I support redirecting this to Justified Criminal.
I wonder if this could be a supertrope to all those tropes that kept popping up again and again, with examples limited to anything not covered by those tropes. Something like:
- Justified Criminal: They're sympathetic because they need the money.
- Karmic Thief: They're sympathetic because the victim isn't.
- Lovable Rogue: They're sympathetic just because they're charming.
- Just Like Robin Hood: All of the above.
Yes, it may be a million miles away from the originally intended definition, but with a name as vague as "sympathetic criminal" that was always going to happen.
Missing Supertrope might be a good place to take it.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. DickCrowner made: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/PageAction/SympatheticCriminal?open=all#918defc0
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.A little early on that crowner. Might be jumping the gun there.
There's no subjectivity in this trope that I'm seeing. Just Rule of Empathy, which is objective. It is, however, a Ridiculously Similar Trope if not a straight duplicate. If there's a distinction between "sympathetic" and "justified", it's of questionable tropability. Merging seems viable.
edited 3rd Dec '13 10:37:14 PM by troacctid
Rhymes with "Protracted."Also, this is a terrible name for that proposed supertrope. After all, I wouldn't call all criminal anti-heroes sympathetic.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. DickAnti-Villain characters are here, too. I'm not sure I'd label Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap) an Anti-Hero.
What name would you give "criminals the audience is expected to sympathize with"? Hmmm, might need some time in YKTTW to settle an appropriate description/definition.
edited 4th Dec '13 12:20:47 PM by crazysamaritan
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.edited 4th Dec '13 12:18:55 PM by SeptimusHeap
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanAdded another option to the crowner.
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.Any objections to getting the crowner hooked?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/PageAction/SympatheticCriminal?open=all#918defc0
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.No Objections here. But Personally I feel like Loveable Rogue is a better redirect than justified criminal.
Loveable Rogue is already a trope, it can't be a redirect. Unless that one also needs to be evaluated in a TRS thread.
edited 24th Jan '14 4:57:34 PM by crazysamaritan
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.Crowner's hooked.
6:1 in favour of becoming a redirect.
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.One last votes bump; 12-2 in favour of redirecting.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanWell, I dunno who closed the crowner, but the consensus is clear for the redirect. Go for it.
edited 13th Jun '14 5:39:30 AM by Willbyr
Merged, moved and tagged.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanGood deal; locking up.
Crown Description:
It is generally agreed that Sympathetic Criminal is a duplicate of Justified Criminal. Misuse has been in the form of Audience Reaction, and tropes associated with Anti Hero or Anti Villain characters.
Sympathetic Criminal is not usable in its current form. The Example as a Thesis description obscures the true definition of the trope, and the name is misleading people to an Audience Reaction. The definition is "A character performs criminal actions but is given sympathetic and understandable motives for doing so.". That definition is 100% the same as Justified Criminal, which is "when a person becomes a criminal because of socio-economic reasons, or just plain horrible circumstance", or more simply, "doing bad things for good reasons". Comments are in bold:
Oh no! These guys just held up a bank, and they have hostages! They're threatening to kill everyone if they do not get their demands! They'll even kill the old lady! They don't care! They're monsters!
Not exactly. You see, these guys don't really plan to hurt any of the hostages. That's just a front they put up to scare the police. In fact, they don't really seem like they're that bad at all. The hostages seem to be getting along with them, even joking around. Soon it's revealed that they aren't just being greedy. They have good intentions. They're a Justified Criminal: they need the money to pay for their daughter's operation. Either that, or the person they are robbing kind of deserves it anyway. Misuse of Asshole Victim: that's for murder victims, plus the trope definition is blatantly stating that the two tropes are identical.
This trope is often used in Bank Robbery and Hostage Situation movies. Expect the hostages, the crowd outside and even the media to sympathize with the robber. Sometimes the negotiator or the detectives will actually grow to like the bank robber or at least respect him as misunderstood. If the good guys do not sympathize, expect them to be painted in a bad light. Expect, used often, sometimes.... these are Weasel Words that disguise the fact that this paragraph adds nothing to the definition of the trope. There's been no explanation on the relationship with Justified Criminal.
These characters are often the protagonists, but not always. Also, they don't have to be bank robbers to invoke the trope. If they're sympathetic but have no clue about how to do the crime, they're a Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain. Well, this paragraph tells me the relationship between this trope and Ineffectual SV, and nothing else.
See also Stockholm Syndrome, Justified Criminal, Karmic Thief, and Loveable Rogue.
Comic Books
Film
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Live-Action TV
Religion, Mythology, and Legends
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Webcomics
- Pekka from Fairy Dust has long worked for the Amicale and still dabbles in illicit activities, but goes farther and farther out of his way to protect his surrogate grandchild from them. Criminal and the audience is sympathetic towards them. Why? Even Evil Has Loved Ones.
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.