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4
5->'''Federal Government:''' What do you have that [Alaska] doesn't then?\
6'''Florida:''' Lobsters and lighthouses!\
7'''Maine:''' Settle down there, first page of Google.
8-->-- '''UsefulNotes/{{Maine}} Joins [[WebVideo/WelcomeToTheTable The Table]]'''
9Take a classic tale or even reality itself. Strip away all the complexities, boiling the source material down to a few tropes and a barely coherent plot. Congratulations! You now have the perfect blueprint for [[FollowTheLeader cashing in on the original's success]]. The characters are flatter than in the original, and the tropes have lost their [[JustifiedTrope justification]], but surely the fans won't mind. Another word for this concept is a "simulacrum".
10
11Quite often, the writers producing the Theme Park Version have entirely [[MisaimedFandom misread the original]], and are [[{{Fanon}} relying on other people's interpretations.]]
12
13[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This isn't always a bad thing, however]]. A simplification of the rules, characters, and activities present in the media can be used to [[RuleOfDrama help streamline]] [[RuleOfFun the experience]] as long as it's used carefully and deliberately. While dumbing down the material means that it isn't as complex or interesting, it also trims out [[InfoDump a lot of exposition]], making the media either more accessible or less restricted.
14
15Compare with AdaptationDecay, AdaptationDistillation, {{Flanderization}}, LostInImitation, SmallReferencePools, CowboyBebopAtHisComputer, and PopculturalOsmosis; contrast with PragmaticAdaptation. Theme parks themselves have their own Theme Park Version -- SouvenirLand.
16
17MildlyMilitary commonly results when this is applied to stories set in war or otherwise military environments. See also: {{Flynning}}, FluffyCloudHeaven, FireAndBrimstoneHell, PacManFever, PlotTumor and HollywoodAtlas.
18
19If you're concerned about avoiding falling into this, give [[SoYouWantTo/AvoidTheThemeParkVersion this page]] a read.
20
21----
22!!Examples:
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26* Almost all references and/or parodies of anime & manga in Western culture show the Theme Park version of the media, filled with big-breasted, short-skirted schoolgirls, {{Stock Shonen Hero}}es pulling off completely ridiculous moves and carrying huge swords that are clearly meant to [[CompensatingForSomething Compensate for Something]], [[PhonyMon Pokemon expies]], [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles tentacle monsters]], HumongousMecha, and {{Kaiju}}. Almost the only time a reference/parody of manga/anime in Western culture ''isn't'' this is when the creator himself is actually an anime/manga fan.
27** Humorously, the ''inverse'' is also surprisingly common--American characters in anime and manga will frequently be portrayed with either AmericansAreCowboys, PhenotypeStereotype (typically the blonde/blue-eyes combo), {{Eagleland}}, WearingAFlagOnYourHead, GratuitousEnglish which may come with ObligatorySwearing, or any combination thereof.
28** Japan also tends to stick to a few stereotypes of their own when making Chinese characters. There's a reason their animated output [[TropeNamer named]] the AnimeChineseGirl trope, after all.
29* Within the country itself, there's some common theme park variations for different demographics:
30** {{Shonen}} theme park versions read more like above, though they'll put more emphasis on the action than the fanservice.
31** {{Shoujo}} simalcrums are typically done in the 70's doe-eyed, sparkly style, roses and {{Bishie Sparkle}}s are a common visual staple, and they're are almost always about melodramatic romance.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Comic Books]]
35* The NinetiesAntiHero is the theme park version of the acclaimed graphic novels ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. In a case of the cycle repeating, these characters would end up getting theme park versions themselves in MediaNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks, often depicted as coming from a time when everything was needlessly edgy or as an antagonistic character that ''wishes'' everything was. Whenever people want to draw the "90's version" of a comic book character, they go for the (itself theme parked) grim, gritty Creator/ImageComics look with too many belts, zippers, and guns to count, and tons of uneccesary gore all over the page.
36* ''ComicBook/{{Urbanus}}'' did this to the Netherlands in "De laatste Hollander" (the last Dutchman). And generally to Belgium itself, too (being a Belgian comic).
37* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' has been criticised for using national stereotypes for all countries other than the United States ([[SelfDeprecation including Britain]], interestingly). A couple, particularly Britain and Japan, have since been fleshed out somewhat due to a number of {{spinoff}}s taking place in them. [[{{Oireland}} Ireland]] takes the trope to its logical extreme, by being ''literally'' one big theme park. It also uses ''regional'' American stereotypes freely, for example presenting a Las Vegas ruled by gamblers.
38* Taken literally in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''. In one of the last issues, Hob Gadling visits a renaissance fair. Given that Hob is 500 years old, he is offended and depressed by the inaccurate portrayal of medieval life. And, incidentally, [[ArtisticLicenseHistory that's not even going into the issue of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance being two (mostly) distinct time periods]].
39* One ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' story written by Creator/GarthEnnis has a member of the SAS read a book a former teammate just published about his exploits, so filled with Hollywood-esque BS and Theme Park Versions of events he can't stop laughing: "What'd he do, pass seating contest when he was ''twelve''?" When he meets the guy at his book signing, he laughs along with them, pointing at the adoring fans behind and commenting that "[[ViewersAreMorons all they want is fucking]] Franchise/{{Rambo}}".
40** This is likely a jab at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo_Two_Zero Bravo Two Zero]] and the minor fad for SAS veterans writing [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory highly embellished]] or [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie flat-out bogus]] memoirs.
41* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' has always played with mythology, but in the Golden Age it warped, flattened and {{bowdlerise}}d the mythological elements to a riddicoulous degree. A good example is right in [[ComicBook/WonderWomanNumberOne issue #1]]'s description of the gods Diana is compared to:
42--->'''Aphrodite:'''
43-->Most beautiful of all, Aphrodite was the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty. Born of the sea foam near the Island of Cyprus, she inspired all mortal lovers and [[SadlyMythtaken protected them, binding men in the chains of love and beauty, forged by her husband]], Vulcan, the blacksmith god!
44--->'''Athena:'''
45-->Born from the head of Zeus, [[SadlyMythtaken Father of all Greek Gods, Athena became the Goddess of Wisdom. Though she carried sword and spear to protect mortals from the evils of ignorance, she offered peace as her greatest gift to mankind. Her symbol was the olive branch, representing peace and plenty.]]
46--->'''Hercules:'''
47-->The God of Strength was half-mortal and half-god! When a mere child, he strangled two fierce serpents sent to slay him. He performed twelve labors requiring prodigious strength and [[{{Bowdlerise}} upon his earthly death, was taken to Mount Olympus to dwell among the Gods ever after]].
48--->'''Mercury:'''
49-->Known to the ancient Greeks as Hermes, [[SadlyMythtaken God of Speed]], this gay mischievous young blade who could make himself invisible with his winged cap and transport himself in a flash with his winged sandals, always carried with him his scepter of [[SadlyMythtaken speed]], two serpents entwined about a winged shaft.
50* ''ComicBook/XMen'': There's a hashtag, #80sXmen, based around "reimagining" X-Men characters in 80s fashions. As if they weren't already around in the 80s, wearing genuine 80s fashions. Many of the art pieces submitted under the hashtag end up being the popular 80s throwback fashions palatable to modern audiences. Crack open some authentic '80s X-Men and feel your eyes bleed at the things people wore back then.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Fanworks]]
54* ''Fanfic/PeterParkersFieldTripOfCourseItsToStarkIndustries'': Apparently there is a model of Stark Tower in UsefulNotes/LasVegas.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Films — Animation]]
58* Disney's Beauty and the Beast falls prey to this trope in its sequel, ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas''. It takes place in the Enchanted Castle, has Belle, the Beast, and the Enchanted Objects... and has pretty much nothing else related to the original film.
59* ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsAdventureInWonderland'' is this with Wonderland, compared to the actual place in ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''.
60* ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' fits the trope description perfectly; pretty much everything that happens in the movie, happens because it's written to be textbook "anything goes" fantasy where everything is explained by [[AWizardDidIt "it's magic"]]. The fact that it doesn't make any sense isn't meant to be paid attention to.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
64* As a whole, many films that dramatize the life of a real or historical figure are done this way. Such films show the life of the person with the central character's real name being used. They often tell the person's life story or just the more historical parts of their lives.
