History Main / MonumentOfHumiliationAndDefeat

* On ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan visits an AlternateHistory where Walter Mondale won the 1984 presidential election and was such a weak president that (within a matter of ''days'' after taking office) he handed over America to the Soviet Union who conquered the world. One of the statues in Langley Falls portrays Mondale kissing the feet of Soviet Premier Brezhnev.

Humans love winning, and then [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating gloating about it]]. Whenever we win we need to rub our victory in the loser's face and call him out. From the Crusades[[note]]turning mosques into churches and vice-versa[[/note]] to the Nazis[[note]]Hitler made it a point to sign France's surrender on the same railroad car the Germans did in the First World War, and then took it back to Germany as a trophy then blew it up just tomake sure France couldn't get it back when Germany was about to lose the war[[/note]], the Spanish[[note]]after the Civil War, Franco built a mausoleum for himself, an abbey and a graveyard with the labour work of the republican soldiers[[/note]] and the Conquistadors[[note]]after the fall of Tenochtitlan, the conquerors built churches on top of the temples with the very same stones they were built with[[/note]] and even the ''Olympic Games''[[note]]after the student protests of 1968, president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz opened up the Olympic Games in Mexico City in the stadium of the university many students came from[[/note]]; history is full of people who just ''had'' to do it. So you got a story where the BigBad [[TheBadGuyWins has won]]. His armies swarm the entire country and LaResistance is forced to retreat, flee or go into hiding. That's pretty bad, but the bad guy has yet one last thing to do: ensure his rule. So he makes something to honour his victory: he sends his people to make him a giant statue of Our Glorious Leader over the remains of the rebel base, [[{{Egopolis}} renames the former rebel city stronghold in his name]], sets a yearly military Victory Parade on V-Day, or all of them (and/or many many more). His purpose is both to exalt his ego and gloat to ensure no one dares question his authority by taking a former symbol of LaResistance and using it against them. If there are still members of LaResistance hiding around somewhere, the monuments serve to mock them and remind them of their defeat, lower their morale and prevent them from rising against the Leader again. Forcing the defeated enemies to KneelBeforeZod is often part of it as well. Usually invoked in {{Dystopia}}n worlds.

Compare to OurFounder. When the bad guy simply puts his face on an existing monument, it is a RushmoreRefacement. If the bad guy replaces the city's name for a mere number it's AirstripOne. See also HumiliationConga, which is about the villain suffering from any such incident, to the joy of the audience and usually the hero. Subtrope of EvilGloating. [[noreallife]]

Humans love winning, and then [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating gloating about it]]. Whenever we win we need to rub our victory in the loser's face and call him out. From the Crusades[[note]]turning mosques into churches and vice-versa[[/note]] to the Nazis[[note]]Hitler made it a point to sign France's surrender on the same railroad car the Germans did in the First World War, and then blew it up just to drive it home even harder[[/note]], the Spanish[[note]]after the Civil War, Franco built a mausoleum for himself, an abbey and a graveyard with the labour work of the republican soldiers[[/note]] and the Conquistadors[[note]]after the fall of Tenochtitlan, the conquerors built churches on top of the temples with the very same stones they were built with[[/note]] and even the ''Olympic Games''[[note]]after the student protests of 1968, president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz opened up the Olympic Games in Mexico City in the stadium of the university many students came from[[/note]]; history is full of people who just ''had'' to do it. So you got a story where the BigBad [[TheBadGuyWins has won]]. His armies swarm the entire country and LaResistance is forced to retreat, flee or go into hiding. That's pretty bad, but the bad guy has yet one last thing to do: ensure his rule. So he makes something to honour his victory: he sends his people to make him a giant statue of Our Glorious Leader over the remains of the rebel base, [[{{Egopolis}} renames the former rebel city stronghold in his name]], sets a yearly military Victory Parade on V-Day, or all of them (and/or many many more). His purpose is both to exalt his ego and gloat to ensure no one dares question his authority by taking a former symbol of LaResistance and using it against them. If there are still members of LaResistance hiding around somewhere, the monuments serve to mock them and remind them of their defeat, lower their morale and prevent them from rising against the Leader again. Forcing the defeated enemies to KneelBeforeZod is often part of it as well. Usually invoked in {{Dystopia}}n worlds.

