Basic Trope: A character brings politics into an otherwise apolitical issue or setting. See also What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?
- Straight:
- Alice engages in a bit of Cultural Posturing.
- Alice makes sure to buy fair-trade coffee, makeup that wasn't tested on animals, etc.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice interprets Bob's red shirt (with no swastikas on it) as a sign that he supports the Nazis or some suspiciously similar group, and freaks out accordingly.
- In an effort to remain 100% cruelty-free, Alice goes off the grid, gives up clothing, switches to a vegan diet, joins a New-Age Retro Hippie commune, and makes or grows everything herself.
- The people of Tropestan all wear formless gray robes, and though they speak of a right to individuality or feelings, rarely express any individuality. Newspeak is commonplace, and people resolve conflicts by talking about their feelings. It may also be a world of "Stop Having Fun" Guys, for fear of offending someone. Everything Is Racist, or sexist, or otherwise a political issue. Big Brother Is Watching the citizens of Tropestan constantly, and All Crimes Are Equal. It's a very Crapsaccharine World.
- Downplayed: Alice makes a good-faith effort to not offend people, although she doesn't make a big deal about it or go overboard.
- Justified:
- Alice is a Straw Feminist, Malcolm Xerox, Soapbox Sadie, Granola Girl or something along those lines.
- Bob actually did do or say something insensitive, without realizing it. (For example, maybe he wore a flag as a cape as part of an Hetalia: Axis Powers Cosplay, without realizing or understanding that most countries regard using their flags as, well, anything but flags as insulting.)
- Inverted: In an otherwise very heavily political setting (say, Strawman U), Alice is the only character who doesn't seem to care about politics or activism.
- Alice is a major Jerkass who always complains about political correctness, even going out of her way to be un-PC purely to piss off Soapbox Sadies.
- Subverted:
- Alice gets along with a wide range of characters on all points of the political spectrum.
- Alice doesn't particularly care about whatever Bob remarked about.
- Double Subverted:
- But trigger Alice's hot-button issue, and she'll go into a long-winded speech, possibly invoking Godwin's Law, or start some kind of protest.
- But it's a trigger for someone else.
- Parodied:
- Bob farts, and Alice goes into a tirade about how it means that Bob has no respect for either women (sorry, womyn), or her as an individual, that he is subconsciously signaling her to Stay in the Kitchen, Blah, Blah, Blah, etc., etc.
- Society becomes the epitome of Political Overcorrectness.
- Zig Zagged: Bob makes a mildly sexist joke in Alice's presence, but she lets it slide, because hey, it's Bob. Later, she sees a racist comment left by a nasty Troll on ViewTube, and feels uneasy, but decides to ignore it. The next day, Charles is seen wearing a piece of traditional clothing from Wikistan, even though he has no cultural ties whatsoever to Wikistan, and Alice (who happens to be very proud of her Wikistani heritage) reams him out for it...or gives him a Megaton Punch if she's in a particularly sour mood that day.
- Averted: No characters bring up any sort of politics. (See also Ban on Politics.)
- Enforced:
- "We need to show that our Soapbox Sadie character is a loony Straw Character."
- After awhile, the series begins Going Cosmic as the writers run out of ideas (or execute them poorly).
- Some Author Tract or Writer on Board works, if the author genuinely believes everything really is political.
- Lampshaded: "Do you even know what that means?! Do you have any idea the
Unfortunate Implications of what you just said?!" - Invoked: Bob says something insensitive around Alice, intentionally or otherwise.
- Exploited: "That's it, Alice... let the anger flow through you...and join my protest!"
- Defied: Alice (whether she's legitimately bothered or not, whether the issue is real or not) chooses not to say anything.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Back to All Issues Are Political Issues
