History Main / HumansAreBastards

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', a recurring theme is the question of whether Humans are evil or RousseauWasRight. The Joker preaches the former, that all humans are cowardly, cruel, self-serving and will happily slaughter each other to get to the top of the pile. To this end, near the end of the film, he sets up a social experiment to determine which. [[spoiler:He rigs two ships with explosives, one ferrying innocent refugees and the other carrying convicts, with each ship having access to the other ship's detonator. If one blows up the other, that ship is allowed to leave. The Joker gives them 10 minutes to decide, and if no action is taken, the Joker will detonate the bombs on ''both'' ships. Not only do they both defy the Joker and refuse to condemn the other to death, but it's also the convicts who refuse to do it first.]]

* This was so common in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fandom that some people on [[Website/FimfictionDotNet Friendship Is Magic Fiction (FIM Fiction)]] felt it necessary to create a "Humans ''Aren't Bastards''" group for stories that subvert this mindset. It can be found [[http://www.fimfiction.net/group/822/humans-arent-bastards here]]. Examples of this being played straight are:

* ''Series/{{Tracker}}'': Cole occasionally feels this way, finding humans frustrating. Mel usually agrees that he has a point.

* ''Film/ThePurge'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' has ''tons'' of this. Humans in this universe were certainly bastards enough to destroy the world in a nuclear holocaust driven by desperated necessity for reserves and political tension, and post-apocalyptic living has not improved things. The existence of the Vaults is bad enough (they're fallout shelters that are actually a front for fucked-up social experiments for the US government -- the Vaults weren't really meant to save anybody, and if they did it was more by accident) but Vault 11 in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' really takes the cake. It's a Vault run by an AI that demands a human sacrifice every year or it kills the population of the Vault. The population decided to sacrifice the first Overseer (they ''forced'' him to go out of spite, him being the bearer of bad news after all), and then collectively decided that every year, whoever was elected to be the new Overseer would also be that year's sacrifice. For years the people of Vault 11 callously sent their own to their deaths. Candidates ran bizarre {{Smear Campaign}}s listing all the negative qualities of their opponent as reasons ''to'' vote for them (and therefore get them killed). Some found ways of rigging the election process so they'd never get elected, and some even used their voting power to extort other residents (one of them extorted sexual favours from a woman by threatening to vote for her husband; when she complied, [[KickTheDog they voted for him anyway]]). [[spoiler:This same woman then deliberately got herself elected Overseer and changed the election process to a UsefulNotes/RandomNumberGenerator out of spite, meaning everyone now had an equal chance of being put on the chopping block. The corrupt voting block got unbelievably pissed off at this and started a civil war, which resulted in the deaths of everyone in the Vault but five people. The five survivors then go to the AI and tell it that it might as well just wipe out the last of them already because they refuse to sacrifice any more people... at which point the Vault door unlocks and the AI congratulates them for their "commitment to human life". The whole point of the Vault was a SecretTestOfCharacter to see if the people would all stand up to the computer. After learning this, four of the five survivors [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]].]]

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

In essence, Humans Are Bastards is the [[InvertedTrope reverse]] of RousseauWasRight -- the natural proclivity of humanity is towards [[ItsAllAboutMe selfishness]], [[BystanderSyndrome apathy]] and violence. Only a select few people manage to rise above their base nature to become something better, but the kernel of darkness is still InTheBlood. When Humans Are Bastards is in effect, even your "heroes" don't have clean hands, so most conflict is [[BlackAndGrayMorality gray against black]], with some [[GreyAndGrayMorality gray against gray]] or [[EvilVersusEvil black against black]] on for variety. Frequently used by [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal Maniacs]] as an argument in favor of a [[ApocalypseHow/Class3A Class 3a Apocalypse]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', this is by and large the belief of the monsters of the Underground, owing to a particularly nasty war between them and humans that ended in defeat and imprisonment for them. While monsters range from apathetic to curious to outright violent against humans, most hold onto the belief that humans are a right lousy sort and believe stealing the soul of the main character is either NecessarilyEvil or outright deserved karma. [[spoiler:Your actions in the game will result in anything from proving them right, to proving them wrong, and even showing yourself to be "something" worse than humans ''or'' monsters, but it's ultimately subverted in the GoldenEnding: monsters escape into the world and apparently have no problem integrating into the overworld and indulging in the comforts of human life, implying humans on the whole have accepted them]].

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU MAN: A Must-See Animation Short]]'' by Steve Cutts is the animated film of this trope. It starts with man figuring out he can smash a bug just for fun, then killing more than he could possibly eat without sharing, and goes all the way to industrialized factory farming and dumping toxic waste in the ocean, coupling this trope with a GreenAesop. [[spoiler:Then it veers off into SpaceWhaleAesop as a pair of aliens discover the man being king of the earth and decide to do to him what he did to the planet, flattening him into a welcome mat to toss on top of his garbage.]]

* ''Literature/KeeperOfTheLostCities'': Elves aren't fond of how humans have been treating their shared home; they're often puzzled by their viciousness and lack of forward thinking in regards to enviromental health and animal life. Some even think they're beyond help and believe shoving them all into a sanctuary like the elvish Sanctuary is the best solution.

* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'' Leeloo despairs when she learns about the human race's tendency to inflict horrible things onto themselves (specifically World War II) to the point of her seeing no point in helping them escape destruction, but then decides otherwise when Corben tells her that there are things that deserve to be saved and professes his love for her.

