History Main / TheManIsStickingItToTheMan

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, entrepreneurs and companies are incentivized to come up with ways to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim it for themselves, forcing the establishment to either evolve or collapse into bankruptcy. Often, this creative destruction takes the form of new technologies and more efficient production processes (like streaming services and ride-sharing apps putting video rental stores and traditional taxicabs out of business), but it can also include seizing on social trends and moral crusades (such as attacking companies over human rights or environmental issues to position their own product as the "moral[=/=]green alternative"). In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the]] ''[[MeetTheNewBoss new]]'' [[MeetTheNewBoss old guard]], and then [[FullCircleRevolution being destroyed by the]] ''[[FullCircleRevolution new]]'' [[FullCircleRevolution new guard when their time is up]].

* ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' episode #213 had an opening sequence with a statement from "The Man". He makes it quite clear that it is impossible to Stick It To The Man, to Put One Over on The Man, or to Get By The Man, because The Man is watching at all times.

* The [[MegaCorp Vladof Corporation]] in ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' always mentions in its radio adverts that true socialist warriors and the proletariat buy Vladof to overthrow the [[{{Hypocrisy}} capitalist pigs]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''VideoGame/CapsuleServant'' has this as its own self-deprecating premise. Holy Grail Wars have been turned into a MerchandiseDriven battle toy monopoly where Servants are little more than cute gashapon prizes, and whoever has the most (or [[BribingYourWayToVictory spends enough to get the best ones]]) wins. Keep in mind this was made before ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' did the same thing much more seriously, and that its standalone release happened during the latter's tenure... and was ported by [=DelightWorks=], the exact same company that published it at the time.

* ''VideoGame/CapsuleServant'' has this as its own self-deprecating premise. Holy Grail Wars have been turned into a MerchandiseDriven battle toy monopoly where Servants are little more than cute gashapon prizes, and whoever has the most (or [[BribingYourWayToVictory spends enough to get the best ones]]) wins. Keep in mind this was made before ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' did the same thing much more seriously, and that its standalone release happened during the latter's tenure... and was ported by [=DelightWorks=], the exact same company that runs it.

* In Season 3 of ''Series/TheBoys'', {{narcissist}}ic "hero" Homelander has a VillainousBreakdown and rants about EvilInc Vought controlling his entire life on live television. This resonates with his fanbase and his additional popularity leads to him [[TyrantTakesTheHelm performing a hostile takeover of Vought]] while painting himself as an anti-establishment figure. Soon he becomes a {{Trumplica}} ranting about unfair treatment by the media... [[MegaCorp which he now owns]].

* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' sums up this trope nicely in "The Lost Girls":
-->"As far as I can make out, 'edgy' occurs when middlebrow, middle-aged profiteers are looking to suck the energy -- not to mention the spending money -- out of the "youth culture". So they come up with this fake concept of seeming to be dangerous when every move they make is the result of market research and a corporate master plan."

* In the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''The Highest Science'', record companies in the future openly manufacture new music trends and associated subcultures, which teens are supposed to shift to instantly, but one character isn't being fooled. No matter how much the companies try to sell the light, poppy "freakster" sound to him, he knows the deep, rebellious "headster" movement was ''real''. His DespairEventHorizon is seeing his musical idol in freakster fashion, being interviewed about how his headster lyrics were a load of drug-addled nonsense.

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, entrepreneurs and companies are incentivized to come up with ways to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim it for themselves, forcing the establishment to either evolve or collapse into bankruptcy. Often, this creative destruction takes the form of new technologies and more efficient production processes (like streaming services and ride-sharing apps putting video rental stores and traditional taxicabs out of business), but it can also include seizing on social trends and moral crusades (such as attacking companies over human rights or environmental issues to position their own product as the "moral[=/=]green alternative"). In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the]] ''[[MeetTheNewBoss new]]'' [[MeetTheNewBoss old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.

* Music/PinkFloyd's "[[Music/WishYouWereHere Welcome to the Machine]]" explores this; when the supposedly edgy, rebellious band finally encounter the Machine of the music industry, it is able to correctly guess and predict their every move. Because the music industry is ''built'' around supposedly edgy, rebellious bands, and they're ultimately just as big a cog of the industry as the suits and executives are.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_Soda OK Soda]]. Made by the Coca-Cola Company in 1993 to target the Gen-X/grunge demographic, it's... well, just read the page on Wiki/TheOtherWiki. And somebody thought that angsty grunge teens would buy into this?

