History Main / TatteredFlag

-->--'''Catherine Ironfist''', finding a tattered Erathian flag in the ruins of a town, ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III''

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Revolution}}'', Monroe launches an attack against a rebel stronghold, [[spoiler: using a newly re-powered helicopter]], and riddles the places with gunfire, slaughtering everyone inside, and leaving the flag they have hung there full of bullet holes.

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* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Tattered flags are often used for high drama, but nothing quite beats Luffy standing atop of the castle in Drum Island holding Dr. Hiruluk's flag, which somehow manages to stay intact despite receiving heavy bombardment. Luffy, a proud pirate, goes through all the trouble to protect the flag because he knows that how important the symbol of the Jolly Roger is.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'', the royal banners outside of Rohan's Golden Hall are so beat up, one of them gets torn off by the wind.

* The 1964 version of ''Film/TheFirstMenInTheMoon'' has lunar astronauts discovering, to their astonishment, an old, worn out Union Jack left by Victorian age explorers.

* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}''. The Lazarus missions mark their habitat with a US flag along with a mission flag. Naturally after years exposed to the elements of an alien world they become extremely tattered. At the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Dr Brandt is shown burying her dead lover under a rock cairn next to his destroyed habitat with its tattered flag, then is shown walking to her own [[RayOfHopeEnding functioning habitat with intact flags flying]].]]

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* ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers New York Daily News]]'': The front page for June 18, 2018 protested the mass separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexican border by depicting an tattered, ''upside-down'' American flag waving behind a wire fence, accompanied by the word "Help".

[[folder: Music ]]

* The Music/JohnnyCash song "Ragged Old Flag": "I take that back, I'm mighty proud of that ragged old flag!"
* Music/PattiSmith's "Broken Flag" from ''Music/{{Wave}}'' is also an exploration of this idea (the song is about the American Civil War). An image of a tattered American flag can be seen inside the booklet and the song is dedicated to Barbara Fritchie (1766-1862), a Unionist during the American Civil War who, according to legend at the age of 95 waved the Union flag to antagonize the troops of Stonewall Jackson, as they passed through the town of Frederick. The actual woman who did this was named Mary Quantrell.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', The Sacrifice DLC campaign begins with the survivors trekking through a zombie infested dockyard that had been occupied by the military and FEMA {{expy}} CEDA with the camera prominently showcasing a tattered US flag flapping in the wind. Doubly significant because of the canon death of [[spoiler:Bill, a UsefulNotes/VietnamWar veteran]] at the end of the campaign.

* A battered, bullet-riddled Dominion flag appears in the beginning of the ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIWingsOfLiberty'' cutscene "Fire and Fury", representing the damaged-but-defiant condition of the Terran troops themselves.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': The graphic of the ruins of the bombed out Overwatch HQ shows a ragged Overwatch flag standing amidst the debris.

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[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Another real life example would be the flag from Fort [=McHenry=], which inspired Francis Key Scott to write The Star Spangled Banner after seeing its tattered flag still flying after a 23 hour bombardment.[[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Fort_McHenry_flag.jpg The flag]] is huge, by the way. Currently, it's 30x34 feet, but was originally 42 feet long (though that is still 18 feet short of how long it should be, based on its height).
** This trope's symbolism is subverted by the fact that most of the damage was caused, not by hard times, but by pieces of it being clipped off as patriotic mementos over many years, before the flag passed into the care of a museum.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Tattered flags are often used for high drama, but nothing quite beats Luffy standing atop of the castle in Drum Island holding Dr. Hiruluk's flag, which somehow manages to stay intact despite receiving heavy bombardment.

* The ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III ''intro has one found and displayed in the ruins.

* In ''Film/TheTwoTowers'', the royal banners outside of Rohan's Golden Hall are so beat up, one of them gets torn off by the wind.

* The ''Series/StarTrek'' episode "The Omega Glory" shows an AfterTheEnd version of Earth following a nuclear war, with one faction being descendants of their version of Americans, complete with a ruined Old Glory.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': The graphic of the ruins of the bombed out Overwatch HQ shows a raged Overwatch flag standing amidst the debris.

* ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers New York Daily News]]'': The front page for June 18, 2018 protested the mass separation of migrant families by at the U.S.-Mexican border by depicting an tattered, ''upside-down'' American flag waving behind a wire fence, accompanied by the word "Help".

* [[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers New York Daily News]]'': The front page for June 18, 2018 protested the mass separation of migrant families by at the U.S.-Mexican border by depicting an tattered, ''upside-down'' American flag waving behind a wire fence, accompanied by the word "Help".

* The Music/JohnnyCash song "Ragged Old Flag" "I take that back, I'm mighty proud of that ragged old flag!"

* The Adamant Kinship shrine in ''[[NexusWar Nexus Clash]]'' is a tattered [[ShiningCity Laurentian]] flag, which symbolizes the cause of the mortal world and rejection of the meddling of the PowersThatBe.

* American flags (and other stripped flags) made using traditional methods are prone to this because they were made from sewing strips of different colored fabric together.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', The Sacrifice DLC campaign begins with the survivors trekking through a zombie infested dockyard that had been occupied by the military and FEMA {{expy}} CEDA with the camera prominently showcasing a tattered US flag flapping in the wind. Doubly significant because of the canon death of [[spoiler:Bill, a VietnamWar veteran]] at the end of the campaign.

* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Mr. Hyunh is telling Arnold about how he [[spoiler: gave up his only daughter]] during the VietnamWar. During a scene depicting (possibly) the Fall of Saigon, a tattered (American) flag is prominently displayed.

* The title screen of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' shows, among other things, an upside-down American flag that is seen in worse and worse condition as you progress through the game, amid an ever bleaker setting.

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* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Mr. Hyunh is telling Arnold about how he [[spoiler: gave up his only daughter]] during the VietnamWar. During a scene depicting (possibly) the Fall of Saigon, a tattered (American) flag is prominently displayed.

[[AC:RealLife]]

* In ''WorldInConflict'''s multiplayer, there's a subtle example in the two flags shown at the top of the screen amongst other important match info. The flags start pristine and become increasingly tattered as units are lost. Since reinforcements are infinite and objectives are what counts, it's possible for the flag in worse shape to end up winning the match.

* The 1964 version of ''Literature/TheFirstMenInTheMoon'' has lunar astronauts discovering, to their astonishment, an old, worn out Union Jack left by Victorian age explorers.

* In ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean: At World's End'', the scene of the ''Endeavour'''s sinking shows the banner of the East India Company submerged in the water, with a body fallen from the destroyed ship caught in its folds.

* The 1964 version of ''TheFirstMenInTheMoon'' has lunar astronauts discovering, to their astonishment, an old, worn out Union Jack left by Victorian age explorers.