History Main / ToppledStatue

* ''VideoGame/{{Arcanum}}'': One of the first sights in Dernholm (formerly capital of the greatest kingdom on the continent) is a statue of the king tilted at a crazy angle and lying in a mudpit. Here it's not a sign of vandalism or rebellion but simple neglect, the kingdom refusing to embrace the ways of technology (even after being defeated by a modernized army) being singlehandedly responsible for its decay.

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[-[[caption-width-right:350:US troops pull down a statue of former ruler UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.]]-]

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* ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'': After infiltrating the Buggrom citadel, and rescuing Fatora, Makoto and the others make their escape. During which, he asks [[PlayingWithFire Shayla Shayla]] to help [[spoiler: Ifurita, who'd been freed from Jinnai's control and using her remaining energy to cover their escape.]] One of Shayla's blasts triggers a chain reaction of explosions throughout the hive which ultimately causes Jinnai's statue to crumble as it topples over.

* In the "Day of Chaos" storyline in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', the colossal Statue of Judgement (which symbolically dwarfs the Art/StatueOfLiberty in the series) is toppled by the forces attacking Mega-City One. It's not just symbolic in this case--the statue was the headquarters of the Judges' surveillance and electronic tracking activities and its destruction creates many blind spots in the city.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' has [[spoiler: Kai tearing a statue of Oogway off its foundation with his chains, then swinging it round to destroy the Jade Palace]].

* ''Film/BruceAlmighty'' has a variation, where Bruce watches a billboard of himself be torn down and set on fire in the midst of a riot he inadvertently caused with his careless power abuse.

* ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' has the iconic image of the partially buried Statue of Liberty, providing TheReveal that the planet is actually ''EarthAllAlong'' and humankind fell a long time ago.
* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'', a large statue of Memnon at the front of his palace is destroyed when the palace gets blown up.
* The special edition of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' added scenes of celebration upon the Death Star II's destruction and the Emperor's demise, and among them is a scene on Coruscant with a mob tearing down a statue of Emperor Palpatine in the background.
* In ''Film/{{W}}'', Barbara and George Bush Sr. watch and discuss the overthrow of Saddam Hussein: "Well, they got the statue but now they gotta catch the man."

* ''Film/{{October}}'', Creator/SergeiEisenstein's dramatization of UsefulNotes/RedOctober and the Russian Revolution, starts with a toppling of a statue of Tsar Alexander III, demonstrating the overthrow of the Russian monarchy in March 1917.
* In ''Film/{{Agora}}'', Christians destroy the statues in the Library of the Serapeum.
* Kenneth Branagh's ''Film/{{Hamlet}}'' ends with the destruction of the statue of the old king Hamlet.
* In ''Film/{{Confessions of Boston Blackie}}'' the body of a murder victim is concealed in a counterfeit replica statue of Augustus Caesar and revealed when the statue is toppled.
* In ''Film/{{Alexander}}'', the statue of Philip almost topples as it is transported into position. [[spoiler: This foreshadows his murder later in the same scene.]]
* In the opening sequence of ''Film/{{Die Morder sind unter uns}}'' (The Murderers Are Among Us), filmed in post-WWII Berlin, Susanne walks past a shattered statue of a mother and child.

* In ''Film/{{Lage Raho Munna Bhai}}'' (Carry on Munna Bhai), a gangster poses as a historian specialising in Gandhism but is then haunted by Gandhi himself. When he is asked in a lecture what should be done to a boy desecrating Gandhi's statue, Gandhi tells him to encourage people to topple his statue and remove his pictures, but to keep him in their hearts.
* In ''Film/{{Naplo apamnak anyamnak}}'' (Diary for My Mother and Father) a statue of Stalin is toppled.
* In ''Film/{{Ulysses Gaze}}'' a dismantled statue of Lenin is transported up the Danube on a barge.

* The sonnet ''Ozymandias'' by Percy Bysshe Shelley (TropeNamer for LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair) centers on this concept, a destroyed statue lying in the middle of buried ruins (based on a real one discovered in his time showing Pharoah Rameses II-Ozymandias is his Greek name).
* In the Literature/LeftBehind book ''Desecration'', protesters at the Temple Mount destroyed the golden Nicolae Carpathia statue just as it was about to be erected inside the Jewish Temple itself, signaling the coming downfall of the self-proclaimed king of the world 3 1/2 years later.
* ''Literature/TheEndOfTheRaven'' ends with Poe's cat knocking over the bust of Pallas.

* At the end of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "The Little People", the statue of a man who'd been lording over a microscopic civilization on another planet is toppled by the little people themselves, after the man is killed by giants.
* An interesting variation in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', when Jayne discovers that he is celebrated as a Robin Hood-style folk hero by a town of slaves, complete with a statue in his likeness. By the end of the episode, Jayne's true nature is revealed to the townsfolk and Jayne angrily pushes over the statue himself. Later, he remarks to Mal that nobody in town seemed to care what he really was, and they were probably rebuilding the statue as he spoke.

--> '''May:''' ''(laughing triumphantly after toppling Clarkson's head)'' He's gone! What a feeling!

* ''Series/JourneyToTheWest1996'' has the memorial statue of the Long Armed Ape getting dismantled when the citizens of Lei-yin decide to worship Sun Wukong instead by erecting a new statue. The Long Armed Ape is ''not'' amused, and after threatening the citizens, then decides to destroy Wukong's statue himself.