65* Creator/FrankCapra's ''Why We Fight'' series of U.S. "Informational" films during World War II, depicts UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler as a real-life [[DastardlyWhiplash Snidely Whiplash]] with trimmed ends while the Allied peoples were all AlwaysLawfulGood -- even UsefulNotes/JosephStalin (never mind Stalin's own atrocities before the war). Notably, Capra saved a lot of time by just translating Nazi propaganda films into English to make them look scary. The series drew fire for being less than accurate -- one reviewer, a Polish-American, denounced the series as "a conglomeration of patriotic exhortation, crackpot geopolitical theorizing, and historical mischief making," asserting as well that the series deliberately falsified the facts to justify the Allied cause. This reviewer was particularly incensed by the depiction in the series of the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, that the Poles were seen as woeful failures while the Soviets that later invaded were seen not as fellow invaders but as guiltless saviors who only invaded Poland to stop the Nazi advance. [[note]]That last one however, was a sadly JustifiedTrope, as everyone knew that the [=USSR=] had invaded Poland in 1939 but the Western Allies needed to [[WeAreStrugglingTogether keep Stalin happy so as not to wreck the Allies]] and so tacitly [[OrwellianRetcon excised those details]] from official Allied propaganda of the time.[[/note]]
66* In the 1956 ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'' movie, the pod people came out of pods, which eventually ended up being trucked all over the place to spread the invasion. When the movie was remade in 1978, the invaders first came as spores which grew into flowers. But pods are still being trucked all over the place, because [[TheCoconutEffect that was in the original]], even though carrying around the smaller and less suspicious-looking flowers would make far more sense from the aliens' standpoint.
67* In ''Franchise/JurassicPark'', a movie about an actual themed dinosaur park with actual dinosaurs, not all the dinosaurs are from the Jurassic period; in fact most of them are from the Cretaceous period. (Cretaceous Park doesn't sound very cool, though, and the whole Jurassic-vs-Cretaceous thing is actually noted in the book: the guy bankrolling the operation says that they couldn't very well have a dinosaur theme park without a ''T. rex'', Jurassic or not Jurassic.)
68** Lampshaded repeatedly when characters admit that their park is an exercise in idealism and does not accurately represent the period (or even the dinosaurs, for that matter).
69** One of the characters blatantly states that a lot of the dinos died in the Cretaceous period. The film averts this and seems pretty aware that Jurassic is just a cool name.
70** In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the head scientist explicitly calls out the fact that the creatures they're creating are not accurate to prehistoric dinosaurs, but are 'dinosaur-ish'. This is largely an in-universe explanation for the discrepancies with discoveries about dinosaur feathers and fluff that have been made since the first movie was filmed.
71* One needs only be aware of [[Creator/RolandEmmerich who directed]] ''Film/ThePatriot2000'' to know that it's an action flick in period clothes and not a historical documentary. That said, the film frequently falls into the old traps of and even indulges in pro-American hagiographical tropes like [[{{Doublethink}} the British Army simultaneously being emotionless, threatening and bloodthirsty war criminals and incompetent automatons who run around like headless chickens the second their officers are killed]], that line warfare was silly and outdated by the time of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and [[CallThatAFormation consisted of two brightly-colored armies standing in an open field completely still waiting to shoot at each other]], that the Colonists were [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified plucky, brave rebels fighting for their freedom]] against an [[TheEmpire evil autocratic dictatorial empire]] and managed to defeat the British because they were too stupid and stuck in their old ways to employ Guerilla Warfare and instead marched in their bright red outfits through forests with drummers and floutists playing, etc. Not to mention that [[PoliticallyCorrectHistory the Revolutionaries are almost universally shown to hold modern progressive values of democracy and equality]], and in general basically every HistoricalDomainCharacter shown acts wildly contrary to their real-life counterpart.
72* The live action feature film version of the Japanese manga series ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' parodied this idea by showing the abandoned remains of a (fictional) failed theme park called "Canadaland." Flashbacks to the park's glory days were... embarrassing, to say the least.
73* ''Film/{{Westworld}}'' contains what is ''literally'' the theme park version of TheWildWest, TheMiddleAges, and AncientGrome, inhabited by realistic robots that are there primarily so park visitors can "kill" them or [[{{Sexbot}} have sex with them]]. All three are YeGoodeOldeDays for the park visitors, but less pleasant for the androids...
74* ''Series/SexAndTheCity 2'' is set in a theme park version of Abu Dhabi, which was actually filmed in Morocco. This is the case for almost ''any'' Arab country in a live-action movie, because Morocco has a big enough desert to build sets in (far enough away from major cities), while being secular enough that nobody will come and arrest your actresses for not wearing the hijab.
75* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' can be said to be this for pirates and piracy, if only because it ''was'' based off an amusement park ride. However the franchise has notably opened up a lot of the general public's SmallReferencePools concerning piracy (such as the East India Trading Company) even if it often takes artistic liberties with them.
76* The ShowWithinAShow in ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'', supposedly an archetypal [[TheFifties 1950s]] sitcom, actually represents The Theme Park Version of '50s sitcoms. In all fairness, not only does ''Pleasantville'' contain strong elements of satire, but the entire disbelief of the outside world in the Show Within a Show is only introduced by interaction with characters from the "real" world. Considering that many sitcoms never refer to the world outside the town in which they are set, it's not really much of a stretch.
77* ''Film/{{North}}'': Every place the title character visits is distilled to its most stereotypical essence. The Texans are obsessed with eating and are dressed like cowboys in a Wild West Show; the Hawaiians are obsessed with tourism and marketing; the African tribe lives in grass huts; the Eskimos sacrifice their elderly; the Amish are defined entirely by not using electricity; the Chinese are portrayed as bowing down before a dynasty and the French are shown smoking, drinking wine and watching nothing but Jerry Lewis on TV. [[spoiler:It eventually turns out to be AllJustADream, and North just has a limited and messed up world view.]]
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Literature]]
81* ''[[Literature/GulliversTravels Several Voyages to Remote Nations of the World by Lemuel Gulliver]]'' is a beautifully multi-layered satire on religion, politics, science and human nature while also being a delightfully hilarious parody of various contemporaries and the travelogue genre as a whole. It is vicious, often mean spirited, funny on oh so many levels, and brilliant beyond measure. For some indecipherable reason, however, it keeps getting made into books and movies for children.\
82\
83Most of these versions cut out the second two books altogether (and occasionally don't even get as far as Brobdignag), which are where it starts descending from political satire into a satire of progress and human nature. It's pretty easy, after all, to make a land of tiny people and a land of giants into kids' fare, much harder to turn a land of sapient horses and feral, evil, raping and squabbling humans into kid friendly material.
84* ''Literature/DonQuixote'': Three centuries before [[HollywoodHistory Hollywood]], the chivalry books [[LowestCommonDenominator writers]] of the Renaissance (1400–1600 AD) already had created the theme Park Version of the Middle Ages: [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy A past that never was, full of marvelous elements, exotic (and a lot of times exclusively imaginary) lands that could extend any time between the fall of Rome (AD 475) to the Discovery of America (AD 1492)]]. Don Quixote wants to revive this past that, at least for him, is troperrific. So, in chapter XLIX, part I, the Canon (who himself is a coveted fan of chivalry books) recriminates Don Quixote:
85-->'' “How can there be any human understanding that can persuade itself there ever was all that infinity of [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Amadises]] in the world, or [[KnightErrant all that multitude of famous knights]], all those [[TheEmperor emperors]] of Trebizond, all those [[BloodKnight Felixmartes of Hircania]], all those [[CoolHorse palfreys]], and [[DamselErrant damsels-errant]], and serpents, and [[OurMonstersAreDifferent monsters]], and [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], and [[{{Escapism}} marvellous adventures]], and [[AWizardDidIt enchantments]] of [[MagicAIsMagicA every kind]], and [[ThisIsTheFinalBattle battles]], and [[ContrivedCoincidence prodigious encounters]], [[ErmineCapeEffect splendid]] [[GorgeousPeriodDress costumes]], [[SatelliteLoveInterest love-sick]] [[PrincessClassic princesses]], [[TheLancer squires]] [[StandardHeroReward made counts]], [[PluckyComicRelief droll]] [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarfs]], [[LoveLetterLunacy love letters, billings and cooings]], {{Swashbuckler}} [[ActionGirl women]], and, in a word, all that [[ClicheStorm nonsense]] [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy the books of chivalry]] contain?''
86* Creator/JRRTolkien's works are a notable victim. In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', {{Mordor}} has a lot of fertile areas thanks to all that volcanic ash, the characters speak a wide variety of archaic accents and dialects, and victory is achieved through rejection of power. In the many books and films written "in the style of" Tolkien, their Mordor looks like [[FireAndBrimstoneHell Hell]], characters speak YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe, and victory is achieved through force of arms.
87* If you think what happened to Tolkien's work is bad, what [[Creator/FrankFrazetta Frazetta]] and [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Ahnuld]] did to Creator/RobertEHoward's Conan is worse. The original is an articulate if uneducated man fluent in every common language and a few that aren't so common, who dresses as one would expect a mercenary in a medieval milieu to -- not a piece of DumbMuscle in a furry loincloth. Never mind what the movie did to the deeply philosophical [[Literature/{{Kull}} Kull]].
88* ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' applies this trope to RefugeInAudacity, in which it calls that trope "Savage Reservations". You can visit these places ''like a theme park''. Take a moment to analyze that.
89* The novel ''England, England'' focuses on the creation of a literal Theme Park Version of well, England, on the Isle of Wight.
90* CosmicHorror stories are all about [[ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow forbidden knowledge]] (usually acquired from [[TomeOfEldritchLore blasphemous books]]) and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation sanity-blasting]] [[EldritchAbomination tentacled god-monsters]] that are just ''waiting'' to exterminate (and [[ImAHumanitarian optionally eat]]) all of humanity [[WhenThePlanetsAlign once the stars are right]]. Never mind that the actual story canon of Creator/HPLovecraft alone is a good bit more varied and nuanced than that...
91* Used in Jenna Black's ''{{Literature/Replica|JennaBlack}}''. The Basement is a part of what used to be the state of New York. Anyone who is born here tends to be poor, undereducated, and make most of their money via illegal activities. There are several popular night clubs that are the theme park version of the Basement itself; many wealthy and better off tourists frequent these clubs.
92* Creator/GeorgeRRMartin claimed of the Dothraki in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' that he based their traits and culture off the real-life [[UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} Mongolian steppe nomads]] and [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans Plains Indian tribes]], with traits of other nomadic groups added in and "a dash of pure fantasy." In reality, they're at best based on TheThemeParkVersion of those two groups and at worst completely made-up.
93** The Dothraki are portrayed as using horses as not just their primary beasts of burden, but also as their main source of food and other materials such as clothing (many characters are described as wearing horsehair garments, and even a royal wedding only has horsemeat being served). This is to the point where, in the aftermath of a raid, it's shown that they slaughter livestock like sheep and leave the corpses to rot. This would be a ''terrible'' idea in real life, since horses don't grow fast enough to be regularly slaughtered for meat, and their hair is very coarse and uncomfortable. The Plains Indians famously got most of their resources from hunted bison, while Mongols, far from slaughtering sheep, were proficient shepherds themselves, and usually had a flock traveling with them for wool and mutton.
94** The Dothraki have no evident musical tradition barring a mention of "crones chanting", with even celebrations being free of anything beyond wild hedonism and slaughter, and little in the way of an artistic tradition, with their goods rarely described and their styles being described as a mishmash of stolen looks. Real-life nomad societies, including the above two, tended to have well-developed musical traditions (being that it was a good way to keep spirits up on the move), and created fine-looking goods on a regular basis.
95** Dothraki garments are described as leather vests over bare chests and horsehair trousers. Aside from the above issue of horsehair, Eurasian steppe nomads preferred long, woven robes to protect from seasonal temperatures, and Plains Indians similarly tended to wear long-sleeved garments.
96** Dothraki kill each other ''a lot'' without any particular notice or regard, to the point that even parties tend to have a few casual casualties. This would be a similarly terrible idea for a nomadic culture, since they had small populations and lived on the edge of survival--and unsurprisingly, both the above cultures weren't fond of murder, with documented proof of high-ranking Mongol nobles suffering significant consequences or exile for it.
97** In combat, Dothraki are described as primarily wielding swords called ''arakhs'', and disdaining armor as cowardly, favoring aggressive charges with swords in hand and overwhelming the opponent with sheer numbers and ferocity. This describes neither of the above groups: both relied mainly on ranged weapons (bows for the former, bows supplanted by guns for the latter), made little use of swords except as an occasional sidearm (favoring spears and axes, which could double as common tools or hunting aids), wore armor when it was possible and practical (Mongols wore mainly lamellar, Plains Indians were post-gunpowder and so went without), and rarely ever outnumbered their opponents, with their main tactics revolving around staying at range to avoid reprisal.
98* The Pieter Aspe detective novel ''De Midasmoorden'' the main villain of the story wants to [[spoiler: buy all houses in Brugge and turn Brugge into a theme park version of itself, just as is the case in cities such as Venice. He even hires people to explode some monuments in the city]].
99* Examined in the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. In it, the African-American narrator's daughter is a pretentious Black Panther wannabe who claims to have reconnected with her African heritage, but is clearly just parroting the Theme Park Version of African culture without actually understanding anything.
100* If fiction is to be believed, ''Literature/ThePrince'' is an evil overlord's guidebook for being a tyrant and a puppy kicker, when in reality, the point that Machiavelli was trying to make with the book was that a ruler should in all situations strive to be an unfettered pragmatist, who maintains their power at all costs and Machiavelli outright discourages unnecessary cruelty as this would eventually lead into retribution from the populace.
101* Invoked in-universe in ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful'':
102--> So this was the new Bear Cave. Sam thought that the people who had decorated the bar had tried too hard to duplicate the original in a new location with new materials, with the result that the new bar looked like a theme-park version of the old one.
103* ''Literature/ShtetlDays'': InUniverse Wawolnice is a recreation of a pre-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII shtetl replete with the stereotypes of Jewish life.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
107* ''Series/TenYearsYounger'': The American version essentially forgets what made the show different from other makeover-type shows. The British version made a point of stressing that the treatments that people get on the show were simple and relatively cheap, that ordinary people could normally afford. The cosmetic surgery was kept to a minimum with more focus on age flattering clothes, hairstyles and (for the women) makeup. The American version however has the guests go through extensive plastic surgery and play up the emotional affect of the age polls at the start to make it pretty much the same as ''Extreme Makeover''.
108* ''Series/AlienWorlds2020'': The alien worlds in question are used as tools to explain biological and ecological processes that occur on Earth (and would, theoretically, also occur for life across the universe), but broadly simplify the vast complexities that make up a real biosphere into something easily digestible and entertaining for general audiences, hence why each episode only focuses on two or three faunal species despite covering entire planets.
109-->''[[http://tetzoo.com/blog/2021/1/16/the-netflix-series-alien-worlds "There's only so much you can do given the limits of time, budget and audience interest, so we couldn't go wild and talk about an organism with a seven-step, complex, situationally dependent life cycle (the sort of thing that exists here on Earth, among multiple lineages)."]]''
110* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
111** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]]: Donna briefly thinks the Doctor has literally taken her to an Ancient Rome theme park when she sees a sign written in English, not knowing about the TARDIS' psychic translation circuits.
112--->"Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"
113** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]] is a homage to Creator/AgathaChristie. The writer deliberately went for the popular perception of what her novels are like rather than the actuality, resulting in a villain who acts like an over-the-top version of one of her villains [[spoiler:because he's been accidentally brainwashed to act that way]].
114* ''Series/GameOfThrones'', acclaimed as it is on its own, has been accused of being this towards its source material ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Certainly some trope-defying situations from the book series become victim of a far less complex interpretation in the series. For example, the books followed Catelyn Stark instead of Robb Stark (focusing on the mother of the traditional hero instead of the hero himself), but the series disregarded this and focused on Robb instead, relegating Catelyn to the sidelines.
115* Invoked in ''Series/RutherfordFalls''. Part of Terry's ambitious redevelopment includes a section of the town made up to look like Colonial Williamsburg — or, rather, the version of it that exists in people's minds. History buff Nathan complains about the historical inaccuracies of the costume and props (eg. the type of butter churn Terry procures was used in North Carolina, not New York); Terry dismisses his concerns since audiences don't care enough about the real details to withhold profits.
116* The college-themed show ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'' attempted to avert being this. Unfortunately, heavy amounts of ExecutiveMeddling prevented Creator/JuddApatow from reaching this goal.
117* ''Series/{{Wednesday}}'': The town of Jericho has Pilgrim World, a recreation of the town’s origins in the 1600s. Wednesday herself describes it as a whitewashed version of colonialism. It even sells fudge, which did not exist in colonial times.
118[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Music]]
121* Music/SteelyDan's:
122** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocfR3CIPFJo Aja]]" is a parody of this approach to Asian culture.
123** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A0wGO3c2T8 Deacon Blues]]", from the same album, is a parody of this approach to jazz music and culture.
124* The entire "Exotica" genre, popularized in [[TheFifties the 1950s]] by Les Baxter, is basically the Theme Park Version of a stew of various ethnic musics (largely but not limited to Polynesian and African music).
125* During the '80s, HairMetal became The Theme Park Version of HeavyMetal music (at least in the United States).
126** During the '90s, it was NuMetal.
127** These days, metalcore has become The Theme Park Version of HeavyMetal.
128* ArenaRock is the theme park version of ProgressiveRock, keeping the bombast but losing the weirdness and favoring slick radio-friendly melodies instead of [[UncommonTime weird time signatures]].
