Discussion Main / HappinessInSlavery

In "Playing with", brainwashing/mind control is in both "Justified" and "Subverted"

The entire trope is contradictory in its listing as the first line says: "Bob is in servitude to Alice, but doesn't want freedom, and is not brainwashed."

So a good portion of these examples which use brainwashing don't make sense or should be considered an inversion/aversion/subversion of the trope... or the definition of the trope should be redefined.

However, and I may be wrong, but my guess is that "Happiness in slavery" is very much a controversially defined trope, with conflicting definitions. Some people consider brainwashing to count. Some don't. And that goes forth with many of the other justifications.

It is sort of squicky to say this, but I am saying this without political judgement, recognizing you can't be fully independent of politics on here, as anti-lgbt stuff is not allowed...

Current society has some minor pro-slavery justifications it accepts, sort of related to "Still fighting the civil war" elements, and this issue is reflected in the ambiguity of this trope's definition. Unlike LGBT rights, this website hasn't taken as harsh a stance on slavery and indeed, it may seem weird to point out this ambiguity as being reflective of a societal ambiguity on the subject, but I think that mimics how this website would have looked 20 years ago with regards to LGBT.

If that is not the case, then this trope should be heavily pruned to remove any subtle pro-slavery concepts. It seems that was already somewhat done with the removal of the "Real Life" section, but it needs to go much further.

I hesitate to do this myself, because I don't know this website's ultimate stance and if my curation would just be reverted.

I cut this example:

• During the main quest of Morrowind, you'll need to purchase a female slave to pose as the daughter of a noble in order to appease an Ashlander khan into naming you The Chosen One. If talked to after the quest, the slave reveals that she's actually happy with the arrangement, preferring to be the wife of a khan over slavery. (The khan also hints that he knows she's a fake, but is happy with her anyway.)

It has admittedly been ages since I played Morrowind, but that quest wasn't an example at all. The woman is happy at the end of the quest because you freed her from slavery, nothing else.

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Get rid of RealLife section?, started by Vasha on Jul 10th 2011 at 3:19:06 AM

I'm not sure any of the Cloud Atlas examples qualify as this trope. I can't think of a single character in that movie, other than maybe the docile fabricants, whose freedom is compromised and is happy in that position. I don't want to take the liberty of just removing the examples though.

I just discovered that much of the lore surrounding Santa Claus was created in America in the late 1800s. There were a lot of sweatshops full of unhappy workers back then, and the whole concept of Santa having elves happily working in sweatshop conditions was deliberately designed to push the agenda that sweatshops were OK. I think this would go under Mythology and Religion, because it's about Santa, but it seems kind of silly to put it in with the much more serious examples in that section.

Would drapetomania be a straight example (but would it be allowed despite NRLEP)? It's basically "the mental illness of people who don't find Happiness in Slavery".

Moved this argument out of the main page.

• According to The Bible, after the Israelites had been taken out of Egypt by Moses, when they feared they were going to starve to death in the wilderness, "And the children of Israel said unto [Moses and Aaron], Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." They were slaves back in Egypt, who had to make bricks even when they weren't given straw with which to make bricks (Exodus 5:7), yet at least they were fed.
  • It's more of an Aversion, really: it was made pretty clear that they most definitely weren't happy in their servitude, since God described how he had "seen the misery of [His] people in Egypt" and was "concerned about their suffering". They were having their kids tossed in the Nile, after all. Their complaining was more a case of "why die starving when you can die full?"

I've just read through that whole Real Life part, and it pretty much sounds like "you know, slave owner was an okay guy, huh?". I'm not saying that the people who had this long (WAY to long) discussion are KKK members or anything like that, but I do find the whole discussion a bit nauseating. Seriously, sometimes, I had the feeling that they completely forgot that being a slave means you have no rights. If your master wants to rape your daughter, he can do it. If he kills you, no one is going to observe it. That's the difference between a low-paid worker and a slave: The worker still has rights.

So yeah, I suggest someone with to much free time cuts the whole discussion to make it shorter and more readable, as well as a little bit more respectfull towards the million of people who were, and are, in slavery.

What about someone who is a slave but who is also happy as opposed to someone who is happy because he is a slave? Say because "he has a steadfast spirit that no tyranny could break" or whatever.

• Rent: Maureen literally offers to be Joanne's slave in "Take Me or Leave Me:"
  I'll kiss your Doc Martens, let me kiss your Doc Martens
  Your every wish I will obey!

This is SO not Happiness in Slavery — it's Casual Kink!

JET73L:
Changed lines:

• In Loved, you play as a small, catlike creature that is given commands by your 'master' that is akin to type B. Disobeying the commands makes the environment more colorful, but makes the landscape and enemies harder to understand and have less detail, making a metaphor that doing what you want provides happiness, but sacrifices your street smarts. Your master also becomes upset, asking why you disobeyed them, when they loved you. On the other hand, obeying their commands gives better detail and understanding to your environment, but your environment has absolutely no color, and your master still treats you like a pet, but treats you well, veering more to type A.
  to:
• In Loved, you play as a small, catlike creature that is given commands by your 'master' that is akin to type B. Disobeying the commands makes the environment more colorful, but makes the landscape and enemies harder to understand and have less detail, making a metaphor that doing what you want provides happiness, but sacrifices the well-defined borders of your cage. Your master also becomes upset, asking why you disobeyed them, when they loved you. On the other hand, obeying their commands gives better detail and understanding to your environment, but your environment has absolutely no color, and your master still treats you like a pet, but treats you well, veering more to type A.

If anyone can explain why the original poster put "street smarts" without resorting to "couldn't quite express the intended meaning", I'd be fine with it being reverted. I'd be happy to know why they chose the words they did, because it's obscure to me.