History Main / BourgeoisBumpkin

-->--'''Willie Stark''', ''Literature/AllTheKingsMen''invariabl

* WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman's Beatrice Horseman, [=BoJack]'s mother, plays with this trope. After getting hitched, she was forced to give up much of her luxuries but this was mostly due to a stern belief in financial independence and the desire to break away from her father money (and influence), however, she didn't count on being unable to cope with normal life, along with the lack of creature comforts to distract her. The unfairness of her situation with boiling resentment made her turn on everyone as an outlet, instead of accepting her part in her unsatisfying life. Even after convincing Butterscotch to take a job in a branch at her father's company and getting some of the prestige, it's still not enough, as, in her view, she's disadvantaged in comparison to her days as an heiress.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/british_slavery_6.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Oh this cursed Ministry! They'll ruin me with their damned taxes!-- Why, Zounds! They're making slaves of us all, starving us to death!"[[note]]James Gilray, "French Liberty and British Slavery", 1792[[/note]] ]]

This character type is described in great detail in Thomas Frank's 2003 book ''What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America''. This book, which traces the rise of the new, [[DarkerAndEdgier rawer, and angrier]] brand of American political conservatism that fully crystallized in TheNineties, explains how the radical right appropriated the "class-warfare" worldview of the radical left and retooled it to serve their ends, substituting resentment toward elites' supposed moral depravity (think of the middle-class backlash against royal scandals in Britain beginning in the Victorian era, but much more outré in style) for resentment toward elites' support of the economic status quo. In Kansas and other "red" states, wealthy conservative politicos will take this basic stance in order to appeal to working-class voters. George Wallace and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon are generally considered [[TropeCodifier the first men to employ this tactic]], with Nixon referring to it as his "Southern Strategy." Nixon did the same in the northern states with the "silent majority", by appealing to working-class voters who held conservative views on crime, civil rights, and national security.

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[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill Hank Hill]] is likely to have trouble getting along with anyone different from himself, and it's definite that bourgeois values are part of who he is. Therefore, he clashes not only with some bohemian types, but also with any characters who are just-plain bumpkins with no bourgeois redeeming qualities. He is likely to be annoyed by characters like Lucky, Dale, and the many other residents of Arlen who are far more redneck than he is.

* The page quote comes from ''Literature/AllTheKingsMen'', a novel by Robert Penn Warren, which has been adapted by Hollywood twice (films in both 1949 and 2006). Its [[AntiVillain Anti]] VillainProtagonist is Willie Stark, a small-town Louisiana mayor who aligns himself with a sleazy political machine in order to run for governor, then rebels against his handlers and runs as a "share-the-wealth" populist candidate in a manner much like 1930s Louisiana governor Huey Long. Once in office, Stark does partially keep his promises: he uses some of the state budget to [[PetTheDog build schools and hospitals for the poor]], but spends the rest on ruining his political enemies and financing a private harem of [[RaceFetish multiethnic hookers]].

[[AC: Real Life]]
* The People's Party (more commonly known as the Populist Party) that thrived in the southern and western parts of the United States in [[TheGayNineties the 1890s]] had as its spokesmen and backers many wealthy landlords, mine owners and the like; they criticized the [[RailroadBaron railroads]], banks, and other urban-based corporations not so much because they threatened "the people" as because they threatened these men's own economic interests.
* The Tea Party movement is largely bankrolled by billionaires, for the same reasons as the Populist Party. It's tempting to think of it as the second coming of the Populists, and it's arguably the most formidable third-party movement in America since the Populist era. The analogy breaks down, however, once you remember that, while the Populists were a genuine third party who spurned both the Republicans and the Democrats, the Tea Party seems more concerned with taking over the Republican party and remaking it in their image.
* During his 2016 presidential bid, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump painted himself as a SelfMadeMan in spite of [[OldMoney coming from a millionaire land developer family and starting his business with a million-dollar loan from his father]].
* British establishment politicians Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson have [[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/27/boris-johnson-farage-mavericks-politics made their political careers pretending to be mavericks taking on the establishment]].

