History Main / Arcadia

* There is a semi-Biblical term, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_amoenus Locus Amoenus]] (pleasant place) which is described in similar terms to botht he Garden of Eden and Arcadia. Heck, it could pass as an alternate title to this trope.

Closely related to GhibliHills, but inhabited. (They may, in fact, be next to each other in the same story.) Visual media often use it for SceneryPorn. Often features in a GreenAesop.

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]

* ''Pollyanna''

* HeidiGirlOfTheAlps
* ADogOfFlanders

* TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer
* AnneOfTheGreenGables
* TheSwissFamilyRobinsonFloneOfTheMysteriousIsland
* TheStoryOfPerrine
* TheStoryOfPollyannaGirlOfLove
* LucyOfTheSouthernRainbow
* KatriGirlOfTheMeadows
* LittlePrinceCedie
* PrincessSarah
* StoryOfTheAlpsMyAnnette
* TrappFamilyStory
* TheGirlInTheWindJeanieWithTheLightBrownHair
* LittleWomen
* BushBabyLittleAngelOfTheGrasslands
* LittleWomenIIJosBoys

[[AC:Music]]

[[AC:{{TabletopGames}}]]

* HeidiGirlOfTheAlps
* ADogOfFlanders
* 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother
* TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer
* AnneOfTheGreenGables
* TheSwissFamilyRobinsonFloneOfTheMysteriousIsland
* TheStoryOfPerrine
* TheStoryOfPollyannaGirlOfLove
* LucyOfTheSouthernRainbow
* KatriGirlOfTheMeadows
* LittlePrinceCedie
* PrincessSarah
* StoryOfTheAlpsMyAnnette
* TrappFamilyStory
* TheGirlInTheWindJeanieWithTheLightBrownHair
* LittleWomen
* BushBabyLittleAngelOfTheGrasslands
* LittleWomenIIJosBoys

[[AC:{{Fairy Tale}}s]]
* The literary fairy tales of the precieuxes, such as Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's ''Aurore and Aimee'', frequently put their princes and princesses in disguise as shepherds in a pastoral setting.

[[AC:{{Film}}s]]

* ''WakingNedDevine''
* ''Glenroe''
* ''The Quiet Man''
* The entire plot of ''TheVillage'' is [[spoiler: concerned with a desperate, murderous, generations-old ploy to preserve an Arcadia.]]

[[AC:{{TabletopGames}}]]
* The WorldOfDarkness loves this trope, especially in the current iteration. It has not one, but TWO Arcadias, one from whence all Fate and Time magic stems (resulting in the trickster-like Acanthus mage path) and another, where the twisted True Fae of ''[[ChangelingTheLost Changeling: the Lost]]'' takes their kidnapped mortals. All Changelings must literally fight their way out of Arcadia, which is only peaceful and idyllic to the True Fae themselves; the Changelings are literally the slaves that make their happiness possible. Despite attempts by fan club members to retcon the two into one space, WordOfGod has refused to confirm whether they are or not.
** Most of the New WorldOfDarkness is ambiguous, and quite a few Mages want Changelings to take them through the deadly thorns of the Hedge and into Arcadia to learn more about it. As well, Fate and Time are more useful than any other type of magic within the realm of Faerie. One of the ''Changeling'' line books finally confirms what happens when a Mage ends up in Arcadia. It's... not pretty.
** Then there was the Arcadia of ''Changeling: the Dreaming'', which was a lot less CosmicHorrorStory and a lot more, well, Arcadia. It was the homeland of the fae, but was cut off from Earth once disbelief got too strong, forcing the fae left on Earth to take refuge in human bodies.
*** Which was itself a reference to the Arcadia of ArsMagica, another role-playing system (originally created by one of White Wolf's founders, only to be later sold off to Wizards of the Coast, and then Atlas Games). The Ars Magica version was basically the sort of Faerieland you'd get if you mixed folk mythology to get a cross between Shakespearean fairies, the Celtic Otherworld, and Norse "Aelfheim" (Elfland).
*** And it was pretty dangerous place, despite of being almost always beautiful. It had four directions: Dark, Light, Summer and Winter. If you went towards any of them long enough, you would either die or lose your mind.
* One of the Outer Planes in the ''Planescape'' [=AD&D=] setting, specifically the park-like "LawfulGood with emphasis on the lawful" plane, was called "Arcadia." (The complete name, according to DungeonsAndDragons 3rd Edition, was "the Peaceable Kingdoms Of Arcadia." But that's splitting hairs.) However, Dothion, one of the Twin Paradises of Bytopia, fits the trope better.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In the new ''DoctorWho'''s second season finale, the Doctor alludes to "the Fall of Arcadia", a battle during the Time War.
** This Arcadia was a pastoral human colony planet, introduced in a TelevisionTieInNovel.
* Ironic usage on ''TheXFiles'', with a planned community ''called'' Arcadia that's really a TownWithADarkSecret.
** The funny part of that is, there really is a place called Arcadia, California and in 2009 was rated one of the best places to ** raise your children.
* ''{{Ballykissangel}}''
* ''DocMartin'' takes place in an idyllic rural fishing village

<<|{{Settings}}|>>

* LittleWomenII:Jo'sBoys

* Pretty much every single setting for the "[[AnneOfGreenGables Anne]]" books by L. M. Montgomery fit this trope.

The NobleSavage lives with even less of civilizations' goods, but operates on the same principle.

It may, indeed, be the Good landscape, in contrast with its EvilIsDeathlyCold {{Shadowland}}, GrimUpNorth, or the citified {{Shadowland}} of the DeadlyDecadentCourt. It is not, however, a region free from all evils; the expression ''Et in Arcadia ego'' (even in Arcadia I--i.e. death--am) comments that TheGrimReaper also makes appearances here.

A TenMinuteRetirement often brings the character to Arcadia. A character -- perhaps a CityMouse who's learned [[AnAesop his lesson]], or someone [[EasyAmnesia who lost his memory]] -- may settle down here for a peaceful life and a [[GirlNextDoor quiet romance]]. The pursuits of Arcadia are often portrayed as bringing life into the world, and are more productive than the destructive pursuits of heroes and villains. Depending on how it is depicted, this can range from idyllic leisure, to unending and hard work -- which, nevertheless, keeps the character from boredom and is always useful, thus fulfilling the character who was DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife. (Plus, of course, all that hard work gives you a good appetite, so you also don't need all the fancy dishes to tempt your stomach, unlike the city.)

* The Biodome from {{Trigun}}

* In FullmetalAlchemist: Risenbol, the Elric brothers hometown, seems to be this.

* The PostCrisis version of [[{{Superman}} Smallville]]. The portrayal carried over to LoisAndClark and SupermanTheAnimatedSeries. {{Smallville}}, well that is slightly more [[BuffySpeak mutant-y]].

It may, indeed, be the Good landscape, in contrast with its EvilIsDeathlyCold {{Shadowland}}, GrimUpNorth, or the citified {{Shadowland}} of the DeadlyDecadentCourt. It is not, however, a region free from all evils; the expression ''Et in Arcadia ego'' comments that TheGrimReaper also makes appearances here.

*Welcome to the North West Coast of Scotland, please be nice to the sheep. Actually the South West of Scotland fits too, but not the North East or [[ViolentGlaswegian Central Belt]], that is {{Mordor}}.