History Main / FantasticRacism

* {{FantasticRacism/Advertising}}

* FantasticRacism/ComicStrips

* AnimalJingoism: Conflict between any two kinds of [[AnimalAnthropomorphismTropes talking animals]]

Futuristic science fiction examples of human-on-alien Fantastic Racism will often make the human racist a member of a group historically discriminated against on Earth (such as a black character in an American-created work) both to emphasize that human-on-human racism is a thing of the past, and for the sake of irony from the viewers' perspective.[[note]]Just watch out for the UnfortunateImplications inherent in depicting [[OnceAcceptableTargets a discriminated-against group]] as [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "morally]] [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain inferior"]]. Or don't, if you think that everybody needs to grow a spine, but [[IWarnedYou don't say you weren't warned]].[[/note]]

Not to be confused with SpaceJews, in which an imaginary species or culture has disturbing similarities to a real-world racist stereotype. Also related to HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster, where said monsters are usually used as a metaphor for other types of discrimination, oftentimes discrimination based on characteristics perceived by the bigot to be alterable, [[CureYourGays "curable"]], such as an alternative sexual identity, a disability, or a different religion/religious differences (the two tropes can often overlap in the case of religion), rather than race or ethnicity. FantasticSlurs are often involved, as are {{Monster Rights Movement}}s. RealLife weaselly lines like SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX may feature. The undesired minorities may be rounded up inside a FantasticGhetto, and may also be the targets of SuperHumanTrafficking.

* AnimalJingoism: Conflict between any two kinds of [[AnimalAnthropomorphismTropes talking animals]].
** CatDogDichotomy: [[ThisIndexMeows Felines]] versus [[ThisIndexBarks canines]].
** DogsHateSquirrels: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Self-explanatory]].
** PetsVersusStrays: Domesticated animals that live with humans, versus feral animals that live in the wild.
** XenophobicHerbivore: Not all {{herbivores are friendly}}. Many of them are (understandably) afraid of predatory animals.

** KillAllHumans: The (attempted) [[FinalSolution genocide]] of ''Homo sapiens sapiens''.
* ClashOfEvolutionaryLevels: Conflict between a species and their [[EvolutionaryLevels evolutionary superiors]].

** ClonesArePeopleToo: But clones are actually just as real and human as natural-born people, and wish to have the same rights as they do.

** CallAHumanAMeatbag: Used by robots against humans or other organic beings.
** SonOfAnApe: Used by aliens or other organic beings against humans, for being evolved primates.

* FurAgainstFang: [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]] ([[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent or other animal shapeshifters]]) versus [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]].
* HalfBreedDiscrimination: In the case of a [[HalfHumanHybrid hybrid]] [[NonhumanHumanoidHybrid character]] who is discriminated against by one or both of their parents' species.
** HalfBreedAngst: When a hybrid person feels severe insecurity over not fully belonging to either side of their mixed heritage.
** MalignedMixedMarriage: When bigots direct their ire against the parents of a hybrid for daring to cross the sexual and genetic boundaries of their respective species.

** AndroidsArePeopleToo: [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Human-like robots]] want to be treated equally to actual humans.
** RobotsEnslavingRobots: Robots versus other types of robots; likely an ironic variation of the above.

** SuperhumanTrafficking: [[HumanTraffickers Kidnapping]] and [[MadeASlave enslavement]] of special people to exploit their superpowers.
** SuperSupremacist: An inversion, with superhumans despising normal people and believing they should rule over them.

** InhumanableAlienRights: [[LoopholeAbuse By definition]], ''non''-humans cannot be protected by the laws of ''human'' rights.
** VanHelsingHateCrimes: When a [[HunterOfMonsters monster hunter]] indiscriminately attacks [[BenevolentMonsters innocent monsters]] only for being monsters.
* ZombieAdvocate: Civil rights activists working for the equality of unusual minorities; sort of an inversion of Fantastic Racism.

Not to be confused with SpaceJews, in which an imaginary species or culture has disturbing similarities to a real-world racist stereotype. Also related to HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster, where said monsters are usually used as a metaphor for other types of discrimination, oftentimes dicrimination based on characteristics perceived by the bigot to be alterable, [[CureYourGays "curable"]], such as an alternative sexual identity, a disability, or a different religion/religious differences (the two tropes can often overlap in the case of religion), rather than race or ethnicity. FantasticSlurs are often involved, as are {{Monster Rights Movement}}s. RealLife weaselly lines like SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX may feature. The undesired minorities may be rounded up inside a FantasticGhetto, and may also be the targets of SuperHumanTrafficking.

* FantasticRacism/LiveActionFilms]]

* {{FantasticRacism/Film}}

Compare SuperiorSpecies, in which one species actually ''is'' objectively superior in some way; SpeciesLoyalty, which may but does not need to entail this; and MasterRace, when it's just in their head (and is probably [[ANaziByAnyOtherName a metaphor for]] ThoseWackyNazis for further bad-guy points). Contrast with InterspeciesFriendship.

Compare SuperiorSpecies, in which one species actually ''is'' objectively superior in some way; SpeciesLoyalty, which may but does not need to entail this; and MasterRace, when it's just in their head (and is probably [[ANaziByAnyOtherName a metaphor for]] ThoseWackyNazis for further bad-guy points).

