History Main / TheSavageSouth

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In "Safari O'Toole", the eponymous adventurer spends much of his time in the SavageSouth, DarkestAfrica in particular. [[spoiler:He's a fake, but a nice one, who's only trying to impress Mrs. Davis.]]

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' is an increasingly violent tale about [[{{Protagonist}} Walter White]]'s FaceHeelTurn from desperate highschool teacher to full-blown meth kingpin. It's set in New Mexico (which is pretty far south already by average western standards), and most of its non-law-enforcement antagonists are either part of the Mexican drug cartels or heavily associated with them.

* While none of the four regions surrounding Clock Town to the four cardinal directions are terribly hospitable, the Southern Swamp likely still qualifies. The dominant NPC race there had been an enemy in all previous installments, their king is a xenophobe, and the boss of Woodfall Temple is a "Jungle Warrior", as opposed to the other three dungeons' mechanical beast, fish monster, and twin giant worms.

** ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'' and it's sequel, ''Film/TheDevilsRejects''

If you thought the [[GrimUpNorth north was bad]], you haven't seen the south. Down there, everyone is crude, their language indecipherable, and their mannerisms barbaric. The land itself is an inhospitable jungle full of wild beasts, barren desert, or nasty swamps full of crocodiles (sometimes it has all of the above). Also, don't go swimming: there are sharks, or worse.

[[quoteright:310:[[Film/TheMountainOfTheCannibalGod https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cf29b133_5a3b_449e_8efb_4069c2f384c1.jpeg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:310:[[BlatantLies What a nice vacation spot]].]]

* In ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', the Crab Clan who occupy Rokugan's Southernmost Provinces are considered by most Samurai to be crude and Vulgar. This is justified however by the fact that, for nearly their entire history they have been at war with the Shadowlands just south of them. Which are an even better example since the are literally hell on Earth.

** The southern reaches of the continent of Garund are dominated vast tracts of jungle known as the Mwangi Expanse, which is filled with dinosaurs, demons, demon-worshipping [[{{Hobbits}} halfling]] tribes and ManiacMonkeys. Several areas of the Expanse have reputations in their own right, and have quaint names like the Screaming Jungle and the Jungle of Hungry Trees. Further south, off the edge of the map, there's rumor of a land of warlike Amazons and an empire of dino-riding LizardFolk.

** In Allansia, the humans of the southern lands are all quite civilized and friendly, if exotic to characters from the north. The danger comes from the huge Lizard Man Empire that haunts the swamps of the central south, which are more evil and savage than any human you might encounter.

** Over on the other side of the world is the continent of Lustria, a tropical land roughly equivalent to South America and home to various dinosaur-like monsters and an Aztec-like civilisation of [[LizardFolk Lizardmen]], who aren't exactly as savage or evil as their nightmarish appearance suggests, but still aren't exactly welcoming to outsiders, in fact they'd probably look at you as dinner.
** The worst by a country mile is the Southern Wastes, the equivalent of Antarctica -- when they say "Here Be Daemons", they ''really aren't kidding''!

** Ferelden is in southern Thedas and is considered the south border of the civilized world. But all the other northern countries, specially [[AmbiguouslyGay Orlais]], think Fereldans are only one step above savages and only a bad day away from reverting to barbarism.

*** Pyandonea is home to the Maormer, or Sea Elves, who are also long-time enemies of the Altmer. They have "[[ChameleonCamouflage chameleon skin]]" which allows them to "disappear by walking into the shade of a single tree." They are led by an "undying wizard king" named Orgnum, and practice a powerful "snake magic" that allows them to control sea beasts. After thousands of years of raiding the coasts of southern Tamriel, especially the Summerset Isles (homeland of the Altmer), they brought a massive fleet with the intent to conquer. However, it was swallowed whole when the [[TheMagocracy Psijic Order]] created a [[WeatherManipulation magical storm]], leaving the Maormer so devastated that it is said they will never again be able to serious threaten Tamriel.

*** The southermost of the Tian kingdoms is the jungle realm of Nagajor, an insular and often hostile nation ruled by [[SerpentPeople the nagas and their reptilian servants]], who deeply dislike outsiders and are happy to let their homeland's jungles dispose of them for them.

* In TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings, the Crab Clan who occupy Rokugan's Southernmost Provinces are considered by most Samurai to be crude and Vulgar. This is justified however by the fact that, for nearly their entire history they have been at war with the Shadowlands just south of them. Which are an even better example since the are literally hell on Earth.