-->--'''Willie Stark''', ''Literature/AllTheKingsMen''

A Bourgeois Bumpkin is, generally, someone who enjoys many privileges - or at least enough privileges to be happy - yet suffers from delusions that he[[note]]primarily for historical and cultural reasons, this character is invariably AlwaysMale, although there are some exceptions[[/note]] is deprived, marginalized, persecuted, or otherwise disadvantaged. In practice this character type will tend to overlap with the BourgeoisBohemian, but a key difference is that, typically, while a Bourgeois Bohemian is depicted having a "bleeding heart" for other people, the Bourgeois Bumpkin has a heart that bleeds [[TheNarcissist primarily for himself]]. And precisely because the Bumpkin is more likely to see himself as a victim than the Bohemian, he'll tend to complain a lot more.

* During his 2016 presidential bid, Creator/DonaldTrump painted himself as a SelfMadeMan in spite of [[OldMoney coming from a millionaire land developer family and starting his business with a million-dollar loan from his father]].

* [[KingOfTheHill Hank Hill]] is likely to have trouble getting along with anyone different from himself, and it's definite that bourgeois values are part of who he is. Therefore, he clashes not only with some bohemian types, but also with any characters who are just-plain bumpkins with no bourgeois redeeming qualities. He is likely to be annoyed by characters like Lucky, Dale, and the many other residents of Arlen who are far more redneck than he is.

Another important difference is that while the Bohemian will, for the most part, shy away from proletarian trappings (although proclaiming that they're fine and good for other people), the Bumpkin fully embraces them, or at least embraces them as much as is feasible or plausible. The Bourgeois Bumpkin is as proud to be a bumpkin ("hick") as a Bourgeois Bohemian is to be a [[{{Hipster}} hip, "cool" dude]]. Indeed, much of the irony that proceeds from the Bourgeois Bumpkin is the dissonance between his avowed affinity for all things bumpkinish and his professed sympathy for bumpkins on one hand, and on the other his self-absorbed outrage and indignation at the supposed hardships he faces - hardships that pale in comparison to those of actual bumpkins. To put it another way, while the Bohemian wishes sympathize and possibly identify with so-called social outcasts, the Bumpkin believes that he is ''himself'' an outcast, even though this is obviously not so.

This character type is described in great detail in Thomas Frank's 2003 book ''What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America''. This book, which traces the rise of the new, [[DarkerAndEdgier rawer and angrier]] brand of American political conservatism that fully crystallized in TheNineties, explains how the radical right appropriated the "class-warfare" worldview of the radical left and retooled it to serve their ends, substituting resentment toward elites' supposed moral depravity (think of the middle-class backlash against royal scandals in Britain beginning in the Victorian era, but much more outré in style) for resentment toward elites' support of the economic status quo. In Kansas and other "red" states, wealthy conservative politicos will take this basic stance in order to appeal to working-class voters. George Wallace and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon are generally considered [[TropeCodifier the first men to employ this tactic]], with Nixon referring to it as his "Southern Strategy." Nixon did the same in the northern states with the "silent majority", by appealing to working-class voters who held conservative views on crime, civil rights, and national security.

Many stories set in the [[DeepSouth South]] or the [[FlyoverCountry Midwest]] (particularly the more "western" part of the Midwest) will feature characters of this type. They are often NouveauRiche - and if the "hick" part of their persona is more apparent than usual, they're bound to have traces of the CorruptHick as well. Despite the name, this character need not be a literal hick, or even rural; an urban character will do if his traits include political conservatism and a disgruntled and/or entitled attitude toward the world. If such a character ever does gain ultimate power, expect a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny. Related tropes include AstroTurf, GoodOlBoy, LowerClassLout (when it's an InsultBackfire), RealMenLoveJesus and SnobsVersusSlobs.

