History Main / StrawCharacter

** In ''Literature/StarshipTroopers,'' Heinlein jumps to the opposite end of the spectrum, advocating disenfranchisement of all non-veterans, but also corporal punishment for minor crimes, along with ''capital'' punishment for violent crimes or homicide, even by insane persons. This is all justified with various arguments claiming that anything less would coddle people and lead to higher crime rates (he compares it with training dogs) and any opposing views are strawman versions of themselves.

* Mr. Birling from ''An Inspector Calls'' is a prime example of a British conservative straw man. J.B. Priestly gives the audience no doubt that he is wrong about everything, including his political and social views.

* HeteronormativeCrusader: A homophobic activist who sees any sexuality other than straight to be wicked and vile and is determined to [[BuryYourGays kill]] or [[CureYourGays cure]] everyone who is gay.

* A LetsPlay of "Life and Death 2: The brain", the Lets player does a subdural Hematoma operation...and intentionally holds the suction pump in the brain too long so part of the brain is sucked out. The player then proceeded to say "Oh, she was a Tea Party candidate! She wasn't going to need ''THAT''!"

** When they do take shots at conservatives, it's usually white alpha-male wannabe stereotypes with no real authority such as Mr. Garrison, Jimbo & Ned and a group of men (and one woman who wishes she was a man) with anger problems, the latter of whom were just insecure about their small penises.

** Clyde in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkPostCovid'' is a parody of [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID]] vaccine skeptics, as his adamant refusal to get the vaccine for no discernable reason makes him TheMillstone as the entire town is placed under martial law because of it. At one point he screams at the others that his "body is a temple" [[{{hypocrite}} moments after accepting what he thought was cocaine from Wendy]].

->''[[IResembleThatRemark (Stan shoots Brian in the leg)]]''

->''(Stan shoots Brian in the leg)''

** In ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'', Heinlein once again goes back to libertarian views involving a rich and famous MarySue writer/doctor/lawyer, protecting an even ''more'' rich and famous MarySue Martian/Changeling/cult-leader from a human society of fascist politicians and religious fanatics who want to stop/control/kill him -- sort of an interplanetary version of ''Atlas Shrugged,'' along with arguments comparing humans to monkeys and God.

* Gates from ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' is an interesting example. He was one of the very few free thinkers among [[BeePeople his race]], who all shared the same opinions. He's basically a socialist, openly suspicious of authority figures, with most of his dialogue being him complaining about the "capitalist police state" and "teenage death squad" he's been forcibly drafted into. While most of his appearances involve making fun of extreme beliefs in one way or another, writers have consistently treated him as a sympathetic three-dimensional character.

* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'': The series has a slight but obvious left bend which is occasionally more critical of right-leaning people than those on the left. It's treatment of Bill O'Reilly, in which brags about how evil he is and how black his heart is, however, verges into an outright strawman.

* ''Film/RedPlanet'' features a straw man atheist geneticist who offers no coherent support for his disbelief when debating with other characters. On the opposite site of the equation there is a straw man religious old man, who ''also'' offers no coherent support for his spirituality, while expecting others to share it. Curiously, they get along just fine.

* ''Film/RedPlanet'' features a straw man atheist geneticist who offers no coherent support for his disbelief when debating with other characters.

* ''WebVideo/SomeMoreNews'' has recurring character Warmbo, a literal puppet operated by News Dude Cody Johnston. Warmbo is basically a ''Sesame Street'' character shilling for a mainstream political party, relentlessly cheery about the good things Democrats do when they're in power ([[TautologicalTemplar which are good]] ''[[TautologicalTemplar because]]'' [[TautologicalTemplar Democrats do them]]) while being upset about the bad things Republicans do when they're in power (which are bad ''because'' Republicans do them... Even if they're good when Democrats do them). His status as a strawman is discussed and deconstructed in his first appearance, with the News Dude pointing out that Warmbo, while extremely exaggerated, resembles much of the U.S. electorate in that he isn't really deeply engaged in politics day-to-day or has a clearly defined ideology. He has no personal stake in many of the issues, beyond wanting to see 'his side' win, and as such doesn't really care when Democrats carry on with the same destructive policies they inherit from previous Republican administrations.

* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' franchise often features conservative politicians as [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic murderous fascists]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName in all but name]], while liberals are portrayed as [[DramaQueen touchy-feely]] [[BombThrowingAnarchists pseudo-anarchists]] who are in it just to gain some moral superiority. [[WordOfGod Dan Hauser actually complained]] that since ''GTA V'', and particularly after the highly-contentious U.S. Presidential Election of 2016, real-life politicians have become too similar to the games' parodies, making it hard to parody them without harboring UnfortunateImplications (and entering "DudeNotFunny territory") instead of just poking fun at the most ideologically-charged aspects of the UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem through a British lens (the UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem was traditionally more inclined to consensus-building, given its parliamentary/multi-party nature). Because of this, Hauser says that Rockstar does not plan on making or releasing ''GTA 6'' at least until after UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump leaves the White House.

* Creator/AynRand, as a WriterOnBoard promoting her philosophy of Objectivism, generally made the villains of her fictional works [=Strawman=] Socialists. In particular, not only does ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' have lots and lots of [=Strawman=] Socialist villains, but their political beliefs are repeatedly blamed for every single disaster that happens in the story. In one episode, a passenger train is held up just short of a tunnel unsuitable for its steam locomotive but is ordered to proceed nevertheless by a corrupt politician who is late for a rally and unwilling to wait for a diesel locomotive to carry the train through the tunnel. This means death for every passenger on board -- WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife, right? No -- the [=Strawman=] Political beliefs of the doomed passengers are illustrated to show how their catastrophic demise was justified because they were allegedly each NotSoDifferent than the politician. Even worse is ''Anthem'', where the [=Strawman=] Socialists have eliminated the use of the word "I" in favor of "We," where everyone sobs themselves to sleep in despair, and where the protagonist is ostracized after rediscovering electric lighting both for stepping out of his assigned role as a janitor and for threatening the jobs of candlestick makers.

* ''Literature/TheCandidatesBasedOnATrueCountry'' focuses on the two candidates for the US Presidency: Democrat Harry Pinko, who is a self-obsessed slacker who just wants get elected so he can {{Troll}} rich people, and Republican Skip [=LaDouche=], a [[GunNut trigger-happy]] former CorruptCorporateExecutive. [[NotSoDifferent Both of them are shameless hypocrites who are only in it for their own benefit and amusement.]] Their respective campaign managers are, in many ways, even ''worse.''

* Hal Jordan was portrayed as a straw conservative in the famed ''Franchise/GreenLantern[=/=]Comicbook/GreenArrow'' series from the '70s. Most stories involved Hal acting like a JerkAss and spouting off conservative talking points, [[AnAesop only to be taught a lesson about racism, sexism or classism by the end of the issue]]. Perhaps most notable would be John Stewart's debut issue. Hal is basically called a racist by one of the Guardians of the Universe after he bashes Stewart for standing up to a bigoted police officer. Guy Gardner would qualify as well in TheNineties.

* ''The New Statesman'' featured a scathing parody of the Thatcher ministry, particularly in its depiction of Alan B'Stard.

* ''WebVideo/LouderWithCrowder'':
** Crowder will sometimes perform humorous sketches featuring a strawman of a lefty.
** Crowder's "Change My Mind" segments usually have him discussing a political issue with random 19-year-old lefty college kids who don't have a firm grasp of the subject and easily fall into the debate traps he's planned out beforehand.

* BlondeRepublicanSexKitten: An attractive female conversative used to demonstrate that they're not all old white men.

* HeteronormativeCrusader: A homophobic activist who sees any sexuality other than straight to be wicked and vile.

* MalcolmXerox: A civil rights activist who is willing to resort to extremist violence for further their cause.