History UnfortunateImplications / Literature

* The ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series has been [[https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1nnCCD4TfR-5MZie9hQgpDfEE4mYpCtjNXQpD9VqOkxs/mobilebasic accused]] of having anti-Indigenous themes throughout the series. Specifically, it cites the Tribe of Rushing Water as a racist stereotype, as they are presented as weaker and backwards compared to the more modern Clans, as well as having to be saved by the Clans from external threats, making the latter come off as [[WhiteMansBurden white saviors]]. The character of Brook is accused of being a "[[TheChiefsDaughter Indian]] [[IndianMaiden Princess]]" stereotype, due to being described as lithe and beautiful with a strange accent as well as being a LoveInterest for Stormfur, who barely considers her feelings throughout the series. The essay also accuses the series of cultural appropriation, specifically regarding the Medicine Cats' role and terminology.

** Rowling has also, unfortunately, angered many in the disabled community with her implications of [[http://www.ada-hoffmann.com/2016/12/03/fantastic-beasts-and-how-to-be-ableist-when-you-find-them/ disabled children not attending Hogwarts because "they have their disabilities fixed by magic,"]] which insinuates that disabled people aren't living fulfilling lives because of their disabilities and only able-bodied people are worth talking about.

* In the first edition of the novel ''Literature/LeiaPrincessOfAlderaan'', and in the audiobook, Leia quotes an Alderaanian philosopher who said, "Strength through joy". [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_Through_Joy Strength Through Joy]] was a state-operated organization in Nazi Germany that subsidized leisure and vacations for certain types of German citizen, to keep them content with their situation and aid in propaganda. [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Leia,_Princess_of_Alderaan#Reception In a Tweet]] (now deleted) Claudia Gray apologized for using this slogan in ignorance of its history. Later editions [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion changed the quote]] to "Joy drives out fear".

* It's [[https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article/39/3/221/8262/Disney-s-Tarzan-Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Eugenics-and been]] [[https://www.blackgate.com/2011/08/30/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-2-lost-on-venus/ noted]] that Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' eugenics views were so extreme they're quite similar to the Nazis. ''Lost on Venus'', one book where he positively depicts a eugenicist society that kills all its "unfit" people, in fact was released the same year the Nazis took power (1933).

* ''[[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18222744-adam Adam]]'' by Ariel Schrag is a novel (and later also a movie) that was intended to defend LGBT rights. However, as discussed in [[https://www.themarysue.com/adam-movie-ariel-schrag-book-not-lgbtqa-friendly/ this article from The Mary Sue]], the story is about a cisgender boy pretending to be a trans man to seduce to a lesbian woman, and he lies about his age pretending to be 21 when he is actually 17, among many other problematic elements. The film also counts as transgender extras who were hired for the film were allegedly deceived about the film they were going to participate in, and treated in a disrespectful and transphobic way.

** Remus Lupin was read by some fans as AmbiguouslyGay (social outcast, strongest bond is with another unmarried man, has a condition analogous to AIDS) and Tonks was similarly read as having an AmbiguousGenderIdentity or being a ButchLesbian (tomboyish and punky, a VoluntaryShapeshifter so gender identity is flexible, favors her neutral surname over her outrageously girly given name). [[spoiler:Then the sixth book and its follow-ups have them get together, has Tonks become [[GirlinessUpgrade considerably less gender-ambiguous,]] and then they have a kid, all with almost no development.]] As [[https://www.vox.com/2016/9/4/12534818/harry-potter-cursed-child-rowling-queerbaiting one Vox article put it,]] [[spoiler:"many fans believed Rowling had taken the two queerest characters in the series, de-gayed them, and stuck them together in a child-producing heteronormative union."]].