The commercial may refer specifically to [[BlamingTheMan "The Man"]]. A type of StrawHypocrite. Compare WeDontSuckAnymore and BitingTheHandHumor. See also DisobeyThisMessage. A more violent example could leaq to a StagedPopulistUprising.

The commercial may refer specifically to [[BlamingTheMan "The Man"]]. A type of StrawHypocrite. Compare WeDontSuckAnymore and BitingTheHandHumor. See also DisobeyThisMessage.

* In Season 3 of ''Series/TheBoys'', {{narcissist}}ic FakeUltimateHero Homelander has a VillainousBreakdown and rants about EvilInc Vought controlling his entire life on live television. This resonates with his fanbase and his additional popularity leads to him [[TyrantTakesTheHelm performing a hostile takeover of Vought]] while painting himself as an anti-establishment figure. Soon he becomes a {{Trumplica}} ranting about unfair treatment by the media... [[MegaCorp which he now owns]].

The commercial may refer specifically to [[BlamingTheMan "The Man"]]. A type of StrawHypocrite. Compare WeDontSuckAnymore and BitingTheHandHumor. See also DisobeyThisMessage. One of the most prevalent causes of UnderminedByReality.

Since the free market is a vast array of agents acting individually, the hypothetical singular "TheMan", when used as the face of capitalist excess, has become associated with two competing functions. The Man is seen as a representative of censorship and regulation, yet The Man also favors demolishing censorship and regulation in order to pursue profit at the cost of altruism. So a company which manufactures edgy, offensive content will call on people to "stand up" against censorship groups as some kind of cry for freedom, yet the ultimate goal is to make more profit for themselves. They may also be driven to respond to changes in society and tensions of its time and appeal to the needs and sensibilities of the public, even if they themselves don't share the same inclinations or if the public sentiment is being manipulated by yet ''another'' business angling to make money. The main concern of any business is self-preservation, and changing with the times is a historically proven method.

* Several commentators on the documentary ''Film/TheCorporation'' note this trope's existence in RealLife. However, it's not presented as all doom-and-gloom -- they also note that, as long as demand for anti-corporate material exists, [[TheMan the corporations within a capitalist system]] will always provide supply to meet that demand, thus allowing for resistance and possibly even eventual subversion of them.

The commercial may refer specifically to TheMan. A type of StrawHypocrite. Compare WeDontSuckAnymore and BitingTheHandHumor. See also DisobeyThisMessage. One of the most prevalent causes of UnderminedByReality.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' has a [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1992/03/18 take]] on this:

'''Mom''': Calvin, the fact that these bands haven't killed themselves in ritual self-sacrifice shows that they're just in it for the money like everyone else. It's all for effect. If you want to shock and provoke, be sincere about it.
** Paradoxically, many heavy metal bands have used Calvin's mother's argument to their own ends, as a defense of their free-speech rights. When Music/JudasPriest were accused of inserting secret messages into one of their songs to persuade listeners to commit suicide, they retorted that [[PragmaticVillainy making their fans kill themselves would be counterproductive to the band's fortunes, since no one would be left alive to buy Judas Priest albums]].
* A cartoon in a high-school political science textbook showed the irony of teenagers objecting to uniforms in public schools. It shows a long line of "cool" hip-hop aficionados wearing identical brand-name athletic clothing and saying "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis School. Uniforms. Would. Make. Us. All. Look. The. Same.]]" in creepy "cult member" fashion.
** John Lydon said something similar about gigging with the Sex Pistols and being annoyed that the audience were all dressed like him and the other band members rather than being individualistic: "I didn't get into punk to join the army".

** An even more blatant example was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scion_Audio/Visual Scion AV "punk label,"]] which had a roster of bands including Music/{{Meshuggah}} and BlackLips to promote the Scion.

--> '''Charles''': The trouble is, you don't realize you're talking to two people. As Charles Foster Kane who owns 82,364 shares of Public Transit Preferred. [[ObfuscatingStupidity See, I do have a general idea of my holdings]]. I sympathize with you. Kane is a scoundrel. His paper should be closed, a committee formed to boycott him. [[RefugeInAudacity If you can form such a committee, put me down for a contribution of $1,000]]. On the other hand, [[DaEditor I am the publisher of the Inquirer]]. As such it's my duty, I'll let you in on a little secret. It is also my pleasure to see that the working people of this community aren't robbed by a pack of money-mad pirates, just because they have no one to look after their interests...You see, I have money and property. [[TheMoralSubstitute If I don't look after the interests of the underprivileged]], somebody else will. [[DirtyCommunists Maybe somebody without money or property]]. [[RedScare That would be too bad]].