* The People's Party (more commonly known as the Populist Party) that thrived in the southern and western parts of the United States in [[TheGayNineties the 1890s]] had as its spokesmen and backers many wealthy landlords, mine owners and the like; they criticized the railroads, banks, and other urban-based corporations not so much because they threatened "the people" as because they threatened these men's own economic interests.

[[AC: LiveActionTelevision]]
* Creator/DollyParton portrayed another sympathetic (and relatively rare female) example in the 1986 TV movie ''A Smoky Mountain Christmas'', where she was a country musician named Lorna Davis, [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed essentially a fictionalized version of herself]]. Disenchanted with the glitzy MTV videos she's being forced to shoot in Hollywood, Lorna goes back to her parents' old cabin in eastern Tennessee for the holidays and spends Christmas with (among others) some orphaned children and a "mountain man." This actually proves to be good for career, as the Appalachian setting restores her creativity and inspires her to write a number of new songs.

A Bourgeois Bumpkin is, generally, someone who enjoys many privileges - or at least enough privileges to be happy - yet suffers from delusions that he[[note]]primarily for historical and cultural reasons, this character is invariably AlwaysMale, although there are some exceptions[[/note]] is deprived, marginalized, persecuted, or otherwise disadvantaged. In practice this character type will tend to overlap with the BourgeoisBohemian, but a key difference is that, typically, while a Bourgeois Bohemian is depicted having a "bleeding heart" for other people, the Bourgeois Bumpkin has a heart that bleeds primarily for himself. And precisely because the Bumpkin is more likely to see himself as a victim than the Bohemian, he'll tend to complain a lot more.

[[caption-width-right:300:"Oh this cursed Ministry! They'll ruin me with their damned taxes!-- Why, Zounds! They're making slaves of us all, starving us to death!"]]

This character type is described in great detail in Thomas Frank's 2003 book ''What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America''. This book, which traces the rise of the new, [[DarkerAndEdgier rawer and angrier]] brand of American political conservatism that fully crystallized in TheNineties, explains how the radical right appropriated the "class-warfare" worldview of the radical left and retooled it to serve their ends, substituting resentment toward elites' supposed moral depravity (think of the middle-class backlash against royal scandals in Britain beginning in the Victorian era, but much more outré in style) for resentment toward elites' support of the economic status quo. In Kansas and other "red" states, wealthy conservative politicos will take this basic stance in order to appeal to working-class voters. George Wallace and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon are generally considered [[TropeCodifier the first men to employ this tactic]], with Nixon referring to it as his "Southern Strategy."

Many stories set in the South or the Midwest (particularly the more "western" part of the Midwest) will feature characters of this type. They are often NouveauRiche - and if the "hick" part of their persona is more apparent than usual, they're bound to have traces of the CorruptHick as well. Despite the name, this character need not be a literal hick, or even rural; an urban character will do if his traits include political conservatism and a disgruntled and/or entitled attitude toward the world. If such a character ever does gain ultimate power, expect a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny. Related tropes include RealMenLoveJesus, LowerClassLout (when it's an InsultBackfire), GoodOlBoy and SnobsVersusSlobs.

* During his 2016 presidential bid, Creator/DonaldTrump painted himself as a self-made man in spite of coming from a millionaire land developer family and starting his business with a million-dollar loan from his father.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/british_slavery_6.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Oh this cursed Ministry! They'll ruin me with their damned taxes!-- Why, Zounds! They're making slaves of us all, starving us to death!"]]

* [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] used a similar gimmick during his heel runs, claiming to be "The People's Champion" and referring to anything remotely connected to him as "the People's [X]", even dubbing one of his in-ring moves "the People's Elbow."

* During his 2016 presidential bid, Donald Trump painted himself as a self-made man in spite of coming from a millionaire land developer family and starting his business with a million-dollar loan from his father.

