Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids: Difference between revisions

* In the Lou Diamond Phillips film ''Extreme Justice'', a lot of the [[Powers That Be]] appear to be this way when dealing with [[Knight Templar]] cops. Mostly due to the fact they think the ends justify the means, and the lower level power's that be are largely useless due to being in fear of losing their jobs and pensions. And Lou Diamond Phillips' character is mostly seen as naive by his co-workers because he's trying to expose the corruption that people seem to passively aggressively support.

* ''[[Predator]]''. [[Arnold Schwarzenegger|Dutch]] finds his special forces team has been duped by CIA agent Dillon.

'''Dillon:''' I woke up. Why don't you? You're an asset. An expendable asset. And I used you to get the job done. }}

* The Mark Wahlberg film ''[[Shooter]]'' turns into this trope towards the end of the film as the protagonist tries to bring down a corrupt senator, a colonel, and a group of [[Private Military Contractors]]. {{spoiler|The film even includes the "This is the "[[Real Life|real world]]" type of speech from the [[Lawful Neutral|Attorney General]] towards Bob Lee Swagger.}} Of course, his [[Exact Words]] are...

** So Swagger {{spoiler|''goes'' straight to the senator's cabin and [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|shoots all of them.]]}}

* In a [[Deleted Scene]] from the fourth ''[[Harry Potter (film)|Harry Potter]]'' film, Moody {{spoiler|(actually Crouch Jr.)}} tells Harry after the Second Task that "if you want to play the hero, I can find you plenty of playmates among the first years."

* ''[[Star Wars]]'' has this late on; [[The Cynic|Han]] gets Luke to his destination (as per their deal), goes on a massive detour to save a princess ''and'' adds the Empire to the list of people who want him dead, only to be met with criticism from [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|the naive teenager who owes him]] for wanting to leave after earning his reward. Averted when the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism]] tipples ever so slightly towards idealism when [[The Power of Friendship]] means that the [[The Good Guys Always Win|good guys win]].

** Lampshaded in [[Family Guy|Blue Harvest:]]

'''Han''': Well, when you say it that way, I sound like a douche. But yeah, that's what I'm doing. }}

* In ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', the entire film is essentially a battle of ideologies between [[Batman]] and [[The Joker]], with the Joker trying to prove to Batman that deep down, [[Humans Are Bastards|everyone is just as]] [[Complete Monster|evil as he is.]] {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|He's proven wrong.]]}}

== Literature ==

* In ''[[World War Z]]'', this is the viewpoint of many [[Jerkass|Jerk Asses]] in such interviews as the one with former White House chief of staff Grover Carlson. Asked about the response of the White House to reports of the walking dead, Carlson claims it was above and beyond, and brags that Phalanx, a supposed anti-zombie drug, was pushed through the Food and Drug Administration. When the Narrator points out that Phalanx didn't work, Carlson explodes and launches into a tirade that what mattered was that a panic had been avoided, ultimately telling the interviewer to "grow up":

** Given that this guy was personally responsible for a number of the dumbass decisions that led the world to ruin, he should feel lucky that his punishment is simply collecting manure for a biodiesel plant. Of course, ''his'' viewpoint is that his decisions kept society going long enough for the [[Shoot the Dog|Redekker Plan]] to be enacted, therefore making him one of the world's unsung saviors. The reader is [[Shrug of God|left hanging as to this.]]

* Theo Bell has this exchange with {{spoiler|his old friend Angus}} in a ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' spinoff novel, {{spoiler|not long after finding out Angus was the one who'd been repeatedly trying to kill him}}.

* The Decembrist uprising of 1825 is described in such terms for all of Russian high society in ''[[The Death of the Vazir Mukhtar]]''; while "the people of the [eighteen] twenties" are generally idealistic if superfluous, impractical and hypocritical, the people who replace them at the forefront of high society after the failure of the Decembrist uprising are more pragmatic, materialistic and outwardly conformist (notably, both sides can be pretty cynical or the opposite regardless of this divide, just in different ways). And then there is the main character, Aleksandr Griboyedov, who is stuck awkwardly between the two groups and is very cynical and contemptuous towards both.

* ''Animorphs.'' Jake's brother Tom (who is actually controlled by an alien Yeerk slug) sums the trope up when talking about morality in war:

* In James Stoddard's ''The High House'', Murmur rebukes Duskin for wanting to join in the defense of the house; his father would have, but that was idealism of youth, which he never outgrew.

* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' seems to run on this trope.

* In [[Gene Stratton Porter]]'s ''Michael O'Halloran'', when Douglas rejects an offical position, he gets this.

