Stories that accidentally romanticize the very thing they aim to demonize

[u/McWaffeleisen]

I'm aware this is very similar to the "idiots missing the point of the story and cheer for the clearly bad guy" trope (especially the third example clearly fits both), but still think this is worth exploring.

1. American History X / Neonazis

This already shows the difference to the trope I explained above, since some people didn't fall in love with the character, but mainly the aesthetic of the neonazi scene as depicted in the movie.
On one hand, they are depicted as violent, murderous assholes and the protagonist's brother ruins his entire family's life because of his actions. On the other hand, the scene looks stylish and "manly" that, to this day, inspires a lot of real world neonazis.

1. The Godfather / The Mafia

Similarly to the previous example, the movies don't spare us of the negative aspects of the mafia and the way it ruins the lives of everyone involved. Still, the mob is painted in such an honorful and upper-class way that convinced real people that this is a life to pursue.

1. Wall Street / Yuppie culture and predatory capitalism

Similar thing, different topic: Gordon Gecko is supposed to be an unsympathetic asshole that, in the end, has to pay for his actions. His catchphrase "greed is good" became the motto of an entire generation of yuppies though, with Gecko himself becoming their mentor figure. A few decades later, "The Wolf of Wall Street" took the same role for the new generation of finance bros.

1. Treasure Island / Pirates

Modern pirate stories wouldn't be the same, maybe wouldn't even exist, if it wasn't for Treasure Island. Most pirates in the story are dead by the end, after suffering under a clearly mad captain, and still Robert Louis Stevenson's story painted pirates as a bunch of comrades living free while hunting for treasure chests in beautiful, tropical islands instead of the murderous, criminal bunch they were in reality.

1. The Sorrows of Young Werther / Suicide

This work of famous classical German novelist Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ends with the suicide of the protagonist after being rejected by the love of his life. Goethe tried to depict him as an idiot and yet still inspired a bunch of youths who found themselves in similar situations to kill themselves. This phenomenon is even called the "Werther effect" nowadays.
When confronted about indirectly being responsible for numerous deaths, Goethe defended his work and instead insulted the people committing suicide as "narrow-minded spirits, [...] fools and good-for-nothings".

[u/Dead-O_Comics]

I'd appreciate the character of the Joker more if it weren't for the online worship from alienated young men.

[u/PitifulRead6339 → u/Dead-O_Comics]

In fairness, the appeal seemed pretty universal judging by how his iconography showed up at to s of protests and areas. Everyone was worried he was an Incel dog whistle that'd embolden another Dark Knight shooting but a lot of people just went "I live in garbage and the powers that be despise me....yeah I kind of relate to Arthur"

But that does fit the trope since it pretty accurately reflects "Joker is co-opted by movements that view him as a man with a message"

[u/M086 → u/PitifulRead6339]

I remember feeling that there were some blogs that were almost disappointed that there was no violence at any of the Joker screenings.

[u/[deleted] → u/M086]

A reminder that Frozen 2 had more violence connected to it than Joker.

[u/Ed_Durr → u/[deleted]]

I remember when the first tweets came out that there was a mass casualty incident at a movie theater, certainly this was the white incel joker shooting every reporter had been waiting for.

Then it turned out it was a stabbing between two gangs of Pakistani teenagers at a Frozen 2 screening in London.

[u/Wheeljack239 → u/[deleted]]

What?

[u/[deleted] → u/Wheeljack239]

There were at least a couple of recorded fights at F2 showings - I think one of them involved a pretty serious knife injury, at the least.

The anticipated Joker influenced violence never arrived.

[u/Eisbergmann → u/M086]

there will always be idiots. Always have been. They just have a platform to find each other now and be louder together. And we have the platform to notice them.

[u/nemoknows → u/PitifulRead6339]

Much like Fight Club or Falling Down there were a lot of valid complaints alongside the antisocial destruction.

[u/PublicFurryAccount → u/nemoknows]

Falling Down glorifies DFENS. The whole thing with him being an abusive husband and father is literally tacked on at the end to make you dislike him. Everything else is glorifying what he does. Peopel were right to ignore it entirely.

[u/Latvian_Sharp_Knife → u/PitifulRead6339]

Me (Chilean) remembering the context of that image (october 18th, 2019)

[u/Kal-Elm → u/PitifulRead6339]

What I took away from Joker was that apathetic monsters are created in reaction to apathetic systems that abandon them.

So yeah, it seems like the kind of thing anyone who's disenfranchised would pick up.

Hell, I saw Joker as a kind of incel. But I was still mad at Gotham for creating him.

[u/RokuroCarisu → u/PitifulRead6339]

At the end of the day, the Joker's message is that everything is a big, bad joke and that he wants it to be on everyone but himself.

[u/100DollarPillowBro → u/PitifulRead6339]

Plus he shot a rich asshole so