129* PostGrunge is the theme park version of {{Grunge}}, keeping the downturned guitars, {{Yarling}} vocal style and angsty (albeit watered down) lyrics with absolutely no hint of the original genre's underground roots.
130** In fact, it and the aforementioned NuMetal could be seen as turning American AlternativeRock in general into the theme park version of itself.
131* After its mainstream breakthrough (especially during the early 2000s), PopPunk wound up becoming the theme park version of PunkRock, having the stereotypical fashion sense and snotty attitude without the artistic free-spiritedness and with, at best, [[RuleAbidingRebel only a superficial amount of rebelliousness]].
132* After the debut of Creator/{{MTV}}, NewWaveMusic devolved into the theme park version of itself, having the familiar pretty-boys with spiky hair without the more adventurous spirit of its early years.
133* The revived '90s version of Music/TheMisfits is generally seen as this to the original band. The new version sings almost exclusively about horror films, leaving behind the violence, rape and other generally disturbing themes that were also part of the Glenn Danzig era.
134* After breaking into the mainstream consciousness, EmoMusic wound up spawning the theme park version of itself, trading the often dramatic yet tasteful introspection of the earlier days for cheesy [[BreakUpSong breakup songs]] & [[{{Wangst}} immature self-pitying]] and favoring glossy Warped Tour-ready hooks over experimentation with melody & dynamics.
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:Myths and Legends]]
138* In Middle Eastern legend, genies are powerful and independent spirit beings; stories of [[GenieInABottle genies serving humans]] are rare, and gain part of their sense of wonder from the implication that at some point there was a human magician powerful enough to force a genie into servitude. Servant genie stories -- "Aladdin" in particular -- have circulated in the West without the relevant context, leading to a perception that serving humans is a usual thing for genies; in at least one [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon well-known film version]] of the WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} story, the plot resolution explicitly relies on the idea that all genies are ''by definition'' required to live in lamps and grant wishes unless their human masters wish them free.
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141[[folder:Pinball]]
142* Creator/{{Bally}}'s ''Pinball/MataHari'' pinball does this to the RealLife character, simplifying her to simply "sexy German spy." [[NoPlotNoProblem Not that there's much of a plot anyway]].
143* ''[[VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballThrillRide 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride]]'' invokes this literally by using just the core attractions from the RealLife Hershey Park {{Theme Park|s}}.
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:Theatre]]
147* Creator/LinManuelMiranda's ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' has been criticized in more than a few quarters for trafficking in "[[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/09/founders-chic/302773/ Founders Chic]]", repackaging familiar stereotypes about the founders (UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington the HumbleHero[[note]]He was considerably ambitious personally and well aware of how famous he was but it was mainly decorum at the time that compelled him to put on a humble personality and airs of non-partisanship when he was in fact a major wheeler-dealer property owner[[/note]], UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson the Hypocrite[[note]]Which is accurate but it's an accusation that few held against him at the time, and one which everyone was equally guilty of[[/note]], Aaron Burr, an usurping and ambitious man without loyalty[[note]]A portrayal that owes itself to slander printed against Burr by Hamilton and Jefferson, eliminating the fact that he played a key role in abolishing slavery in New York State, was the most pro-women's rights among the founders and founded a bank to help the immigrants and new settlers get cheap loans to get a start[[/note]]) that was criticized by historians [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/30/liberals-love-alexander-hamilton-but-aaron-burr-was-a-real-progressive-hero/ Nancy Isenberg]], and [[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/theater/hamilton-and-history-are-they-in-sync.html Sean Willentz]] among others. Most notably, the show cultivates sympathy for its protagonist, UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, [[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/04/a_hamilton_critic_on_why_the_musical_isn_t_so_revolutionary.html by arguing that he was an abolitionist based on highly selective interpretation of loose facts]], and prominently ignoring parts of history that belie that claim.
148--> '''[[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/04/a_hamilton_critic_on_why_the_musical_isn_t_so_revolutionary.html Lyra Monteiro]]''': This is a way that writers of [[HollywoodHistory popular history]] (and some academic historians) represent the founders as [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority relate-able, cool guys]]. Founders Chic tends to really downplay the involvement of the Founding Fathers in slavery, and this play does that 100 percent...So the 12th line of the play where it’s mentioned, “he struggled and kept his guard up” is the line right after talking about slaves being slaughtered and carted away. But we have [[RiddleForTheAges no idea what Alexander Hamilton’s attitude]] toward slavery was when he was a boy growing up in the Caribbean. He worked on a slave ship. I mean, chances are probably pretty high that he was in favor of it; that was his livelihood. So few white people were opposed to slavery, especially white people in the Caribbean. It’s kind of bonkers to suggest that he was somehow suffering and feeling like slavery was an injustice at that time.
149* Creator/BuffaloBill's ''WildWest'' shows were highly successful at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th. They claimed to be historically accurate representations of the era and spared no costs to give the audience what they wanted with Native Americans, cowboys, stagecoaches, dramatized gun fights and horse riding. In reality all of it was a romanticized version that nevertheless caught on in the general consciousness, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]] where the ''cowboys and Indians era'' has always remained popular. (He did have actual Native American actors and dancers.[[note]]among them Sitting Bull and a very young Nick Black Elk, who tells the story of his experiences including a meeting with UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria in ''Black Elk Speaks'' by John Neihardt.[[/note]])
150* ''Theatre/TheMikado'' presents a version of Japanese culture that, by its own cheerful admission in the OpeningChorus, is about as accurate as what can be seen “On many a vase and jar / On many a screen and fan.”
151[[/folder]]
152
153[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
154* The Inner Sphere in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', especially the Chinese themed Capellan Confederation and Japanese themed Draconis Combine. While the ruling families are actually of Chinese and Japanese ethnicity (though [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness early books mentioned strange details like Romanio Liao's red hair]], such details were eventually dropped to depict them as being authentically Asian), most of the worlds' citizens aren't and simply act in a manner that shows how "Chinese" or "Japanese" they are. In the Draconis Combine, people wear kimonos, eat sushi, talk about honor, and fight with katanas. In the Warrior Trilogy, when the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner was held on Earth, there was a throw-away line about members of the Draconis Combine visiting Japan and [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy how annoying the actual Japanese people found them to be]].
155** In fact, with regards to the Draconis Combine, this is almost to the level of InvokedTrope, as early Kurita leaders fostered the Bushido-themed culture explicitly to use as a unifying factor for their realm, and it has been mentioned (as in the above reference from the Warrior Trilogy) both in universe and out that it is ancient Japan seen through almost an {{Otaku}} point of view.
156* Invoked literally in ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' with Golarion World, a planetary Theme Park based on ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'s'' core setting of the Inner Sea region.
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder:Video Games]]
160* The final world of ''VideoGame/{{Anarcute}}'' is called Anarland, a literal theme park designed by TheManBehindTheMan to cash in on the protagonists protests. The final battle even has the BigBad fighting you in a [[TheMerch weaponized T-shirt making machine]].
161* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' while praised for being (at least in earlier games) revisionist and subversive of tropes and HollywoodHistory still more or less presents simplified versions of actual historical periods, nations and cultures.
162** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' and the other games more or less dials down the role of religion in the actual medieval era, insisting that such religious sects as UsefulNotes/TheHashshashin and UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar were HidingBehindReligion and really secular humanists. While this compromise makes commercial sense and fits with the overall meta-narrative, it ends up giving a distorted view of the period and history.
163** The later games rarely tackle the importance of class and social background. The blending mechanic allows a Native American like [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII Connor]] to hide in a group of Colonial Bostonians, a cockney thug like [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate Jacob Frye]] to talk on even terms with the British Prime Minister and for the Florentine exile and outsider [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio Auditore]] to easily interact with a range of class groups in a time where costume, rank, title and appearance were crucial social signifiers.
164** The games also codified LeParkour in games as a climbing and traversal mechanic which simplifies both the human body and the surfaces and architecture of various cities to facilitate said gameplay. Other mechanics such as the naval gameplay of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' is more or less a simplified and condensed simulation of naval combat with ships easily navigated the wind and the waves.
165* The original ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' series by Bioware was often considered this by old pen & paper ''Tabletopgame/DungeonsAndDragons'' veterans, particularly because of the lack of different reactions, dialogues, and plot resolutions depending on the character stats, race, gender (there are some occasional instances but nothing major). Other complaints are the simplified combat whose calculations are run by the computer behind the screen, the recurrent use of railroading for many dialogues and quests, the power creep of gear and special abilities, and how the developers themselves encouraged to make use of a DumpStat. It should be noted that it is harder to implement such tabletop complexities in a single player computer campaign without a dungeon master overseeing and deciding how to develop a game session according to the behavior of players, and that Baldur's Gate neverthless presented many interesting choices and quest branching that really set it aside from previous videogames. However, other contemporary games based upon the same engine, such as ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'' or ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', made more use of these attributes and the latter allowed even TalkingTheMonsterToDeath rather than almost always having to fight.
