History UsefulNotes / OsamaBinLaden

!!Osama bin Laden in documentary and fiction

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants.
* An absolutely bizarre book entitled ''Where's Bin Laden?'' parodies the ''Literature/WheresWally'' series with bin Laden and his minions hiding around the globe, in the midst of their own terrorist plots.
* The 2008 Morgan Spurlock documentary ''WhereInTheWorldIsOsamaBinLaden''.
* ''Sore Thumbs'': He appears in an out-of-freakin'-nowhere context as the villain of a storyline in the webcomic.
* {{Eminem}} plays him in the video for the {{D12}} song "Without Me".
* He appears in a ''BobTheAngryFlower'' - ''SpaceCat'' crossover strip from way back in 1998 [[spoiler: or rather someone else with the same name as it turns out.]]

* There was a "Bin Laden in a Blender" web site on ''TheSimpsons''. Implied in one episode (where Homer and Marge met each other as kids) that he was Homer's pen pal.
* {{Homage}}: ''BrokenSaints'' features an aging, bearded middle-eastern man of a fearsome disposition who speaks in quotations from the Qu'ran. His name is Osama. Coincidence? The character's first involvement in the series occurred ''before'' 9/11, his identity (as father of Iraqi AntiHero Oran) was revealed well afterwards, and his canon name is never mentioned in the series itself at all. Make of that what you will.
* Osama is the only guy the H-{{Doujinshi}} ''Viva Freedom'' who doesn't get to have sex. (And serve him right!) Specifically, his men kill him for interrupting their orgy.
* Appears in ''TwoDTV'', usually in sketches where he gets annoyed by the Taliban's lack of high-tech weapons to fight the Americans with.
* Appeared in ''Series/DeadRingers'', particularly in one memorable sketch where he went on a Blind Date-style show.
* ''PearlsBeforeSwine'': A controversial series had Osama hiding out in ''TheFamilyCircus'' universe. Since it's a 50's type universe, they have no idea who he is.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' did one episode where Osama is already in the US working undercover as an accountant.
* Brazilian comedy group Casseta & Planeta has a sketch in their TV show depicting Osama living in Rio de Janeiro with an abusing wife.
* A Brazilian comedy website, Charges.com.br, have Osama (and sidekick "Zuanta", pun on "sua [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapir anta]]", "you ass") as frequent characters.
* Mentioned in ''PlanetTerror'' as having been found and killed by BruceWillis' character.

* Mentioned in PlanetTerror as having been found and killed by BruceWillis' character.

* ''Film/JamesBond'': A CaptainErsatz version of Bin Laden turns up in ''The Living Daylights'' as one of the good guys. This was before TheGreatPoliticsMessUp when Bin Laden was one of our stalwart allies whose band of brave freedom fighters were nobly trying to get the evil Soviet occupiers out of their countries.

!!Osama provides examples of numerous tropes

* An absolutely bizarre book entitled ''Where's Bin Laden?'' parodies the ''[=~Where's Waldo?~=]'' series with bin Laden and his minions hiding around the globe, in the midst of their own terrorist plots.

* The movie ''{{Osama}}'' -- the first film to come out of Afghanistan since the Taliban banned films in 1996--is actually not about ''that'' Osama. Well, not ''explicitly'' about him.

* AcceptableTargets

* TheChessmaster

* ''FamilyGuy'': Osama bin Laden is beaten up by [[EnfanteTerrible Stewie Griffin]] in the opening sequence of the episode "PTV", after being prevented from sending a hostile message to the United States. In a FunnyAneurysmMoment, he also appears in an earlier episode attempting to sneak past airport security.
* ''SouthPark'': Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants.

* ''Fugitive Hunter,'' a PS2 first-person shooter/fighting game, has Osama bin Laden as the final boss. [[FlatWhat You kickbox him to a gangsta rap about...beating up Osama bin Laden]].

* A controversial series in PearlsBeforeSwine had Osama hiding out in TheFamilyCircus universe. Since it's a 50's type universe, they have no idea who he is.
* The movie ''{{Osama}}''--the first film to come out of Afghanistan since the Taliban banned films in 1996--is actually not about ''that'' Osama. Well, not ''explicitly'' about him.
* ''AmericanDad'' did one episode where Osama is already in the US working undercover as an accountant.

* ''JamesBond'': A CaptainErsatz version of Bin Laden turns up in ''The Living Daylights'' as one of the good guys. This was before TheGreatPoliticsMessUp when Bin Laden was one of our stalwart allies whose band of brave freedom fighters were nobly trying to get the evil Soviet occupiers out of their countries.

* [[MissionFromGod Mission from Allah]]
* MoralEventHorizon: 9/11

* The movie ''{{Osama}}''--the first film to come out of Afghanistan since the Taliban banned films in 1996--is actually not about ''that'' Osama. [[OrIsIt Well, not ''explicitly'' about him]].

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: Well, that's what you get for being an international mass murdering terrorist
* AcceptableReligiousTargets: He is an Islamic [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]], after all

* AristocratsAreEvil: He is a Saudi noble, though his family has effectively disowned him.

* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: ''EncyclopediaDramatica'' notes that "he is the world's reigning hide-and-seek champion."

* DeadAllAlong: Some believe that he has been dead for a long time and nobody knows.

* TheDragon: [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Ayman Al Zawahiri]] fulfills this role for bin Laden.
* DragonTheirFeet: If Osama is really dead, then Zawahiri would most likely be in charge of Al-Qaeda.
* EliteMooks: Osama has them in the form of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/055_Brigade These guys]].

