Sandbox / Wick Check One

From Tropes Needing TRS:

A lot of the examples (probably because of the poor page image) are areas that just happen to have a nondescript name for whatever reason - e.g. parodies where all areas are named North City or the Forest Of Trees as a joke. The trope is supposed to be un-naming a region after conquering it, as with the Trope Namer (1984 having the UK referred to as Airstrip One after the rise of totalitarianism).

Note that a significant portion of misuse may be on the page itself but is not crosslinked from any work pages (especially in the Real Life folder) and may not be reflected below.

Checking all 79 links.

Correct (conquered territories are rebranded with a label and a number): 48 (60.8%)

1. A Nazi by Any Other Name, with reference to Code Geass: "They refer to conquered non-Britannian people by a numbered designation ("Elevens" instead of Japanese)..."
2. Alternate History Tropes: Copies the laconic (used as the title of this folder).
3. Book Burning: "In Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion, on top of the typical reasons for this trope, Britannia also had common books burned just because they were written in the original languages of the people of an Area."
4. Cold Sleep, Cold Future, with reference to Half-Life 2: "Earth has been the victim of an Alien Invasion directly caused by you in Half-Life; urban locations are only sanctuaries from feral alien attacks, and those who live in the numbered cities are routinely beaten by the Civil Protection or rounded up and turned into stalkers and otherwise experimented on by The Combine, "our benefactors"."
5. Crushing the Populace: "In Code Geass, nations conquered by Britannia are called Areas."
6. Dystopia Is Hard: "While Nineteen Eighty-Four inverts this for horror, a short-story parody by Alan Coren named "Owing To Circumstances Beyond Our Control, 1984 Has Been Unavoidably Detained" plays this straight: the story shows Ingsoc's barren misery has completely gotten out of control in all levels of society and when Winston Smith is arrested and sent to Room 101, the Ministry of Love turns out to be out of budget and lacking supplies to torture Smith with — no, not even rats (winter in Airstrip One wipes them out)."
7. Egopolis, with reference to Dragon Ball Z: "Frieza renamed every planet he conquered to "Planet Frieza", with only a number at the end to distinguish them."
8. Expanded States of America, with reference to Nineteen Eighty-Four: "Oceania is officially not a continuation of the United States, and there is no indication that the Americas are more important than Britain, even though the latter's name has been changed to "Airstrip One"."
9. Fantastic Slurs, with reference to Code Geass: "Citizens of the defeated Japan are called "Elevens" by everyone affiliated with the Holy Britannian Empire, to go along with the whole stripped-of-their-national-identity treatment the Empire put on them (occupied Japan is simply called "Area 11")."
10. Help! Help! This Index Is Being Repressed!: "Your country no longer has a name."
11. Knighting, with reference to Code Geass: "This is because it is as much a political issue as a personal promotion - he becomes personal guard to a princess, and her choice of him adds to tensions between Britannians and Elevens."
12. Monument of Humiliation and Defeat: "If the bad guy replaces the city's name for a mere number it's Airstrip One."
13. Newspeak:
    • Describing its use in the Trope Namer: "Based on the rules of Basic English and the (now discredited) strong form of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic Restraining Bolt on the population of Oceania."
    • Newspeak is also described as "thinkmaking" (codifying) Airstrip One among other tropes. This is less obviously correct.
14. Please Select New City Name:
    • "If the new "name" is just a number, it's Airstrip One."
    • "Half-Life 2: When the Combine took over Earth they renamed cities to things like City 17."
    • Austria: "The country itself was briefly renamed "Ostmark" after the Anschluss to erase its national identity." Debatably correct due to the lack of a numerical designation
15. Settings: "The Empire strips a conquered nation of its identity and assigns it a number."
16. Sneeze Cut: "Lelouch of the Rebellion RX: Demonic Knights has this happen in the ninth chapter when Jeremiah, a new member of the Black Knights brings up how Euphemia is going to be treated and how it's better than what the current Viceroy of Area Eleven has to deal with."
17. The Empire, in reference to Code Geass: "They invade and occupy the independent country Japan in order to gain control of their supply of the strategic mineral Sakuradite, renaming the country Area 11 and establishing apartheid-style discrimination against the native Japanese inhabitants."
18. The Quisling: "They do everything possible to curry favor with the new rulers - they speak the invaders' language more often than their own, ape the foreign customs, and refer to their hometown as New Invaderia, Airstrip One, or Egopolis instead of Freedomville."
19. You Are Number 6: "For replacing an entire area's name with a number, see Airstrip One."
20. Administrivia.Tropes Needing TRS [included for completeness]