166** Within the franchise, ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' was considered this compared to the first ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' by some fans due to the removal of the wilderness exploration and free roaming elements in favor of direct, limited areas each with a specific flavor or theme (e.g. the besieged keep, the druid grove, the haunted temple, the dragon's lair etc.), that simply opened up in the world map when you spoke with the right characters.
167* The ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games are The Theme Park Version of... Civilization. No one disagrees it's an AcceptableBreakFromReality, though.
168** And ''Civilization Revolution'' is itself the simplified Theme Park Version of the Civilization games, intended for kids as in introduction to the series.
169* In general, ''Creator/ParadoxInteractive's'' grand strategy games are significantly more detailed than Civilization in simulating governments and nations, but they still fall under this trope due to the sheer complexity of the subject matter.
170* Speaking again of Bioware, ''Franchise/DragonAge'' is often considered to have progressively turned into this with respect to the CRPG genre and particularly previous games such as Baldur's Gate itself, by giving more focus to world building, console-ificated mechanics, spectacular combat coreography ("[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzkCmidjeHc&ab_channel=Gro%C3%9FeTelefonleitung if you press a button, something awesome has to happen"]]), and overprevalent romances, rather than actual tactical gameplay and character build. You might even respec your characters and purchase dlcs that grant overpowered gear so that you don't "waste" time planning which skills develop and which items are better to use - anything goes and can be changed whenever you want, so that you can resume the rest of the game.
171* In ''VideoGame/FatalFury 2'' and its expansion ''Special'', Andy Bogard's stage is set in Italy for some reason (he is an American McNinja, after all). The fight takes place on a boat that seems to be running through the channels of Venice, passing by the Coliseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The famed Venetian canals also serve as the backdrop for the Fatal Fury Team's stage in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '94'' (as Terry, Andy, and Joe officially were "Team Italy" that year), though the venue is only limited to that area of Italy.
172* In-universe in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn''. The Psynergy Training Grounds are literally a theme park based on the story of [[VideoGame/GoldenSun the first two games]], apparently made by Isaac fans who a) don't get the significance of the [[AntiVillain Fire Clan]], b) don't get the significance of the [[PlayerPunch Doom Dragon]], and c) don't get that ''[[DudeWheresMyRespect Felix was a good guy all along]]''. Among other things.
173* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games codified the WideOpenSandbox genre and established most of its conventions, forming more or less theme park versions of American cities, theme park versions of American crime movies and TV shows, and theme park versions of popular culture. All its cities (Liberty City, Los Santos, Vice City) are FantasyCounterpartCulture of New York, Los Angeles and Miami respectively but much, much smaller than the real thing, far easier to navigate but with just enough of the general feel and look of the real-world counterparts to give players a facsimile of the real thing.
174** The general gameplay more or less only works with a satirical distorted view to which Rockstar submit its portrayal, since the cities are portrayed to be as corrupt as a BananaRepublic with suspects of multiple felonies buying their way out of murders with a slap on the wrist, an income system that doesn't punish you for losing your health (when American health care is incredibly expensive) and allowing a single individual to somehow learn how to drive multiple vehicles on land, sea and air which in real-life only few individuals ever accumulate the required knowledge to do so, leave alone the proficiency which allows for vehicle stunts as the games invites you to do.
175** The games are based on many popular American crime movies and tropes but often the distorted the popular-culture vision rather than the UnbuiltTrope of the original. Brian de Palma's ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}'' starring Creator/AlPacino is an anti-drug story and a tragedy, the SpiritualAdaptation VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity is a sociopath's gleeful and successful RoaringRampageOfRevenge with none of the qualms and drawbacks of dealing drugs addressed once in the game.
176** The later games have a mechanic by which gamers can buy and invest in property and businesses which unlock missions that involve improving and building said works. Actual propety acquisition and businesses is a complex process that involves mortgage, electricity and maintenance which is usually handwaved with a one-time cash payment with no additional expenses incurred on the part of the owner.
177** VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption is likewise a theme park version of TheWildWest and TheWestern, greatly misrepresenting and distorting both to facilitate gameplay. The actual West was not as violent as the game makes it out to be, and while it was praised for deconstructing western tropes, said deconstruction has been old hat since Film/{{Stagecoach}} (which deconstructed earlier forgotten westerns) and Film/TheSearchers. Likewise the game pays no attention to environment, heat and other factors that real settlers had to face and while its mechanic does avert AutomatonHorses to some extent it is still a simplified take on actual cowboy activities.
178* ''VideoGame/MetalWolfChaos'' appears to be set in America as imagined by Japanese games developers who have only ever seen it in action movies.
179* {{MMORPG}}s that are very linear and/or lack many of the player-driven gameplay elements are referred to as '[=themeparks=]' since they lack the freedom of the WideOpenSandbox, and usually lack options for creativity in character build and play style[[note]]This makes it a lot easier on developers to achieve and maintain balance, however[[/note]]. There is typically on emphasis on killing non-player characters compared to non-combat related activities, such as dancing, crafter-based economies, decorating, or socializing. However, even games considered 'sandboxes' tend to feature themepark elements, such as missions/quests and dropped-based loot.
180** ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is a much smaller version of Azeroth and Outland than is generally depicted in the lore and in the previous games. While generally all the important details are there and in (mostly) the right places, all the continents are scaled down so as to not affect gameplay -- creating the Theme Park Version of ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. Funnily enough, it causes SequelDisplacement for the rest of the series.
181*** There are other things wrong. Places are missing, as is one of Azeroth's moons (despite models of it appearing in Northrend Dungeons), Teldrassil looks like a humongous stump with a forest growing from its remains rather then the thriving tree it is in lore... The list goes on.
182*** As expansions have come out, some missing places have been restored. The second (blue) moon has been restored, and it is now possible to visit some places that were missing originally. Some still remain unaccounted for, however.
183*** Espen Aarseth actually points out that the game's Azeroth is similar to Florida's Disney World in size (before expansions) and layout in addition to purpose. "Both contain different thematic zones connected by paths, roads, and rail-based transportation, which cater to differing tastes, age groups, or levels."
184* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed II'' has tracks taking place in exotic locales such as [[LandDownUnder The Outback]] (depicted as a rocky desert cutting through UsefulNotes/{{Sydney}}), The Himalayas (snowy mountains and a small village), and Northern Europe (which contains the Autobahn, a Germanic village, and castles within the same driving distance.
185* ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' does likewise for the cycle of life. And civilization... and, umm, ''[[StandardSciFiSetting Dune]].''
186* Bullfrog's ''VideoGame/ThemePark'' games are the theme park version of... running a theme park.
187* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' is a literal example. The minigames that comprise it are based on various Nintendo games and simplified, with the premise that they're attractions at a Nintendo-themed amusement park. RuleOfFun is very much at play.
188* Most characters in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' are over-the-top national stereotypes (even the Japanese ones), with the Wii version showing them coming from The Theme Park Version of their respective countries.
189* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' pares down lawyering to the bare essentials: evidence, witness testimony, cross examination, and yelling really loudly when you spot an inconsistency. [[RuleOfFun No one's complaining.]]
190* Like ''Nintendo Land'', the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series is centered around the long history of Nintendo's video game library and its various characters.
191* Making ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' clones is one of the most common ways to make the compact versions out of serious motorsport events. EA made ''[[UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} NASCAR Kart Racing]]'' and Codemasters made ''[[UsefulNotes/FormulaOne F1 Race Stars]]'', for examples.
192* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' - the (playable) cast features 8 men from the Theme Park Versions of America, Australia, France, Germany, Scotland and the Soviet Union. The ninth, the Pyro, is a FeaturelessProtagonist.
193* ''VideoGame/{{Ryse Son Of Rome}}'' does this to Ancient Rome, by taking [[ArtisticLicenseHistory wild liberties with History]] such as having Nero's Rome sacked by barbarians - the city also having hydraulic technology for lifts way ahead of its time -, as well as Romans fluent in [[TheQueensLatin Queens Latin]], ExplodingBarrels and [[EverythingIsBetterWithExplosions shell shock]], a [[Film/{{Gladiator}} gladiator duel between the Hero and some guy named Commodus]], along with borrowing indiscriminately from Greek and Roman mythology, which end up playing as [[DeusExMachina plot convenience]]
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:Web Videos]]
197* ''WebVideo/CityNerd'' mocks Lifestyle Centers, especially those that don't include any housing, as near dystopian artificial imitations of the longed for main streets the same type of car centric development helped to destroy in much of North America.