 

 

** A bit of both; she also uses it as an explanation of how she went from [[Granola Girl|an environmentally crusading marine biologist]] to [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|the head of Luthorcorp]].

* Amy Pond in the new series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' met the Doctor when she was a kid and wanted to travel with him but circumstances delayed him until she'd grown up, where she justifies her (not entirely unjustified) skepticism of him and his claims with this trope. Being the Doctor, however, he has the perfect comeback:

'''The Doctor''': ''(confidently)'' Don't worry. I'll soon fix that. }}

* Ned in ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' gives "I grew up" as the answer to why he no longer likes Halloween. He's lying, though.

* Music example, slightly inverted: In his song "My Back Pages", [[Bob Dylan]] describes his angry-young-man cynicism of a few years earlier, and its gradual evolution into pragmatism, with the memorable (and confusing) chorus "I was so much older then / I'm younger than that now."

* Similarly, [[Billy Joel]] in "Angry Young Man":

Was a noble fight... }}

* Happened with pseudo-anarchist folk/punk band Levellers. Their early albums were all 'times are tough but if we work together we can get past Thatcher and have a time of peace and joy and happiness'. Now, twenty or so years later their songs seem to mostly be about how the world sucks and we're all screwed.

* Both played straight and subverted with Avril Lavigne. Her first album, made when she was just a teenager, was a poppy, punky teen fest, and ''Sk8er Boi'' became a hit song among preteens. Two years later and she abandoned the "immaturity" for wagnst and cynicism. Three years after that, and she's a teenager again! But now, she's put out a soft rock/acoustic album, making this a [[Zig Zagged Trope]].

* In I Fight Dragon's 'No One Likes Superman Anymore':

The innocence we left behind… }}

* [[Supertramp]]'s "Dreamer".

** Then there's the fact that the people he gave everything to save ended up betraying him and executing him as scapegoat for their own convenience. He claims to mostly got over it, or accepted it to begin with, but it still played a factor.

* From ''[[Jak and Daxter|Jak X]]'':

'''G.T. Blitz''': [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|Oh please, the BS meter is really pegging now!]] }}

* In ''[[Devil Survivor]]'', [[Knight in Sour Armor|Keisuke]] winds up playing reluctant mentor to [[Genki Girl|Midori]]; she refuses to listen to his warnings partly because he feels this way. Over time, he grows more desperate to convince her ''and'' more cynical, until {{spoiler|he [[Freak-Out|snaps]] and goes [[Knight Templar]]. This doesn't help convince her that he's ''right'', mind you.}}

* [http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/zelda-wii-needs-an-anti-hero/ This article] concerning ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' claims that, since ''[[Twilight Princess]]'' went with a realistic art style, Nintendo ought to have made Link more "realistic," namely, by turning him into an antihero. The author's argument hinges in large part on his assertion that people were "[[Fan Dumb|very disappointed]]" with ''Twilight Princess'' because the realistic art style supposedly ought to have been paired with a non-idealistic hero. The article became [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] because, a mere three days later, ''[[Skyward Sword]]'' was revealed with an art style that was decidedly less realistic than the one in ''Twilight Princess'', with a Link who is just as much of a normal hero as both the one in ''Twilight Princess'' and every other Link.

* In ''[[LA Noire]]'', veteran Vice Detective [[Noble Bigot with a Badge|Roy Earle]] says this to [[By-The-Book Cop|Cole Phelps]] when they discuss the crack down (or lack thereof) on illegal narcotics in the city.

'''Roy''': "Will you listen to yourself?" }}

* Subverted in ''[[Backyard Sports]]'' with pretty much every character in there. They may have grown up, but, fortunately they're just as happy as they were when they were younger kids (maybe even more.)

* This exchange in ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age: Origins]]''.

'''Flemeth''': You speak as if he would be the first king to gain his throne that way. Grow up, boy. }}

* In ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] III'', Kratos has such an exchange with [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Pandora]], telling her hope is for fools. She responds with a plea that hope gives people strength. {{spoiler|Eventually, she proves to be right as Kratos is actually empowered by hope from Pandora's Box.}}

* This little exchange in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' between [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud]] and [[Final Fantasy IV|Cecil]] in regards to [[Final Fantasy II|Firion's]] dream of an ideal world.

'''Cecil''': Honest men have honest dreams. }}

* Keeper, the boss of the Imperial Agent class in [[Star Wars: The Old Republic]] takes this attitude to Agents who make too many Light Side choices. Not so much that he disapproves in principle, but that he fears that idealism will cause the agent to burn-out.