21. Anime.Code Geass: "All the conquered territories of the Holy Britannian Empire. Japan is now "Area 11"."
22. Characters.Half Life The Combine: "The remaining cities under their control on Earth are simply given numerical designations, with Half-Life 2 and its episodes being set in "City 17," located somewhere in Eastern Europe."
23. Characters.Kingdom Hearts Lelouch Of Infinite Hearts: "Most countries like Japan are called Area 11, the number in which what order it was conquered with Britannia having conquered ten other nations or islands before Japan."
24. Characters.Star Wars Coruscant: "While continuing to be known as Coruscant during the days of the Empire, the planet was officially renamed Imperial Center. Its hyperspace coordinates are 0-0-0."
25. ComicBook.Captain Britain A Crooked World:"Captain Airstrip-One appears at the end of the arc, and seemingly comes from a world very similar to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four."
26. Creator.George Orwell: Listed as one of "several additional tropes...inspired by Newspeak."
27. Fanfic.Code Mars Trilogy: "The plot takes place in the Alternate History of the Code Geass world, where Japan has fallen to Brittania and has been rechristened with the name Area 11."
28. Fanfic.Panem Reborn: "After conquering France, the Capitol renames the country to "District Fifteen". They also divide its regions into four different sectors labelled A-D^note Sector A focuses on art supplies and entertainers, Sector B focuses on dairy farming, Sector C focuses on wine, and Sector D focuses on perfume and tourism."
29. Laconic.Airstrip One (included for completeness)
30. Literature.Nineteen Eighty Four: "Trope Namer. It's the name given to Great Britain under Ingsoc."
31. Literature.The Hunger Games: "The Districts are numbered, and segregated by industry."
32. LoopholeAbuse.Anime And Manga: "In episode 8 of Code Geass R2 (second season), Lelouch (as Zero) makes a back-room deal with Britannia where he bargains for Zero to be exiled from Area 11 (AKA Japan) rather than executed for his terrorism."
33. Narm.Code Geass: "The designation of Japan as "Area 11" isn't too bad at first... but people screaming "eleven" in anger may remind some viewers of heated internet arguments."
34. Pantheon.Leadership: "Absolutely hates Charles zi Britannia, reasons being that his conquering of other nations reminds her of the Englishmen who tried to conquer France. She also found his renaming any conquered people with a number degrading."
35. Pantheon.Logistics: "A few deities believes she came here to conquer and claim the Pantheon as yet another Area."
36. Pantheon.Real And Legendary Pastiches: Same as Leadership above.
37. Quotes.City Planet: "Seen from orbit, Imperial Center is a blaze of light and sparking colors, reminding some spacers of gemlike corusca stones, after which this planet was named long ago."
38. Recap.Doctor Who New Adventures Original Sin: "The Earth Empire has renamed all Earth's cities "Spaceports". Original Sin is mostly set in Spaceport 5 Overcity, which seems to be London."
39. Code Geass S 1 E 1 The Day A New Demon Is Born: "Japan was rechristened "Area 11"."
40. Recap.Nineteen Eighty Four: "All that's definitively understood is that we are on what used to be the British Isles, now known as Airstrip One, a few decades after a Revolution that took place during the global nuclear wars following World War II and left the world in the hands of three superpowers called Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia."
41. Roleplay.Gregoryisgodistan: "Instead of city and town names, there are 36 numbered Districts, each with a number of Wards, which also have numbers."
42. Roleplay.Mefhor Canon Bloc: "Area 4 (China) and Area 6 (the United States)."
43. Trivia.Misadventure To A Tripolar World: "The Area System, officially known as the System of Viceroyalties, unlike renaming conquered countries, just formalizes Britannia's informal soft-hegemony over its dominions."
44. Trivia.Nineteen Eighty Four: Listed as the Trope Namer.
45. VideoGame.Half Life 2: "No matter where it is or what it was once called, any area occupied by the Combine is stripped of its original name. City 17, the setting of most of the gameplay, is in eastern Europe. A City 14 is briefly mentioned by an NPC and some other numbered cities are displayed on a train departure table."
46. VideoGame.Half Life Alyx: "The game returns to the same anonymous "City 17" that Half-Life 2 took place in. The dev commentary mentions that the city's art direction was meant to emphasize the contempt and disregard that the Combine have for human architecture, with their brutal, utilitarian fixtures punching through pre-existing buildings and murals with abandon."
47. VideoGame.Not For Broadcast: When Advance takes over the other nations, they are renamed as numbered territories.
48. YMMV.Recorded By Arizal, under Fridge Horror: "Arizal mentions she lives in "District 4". As this reaction pointed out, that sounds very The Hunger Games-ey, and places just being "Generic Location Descriptor + Number" are usually staples of a certain type of setting, popularized by Airstrip One." Note: I may be giving this one too much credit; it may be treating a dystopia as merely being a common reason for the naming convention.