198[[/folder]]
199
200[[folder:Western Animation]]
201* When ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E23ThirtyMinutesOverTokyo go to Japan]], they dine in a Theme Park Version restaurant of the ''United States'' called Americatown, complete with sarcastic waiters dressed as cowboys that state that they don't know anything as a result of America's educational system and also work in producing poor quality cars and inferior electronics.
202---> '''Homer:''' ''(genuinely amused)'' [[SarcasmBlind Oh, they got our number!]]
203** In almost any episode where the Simpsons leave Springfield, their destination is the Theme Park Version. Notable examples include France, Australia, and New York City, but the standout is Capital City, the state capital of The Simpsons' unnamed state that functions as a combined Theme Park Version of New York and Los Angeles, meant to invoke classic Big City tropes.
204* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', when Fry visits a Ride/{{Disneyland}}-esque theme park on UsefulNotes/TheMoon. In the future, most people have forgotten [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace the first manned mission to the moon]], and an animatronic display offers a version of history in which the moon was "discovered" by space whalers, which all visitors accept as the truth. When Fry tries to tell everyone the real story, Leela insists the theme-park version is just harmless fun and that no one really cares how the moon was first explored.
205* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' where the kids ask Jimbo, who fought in Vietnam, about some info for a school report. Jimbo literally gives a theme park version and the kids get an F.
206* In the "Old Days" festival in ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBeaks'', apparently only four things happened in the 1970's: hippies, flower power, Afros, and disco.
207* One criticism of the ''Big World! Big Adventures!'' episodes of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' is that they boil the countries down '''a lot'''. China only has dragons and pandas, India only has Bollywood, elephants, and monkeys, Australia only has kangaroos, Italy only has the Leaning Tower of Pisa and opera, and Brazil only has rainforests and soccer.
208* In the ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "Harlottown", the new city manager, upon learning about Arlen's origins as Harlottown, wants to use the town's dark history as a way to make tourist dollars. To that end, he does things like planning to convert the old soldiers-and-sailors home into a museum of prostitution (complete with an erotic bakery and a gentleman's reading room) and have Arlen be the home of the Texas Adult Video Awards. It becomes clear to Hank and Peggy that instead of learning from its history like Peggy wanted, the town is becoming a Disneyland for pornography. They, along with a former adult film star, appeal to the people and ask if this is what they want kids to learn.
209* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' episode “Grounded”, the main four visit Bozeman, Montana, the site of the First Contact between Humans and Vulcans, which has a theme park centered around it. One of the attractions is a recreation of the ''Phoenix'', mankind’s first warp-capable ship… which the crew hijack to get to the docked ''Cerritos''.
210** This also applies to the entire planet of Hysperia, which was colonized by Ren Fair nerds (primarily due to being home to actual dragons) and accordingly, they act like a 24/7 ren fair, even renaming advanced technology to sounds like magic. As it turns out, the Cerritos' chief engineer, Lt. Commander Andy Billups is actually [[KingIncognito Crown Prince Andarithio]], but he opted to AbdicateTheThrone and work in Starfleet. When [[MyBelovedSmother his mother]] [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Paolana]] shows up needing his engineering acumen to fix her starship, he's shown being visibly irritated by all the quasi-medieval stuff.
211[[/folder]]
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213[[folder:Real Life - History]]
214* These days, many museums and tourist guides inevitably promote real nations, monuments and cultures in this way, often to the exclusion of sub-cultures and counter-cultures.
215** The French critic Creator/RolandBarthes noted in his book ''Mythologies'' that during the era of General UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco, Spanish tourist brochures never discussed UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain and the Arab influence on Spanish culture and language. He pointed out that in the age of travel, countries generally tend to promote a one-sided and one-dimensional vision of culture to choose as representative of the complex whole, where thanks to the EiffelTowerEffect nations are reduced to a single slew of overexposed monuments (Eiffel Tower - Paris, Taj Mahal - India, Colosseum - Italy) over other more diverse parts of the nation and that tourists are more or less herded to visit and view only parts of a more complex whole.
216** There's also the fact that a lot of the major museums in Europe (Louvre, British Museum and others) [[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/nov/04/art-worlds-shame-parthenon-elgin-marbles-british-museums got their artifacts from colonialism]] and imperialist looting. This has the double effect. Citizens of former colonies are unable to truly appreciate much of their past since a lot of their cultural heritage is in some far off land too expensive for them to travel and see in person, while citizens in ex-imperial countries have an image of a more complex inter-related world without all the gray stuff removed.
217** A reverse trend is that in some parts of Asian countries to make theme park versions of Europe. There's Huis Ten Bosch: a Japanese theme park that recreates The Netherlands and Madurodam, the Dutch theme park version of The Netherlands (in miniature). There's also The Window of the World in Shenzhen, China contains scale models and reconstructions of the world's most famous landmarks and tourist attractions. This makes it the Theme Park Version of global tourism and the Chinese film ''The World'' by Jia Zhangke is set in that park dealing with the poignancy that many of its visitors will only have this facsimile of world history as their reference, since they are too poor to go and see the real thing.
218* Nothing quite embodies theme park more than the most commonly known and widely produced World Map. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIID5FDi2JQ The Mercator Projection]] was originally devised for the purposes of navigation and as such it reduced the surface of the earth to a flat rectangle and compressed landmasses to reflect ''shape'' rather than ''size'' so as to make coast lines easier to identify and place in relation to each other. The problem is that the Age of Discovery, Exploration and Colonization instituted the map as a symbol reflective of a distorted Eurocentric worldview, and many on seeing the map, both from Western and non-Western countries, come away thinking that Greenland is truly the size of Africa when Africa is huge (It's big enough to hold China, USA and India and still have some space between) and Greenland while big is much smaller (slightly smaller than India). It makes Western Europe bigger than it really is, while making India into a tiny triangle when it is in fact bigger than England, France, Germany and Italy combined. New maps and projections have tried to correct it but the Mercator projection still remains thanks to inertia and practicality [[note]]You can't really plot anything on a Gall-Peters projection or other more size-accurate maps; they're good for showing people roughly where stuff is (though they still distort some landmasses quite badly, as do all projections) but useless for actual navigation.[[/note]], which means that PopCulturalOsmosis has become the "image of the world" for many people. Websites like [[http://thetruesize.com/ the true size]] use the Mercator Map to better inform viewers on the gulf between the apparent size of the Mercator Map and the actual size of the particular landmass.
219* Some argue that nationalism as an ideology more or less reduces places, events, and persons to theme park-like simplistic reductions and a tendency to present an [[PropagandaPiece official version]] of national history.
220** For example, classes in US history can resemble advertisements for the local political orthodoxy. Events like UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and the "Founding Fathers" are often invoked in America discourse with very little attention paid to context and background and often reduced and caricatured in popular culture (as in ''Film/ThePatriot2000''). Some elementary and high school history classes focus on the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations[[note]]This might have something to do with the fact that most teachers came of age during one of these administrations. (Other teachers and curriculam somehow manage to never get past the Eisenhower administration, for similar reasons: there's too much risk of parents and school boards objecting to ''any'' possible discussion of the Vietnam War, Watergate, or the Iran hostage crisis.)[[/note]] while almost little or no attention is paid to 19th Century America except for Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar much to critic Creator/GoreVidal's distaste (he wrote several novels to rectify this). Important events in American history like the War of 1812, the Trail of Tears, the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar (which you would think would be taught with more attention, considering that at the end of it, the present day contiguous United States was formed) are glossed over, forgotten or simply ignored.
221** Even the study of "world history" is still governed by a eurocentric bias. '''''Any''''' highschool-back history book you read will passingly mention the Middle East, India, Africa, and Asia while focusing on Europe and its struggles. You don't read 1200–1800-era Chinese, Arabian, or African authors too often, nor do you discuss non-European empires from those eras. Also, North America didn't exist until 1492. Hence why it's the "New World", regardless of how old it actually is. Can you think of any major events in Native American history before Europeans came over that doesn't have to do with doomsday calendars? Or of major scientific inventions and philosophical innovations outside of Europe that don't have to do with algebra, limestone batteries, or gunpowder? Let's just say that if you respond "There are none," you've successfully proved this trope correct.
222* Wars are often taught in a very simplistic fashion. It would take the whole school year to get a non-Theme Park version of one war, especially complex events such as the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar, with proper attention paid to geopolitical tensions and other environmental and sociological changes and military technology and tactics. They are also fought and experienced by many characters and feature many HeroOfAnotherStory. In movies, popular consciousness, and even in history classes, they usually devolve into a theme park version of a fight between the forces of [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Good]], with some individual, great leaders, generals and soldiers elevated into heroic roles out of proportion to the level of agency they actually possessed during the conflict. Military history is a separate discipline in and of itself and thanks to the PopCulturalOsmosis paid to tropes like DecisiveBattle [[LifeImitatesArt history tends to highlight the exciting parts over the boring parts]] and the importance or lack thereof of battles and war are not given due accord.
