one [[ShipperOnDeck tried to make him confess love to Akane]] during his time as a teacher, and the principal of the school is just batshit insane, so it's kind of understandable.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', a traumatic experience with an EvilMentor leaves Harry Dresden heavily jaded about the MagicalSociety of the White Council, and he makes a point of mocking their authority as much as he can get away with in the early books. [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] when he attends a Council meeting in a bathrobe and unkempt beard, [[YouNoTakeCandle hopelessly mangles]] the Latin that they speak in formal occasions, and slowly comes to realize that they have even less respect for him than he has for them. Although he continues to distrust the Council, CharacterDevelopment leads him to build a better working relationship with them.

* ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' has this going on with the crew of the Serenity. They rebel by avoiding their not exactly well-meaning government while earning a living in a number of morally ambigious ways.

This is the general portrayal in fiction that any character who displays any sort of aloofness, indifference, or outright antagonism to an authority figure, for any reason, must be incredibly cool. Quite often the authority against whom the "rebellion" is directed is an ObstructiveBureaucrat, MegaCorp, EvilEmpire, or some variant, and also the usual reason why TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified.

This is the general portrayal in fiction that any character who displays any sort of aloofness, indifference, or outright antagonism to an authority figure, for any reason, must be incredibly cool. Quite often the authority against whom the "rebellion" is directed is an ObstructiveBureaucrat, MegaCorp, EvilEmpire, or some variant. Often the reason why TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified.

This is the general portrayal in fiction that any character who displays any sort of aloofness, indifference, or outright antagonism to an authority figure, for any reason, must be incredibly cool. Quite often the authority against whom the "rebellion" is directed is an ObstructiveBureaucrat, MegaCorp, EvilEmpire, or some variant. Often the reason why TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified.

This is the general portrayal in fiction that any character who displays any sort of aloofness, indifference, or outright antagonism to an authority figure, for any reason, must be incredibly cool. Quite often the person against whom the "rebellion" is directed is an ObstructiveBureaucrat or some variant.

Expect "authority" to be heavily tainted in TheWarOnStraw in some way or another, when the audience inevitably asks "[[FridgeLogic What's so bad]] about [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure the authority figure]], anyway?". Indeed, {{deconstruction}}s and {{parodies}} of this trope [[DeadHorseTrope are becoming more and more common]]. Some works may point out that acting 'rebellious' to be cool is [[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan just another way to conform to a different authority]]. Others might portray the rebel as a needlessly belligerent and pretentious douchebag. They might also remind us that "TheMan" is capable of good things (Governments protect people and provide services while big businesses produce things and hire people) as well as bad. This ValuesDissonance can result in audiences RootingForTheEmpire. See also SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

This is the general portrayal in fiction that any character who displays any sort of aloofness or indifference to an authority figure, for any reason, must be incredibly cool. Quite often the person against whom the "rebellion" is directed is an ObstructiveBureaucrat or some variant.

Expect "authority" to be heavily tainted in TheWarOnStraw in some way or another, when the audience inevitably asks "[[FridgeLogic What's so bad]] about [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure the authority figure]], anyway?". Indeed, {{deconstruction}}s and {{parodies}} of this trope [[DeadHorseTrope are becoming more and more common]]. Some works may point out that acting 'rebellious' to be cool is just another way to conform to a different authority. Others might portray the rebel as a needlessly belligerent and pretentious douchebag. They might also remind us that "TheMan" is capable of good things (Governments protect people and provide services while big businesses produce things and hire people) as well as bad. This ValuesDissonance can result in audiences RootingForTheEmpire. See also SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' plays with the trope. Once Team Dai-Gurren ''wins'' they become their own authority, and the epilogue features the kind of ultra-high-tech society (and its military) that wouldn't get built if everyone spent their time rebelling for the sake of rebelling.

** Other episodes play with this trope. For instance, Frank Burns was left in temporary command and decided that the medical staff were verging on alcoholism, and declares the 4077th 'dry'. By the end of the episode, despite Hawkeye's furious protests and rants, it's become clear and is portrayed as such that Frank ''did'' have a point, he just took it a bit too far. More brutally, on a later occasion Hawkeye himself is left in temporary command of the 4077th, and rapidly gains a different perspective on the sort of shenanigans he himself often pulls, to the point that he actually muses over charging B.J. Hunnicutt with being AWOL because he wasn't there when Hawkeye needed him for a medical crisis (he was responding to a different problem on his own, without authorization). Margaret even teases Hawkeye about this realization.

* ''Film/FightClub'': Tyler Durden's loud and brash anti-establishment way of thinking clicks taps very well into the frustration and resentment of the working class. While harmless at first (at least as harmless as therapeutic punching of other people go), as the movie goes on, Tyler is shown to be increasingly destructive, narcissistic, and mean-spirited. By the end of the movie, Tyler is, for all intents and purposes, the leader of a terrorist organization, blowing up buildings without any care for what harm they might do to bystanders.

* In ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'', Quinn explains he expects no trouble from his {{Pirate}} prisoners because [[http://www.rhjunior.com/QQSR/00013.html their attempt to play this trope showed how stupid they were.]]

* Hawkeye from ''{{Series/Mash}}'' might fall under this, although he usually only rebels against authority when authority is being stupid. Which is, admittedly, [[OnceAnEpisode every episode]]. This is the whole purpose of the show, to rebel against authority. Hawkeye even interrupts the peace talks because he feels they aren't doing enough.

* Comes up briefly a time or two in the ''Literature/XWingSeries''. In Creator/MichaelStackpole's run Rogue Squadron - who got that name in the first place purely for the coolness factor - is MildlyMilitary and quite happy to ignore minor directives and rules... which is usually seen as quite positive, with most people accepting it because they get amazing results, and [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong the one who thinks they're irresponsible]] generally getting ignored. Then the complainer saves their skins after ignoring a rule himself - and rather than shrugging it off, insists that he be reported, because rigid rulebound discipline is all that keeps his people alive in the long run. In the end Rogue Leader Wedge Antilles has to accept this as valid.

-->'''Jyn''' (to [[IronLady Mon Mothma]], while handcuffed): It's a rebellion, isn't it? I ''rebel''.

* In ''{{Film/Serenity}}'' Mal finally has enough of TheAlliance following [[spoiler:the crew's discovery of what happened on Miranda]] and decides to pay them back for everything, starting with his famous line "I aim to misbehave". His statement of rebellion is not exactly unreasonable as TheAlliance is not a well-meaning government and did many truly despicable things, and would just not leave him and his crew the hell alone.

* In ''{{Film/Serenity}}'' Mal finally had enough of TheAlliance and decides to pay them back for everything, starting with his famous line "I aim to misbehave". His statement of rebellion is not exactly unreasonable as TheAlliance is not well-meaning government and did many truly despicable things.

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick rips this trope apart in her review of ''Film/RealityBites''.

* Sal of ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'' has a leather jacket, a CoolBike, a knack for attracting admirers whether or not she actually wants to, and zero patience for rules. This applies to everything from maths to room-mate agreements to Franchise/MarioKart.

A very common trait of the MarySue.