Any place with a generic name: 4 (5.1%)

1. Franchise.Star Wars Legends: "For instance, [George Lucas] initially named the unseen planet that served as the Imperial Capitol "Imperial Center", but he was advised to rename it "Coruscant" after that name was established in The Thrawn Trilogy." As noted in the Correct folder, the origin of this name does fit the trope, and the name involves a totalitarian government in any case, but the trope is applied in a way that suggests the origin of the name doesn't matter.
2. Funny.X Com Chimera Squad: "Terminal states she hates City 31 - not the city itself, but the fact that it's numbered, sarcastically asking if there were 30 cities before this, and who names their home after a number anyway?" No indication that a totalitarian/conquering government is involved, and if there was it would obviate the character's complaint.
3. ObviouslyEvil.Video Games, with reference to Mega Man Battle Network: "Mentioned as being from "Nation Z, the infamous military country"? Check." Set up in such a way that it could refer to a totalitarian/occupied state, but for all we know it always had that name, and in any case it doesn't seem that the nature of the government is seen as relevant to the trope.
4. VideoGame.X Com Chimera Squad:
   • City 31, natch. What's weird is that neither the city's new administration nor its citizens have come up with a proper name yet even five years later.
   • Terminal complains about it in her recruitment dialogue, asking who names a city after a number. When Whisper asks if she'll keep complaining about it she says no, she'll move on to other things.
   • See above. Based on the game description, this city seems to have been formed after kicking out an occupying force. It's entirely possible it was named by the occupiers, and the main trope page seems to imply this, but there isn't enough context to establish that (possibly even within the game itself).

Other misuse: 5 (6.3%)

1. Characters.MCU Asgard: Mythology Gag: "In Avengers: Endgame, the surviving Asgardians now live in the small village of "New Asgard," which might be a sneaky reference to the Thor: The Reigning comics series where Asgard was moved to being above New York City by Thor and the city below was conquered & renamed "New Asgard"." The city was conquered but the new name is not all that generic; this is Please Select New City Name.
2. Film.Underworld 2003, under Where the Hell Is Springfield?: "The first movie shows German and Hungarian words in Michael's address, the second movie has Hungarian-speaking cops going after Michael (when he tried to eat normal food) as well as several extras speaking French, and the fourth movie seems to be set up in either a Future American City or an Airstrip One Expy." Used to refer to the Trope Namer but not the underlying trope.
3. Fridge.Nineteen Eighty Four: "One particularly famous example: Oceania is dominated by the Americas, with the British Isles being little more than a convenient Airstrip One for attacking Eurasia." Ditto, with the possibility that whoever added this had a completely different idea of the trope.
4. Literature.Fitzpatricks War: "Great Britain is part of the Yukon Confederacy. It’s mentioned that save for farmland, some ruins and scattered towns, it's little more than a massive military garrison to deter the Muslim "Turks" in continental Europe. Justified due to the depopulation and devastation wrought by the Storm Times on the developed world." Seems to refer to totalitarian occupation in general, with no reference to place names.
5. Quotes.Command And Conquer: "You must be lost, this is not your precious Blue Zone, this is Nod territory!" No indication of who named it that or why. On the main trope page it's said that zones are color-coded based on their danger level and who controls them, which doesn't seem in keeping with the trope, and the names are applied by the good guys anyway.

Unclear, probably correct: 4 (5.1%)

1. You Are Number 6, with reference to Steven Universe: "The standard identification format on the Gem Homeworld is gem type, then facet of origin, then finally their specific cut — unless they're a gemstone that's not faceted, then they're numbered by cabochon." I've watched part of this show but I have no idea what the pothole has to do with the trope; I'm guessing "facet" is used as a place at some point? The main trope page suggests so, but then I don't know what the last part of the sentence has to do with anything.
2. Fanfic.The Conversion Bureau The Chatoverse: "Earth's One World Government has grouped the former nations of the world into administrative zones. Most people still refer to specific regions by their old names." But what are the new names?
3. Quotes.To Serve Man, with reference to X Com Chimera Squad: "I'm Canadian. Or I was, when Canada was a thing." Renamed, but not clear to what or why; without the pothole one might think it was just wiped off the face of the Earth. Given the history of the setting, probably correct, but see the "any generic place name" folder for more info.
4. WesternAnimation.Wizards: "Blackwolf's capital city in Scortch is named Scortch One." Blackwolf is the main villain but it's not clear if that has anything to do with this.