* Discussed by Creator/TimRogers in his ''WebVideo/ActionButton'' review of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. One of the video's segments sees Tim ruminating on the cultural zeitgeist surrounding ''Doom'' in the late [[TheEighties '80's]] and most of the [[TheNineties '90's]], which leads to a digression regarding advertising of the era, especially that targeted towards boys in their teens. Tim notices that the majority of the TV commercials of the time seemed to attempt to paint that consuming the products they were hawking, even if said product was extremely innocuous, as an act of, not if not outright rebellion, then at the very least contrarianism against "boring" and "authoritarian" adults. Tim considers the crowing example of this a commercial for Bubble Tape that consisted of little more than of a series of ugly and middled-aged authority figures saying that they "hate" Bubble Tape for some not-really-defined reason, before finishing with the slogan "For you -- Not them".

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, wannabe entrepreneurs and start-up companies are incentivized to come up with ways to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim said wealth for themselves, forcing the establishment to either evolve themselves or collapse into bankruptcy. Often, this creative destruction takes the form of new technologies and more efficient production processes (like streaming services and ride-sharing apps putting video rental stores and traditional taxicabs out of business), but it can also include seizing on social trends and moral crusades (such as attacking large corporations over human rights or environmental issues so you can position your own product as the "moral[=/=]green alternative"). In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the]] ''[[MeetTheNewBoss new]]'' [[MeetTheNewBoss old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, wannabe entrepreneurs and start-up companies are incentivized to come up with ways to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim said wealth for themselves, forcing the establishment to either evolve themselves or collapse into bankruptcy. Often, this creative destruction takes the form of new technologies and more efficient production processes (like streaming services and ride-sharing apps putting video rental stores and traditional taxicabs out of business), but it can also include seizing on social trends and moral crusades (such as attacking large corporations over human rights issues in foreign countries to position your own product as the "moral alternative"). In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the]] ''[[MeetTheNewBoss new]]'' [[MeetTheNewBoss old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, wannabe entrepreneurs and start-up companies are incentivized to come up with ways to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim said wealth for themselves, forcing the establishment to either evolve themselves or collapse into bankruptcy. Often, this creative destruction takes the form of new technologies and more efficient production processes (like streaming services and ride-sharing apps putting video rental stores and traditional taxicabs out of business), but it can also include seizing on social trends and moral crusades (such as attacking large corporations over human rights issues in foreign countries to position your own product as the "moral alternative"). In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the]] [[MeetTheNewBoss ''new'']] [[MeetTheNewBoss old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter[[note]] ''based on theories by Creator/KarlMarx which have since been unironically adopted by Wall Street as good business advice''[[/note]] as "creative destruction". The basic principle behind it is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, wannabe entrepreneurs and start-up companies are incentivized to come up with newer, more efficient products and technologies in order to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim it for themselves. Thus, the establishment is forced to either revolutionize themselves or collapse into bankruptcy, like how streaming services destroyed video rental stores. In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the ''new'' old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.

Since the free market is a vast array of agents acting individually, the hypothetical singular "TheMan", when used as the face of capitalist excess, has become associated with two competing functions. The Man is seen as a representative of censorship and regulation, yet The Man also favors demolishing censorship and regulation in order to pursue profit at the cost of altruism. So a company which manufactures edgy, offensive content will call on people to "stand up" against censorship groups as some kind of cry for freedom, yet the ultimate goal is to make more profit for themselves. They may also be driven to respond to changes in society and tensions of its time and appeal to the needs and sensibilities of the public, even if they themselves don't share the same inclinations. Their main concern is self-preservation, and changing with the times is a historically proven method.

The concept was popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter (based on the theories of Creator/KarlMarx) as "creative destruction". The basic principle behind it is that, in an economy with a finite amount of wealth, wannabe entrepreneurs and start-up companies are incentivized to come up with newer, more efficient products and technologies in order to devalue the wealth controlled by "the establishment" and claim it for themselves. Thus, the establishment is forced to either revolutionize themselves or collapse into bankruptcy, like how streaming services destroyed video rental stores. In Schumpeter's view, capitalism is not just a static, monolithic bloc of monopolies but an endless churn of businesses and entrepreneurs attacking and destroying the wealth of the old guard, [[MeetTheNewBoss rising in triumph to become the ''new'' old guard]], and then being destroyed by the ''new'' new guard when their time is up.