** The Mwangi Expanse in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' is filled with dinosaurs, demons, and ManiacMonkeys. Further south, off the edge of the map, there's rumor of a land of warlike Amazons and an empire of dino-riding LizardFolk. On the other side of the world, south of the "Dragon Empires" of Tian Xia, is the "dark continent" of [[LandDownUnder Sarusan]].

* Stranglethorn Vale zone in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a wild, savage jungle full of [[EverythingTryingToKillYou dangerous predators]], [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy trolls]], and {{pirate}}s. To a certain degree, the continent of Pandaria also counts, being a jungle-heavy CrapsaccharineWorld where a Old-god worshipping Mantids, the Xenophobic Shado-pan, and the Brutal Yaungol are all but at war with eachother.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Sothoryos, a continent to the south of Essos and modeled after historical and pulp fiction portrayals of sub-Saharan Africa, fully embraces this trope.
** To reach it, one first has to pass the Basilisk Isles, a notorious nest of corsairs with no ports save for ramshackle pirate towns and the ruins of the ancient city of Gogossos.
** Past that, the continent itself is covered in an endless, steaming jungle until it vanishes into the unknown south, the only signs of habitation being tribes of savage apelike "brindled men" and the ruined cities of Zamettar and Yeen, over which no plants will grow. The jungles themselves fester with an enormous assortment of horrible diseases and teem with basilisks, poisonous snakes, stinging flies and parasitic worms, with crocodiles and carnivorous fish infesting the rivers. Numerous expeditions have been sent there in history, every single one ending in disaster.
** The furthest south beyond even Yeen, simply known as the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Green Hell]], is this trope UpToEleven. Its jungles are home to even worse things than the northern ones, including apes twice the size of elephants, enormous bloodsucking bats, what sound suspiciously like carnivorous dinosaurs, enormous snakes and wyverns.

[[folder: Live Action Television]]

* Invoked in ''RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' -- the South is reportedly a vast, dense jungle inhabited by tribes, all of which answer to the mighty Meng Huo. Unlike the usual barbarian chieftains, Meng Huo can be reasoned with... eventually... involving a lengthy [[XanatosSpeedChess series of moves]] that takes the form of a HumiliationConga and culminates in the ultimate BreakTheHaughty.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': How the middle of Westeros sees Dorne; they are regarded as different and less civilized. Not unlike the North, weirdly enough. The fact that they have a different skin tone and have more relaxed cultural norms in terms of sexuality and class doesn't help matters. When Tywin and Cersei try to invoke this to Oberyn though, the latter quickly points out the hypocrisy of the Lannisters, whose fame and power comes from vicious atrocities, in calling other people savage, especially since the Queen's daughter is living in Dorne and engaged to the Martells' youngest son.

A Supertrope of the DeepSouth (one of its {{Good Counterpart}}s), SouthOfTheBorder, DarkestAfrica, and LandDownUnder, sister trope to GrimUpNorth. If the South is looking decayed, misty and/or possibly undead, then it's SouthernGothic instead. Go even farther south, and you're in MysteriousAntarctica. See also NorthIsColdSouthIsHot.

* Stranglethorn Vale zone in ''WorldOfWarcraft'', a wild, savage jungle full of [[EverythingTryingToKillYou dangerous predators]], [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy trolls]], and {{pirate}}s. To a certain degree, the continent of Pandaria also counts, being a jungle-heavy CrapsaccharineWorld where a Old-god worshipping Mantids, the Xenophobic Shado-pan, and the Brutal Yaungol are all but at war with eachother.

[[quoteright:300:[[Film/TheMountainOfTheCannibalGod http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cf29b133_5a3b_449e_8efb_4069c2f384c1.jpeg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[BlatantLies What a nice vacation spot]].]]

If you thought the [[GrimUpNorth north was bad]], you haven't seen the south. Down there, everyone is crude, their language indecipherable and their mannerisms are barbaric. The land is an inhospitable jungle full of wild beasts, barren desert, or nasty swamps full of crocodiles (sometimes it has all of the above). Also, don't go swimming: there are sharks, or worse.

[[quoteright:210:[[Film/TheMountainOfTheCannibalGod http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cannibal_god_9766.PNG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:210:[[BlatantLies What a nice vacation spot]].]]

* [[TheOtherRainforest Oregon]]: Washington's Mexico and California's Canada, according to [[Series/TheColbertReport Stephen Colbert]].

** To the south of Tamriel lie two other continents: the "coral kingdom" of Thras and the "jungle continent" of Pyandonea, both of which also qualify. To note:

** Tamriel's two southern-most mainland regions, Elsweyr and Black Marsh, both qualify.

** To the south of Tamriel lie two other continents: the "coral kingdom" of Thras and the "jungle continent" of Pyandonea.