Unclear, probably misuse: 5 (6.3%)

1. Please Select New City Name: "In Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, the titular city-state is much damaged and renamed Lower Corte years before the opening of the book. Even the memory of that name is magically expunged from virtually everyone who didn't live there. The main plot of the book is about a quest to restore the city and its name. (Since it is a city-state, Air Strip One also applies.)" What is the meaning of the new name, and how does it fit Airstrip One? What difference does being a city-state make? I get the sense whoever added this here and to the work page thought the trope was for any case of Please Select New City Name applied to entire countries.
2. Characters.Zeno Clash: "Chile is now Chimera Reservation "Zenozoik"." Not placed in the misuse folder only because it's possible it was a totalitarian government that did this based on what little context I gleaned from the section header.
3. Literature.Northwest Front: "The Northwest Republic is referred to the 'Racist Entity' by the American government, reflecting Arab countries in referring to Israel as the Zionist Entity, refusing to diplomatically recognize it." Named by a government that's vilified in-story, but not one with any effective power over the place itself, and more in reference to the group controlling the area than the area itself.
4. Literature.Tigana: "Tigana/Lower Corte. See Please Select New City Name" above.
5. NightmareFuel.The New Order Last Days Of Europe: "Set in an African village (called "Hamlet 773" by the American forces not bothering to learn the actual village's name), the event has a a pimple-faced squad leader try to make demands of the village leader - when neither the village leader nor the squad leader can speak each other's language, the squad leader clubs the village leader with his rifle, and orders his troops to turn the village upside-down." Technically named by an occupying force, but only used amongst themselves, not applied as the village's "real" name, implying whoever added it didn't consider the "occupying force" part important to the trope.

Unclear, partial-context/other: 5 (6.3%)

1. CrapsackWorld.Anime And Manga, with reference to Code Geass: "There's the Holy Britannian Empire, which looks like it's rich and beautiful at first, but is actually a racist, totalitarian, Social Darwinist Empire which is less like the U.K. and more like Nazi Germany and where people who are enslaved are treated as "Numbers"." Code Geass is a valid example but the way this entry is phrased makes it seem like it's applying the trope to individual people, making it You Are Number 6, not countries as a whole.
2. Laconic.Code Geass: "An exiled prince from The British Empire leads a La Résistance from British-occupied Japan with the help of his magical compulsion powers (and Humongous Mecha), while trying to resolve his mother's death and keep his disabled sister safe." Again, valid example, but the fact the pothole doesn't refer to "Area 11" almost gives the impression the trope is about occupied areas in general.
3. Literature.Look To The West: "The Societists give all the cities and territories under their control bland "ZonexUrby" names in keeping with their philosophy that acknowledging the differences between different regions leads to prejudice, division and war." Named by a particular political group, but not clear if they're totalitarian or not.
4. TabletopGame.GURPS Reign Of Steel: "The world's nations (except for the United Kingdom, ironically the Trope Namer, and Ireland) no longer exist, having been replaced by zones named after the AIs who rule them. However, except for Overmind (and Zaire, who for unexplained reasons is named for the country), the AIs are all named after the cities they are based in. Overmind itself governs Zone Manila, but then it's got ego to spare, calling itself that." The origin of the names is correct but I'm not sure if Egopolis actually overlaps with this trope, and the end result is to make the trope decidedly downplayed at best.
5. VideoGame.Ghost Recon Breakpoint: ""Restricted Area-01", standing out among more ordinary place names like Smugglers' Cove, New Argyll and Sinking Country." On the one hand the main setting of the game has been taken over by an occupying force, on the other hand the existence of ordinary place names may suggest that this name is unrelated, on the third hand the example lacks enough context to even know what it is.

Zero-Context Examples: 3 (3.8%)

1. DarthWiki.Americas Stepbrother Americas Enemy: "Considering the inspiration for the story..." Commented out as a ZCE but clearly referencing its being set in the world of the Trope Namer.
2. DarthWiki.Americas Stepbrother Americas Enemy Two Point Zero: "There are several scenes that take place inside Airstrip One." Not commented out despite an anti-ZCE warning at the top of the page, and I was normally lenient towards references to the Trope Namer, but this seems to use the trope only to refer to the Trope Namer and not the actual trope behind it.
3. DarthWiki.Rattledragons And Other Dangers Of Questing: "The districts - including the de jure "districts" of the Questinglands - are named this way." Classified as ZCE and not misuse because it's not clear what "this way" even means.

Zero-context indices/"compare/see also"/other: 7 (8.9%)

1. Egocentric Team Naming ("compare")
2. ImageSource.Anime And Manga
3. It.Elenco Provvisorio A
4. JustForFun.Trope Names For A Band (although the description suggests whoever added them grasped the connection to totalitarianism)
5. Quote Source.Literature
6. Trope Namers.Literature