* LeanAndMean: The FBI describes bin Laden as [[http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/usama-bin-laden having a thin build.]]
* MiddleEasternCoalition: He and his organization desire to restore the medieval Islamic caliphate to its former glory.

* MultinationalTeam: His army of fanatics is said to consist of Arabs, Afghans, Pakistanis, Uzbeks, Chechens, Somalis, converted Western citizens, and others.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Except he regards his country as the Islamic world, in general, and Palestine, specifically.

* bin Laden is beaten up by [[EnfanteTerrible Stewie Griffin]] in the opening sequence of the ''FamilyGuy'' episode PTV, after being prevented from sending a hostile message to the United States. In a FunnyAneurysmMoment, he also appears in an earlier episode attempting to sneak past airport security.
* [[SouthPark Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants]], needless to say.

* The 2008 MorganSpurlock documentary ''WhereInTheWorldIsOsamaBinLaden''.
* He appears in an [[WallBanger out-of-freakin'-nowhere]] context as the villain of a storyline presently going on in the webcomic ''Sore Thumbs''.

* Appears in TwoDTV, usually in sketches where he gets annoyed by the Taliban's lack of high-tech weapons to fight the Americans with.

* AmericanDad did one episode where Osama is already in the US working undercover as an accountant.

* A CaptainErsatz version of Bin Laden turns up in the JamesBond film ''The Living Daylights'' as one of the good guys. This was before TheGreatPoliticsMessUp when Bin Laden was one of our stalwart allies whose band of brave freedom fighters were nobly trying to get the evil Soviet occupiers out of their countries.

* Appeared in ''DeadRingers'', particularly in one memorable sketch where he went on a Blind Date-style show.

Immediately following said World Trade Center attacks, his position in media became that of a target of an almost-propaganda-type-level of scorn and mockery, almost all of which, although [[{{Understatement}} quite justified]], were undeniably crude in nature. Following said initial outburst, when it became clear that he would not be so easily captured or killed, he fit into more of a constant threat not to be underestimated portrayal. Soon, with America's interests focused on different countries, the main mention of his name came from the political DeadpanSnarker reminding people that the man had still not been brought to justice.

However, bin Laden continued to be pursued covertly by international intelligence forces and was eventually located in a fortified compound in Pakistan. He was killed at the compound on May 1, 2011 during a U.S. Special Forces operation and his body was buried at sea, closing a chapter in the war on terrorism.

!!Osama himself provides examples of numerous tropes

However, bin Laden continued to be pursued covertly by international intelligence forces and was eventually located in a fortified compound in Pakistan. He was killed at the compound on May 1, 2011, during a U.S. Special Forces operation, and his body was buried at sea, closing a chapter in the war on terrorism.

However, bin Laden continued to be pursued covertly by American intelligence forces and was eventually located in a fortified compound in Pakistan. He was killed at the compound on May 1, 2011, by a U.S. special forces operation, and his body was buried at sea, closing a chapter in the war on terrorism.

Osama bin Laden is a Saudi Arabian [[AristocratsAreEvil noble]] and the leader of the international Sunni Muslim terrorist organization al Qaeda. Currently suspected to reside somewhere near the Afghan-Pakistan border, he is responsible for both major terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, as well as the bombing of the ''USS Cole''.

** Media mostly covers the American POV of Osama. Here is his side of the story:
-->"[...] when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way [and] to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women."

** [[StrawmanHasAPoint Well, he does have a point.]] He wants to make it clear that he is fighting against imperialism, not against liberal democracy.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: He does have a point about [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets US foreign policy]]. There are people in the Arab world that are sympathetic with his cause/motives. His use of terror tactics makes sense when his opponents have access to a trillion dollar high-tech (verging on ClarkesThirdLaw at times) weapons arsenal and he doesn't.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: He does have a point about [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets US foreign policy]]. There are people in the Arab world that are sympathetic with his cause/motives. His use of terror tactics makes sense when his opponents have access to a trillion dollar high-tech (verging on ClarkesThirdLaw at times) weapons arsenal and he doesn't.

** I hate to admit it, but.. that's ActuallyPrettyFunny.
** [[StrawmanHasAPoint Well, he does have a point.]] He wants to make it clear that he is fighting against imperialism, not against liberal democracy.

** He wants to make it clear that he is fighting against imperialism, not against liberal democracy.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Except he regards his country as the medieval Islamic caliphate.

Osama himself provides examples of numerous tropes:

!!Osama bin Laden in documentary and fiction:

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets Well, that's what you get for being an international mass murdering terrorist

** Media mostly covers the American POV of Osama. Here is his side of the story: "...when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As [[ThisExplainsSoMuch I watched]] [[{{Irony}} the destroyed towers]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast in Lebanon]], [[TheDogBitesBack it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way (and) to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women]]."

* DeadAllAlong Some believe that he has been dead for a long time and nobody knows.

** [[OneSideOfTheStory Media mostly covers the American POV of Osama.]] [[JerkassHasAPoint Here is his side of the story]]: "...when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As [[ThisExplainsSoMuch I watched]] [[{{Irony}} the destroyed towers]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast in Lebanon]], [[TheDogBitesBack it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way (and) to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women]]."

** I hate to admit it, but.. that's ActuallyPrettyFunny.
** [[StrawmanHasAPoint Well, he does have a point.]] He wants to make it clear that he is fighting against imperialism, not against liberal democracy.

hanistan. That said, his principles are rather scary and [[{{Understatement}} misguided]] at best.

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