** In Season 4, Kings Landing is shown to have a statue of King Joffrey holding a crossbow and standing on [[spoiler: a dead direwolf, House Stark's symbolic animal]], symbolizing victory [[spoiler: over the Starks (as well as a reference to the circumstances of Robb Stark's death at the Red Wedding)]]. It's also a hilarious example of the kind of arrogant MilesGloriosus the boy-king is that he would be depicted personally, when he had absolutely nothing to do with [[spoiler:the assassination]][[note]][[DragonInChief his grandfather]] having been the true orchestrator[[/note]], or any victory his family had orchestrated beforehand, really...and then there was his dwarf reenactment of the War of the Five Kings.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''

* In the sequel series to ''Literature/FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo'', after PresidentEvil [[spoiler: Donald Rumsfeld]] is deposed and the even ''more'' [[EvilerThanThou corrupt and tyrannical]] [[spoiler: Christian Values Party]] takes over, they engage in quite a bit of MonumentalDamage. They level the Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington Memorials, replacing the latter with a 600-foot-tall edifice of [[spoiler: Jesus Christ]], depicting him with long flowing hair, a giant sword reaching another 200 feet in the air, and a stone bible in his outstretched hand.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': In "Wish You Were Here" , Emma is sent to an alternate timeline where she was never the Savior and lives in the Enchanted Forest. Regina follow her there, and at one point sees a (rather vain glorious) statue of Snow White and Prince Charming with a plaque stating "On this site Snow White and Prince Charming heroically defeated the Evil Queen". Her reaction is an equal parts amused and annoyed "Seriously?".

* In ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', the town of Fyrestone was renamed Jackville after Hyperion CEO Handsome Jack after he conquered it as his way of reminding the Crimson Raiders of their failures.

* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' has The Gorthaur, a massive monument of Sauron towering over chained slaves, as an element of a gate between Udun and the Nurnen coast. [[spoiler: Talion and Hirgon blow it up to lure out The Hammer of Sauron.]]

** The Iron Throne was forged from the swords of men who surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror.

* In ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'', the majority of London (Big Ben being one of the few exceptions) has been demolished and replaced with monuments to the Nazi's victory, surrounded by "quarantine blocks": Disease-ridden ghettos that house (imprison) the lower class without power or running water. To top it off, the furious, brutal resistance movement has been destroyed completely by a giant mech, the London Monitor.

* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' game has Mordirith, who became known as the False King, Steward of Angmar. In a twisted mockery of the Stewards who replaced him, Mordirith ruled in Carn Dûm on the behalf of the Witch-king, suppressing any form of rebellion from the few Men that had not allied with Angmar.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Ganon's Castle was built over the remains of Hyrule Castle. The old castle has also been reduced to a pit of lava, which presumably just makes it worse.

* In the last act of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', [[spoiler:the people of Kirkwall build a statue of Hawke beheading the Arishok.]]

* In ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', the town of Fyrestone was renamed Jackville after Hyperion CEO Handsome Jack after he conquered it as his way of reminding the Crimson Raiders of their failures.
* In ''VideoGame/MarioParty: Island Tour'', Bowser builds a huge tower as a monument to his awesome power and locks all the fun of the other Party Islands away.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. After Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic through his puppet leader, he destroys the old fountain in the atrium (which depicted a witch, a wizard, a centaur, a house elf and a goblin as a symbol of magical cooperation) and replaces it with a wizard and a witch sitting on thrones made of (or carried by, in the movies) hundreds of suffering Muggles. The words "MAGIC IS MIGHT" are inscribed on it to make its claim clear that wizards are superior to non-magical creatures. (The first time Harry saw the Fountain of Magical Betheren, if it comes to that, he noticed that "co-operation" seemed to involve the non-humans "looking up adoringly" at the witch and wizard.)

** Aegon's son Maegor the Cruel infamously burned down the Sept of Remembrance. In its place he had built the Dragonpit.

* In the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'', the Malwa tried to gloat over their victory over the Andra empire by giving a captive Andran princess to one of their nobles as a concubine. That didn't work out...

** The former great city of Minas Ithil (the Tower of the Moon), renamed Minas Morgul (the Tower of Sorcery) when orcs took over it. The Black presence was so strong the beautiful statues that adorned the bridges seemed like complete monsters and the flowers expelled a putrid fragrance. Even the city itself, which was described as white as the Moon, seemed as pale as a dead body. The city was made as a stronghold if Sauron's power returned to Mordor to hold him back, but when Gondor failed to protect the city, the Witch King of Angmar (Sauron's second in command) took over the throne of the city.

** The former great city of Minas Ithil (the Tower of the Moon), renamed Minas Morgul (the Tower of Black Magic) when orcs took over it. The Black presence was so strong the beautiful statues that adorned the bridges seemed like complete monsters and the flowers expelled a putrid fragrance. Even the city itself, which was described as white as the Moon, seemed as pale as a dead body. The city was made as a stronghold if Sauron's power returned to Mordor to hold him back, but when Gondor failed to protect the city, the Witch King of Angmar (Sauron's second in command) took over the throne of the city.

* Perseus is known for slaying the dreaded Gorgon Medusa, cursed by Athena with snakes for hair and hideous ugliness that would turn men to stone. Later adaptations of this myth have Medusa's lair littered with statues: the remains of those who came before Perseus... and failed.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* In the sequel series to ''WebOriginal/FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo'', after PresidentEvil [[spoiler: Donald Rumsfeld]] is deposed and the even ''more'' [[EvilerThanThou corrupt and tyrannical]] [[spoiler: Christian Values Party]] takes over, they engage in quite a bit of MonumentalDamage. They level the Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington Memorials, replacing the latter with a 600-foot-tall edifice of [[spoiler: Jesus Christ]], depicting him with long flowing hair, a giant sword reaching another 200 feet in the air, and a stone bible in his outstretched hand.