* ''{{VideoGame/Arcanum}}'': One of the first sights in Dernholm (formerly capital of the greatest kingdom on the continent) is a statue of the king tilted at a crazy angle and lying in a mudpit. Here it's not a sign of vandalism or rebellion but simple neglect, the kingdom refusing to embrace the ways of technology (even after being defeated by a modernized army) being singlehandedly responsible for its decay.
* In the Dwarf intro to ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'', the statue of Thorin Oakenshield has been torn down by the Dourhand clan and a statue of Skorgrim, the Dourhands' ancestor, erected in its place.
* The "People's Ending" of ''VideoGame/RepublicTheRevolution'' features a crowd smashing the statue of Novistrana's now-former dictator.
* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', there is a building where you have to fight three of the bosses again. In the main room, there are statues of the three of them. After you defeat each one, its statue crumbles.

* If you proceed to the BrutalBonusLevel in ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', you can take a detour to visit a room with a statue of The Doctor (as well as the three previous bearers of the Crown). You can destroy these statues--and they drop powerups when you do so.
* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology: The Titans'', you have to destroy several statues of [[GeneralRipper General Melagius]] before dealing with him in person. In this case because smashing statues grant you gifts and bonuses.
** In general destroying the statues Egyptians build to their gods will prevent them from gathering the Divine Favor resource, and in the case of worshippers of Isis it will allow the player to use divine powers against them (since Isis' monuments forbid the use of them).
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': After you beat each Colossus, their respective statue falls.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}} Playground of Destruction'' has this as an entire side quest: you earn cash and reputation points for South Korea every time you destroy a North Korean monument or statue of General Song.
* ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' lets you topple statues of "Baby" Panay, the president of the local republic, to decrease his control.

* A side-quest in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' has you sneak into Hyperion's model city of Opportunity and use a hacked Constructor to destroy four big statues of the game's BigBad, egotistical Hyperion CEO Handsome Jack. In-universe, however, this doesn't necessarily detract from Jack's power and it simply just pisses him off, swearing to build statues of him [[GroinAttack kicking you in the junk]] to replace those you've toppled.
* ''Franchise/FarCry''
** In the final story mission of ''Videogame/FarCry4'', right before you confront Pagan Min, you must blow up the golden statue of him. Afterwards, Pagan himself calls you up and complains about how many artifacts he had to melt down as well as his [[BodyDouble body double]] standing in place for god-knows-how-long to pose for the statue.
** In ''VideoGame/FarCry5'', a gigantic statue of Hope County's local {{cult}} leader, Joseph Seed, ends up destroyed. Joseph calls [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] afterward to say he's not mad, just disappointed.
** The reveal trailer for ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' shows the people of [[BananaRepublic Yara]] pulling down a statue of their unpopular president, [[TheGeneralissimo Anton Castillo]].
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'': The opening cinematic of ''Heart of the Swarm'', which is a dream or possibly a vision of the future by Kerrigan, includes a shot of the Zerg Swarm knocking over a statue of Mengsk on Korhal. In the game itself, any level that takes place on Korhal invariably has destructible icons of Mengsk for the player to attack. Including one multiplayer map, in which it is well-known for players to go out of their way to destroy the Mengsk statue even while concentrating on their opponent.
* ''VideoGame/{{Crackdown}}'': As a sign of how badly things have become in Pacific City, Don Domingo Garcia, one of the three ganglords ruling over the city, had a gigantic statue of himself built on the cliffside overlooking his mansion villa in La Mugre. Once you've dealt with him, the residents of La Mugre are shown tearing it down.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'': During the helicopter flight sequence of "Shock and Awe", a toppleable statue of [[TheDragon Al-Asad]] can be hit with a nade from your door gun. [[spoiler:If you didn't hit it, it probably gets toppled later into the mission when Al-Asad detonates a nuclear bomb inside the city.]]
* ''Videogame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'': The Gorthaur is a giant statue depicting [[MonumentOfHumiliationAndDefeat Sauron dominating the kings of Men.]] It doubles as a gate blocking one of the few exits from Mordor, so Hirgon destroys it with dynamite to allow his people to escape. This has the added bonus of luring out one of Sauron's lieutenants for Talion to confront.
* The sequel to the above, ''Videogame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', has different monuments for each of the Orc tribes. Talion can destroy them for experience points and gems.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', King Bumi topples the statue of the Firelord as part of his reconquering of the city, while every firebender is powerless due to a solar eclipse. It should be noted that the statue is several stories tall, apparently solid on the inside and Bumi uses it to destroy the Fire Nation bridges that lead to the city.
** The SequelSeries, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' also features this trope at the end of Book 2:[[spoiler:Unalaq (fussed with Vaatu) topples Aang's statue while in giant form to symbolize the victory of the new "Dark Avatar"]].
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'", Peter lies that he's a miracle healer and people start to worship him and erect a gold statue of him, which leads to God sending plagues down upon him. This culminates in a BoltOfDivineRetribution toppling the statue, which falls on Chris (the final plague is the death of the firstborn son).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The episode "Marge vs. SSCCTG" had the adults of the titular group destroying every child-friendly thing in town, including toppling an Itchy & Scratchy statue as a ShoutOut to the Saddam Hussein statue mentioned below.

* The opening credits of ''Film/GoldenEye'' allude to the EndOfAnAge, the end of both the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] that is, with collapsing statues of UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin and {{Sexy Silhouette}}s smashing a hammer & sickle monument, a statue of UsefulNotes/JosefStalin and other Soviet statues. An important scene in the move involves Bond meeting a former colleague from the Cold War days in dumping ground for all these statues.

* The opening credits of ''Film/GoldenEye'' allude to the EndOfAnAge, the end of both the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] that is, with collapsing statues of UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin and {{Sexy Silhouette}}s smashing a hammer & sickle monument, a statue of UsefulNotes/JosefStalin and other Soviet statues.

** In ''VideoGame/FarCry5'', a gigantic statue of Hope County's local [[TheCult cult]] leader, Joseph Seed, ends up destroyed. Joseph calls [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] afterward to say he's not mad, just disappointed.