223** In English history, Agincourt and Crecy are taught when mentioning UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar while ignoring that the English ultimately lost that war. The former two were striking victories important for England at the time and propagandized by English monarchs and dramatists such as Creator/WilliamShakespeare and comics artists such as Creator/WarrenEllis to emphasize ideas of nationalism and class consciousness, greatly distorting and exaggerating the events out of its actual historical context.
224** Either one of the World Wars could easily eat up all the time allotted to history secondary education. Each nation participating in said conflict tend to focus or emphasize their part in the conflict over a broadly global perspective, mostly for nationalistic reasons. American students as well as international students on account of EaglelandOsmosis and AmericaWinsTheWar, think that both these conflicts were singularly won by America to the detriment of the involvement of other, non-English speaking, nations. Thanks to the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, this has led to the virtual removal from public consciousness of the contribution of the Soviet Union, when they mounted the largest offensive, fought harder, endured greater casualties and the worst war crimes, than the other sides combined and were the ones who liberated the major extermination camps. It was only since the 80s and 90s, that UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust was mentioned or depicted widely. The depictions of the war are still largely shaped by the Western Front, with its images of the Americans and British liberating their future [=NATO=] allies to the detriment of the East and the Pacific. In the case of the Pacific, the experiences of the Chinese, the Burmese, the Indians during the War get little say compared to the naval war of the US on the Pacific.
225** Allied propaganda from World War II on all three sides loved to demonize UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan. The former was made into LaughablyEvil while the latter were shown with crude racist stereotypes. Propaganda is ''never'' meant to educate, but to influence and to stir up emotions, still it has to be mentioned that the British were a colonial empire during the war, the French Resistance used ''their'' colonies as a base and, technically, no more than a liberal military junta rather than legitimate government (most of which had become LesCollaborateurs). American society and its armed forces were segregated, and as for the Soviets, well they were led by "Uncle Joe" Stalin (so-called during the war), who had a few years back conducted mass purges and incompetent collectivization schemes that led to the deaths of three million and who also invaded Poland and Finland alongside Hitler as part of that "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact" that got swept under the rug. Still, Hitler was a great deal worse than all of them.
226* In American film and literature, many Native Americans suffer from this trope. Pick any nation you like, and if you bother to do the research, you will find a complex society with all the trimmings: a working economy, clearly defined values and morals, a deep religion, a highly developed language, and a well-developed system of government. Yet some authors portray Native Americans as backward, childlike people who all [[YouNoTakeCandle talk like Tonto]],[[note]]Forgetting that Tonto was often portrayed as being smarter than Franchise/TheLoneRanger[[/note]] others characterize them as {{noble savage}} hunter-gatherers [[BookDumb long on practical knowledge but short on scholarship]] who shun new technology in favor of what they already have, and still others depict them all as nature-bonded proto-hippie MagicalNativeAmerican stereotypes in BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins who are mercilessly slaughtered by the brutish white man. It's difficult at times to ascertain which of these is the most offensive (though some would argue none are as bad as TheSavageIndian, which by now is largely dead).
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229[[folder:Real Life - Other]]
230* Actual theme parks [[ShapedLikeItself are themselves frequently theme park distortions]] of some real place or experience:
231** Ride/DisneyThemeParks: In 2004, Walt Disney World opened "Disney's Saratoga Springs", a resort inspired by another tourist hot spot, Saratoga Springs, NY (best known for mineral springs, horse racing, proximity to the Adirondack Mountains, and being the tourist destination for rich Victorians from New York City). The resemblance is...extremely superficial. To demonstrate, compare "High Rock Spring", [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160507024939/www.ownerslocker.com/blog/2009/10/the_kiddie_pool_at_disneys_sar.html the Disney version]] (waterfalls and a pool)...and [[http://www.saratoga.com/business/high-rock-spring-10270/ the real one]] (a rock with a spigot covered by a building).[[note]]If they wanted an impressive water feature to emulate, they could have picked the Geyser Island spring in the park...[[/note]] Similar to the aforementioned Window of the World, there is Epcot's World Showcase, which features eleven pavilions, each representing the culture of one different country. And then there's Disney's California-themed park...in California. It was not well received.
232** EPCOT Center itself, is the literal Theme Park Version of Walt's Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.
233** A ShapedLikeItself version: Ride/SixFlags St. Louis has an area called "1904 World's Fair" (the real thing ''was'' in St. Louis, after all), made up like an old-time carnival and no doubt lacking the safety or health issues that the original may have had.
234** The whole point of Ride/EuropaPark in Germany, really. Each nation of UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} featured in the park is represented through recognizable clichés, cultural traits and landmarks, such as [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] and UsefulNotes/{{Ven|ice}}etian-[=looking=] buildings, [[SpaghettiAndGondolas mandolin music and pizzeria]] in the UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian district; chocolate shops, an [[YodelLand alpine-looking village and yodel music]] for UsefulNotes/{{Switzerland}}; Santorini Island-styled houses, [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece a temple of Poseidon]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar the Trojan horse]] for UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}; fish restaurants and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church stave Church]] for Scandinavia (UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}); Delftware and [[LandOfTulipsAndWindmills windmills]] for UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands, a statue of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc (and now French Cancan in Eurosat) for UsefulNotes/{{France}}; [[Myth/RussianMythologyAndTales winter-related fairy tales]] and UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace for UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} and so on and so forth.
235** [[http://www.bobbejaanland.be/ Bobbejaanland]] is a UsefulNotes/{{Belgi|um}}an theme park, founded by a Belgian country western singer, which proudly presents his idea of the [[TheWildWest American Wild West]] (with a few [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Viking- and Aztec-themed rides]] thrown in). Visiting it as an actual American is a marvelously surreal experience. From the same country comes to you the thing known as [[http://www.minieurope.com/nl Mini Europa]]. Anything of it could easily be the image of the wiki.
236* Since TheEighties, when Las Vegas decided to target families rather than seasoned gambler, several of its megaresort hotels offer theme park versions of other popular places and/or eras. [[CityOfEverywhere Where else can you visit New York City (New York-New York), Paris, ancient Egypt (Luxor), ancient Rome (Caesars Palace), Monte Carlo, and Venice (The Venetian) in walking distance of each other?]]
237* Averted by the mermaid show at Ride/WeekiWacheeSprings since, well, there aren't real mermaids, therefore the park cannot be accused of misrepresenting them.
238* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_fair World's fairs]] live on this trope since their foundation in the mid-1800s, especially for national pavilions. There are the commendable, and there the infamous, especially the ''Anthropology Days'' of the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, where ''actual ethnic minorities'' [[PeopleZoo were shown living their lives as though they were at their homeland]].
239* Most holidays become this over time.
240** In an interesting inversion, the word "Xmas" for Christmas is often wrongfully accused of being this trope. The assumption is that the X is used to remove any implications of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} from the holiday. In fact, it comes from the fact that X -- or rather, the Greek letter Chi, which merely ''looks'' like a Roman X -- is the first letter in Jesus' title (Χριστός or Christos) in Greek. (Perhaps medieval monks started this -- they had to write "Christ" so much in their copying work that they started writing X as shorthand.) This is also why Catholic churches have a big XP on things -- it's "CHR", the first letters in "Christ". (And, if you really want to be pedantic, Christmas is thought to have originated as a [[HijackedByJesus Christian alternative to Saturnalia]] and has absorbed other pagan winter solstice holidays like Yule, since syncretism made conversion easier.) The expression "Xian" for Christian was originally not a pejorative, but came from online religion discussion groups where like those medieval monks you had to type "Christian" so much that Xian became the shorthand.
241** Valentine's Day. It went from being a tribute to a Christian martyr, to being an occasion for romantic lovers to profess themselves to each other, to being a kitschy affair in which schoolkids in completely platonic relationships give each other goofy cards with Superman or [=SpongeBob=] [=SquarePants=] on them.
242** Then there's Saint Patrick's Day. Just about everyone's forgotten that it's a ''Catholic'' holiday, not just an Irish one. Same with Mardi Gras. Purely Catholic, but most of the people enthused with it nowadays are probably from other religions, if they even are religious at all. Some now refer to Mardi Gras as Fat Tuesday. (To be fair, that's just translating the French. Elsewhere, the holiday is very straightforwardly called "Carnival" -- or "farewell to meat," named because Lent was formerly required to be meatless.)
243** For that matter, while Carnival the holiday itself is a big deal in the Catholic parts of the world, the term "carnival" itself is now associated with any sort of celebration with special attractions and competitions rather than the specific occasion of indulgent celebration of one last hurrah before the austerity of Lent sets in.