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* ''ComicBook/{{Commando}}''. In WW2, a GeneralRipper is obsessed with capturing a French town and having his name engraved on their statue from [=WW1=] as their liberator. So much so he orders his soldiers to take the statue at bayonet point against men with machine guns rather than damage it. He suffers a KarmicDeath when a final SS diehard blows up him and the statue just as he's pointing out where he wants his name engraved.

* ''ComicBook/{{Commando}}''. In WW2, a GeneralRipper is obsessed with capturing a French town and having his name engraved on their statue from WW1 as their liberator. So much so he orders his soldiers to take the statue at bayonet point against men with machine guns rather than damage it. He suffers a KarmicDeath when a final SS diehard blows up him and the statue just as he's pointing out where he wants his name engraved.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. After Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic through his puppet leader, he destroys the old fountain in the atrium (which depicted a witch, a wizard, a centaur, a house elf and a goblin as a symbol of magical cooperation) and replaces it with a wizard and a witch sitting on thrones made of (or carried by, in the movies) hundreds of suffering Muggles. The words "MAGIC IS MIGHT" are inscribed on it to make its claim clear that wizards are superior to non-magical creatures.

Humans love winning, and then [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating gloating about it]]. Whenever we win we need to rub our victory to the loser and call him out. From the Crusades[[note]]turning mosques into churches and vice-versa[[/note]] to the Nazis[[note]]Hitler made it a point to sign France's surrender on the same railroad car the Germans did in the First World War, and then blew it up just to drive it home even harder[[/note]], the Spanish[[note]]after the Civil War, Franco built a mausoleum for himself, an abbey and a graveyard with the labour work of the republican soldiers[[/note]] and the Conquistadors[[note]]after the fall of Tenochtitlan, the conquerors built churches on top of the temples with the very same stones they were built[[/note]] and even the ''Olympic Games''[[note]]after the student protests of 1968, president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz opened up the Olympic Games in Mexico City in the stadium of the university many students came from[[/note]]; history is full of people who just ''had'' to do it. So you got a story where the BigBad [[TheBadGuyWins has won]]. His armies swarm the entire country and LaResistance is forced to retreat, flee or go into hiding. That's pretty bad, but the bad guy has yet one last thing to do: ensure his rule. So he makes something to honour his victory: he sends his people to make him a giant statue of Our Glorious Leader over the remains of the rebel base, [[{{Egopolis}} renames the former rebel city stronghold in his name]], sets a yearly military Victory Parade on V-Day, or all of them (and/or many many more). His purpose is both to exalt his ego and gloat to ensure no one dares question his authority by taking a former symbol of LaResistance and using it against them. If there are still members of LaResistance hiding around somewhere, the monuments serve to mock them and remind them of their defeat, lower their morale and prevent them from rising against the Leader again. Forcing the defeated enemies to KneelBeforeZod is often part of it as well. Usually invoked in {{Dystopia}}n worlds.

Humans love winning, and then [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating gloating about it]]. Whenever we win we need to rub our victory to the loser and call him out. From the Crusades[[note]]turning mosques into churches and vice-versa[[/note]] to the Nazis[[note]]Hitler made it a point to sign France's surrender on the same railroad car the Germans did in the First World War, and then blew it up just to drive it home even harder[[/note]], the Spanish[[note]]after the Civil War, Franco built a mausoleum for himself, an abbey and a graveyard with the labour work of the republican soldiers[[/note]] and the Conquistadors[[note]]after the fall of Tenochtitlan, the conquerors built churches on top of the temples with the very same stones they were built[[/note]] and even the ''Olympic Games''[[note]]after the student protests of 1968, president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz opened up the Olympic Games in Mexico City in the stadium of the university many students came from[[/note]]; history is full of people who just ''had'' to do it. So you got a story where the BigBad [[TheBadGuyWins has won]]. His armies swarm the entire country and LaResistance is forced to retreat, flee or go into hiding. That's pretty bad, but the bad guy has yet one last thing to do: ensure his rule. So he makes something to honour his victory: he sends his people to make him a giant statue of Our Glorious Leader over the remains of the rebel base, [[{{Egopolis}} renames the former rebel city stronghold in his name]], sets a yearly military Victory Parade on V-Day, or all of them (and/or many many more). His purpose is both to exalt his ego and gloat to ensure no one dares question his authority by taking a former symbol of LaResistance and using it against them. If there are still members of LaResistance hiding around somewhere, the monuments serve to mock them and remind them of their defeat, lower their morale and prevent them to rise against the Leader one more time. Forcing the defeated enemies to KneelBeforeZod is often part of it as well. Usually invoked in {{Dystopia}}n worlds.