* ''Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'', partly due to its prominence as [[UsefulNotes/SchoolStudyMedia required reading in schools]] as a means to introduce The Holocaust to younger readers, has [[https://holocaustlearning.org.uk/latest/the-problem-with-the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas/ gained]] [[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/27/the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas-fuels-dangerous-holocaust-fallacies criticism]] for perpetuating harmful views on the Holocaust. A lot of the criticism being that the central narrative of the novel perpetuates the myth of the average German being completely ignorant of the Nazis' persecution of the Jews [[note]] Bruno, being a school-aged boy and the son of an SS Officer, would have been well aware of the Jews and the antisemitism of the Nazi party through exposure at his German school and his mandatory attendance of the Hitler Youth [[/note]], combined with the ending misdirecting the tragedy of the story from the victims of the Holocaust:

** Originally, the Oompa-Loompas in ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' were an undiscovered tribe of pygmies from DarkestAfrica whom Wonka had secretly hired and transported to his factory. Roald Dahl said he intended them to be a positive portrayal--contrasting the helpful and well-behaved Oompa-Loompas with the bratty and demanding white kids. However, [[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/13/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-hero-originally-black-roald-dahl groups like the NAACP]] said that Wonka shipping an African tribe to work in his factory had overtones of slavery, a view that Dahl eventually came to sympathize with. From the 1970s onward, the book was revised to give the Oompa-Loompas white skin and change their homeland to the FictionalCountry of Loompaland.

** The series has been accused of being [[http://yourekilling.us/?p=32 misogynistic]] [[http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2016/06/the-awful-misogyny-of-house-of-night.html?m=1 in its]] [[https://maddiegudenkauf.com/thoughts-of-maddness/house-of-night-criticism portrayal]] [[https://vocal.media/viva/she-chose-vengeance-and-anger-sex-shaming-and-internalized-misogyny-in-the-house-of-night-part-2 of women]] other than the main character, Zoey, and how it approaches sexual assault.

*** Vampyre society is depicted as being more enlightened than human societies because it's matriarchal, but some readers have pointed out that vampyre society still tends to impose and reinforce strict gender roles and stereotypes (e.g. women are prophets and healers, men are warriors who must protect women) among other issues, which is never commented on or critiqued. It can feel less like a feminist utopia with true equality between the sexes and more like a glorified PersecutionFlip.

** [[https://das-sporking2.dreamwidth.org/1435549.html The entire book]] can be interpreted as an AuthorTract excusing or even extolling the "virtues" of rape and incest, which are never portrayed as anything but something that powerful, "enlightened" people have the right to commit over the objections of small-minded bigots (even when the victim is ''a child''), or as necessary acts for the greater good. Some have even speculated this might not be unintentional, considering it later came to light that the author was a child abuser. It's also jarringly queerphobic for something that supposedly shows queerness in a positive light; every bisexual woman's true love is male, and every man attracted to other men is treated like garbage and dismissed as a genetic dead-end.
** [[https://faustusnotes.com/2021/08/13/re-reading-the-mists-of-avalon-in-light-of-marion-zimmer-bradleys-fall-from-grace/ Some would argue]] that ''The Mists of Avalon'' barely even qualifies as feminist at all (particularly by the 21st century) due to its treatment of women; while a few women are depicted as having power and agency, they tend to use it to control and abuse other women rather than support or uplift them, women are frequently depicted as jealous or hateful towards other women (particularly when it comes to men) and Avalon's so-called sexual liberation of women largely comes off as an InformedAttribute given most women are only depicted having sex when and with whom the priesthood commands, and largely for purposes of political or ideological advancement as opposed to simply wanting sex; this includes Igraine getting passed around to powerful men like a broodmare by Avalon (including being married off to the abusive Gorlois when she was just 14), 13-year-old Morgause getting slut-shamed and married off for 'tempting' adult men (with her own sister believing she's after her husband) and Viviane telling a distressed Morgaine that her feelings are unimportant following the Beltane ritual (where Morgaine was tricked into having sex with her half-brother to conceive an heir).

* ''Literature/TheWitches'': Some have [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/09/28/opinions/roald-dahl-antisemitism-netflix-perry/index.html pointed out]] the implications of a race of hook-nosed supervillains who infiltrate society disguised as normal humans, print their own money and kidnap and murder innocent children for fun and its unfortunate resemblance to anti-semitic tropes, particularly given Creator/RoaldDahl's bigoted opinions on Jews in general.