244* Many large cities are frequently accused of attempting to become the theme park version of themselves. This is often associated with gentrification, which sociologists and historians lament often comes at the expense of more colourful and interesting communities.
245** A good example is UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} since the 1960s, where French Presidents tried to install new buildings. The Centre Georges Pompidou, an art gallery, was built on top of the famous covered market of Les Halles, a historical working class district. The construction of the Olympics for UsefulNotes/{{London}} in 2012, led to the destruction of Hackney, another historical working class area. In the case of New York City, a city that in its TheBigRottenApple phase was lamented for its high crime and urban decay ''and'' celebrated for its art, culture and city life (because the high crime made rents cheap), gentrification has made the rents go up and has made the city a billionaires paradise. There's also a darker angle, since Spike Lee notes that property prices of areas increase when white residents move in formerly poor but respected ghettoes (often because they are attracted to the UsefulNotes/MeltingPot reputation a locale attracted over time) and [[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/spike-lee-amazing-rant-against-gentrification.html what Spike Lee derisively labels the Christopher Columbus Syndrome]] which inevitably transforms a region into a shadow of what it once was for the benefit of new settlers.
246** A particularly strong example: UsefulNotes/NewOrleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The wealthier, touristy, photogenic parts of the city bounced back much faster than the poor parts of town. This effect was not totally intentional, but some accusations of sinister intent flew. The chief exhibit would be many people who openly pondered whether the storm wasn't a good excuse to tear down most (or all) public housing. The opposing argument being, of course, that these touristy, photogenic parts of the city were where a huge number of the people who lived in the city ''worked'', and the faster they got back on their feet, the sooner money could start coming into the city again.
247** Developments based on new urbanism and neo-traditionalism have been called theme-park versions of cities and small towns, respectively. In particular, they have been ridiculed for offering centrally planned theme-park versions of places that derive their charm from not having been centrally planned.
248* Almost everything taught in school textbooks especially below college level is a theme park version of that subject, [[LiesToChildren geared towards accessibility and simple concepts]] with very little attention given to how practice of said works happens in the modern day:
249** Science and mathematics in particular suffer from this. Entry level science and maths is still classical in formulation, teaching children Euclidean geometry, and Newtonian physics, and basic evolutionary theory (except for some parts of America that is where even ''that'' is not taught) in the hope that those who are a little more curious will read deeper and sign on for the real thing in advanced courses and college graduate level, where more or less they have to unlearn their elementary science's broad assumptions. Stephen Hawking's famous book ''A Brief History of Time'' was written for a lay audience precisely to update them about how their basic ideas about science has changed drastically from Newton to Einstein, and even Hawking's book is a theme park (avoiding any scientific equations other than E=MC squared) reduction of more complex phenomenon.
250** Psychology is usually not taught at a school level and barely touched on in high school but unfortunately, it has to compete with Popular Psychology and misrepresentations on shows like ''Series/CriminalMinds'', ''Series/{{Bones}}'' and other media works. The idea of psychology most people derive from such works is extremely simplified, misapplied, out of date, or outright wrong. Of course complicating the problem is that [[Analysis/AllPsychologyIsFreudian there are many contending theories and ideas about psychology and each group tends to insult and denounce the other]], making it harder for people to grapple with the truth. The most common and pervasive idea is Freudian Psychology and even that is highly misunderstood and distorted.
251* Your standard wall calendar will do this to the months of the year, often taking a major holiday or something similar of each month and making a photo about it. Often involves lots of SeasonalBaggage. Common examples in the US:
252** January: A baby in a top hat blowing a horn (symbolizing the "New Year"). Either that or lots of snowy stuff.
253** February: Valentine's Day, red and pink and heart-shaped everything.
254** March: Either people flying kites in the wind, or shamrocks and a leprechaun with a pot o' gold (for Saint Patrick's Day). Easter themes may show up if Easter is celebrated this month.
255** April: "April Showers," raincoats and boots and umbrellas, or Easter stuff if it comes this month.
256** May: "May Flowers", a lush garden scene. Possibly also stuff about Mother's Day.
257** June: Kids getting out of school, or maybe things related to dads, since Father's Day is in this month.
258** July: Independence Day (aka 4th of July), stars and stripes, Uncle Sam and Fireworks.
259** August: Summer heat or lounging in the sun, since there are few recognized holidays during August in the United States, and some of the hottest days of the year in the US fall in this month.
260** September: Anything having to do with kids going back to school (pencils, apples, rulers, blackboards, etc.). Or leaves changing color and possibly falling.
261** October: Halloween, costumes (HotWitch is a favorite), jack-o-lanterns, and ghosts. Maybe more autumn leaves and other autumn stuff.
262** November: Thanksgiving, turkeys, pilgrims, Indians, and lots of food. Last depiction of autumn anything.
263** December: Christmas, trees, ornaments, Nativity scenes, poinsettias and Santa Claus. Maybe some sparkly blue decor and Stars of David for Chanukah if you're lucky. And [[DreamingOfAWhiteChristmas snow]].
264* [[http://www.swedenhills.jp Sweden Hills]]
265* The UsefulNotes/FirstAustralians (or Indigenous Australians) are not the same as [[UsefulNotes/AustralianAborigines Aboriginal Australians]]. The indigenous population consists of two main groups. About 90% are Aboriginals, which pretty much everyone knows about. The rest are UsefulNotes/TorresStraitIslanders, relatively unknown outside of Australia and often forgotten within the country. This division oversimplifies the diversity of languages (hundreds within the Aboriginal population alone) and cultures in the indigenous community.
266* The Mesozoic Era gets hit with this trope. Many forms of fictional DinosaurMedia will feature the standard [[PredatorsAreMean ugly, bloodthirsty carnivores]] (like ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'') and [[HerbivoresAreFriendly docile, good-natured herbivores]] (like ''Brontosaurus''), horrifying {{Sea Monster}}s that make the shark from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' look like a guppy (marine reptiles like ''Plesiosaurus'') and [[TerrorDactyl airborne terrors]] that [[DeathFromAbove descend upon helpless creatures on the ground]] (pterosaurs like ''Pteranodon''). The landscape will almost always be depicted as alien and unfamiliar, with even the flora being impossible to recognize, and the whole thing would be completely covered in volcanoes and molten lakes, with everyday life being a constant fight for survival. Of course, nearly all of these are exaggerated and some, like the volcanoes, are almost totally fabricated. The flora of the Mesozoic wasn't all that different from the flora we have now[[note]]and indeed, many of said fauna such as monkey-puzzle trees and ginkoes are still fairly common today[[/note]] and the animals were, for all intents and purposes, still normal animals. A living ''T. rex'' would be no more vicious or terrifying than a modern lion or grizzly bear ([[SarcasmMode aside from being 20-30 times more massive, three and a half times as tall, six times as long and capable of eating an average lion or grizzly in one bite]]), and on the flipside, a plant eating dinosaur would not necessarily be friendly (modern plant eaters [[BewareTheNiceOnes certainly aren't]]). The sea reptiles and pterosaurs would likely be the same way. What is more, there tends to be an overstatement of the largest and most spectacular creatures in any given area. Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes and occupied just about every ecological niche you could think of, and a large apex predator like the ''T-rex'' could really only exist in an environment already teeming with life.
267* In Flanders there is a teaching subject in primary school called World Orientation meant in theory to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin give a broader view of the world]]. In practice, it is a string of facts taken entirely out of context and often condensed into 2 pages of information that people are supposed learn by heart.
268* Many large (and usually nerdy) fandoms can be reduced to this by people outside of them.
269** Speaking of nerds, many of their favorite archetypes are exactly this. [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Pirates were either armed thieves who boarded trade vessels to steal, kill and take slaves, or impoverished, out-of-work sailors eking out a living through extortion. Ninjas were poor farmers and peasants who revolted against nobility with weaponized farming implements, Zombies were supposedly drugged and brainwashed people used to do manual labor, and most real robots are just the sort of computerized machines that took grandpa's job at the auto plant]]. Monkeys... well, at least they're pretty spot on about monkeys.
270** Also, the vikings were extremely brutal and terrorist-like in RealLife, and would do vicious, horrific things to women and children with no remorse. There's a ''reason'' why everyone in Europe feared and hated them. SteamPunk (and, to a lesser, degree DieselPunk) fans tends to ignore the [[CrapsackWorld dirt, filth and brutality]] of Western cities in their favorite time period and the vicious colonialism and looting that happened in the same time, as well as the impact new technology had on the environment.
271** Large franchises also tend to judge works in that franchise to itself or its ExpandedUniverse rather than compare it to other books in other genres and other mediums. This is the main reason why CriticalDissonance exists because critics and other writers do look at the work from different lenses.
272* In Western culture, the term "tantra" has come to be associated with sex. There's ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra a lot]]'' more to it than that, however.
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