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IdumeanPatriot
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For further ambiguity, if we are still to venture into politically sensitive real life territory for approximate analogies (despite prior disclaimers), we might also note the strong racialist and even fascistoid elements in many anti-colonial, \
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For further ambiguity, if we are still to venture into politically sensitive real life territory for approximate analogies (despite prior disclaimers), we might also note the strong racialist and even fascistoid elements in many anti-colonial, \\\"liberationist\\\" and nativist Third World movements. If we consider such a figure as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Malema Julius Malema]] in South Africa, for example--to build further on your South Africa comparison--at least some parts of his \\\"Kill the Boer\\\" rhetoric also sound rather more racist-fascist than orthodox Marxist if taken at face value, even though he was until recently an official of the Marxian African National Congress party. Should we think he is right wing or left wing? Real life politics can sometimes be complicated, especially outside the American context our usual idea of the political spectrum originates in.
This sort of confused (from our POV) situation does not require a Third World setting either. In eastern Europe, there have been at least somewhat similar conflicts in living memory between different \\\"White\\\" ethnic groups, such as disprivileged Ukrainian peasant farmers against wealthy Polish land owners (and vice versa) in Poland before World War II. Economics were an issue there, of course, but race/ethnicity/nationality also was. And at least some of those Ukrainian groups took a lot of inspiration from the Nazis--IIRC some even called themselves National Socialists. So fictional \\\"Nazis\\\" rebelling against fictional \\\"South Africa\\\" sort of can work in a fictional setting, even if that precise conflict for various (and mostly obvious) reasons never happened in real life. Racial struggles do not tend to make for any very morally edifying displays (at least in my experience), and both sides will be likely to look rather bad to the outside observer when all is said and done, \\\"oppressors\\\" and \\\"oppressed\\\" alike.
Sorry for that probably somewhat excessive digression. I don\\\'t think interwar Poland (for example) played any conscious part in it when Book 1 of \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' was written, I just used it here to illustrate a point. Even without all this authentic complexity muddying the waters, however, it doesn\\\'t surprise me that the writers were also purposely somewhat vague in how they defined their (fictional) group conflict in the series. That way, they can avoid specific political controversies like you would get from historical fiction, while still exploring the \\\'\\\'issues\\\'\\\' of power relations, bigotry and oppression. That is commendable when done in such a (relatively) sensitive and mature manner as \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' managed, and especially in a cartoon aimed at children.
Altogether, then, I certainly don\\\'t think we should read a pro-Nazi message into the Equalist-Nazi parallels (and not \\\'\\\'just\\\'\\\' because they are the villains in the story). Given the generally \\\"progressive\\\" messages of \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' otherwise (and the real life politics of the creators) that would in fact seem downright absurd in my opinion. The fictional world of the series is a broad comment on more or less universal social phenomena and patterns of history, portrayed in the typically exaggerated manner of speculative fiction in general, not a one-for-one analogy to interwar Europe (or South Africa, or anything else). The Nazi imagery is there to highlight the issues of prejudice and bigotry (if it\\\'s not just to let the villains benefit a little from their particular brand of EvilIsCool), not to take their side in a specific historical context.
Concerning the other point, on whether CommieNazis can fit fantasy equivalents, we could simply move the entry to ANaziByAnyOtherName instead if that\\\'s a problem. That might perhaps even fit better, and (trope name notwithstanding) that trope is not limited to just Nazis, but includes fantasy expies of other iconic historical movements as well.
This sort of confused (from our POV) situation does not require a Third World setting either. In eastern Europe, there have been at least somewhat similar conflicts in living memory between different \\\"White\\\" ethnic groups, such as disprivileged Ukrainian peasant farmers against wealthy Polish land owners (and vice versa) in Poland before World War II. Economics were an issue there, of course, but race/ethnicity/nationality also was. And at least some of those Ukrainian groups took a lot of inspiration from the Nazis--IIRC some even called themselves National Socialists. So fictional \\\"Nazis\\\" rebelling against fictional \\\"South Africa\\\" sort of can work in a fictional setting, even if that precise conflict for various (and mostly obvious) reasons never happened in real life. Racial struggles do not tend to make for any very morally edifying displays (at least in my experience), and both sides will be likely to look rather bad to the outside observer when all is said and done, \\\"oppressors\\\" and \\\"oppressed\\\" alike.
Sorry for that probably somewhat excessive digression. I don\\\'t think interwar Poland (for example) played any conscious part in it when Book 1 of \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' was written, I just used it here to illustrate a point. Even without all this authentic complexity muddying the waters, however, it doesn\\\'t surprise me that the writers were also purposely somewhat vague in how they defined their (fictional) group conflict in the series. That way, they can avoid specific political controversies like you would get from historical fiction, while still exploring the \\\'\\\'issues\\\'\\\' of power relations, bigotry and oppression. That is commendable when done in such a (relatively) sensitive and mature manner as \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' managed, and especially in a cartoon aimed at children.
Altogether, then, I certainly don\\\'t think we should read a pro-Nazi message into the Equalist-Nazi parallels (and not \\\'\\\'just\\\'\\\' because they are the villains in the story). Given the generally \\\"progressive\\\" messages of \\\'\\\'Korra\\\'\\\' otherwise (and the real life politics of the creators) that would in fact seem downright absurd in my opinion. The fictional world of the series is a broad comment on more or less universal social phenomena and patterns of history, portrayed in the typically exaggerated manner of speculative fiction in general, not a one-for-one analogy to interwar Europe (or South Africa, or anything else). The Nazi imagery is there to highlight the issues of prejudice and bigotry (if it\\\'s not just to let the villains benefit a little from their particular brand of EvilIsCool), not to take their side in a specific historical context.
Concerning the other point, on whether CommieNazis can fit fantasy equivalents, we could simply move the entry to ANaziByAnyOtherName instead if that\\\'s a problem. That might perhaps even fit better, and (trope name notwithstanding) that trope is not limited to just Nazis, but includes fantasy expies of other iconic historical movements as well.