** However, a number of comics indicate that plenty of humans are ''not'' bastards, it's just that the ones who are tend to be really prominent. Furthermore, ''ComicBook/XMen2019'' goes some way to explaining ''why'' mutants are so particularly feared and hated -- they're a direct replacement for humanity (something that, DependingOnTheWriter, they aren't shy about reminding humanity of). Many of them have god-like powers, and consider themselves apart from, if not above, humans. The fact that their usual binomial name, often chosen by the relatively moderate Charles Xavier, is ''Homo Superior'', doesn't hurt, either. Thus, while humanity's actions aren't necessarily right, they are at least understandable (though this does veer into GreyAndGreyMorality, with suggestions that both sides are as bad as each other).

** The most misanthropic part of the whole manga has to be in the Conviction: Birth Ceremony arc. Sure, there's the obvious; a CorruptChurch with a fundamentalist inquisitor and his sadistic torturers. a pagan {{Cult}} that indulges in human sacrifice and cannibalism, and the violent campaign between the two trapping a population of displaced, starving war refugees. However, it turns out that these "ordinary people" are also not fully good either, falsely accusing people they don't like of heresy to get rid of them and robbing whatever goods left with violent force, driven by extremes like fear and distrust and spite towards everyone else. However, it is important to note that these horrible conditions were, [[InMysteriousWays in a way]], manipulated by the [[GreaterScopeVillain Godhand]], as this cumination of [[DespairEventHorizon widespread despair and misanthropy]] allows them to kickstart an Incarnation [[ZombieApocalypse Ceremony]]. Still, their plan works ''because'' of human nature, not in spite of it; they are smart enough to exploit this trope for their plans.

** It's not we're ''evil'' [[PlanetOfHats as a species]], just hyper-ambitious. Humans managed to get a Council seat after being on the galactic scene for only a few years, when other races have been lobbying for a seat for centuries. If the Citadel Council is killed near the end of the first game, guess who steps into the power vacuum... For the worse.

** In the first film ''Film/Transformers2007'', both Ironhide and Megatron tell Optimus that humans are primitive brutes who are better off dead as while Optimus asserts that they're just young, underdeveloped and overall naive.

** Venom Snake notes one of his cassette tapes that Hot Coldman is [[spoiler:proven wrong about the humanity's goodness by thinking they would allow themselves to be nuked to avoid a nuclear apocalypse, and ''severely'' underestimated on what they're capable of, as they're this close to launching a retaliatory strike, and they only stopped when Peace Walker drowned itself]]. Which, much like ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' is a huge swerve in tone, as the primary series is all about RousseauWasRight, where no matter how loathsome they are, they normally have a tragic backstory that explains their actions.[[note]]For reference, the Pieuvre Armement only executed captive rebels, is, because, the low oxygen in the mountainous region made them unnecessarily aggressive, due to their SOP system being at their absolute limit (with implications that, had it not for said system, they would, at least, treat them like people). And the Middle Eastern rebels only executed Praying Mantis troops, because of the need to conserve their rations, and the heat of the battle meant that they have no time to relax[[/note]]

* A common theme in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' is whether or not humans are evil in their pursuit to prove themselves in the universe. [[WellIntentionedExtremist The Illusive Man]] and his unethical corporation Cerberus carry this characteristic despite [[{{Irony}} trying to prove the goodness in humanity]]. They don't exactly make humanity look good in the eyes of the alien council. In fact, Cerberus is trying to make humanity the dominant power in the galaxy by any means necessary and they [[FantasticRacism look down upon the extraterrestrials opposing them]].
** It's not we're ''evil'' [[PlanetOfHats as a species]], just hyper-ambitious. Humans managed to get a Council seat after being on the galactic scene for only a few years, when other races have been lobbying for a seat for centuries. If the Citadel Council is killed near the end of the first game, guess who steps into the power vacuum.
* This is discussed by Ocelot in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' whenever you ask for his briefing on Soviet soldiers. Which, much like ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' is a huge swerve in tone, as the primary series is all about RousseauWasRight, where no matter how loathsome they are, they normally have a tragic backstory that explains their actions. For reference, the Pieuvre Armement only executed captive rebels, is, because, the low oxygen in the mountainous region made them unnecessarily aggressive, due to their SOP system being at their absolute limit (with implications that, had it not for said system, they would, at least, treat them like people). And the Middle Eastern rebels only executed Praying Mantis troops, because of the need to conserve their rations, and the heat of the battle meant that they have no time to relax.
--> '''Ocelot (about the Soviet soldiers):''' Simple really, there's less hesitation to pull the trigger if they're not fighting their own race. Morbid cynicism, but it gets results. That's humanity for ya.

** In [[Film/{{Transformers}} the first film]], both Ironhide and Megatron tell Optimus that humans are primitive brutes who are better off dead as while Optimus asserts that they're just young, underdeveloped and overall naive.

** ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' reveals that [[spoiler:Unicron, the Destroyer and Chaos Bringer, is the creator of all life on earth]]. This explains why humans are little more than pissed off hornets to the Autobots.

* This is discussed by Ocelot in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' whenever you ask for his briefing on Soviet soldiers:
--> ''Simple really, there's less hesitation to pull the trigger if they're not fighting their own race. Morbid cynicism, but it gets results. That's humanity for ya.''

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In the third episode, Lestat de Lioncourt thinks it's absurd that Louis de Pointe du Lac wants to be picky about which humans they eat based on their prey's accomplishments because in Lestat's opinion, humans are fundamentally evil beneath the veneer of civilization.