* The page quote comes from ''Literature/AllTheKingsMen'', a novel by Robert Penn Warren, which has been adapted by Hollywood twice (films in both 1949 and 2006). Its [[AntiVillain Anti]] VillainProtagonist is Willie Stark, a small-town Louisiana mayor who aligns himself with a sleazy political machine in order to run for governor, then rebels against his handlers and runs as a "share-the-wealth" populist candidate in a manner much like 1930s Louisiana governor Huey Long. Once in office, Stark does partially keep his promises: he uses some of the state budget to build schools and hospitals for the poor, but spends the rest on ruining his political enemies and financing a private harem of [[RaceFetish multiethnic hookers]].

Many stories set in the South or the Midwest (particularly the more "western" part of the Midwest) will feature characters of this type. They are often NouveauRiche - and if the "hick" part of their persona is more apparent than usual, they're bound to have traces of the CorruptHick as well. Despite the name, this character need not be a literal hick, or even rural; an urban character will do if his traits include political conservatism and a disgruntled and/or entitled attitude toward the world. If such a character ever does gain ultimate power, expect a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny. Related tropes include RealMenLoveJesus, LowerClassLout (when it's an InsultBackfire), and SnobsVersusSlobs.

* The page quote comes from ''AllTheKingsMen'', a novel by Robert Penn Warren, which has been adapted by Hollywood twice (films in both 1949 and 2006). Its [[AntiVillain Anti]] VillainProtagonist is Willie Stark, a small-town Louisiana mayor who aligns himself with a sleazy political machine in order to run for governor, then rebels against his handlers and runs as a "share-the-wealth" populist candidate in a manner much like 1930s Louisiana governor Huey Long. Once in office, Stark does partially keep his promises: he uses some of the state budget to build schools and hospitals for the poor, but spends the rest on ruining his political enemies and financing a private harem of [[RaceFetish multiethnic hookers]].

* DollyParton portrayed another sympathetic (and relatively rare female) example in the 1986 TV movie ''A Smoky Mountain Christmas'', where she was a country musician named Lorna Davis, [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed essentially a fictionalized version of herself]]. Disenchanted with the glitzy MTV videos she's being forced to shoot in Hollywood, Lorna goes back to her parents' old cabin in eastern Tennessee for the holidays and spends Christmas with (among others) some orphaned children and a "mountain man." This actually proves to be good for career, as the Appalachian setting restores her creativity and inspires her to write a number of new songs.

* JohnBradshawLayfield (formerly the drunken, violent, redneck Texan "Bradshaw" in the APA) had this as part of his gimmick during the early part of his heel run, constantly [[AffablyEvil attempting to ingratiate himself to the fans]] by playing up his rags-to-riches story (he invested in a Wall Street company that enjoyed surprise success) and his [[PatrioticFervor patriotism]]. It was always clear, however, that what JBL valued most in the world wasn't the fans or even America; it was the WWE Championship. Later the sociopolitical element of the character was dropped, and JBL became just [[CorruptCorporateExecutive a cowboy-hatted businessman determined to ruin anyone who got in his way]].

A Bourgeois Bumpkin is, generally, someone who enjoys many privileges - or at least enough privileges to be happy - yet suffers from delusions that he (primarily for historical and cultural reasons, this character is invariably AlwaysMale, although there are some exceptions) is deprived, marginalized, persecuted, or otherwise disadvantaged. In practice this character type will tend to overlap with the BourgeoisBohemian, but a key difference is that, typically, while a Bourgeois Bohemian is depicted having a "bleeding heart" for other people, the Bourgeois Bumpkin has a heart that bleeds primarily for himself. And precisely because the Bumpkin is more likely to see himself as a victim than the Bohemian, he'll tend to complain a lot more.

** Depends on who you're talking to, really. Originally, much of the Tea Party's message laid in more Libertarian and Constitutionalist political leanings, mainly "GTFO of my life, government" types. Then you had the Republican party seize this movement as their big opportunity to regain a lot of ground they'd lost from their devastating defeat in 2008.