[[caption-width-right:330:[[NoTrueScotsman "They aren't even]] ''[[NoTrueScotsman real]]'' [[NoTrueScotsman bears!"]] [[note]]Actually, they are, [[ScienceMarchesOn even if historically they were considered raccoons]].[[/note]]]]

[[YouKeepUsingThatWord "Fantastic"]] as in "{{fantasy}}" or ''fictional'', [[UnfortunateImplications not as in "awesome"]], [[AndThatsTerrible obviously]].

Now that we got ''that'' out of the way, Fantastic Racism is a subset of the old trick of dealing with thorny issues through [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything metaphor]]. Instead of having TheHero encounter racism between, say, white and black people in the American DeepSouth, or between ethnic Czech and Roma in the Czech Republic, or between Ainu and Japanese, or any other sets of real-world groups, they encounter "racism" between two-headed aliens and three-headed aliens, or between [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender people with earth-themed elemental powers and people with water-themed elemental powers]], or between [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} shapeshifting squid-people and shapeshifting octopus-people]].

->''Racism was not a problem on the Discworld, because--what with trolls and dwarfs and so on--speciesism was more interesting. Black and white lived in perfect harmony and ganged up on green.''

Futuristic science fiction examples of human-on-alien Fantastic Racism will often make the human racist a member of a group historically discriminated against on Earth (such as a black character in an American-created work) both to emphasize that human-on-human racism is a thing of the past, and for the sake of irony from the viewers' perspective.[[note]]Just watch out for the {{unfortunate implications}} inherent in depicting [[OnceAcceptableTargets a discriminated-against group]] as [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "morally]] [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain inferior"]]. Or don't, if you think that everybody needs to grow a spine, but [[IWarnedYou don't say you weren't warned]].[[/note]]

->''"Racism was not a problem on the Discworld, because--what with trolls and dwarfs and so on--speciesism was more interesting. Black and white lived in perfect harmony and ganged up on green."''

-->-- '''Creator/TerryPratchett''', ''Literature/WitchesAbroad''

Futuristic science fiction examples of human-on-alien Fantastic Racism will often make the human racist a member of a group historically discriminated against on Earth (such as a black character in an American-created work) both to emphasize that human-on-human racism is a thing of the past, and for the sake of irony from the viewers' perspective.[[note]]Just watch out for the {{unfortunate implications}} inherent in depicting [[OnceAcceptableTargets a discriminated-against group]] as [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "morally]] [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain inferior"]]. Or don't, if you think that [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad everybody needs to grow a spine]], but [[IWarnedYou don't say you weren't warned]].[[/note]]

If the point of the story is [[PrejudiceAesop to show the evils of racism]], this trope can lead to a BrokenAesop if there are in fact good in-universe reasons to discriminate against a certain type of creature (say, because [[HorrorHunger they need to]] [[HungryMenace eat other sapient beings]] [[CarnivoreConfusion in order to survive]], or they genuinely are AlwaysChaoticEvil apart from the odd [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch angsty heroic one]], or they're just [[BewareTheSuperman potentially-dangerous enough]] that one doesn't strictly have to be [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain an absolute incorrigible raving xenophobic lunatic]] to consider making certain... ''precautions'' (at least against the loose cannons) to be a good idea).

[[YouKeepUsingThatWord "Fantastic"]] as in "{{fantasy}}" or ''fictional'', [[UnfortunateImplications not as in "awesome"]]; [[AndThatsTerrible racism obviously never is]], or was to begin with.

** SuperHumanTrafficking: [[HumanTraffickers Kidnapping]] and [[MadeASlave enslavement]] of special people to exploit their superpowers.

If the point of the story is [[PrejudiceAesop to show the evils of racism]], this trope can lead to a BrokenAesop if there are in fact [[FantasticAesop good in-universe reasons to discriminate]] against a certain type of creature (say, because [[HorrorHunger they need to]] [[HungryMenace eat other sapient beings]] [[CarnivoreConfusion in order to survive]], or they genuinely are AlwaysChaoticEvil apart from the odd [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch angsty heroic one]], or they're just [[BewareTheSuperman potentially-dangerous enough]] that one doesn't strictly have to be [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain an absolute incorrigible raving xenophobic lunatic]] to consider making certain... ''precautions'' (at least against the loose cannons) to be a good idea).

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** HalfBreedAngst: When a hybrid person feels severe insecurity over not fully belonging to either side of their [[MixedAncestry mixed heritage]].

Now that we got ''that'' out of the way, Fantastic Racism is a subset of the old trick of dealing with thorny issues through [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything metaphor]]. Instead of having the hero encounter racism between, say, white and black people in the American DeepSouth, or between ethnic Czech and Roma in the Czech Republic, or between Ainu and Japanese, or any other sets of real-world groups, they encounter "racism" between two-headed aliens and three-headed aliens, or between [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender people with earth-themed elemental powers and people with water-themed elemental powers]], or between [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} shapeshifting squid-people and shapeshifting octopus-people]].

See also PeopleOfHairColor (which can be another occasion for racism in fantasy), {{Dehumanization}} (where one race is dehumanized to make them easier to kill) and {{Demonization}} (where negative character traits are fabricated, exaggerated, and generalized in order to justify some form of prejudice and hatred).

* DoubleStandard: When society treats a behavior differently based on the demographic of the person doing it.