** [[https://dailytargum.com/article/2021/02/sorry-but-your-favorite-young-adult-books-are-problematic Some]] [[https://www.dailynebraskan.com/culture/ames-the-problem-with-sarah-j-maas-and-better-options-for-readers/article_dd656ff0-9b50-11ec-bfc9-3f4e7e7917aa.html readers]] [[https://thebridgefantasy.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/melanin-stranger-than-fiction/ have criticized]] the way people of color are depicted, with it being argued that POC characters are either barely-existent or treated as disposable compared to the white characters (who make up the vast majority of the cast). One of the few prominent POC characters is Princess Nehemia of Eyllwe, a black woman who mostly exists to support the white lead Celaena [[spoiler:and gets brutally murdered in the second book to provide angst and motivation for Celaena (she actually orchestrated her own murder for this purpose, considering it necessary to save her people, which some readers feel gives Celaena's character MightyWhitey implications)]]. Sorscha is implied to be biracial (it's mentioned her facial features and skin tone are reminiscent of people from Eyllwe) and her primary role is serving as white protagonist Dorian's love interest [[spoiler:and getting murdered to cause him angst]]. It's also noted that when a villain attacks several villages in Eyllwe and frames Celaena for it, the focus is more on how it affects Celaena as opposed to the people directly impacted. The last two books ''do'' make [[SalvagedStory some improvements]] in this area; ''Tower of Dawn'' includes a lot more POC characters due to the Southern Continent setting and it also makes biracial Yrene a prominent character, who avoids some of the problems of Nehemia and Sorscha's portrayals[[note]]she has more characterization and a story arc independent of being Chaol's girlfriend, plays an integral role in defeating the BigBad and gets a happy ending[[/note]]. Prior to this, people of color tended to be flat side characters at ''best''.

* The first of the ''Literature/TheShipWho'' short stories starts with the rather horrific statement that due to her birth defects Helva was born a "thing" and her parents are presented with the choice of euthanasia or, because her brain was scanned and found to be useful, to surrender her [[ManInTheMachine to be encapsulated in a shell]] and used as a WetwareCPU. Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's original story was published in 1961 and were [[PatchworkStory compiled]] in that decade, but it was revisited in the 90s when . Although the 90s authors try to soften the concept to a degree, [[http://redstonesciencefiction.com/2010/05/einstein-essay-june2010/ said concept]] has a lot of ableism inherent, as people like Helva are essentially SavedToEnslave, dehumanized and saddled with [[IndenturedServitude massive debt]] they usually need decades to work off.

* The first of the ''Literature/TheShipWho'' short stories starts with the rather horrific statement that due to her birth defects Helva was born a "thing" and her parents are presented with the choice of euthanasia or, because her brain was scanned and found to be useful, to surrender her [[ManInTheMachine to be encapsulated in a shell]] and used as a WetwareCPU. Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's original story was published in 1961 and were [[PatchworkStoryl compiled]] in that decade, but it was revisited in the 90s when . Although the 90s authors try to soften the concept to a degree, [[http://redstonesciencefiction.com/2010/05/einstein-essay-june2010/ said concept]] has a lot of ableism inherent, as people like Helva are essentially SavedToEnslave, dehumanized and saddled with [[IndenturedServitude massive debt]] they usually need decades to work off.

* ''Literature/TheWitches'': Some have [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/09/28/opinions/roald-dahl-antisemitism-netflix-perry/index.html pointed out]] the implications of a race of hook-nosed supervillains who infiltrate society disguised as normal humans, print their own money and kidnap and murder innocent children for fun and its unfortunate resemblance to anti-semitic tropes, particularly given Dahl's bigoted opinions on Jews in general.

* The first of the ''Literature/TheShipWho'' short stories starts with the rather horrific statement that due to her birth defects Helva was born a "thing" and her parents are presented with the choice of euthanasia or, because her brain was scanned and found to be useful, to surrender her [[ManInTheMachine to be encapsulated in a shell]] and used as a WetwareCPU. Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's original story was published in 1961 and were [[PatchworkNovel compiled]] in that decade, but it was revisited in the 90s when . Although the 90s authors try to soften the concept to a degree, [[http://redstonesciencefiction.com/2010/05/einstein-essay-june2010/ said concept]] has a lot of ableism inherent, as people like Helva are essentially SavedToEnslave, dehumanized and saddled with [[IndenturedServitude massive debt]] they usually need decades to work off.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5KTzDgCaA A number of fans]] [[https://www.bustle.com/articles/136244-the-5-least-feminist-moments-in-harry-potter have]] [[https://ahundredthousandstories.wordpress.com/2017/10/21/an-analysis-sexism-in-harry-potter/ noted]] that the series tends to portray traditionally feminine girls in an overly negative light, with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown often described as annoying, over-emotional, and not particularly smart, while Umbridge is intended to be repellent in part due to her exaggeratedly feminine persona, which Rowling admitted was inspired by a teacher whom she loathed for the same reason.

*** Vampyre society is depicted as being more enlightened than human societies because it's matriarchal, but some readers have pointed out that vampyre society still tends to impose and reinforce strict gender roles and stereotypes (e.g. women are prophets and healers, men are warriors who must protect women) among other issues, which is never commented on or critiqued.

*** A student named Becca is nearly raped twice but the protagonists show little sympathy for her, mostly because her attackers were men Zoey is romantically interested in. Becca is generally dismissed as "mean" and "desperate"; in the second incident, she even gets [[BlamingTheVictim partly blamed]] for what happened because she initiated sexual contact with the man in question, only to change her mind and reject him. In the first incident, she also was being brainwashed into feeling attraction for her attacker but the protagonists still act like she was coming onto him.

* ''Literature/TheMistsOfAvalon'':

* It's noted that ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'' [[https://emilybethshore.info/sexual-violence-in-teen-fiction-an-in-depth-analysis-of-acotar/ excuses]] [[https://www.mostlyyalit.com/2015/07/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-sj-maas.html or downplays]] [[https://gracelapointe.medium.com/acotars-rhysand-should-have-stayed-a-villain-d99d3c1475fb abusive behaviour]] in romantic relationships and normalizes male dominance over women (given Creator/SarahJMaas' attempt to have Feyre be an empowered female protagonist and the emphasis on Rhysand being a superior love interest because he ostensibly treats Feyre as an equal, this was likely unintentional). Several male characters demonstrate possessive, controlling and sexually aggressive behavior towards their female love interests; Rhysand's behaviour towards Feyre in the first book is straight-up sexual assault and objectification (e.g. kissing, licking and groping her against her will, drugging her, forcing her to give him lap dances and subjecting her to GoGoEnslavement). It's often played off as [[RomanticizedAbuse flirting]] or [[ImAManICantHelpIt instinctive behaviour]]; in Rhysand's case, his treatment of Feyre is explained away as a ploy for [[IDidWhatIHadToDo the greater good]], which he never properly apologises for (his apology mostly consists of him justifying his actions and making self-pitying remarks). Men being jealous and overprotective of women also tends to be dismissed or presented as desirable. Strangely, Tamlin's controlling behaviour and emotional abuse of Feyre ''is'' eventually condemned in the story and used to make him unsympathetic, but other characters like Rhysand who [[DoubleStandard engage in similar behaviour get]] EasilyForgiven, arguably giving the impression that being abusive and manipulative is fine as long it's for the 'right' reasons. It's also pointed out that Rhysand supposedly being an amazingly progressive ally to women just because he 'lets Feyre have choices' is setting the bar pretty low, along with some of his other actions contradicting this.

** [[https://faustusnotes.com/2021/08/13/re-reading-the-mists-of-avalon-in-light-of-marion-zimmer-bradleys-fall-from-grace/ Some would argue]] that ''The Mists of Avalon'' barely even qualifies as feminist at all (particularly by the 21st century) due to its treatment of women; while a few women are depicted as having power and agency, they tend to use it to control and abuse other women rather than support or uplift them, women are frequently depicted as jealous or hateful towards other women (particularly when it comes to men) and Avalon's so-called sexual liberation of women largely comes off as an InformedAttribute given most women are only depicted having sex when and with whom the priesthood commands, and largely for purposes of political or ideological advancement as opposed to simply wanting sex (following the Beltane ritual - where Morgaine was tricked into having sex with her half-brother to conceive an heir - Viviane even tells a distressed Morgaine that her feelings are unimportant).