r/TopCharacterTropes • u/KusanagiGundam • 15d ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) "Kind" slave owners

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Speaking as an American who has studied the civil war all throughout my school years, this trope infuriates me to no end. There is no such thing as a kind slave master because slavery itself is cruel and inhumane. PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY!

Naofumi (Shield Hero): Prime example of this trope. He enslaves multiple (underage) girls and an whole village and the fans still say he's a hero.

Rudeus (Jobless Reincarnation): As if being a pedo wasn't bad enough he had to buy a slave in season 2. Worse is that people still defend his actions.

Song of The South (Disney): Possibly the OG example of this trope. And the reason why Disney will never release it again.

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u/yellowvincent 15d ago

When Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published in 1964, it included three thousand Oompa-Loompas as African Pygmies forced to stay at Willy Wonka's factory, compensated only with chocolate. These characters may have mirrored the situation of cocoa workers at the time.

You can't pay someone in products it is like if you worked at a toy store and got paid with barbies

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u/Steampunk43 15d ago

Eh, payment is generally negotiated by the payer and payee and can technically be in whatever form the two agree to. We use money as a legal standard, but historically people would barter goods and services in exchange for goods and services. Oompa Loompas have no use for money and a desire for chocolate, why is it wrong for them to be paid in chocolate if that's what they want to be paid in?

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u/yellowvincent 15d ago

I think most countries would want a legal currency for a lot of reasons probably mostly tax reasons but also because then the employer can't abuse their employees with payment. Let's say an oompa loompa has a medical emergency and needs a Stent and meds, he can't pay the pharmacy with chocolate, he could ask wonka to exchange his monthly supply of chocolate for cash but wonka could underpay him a lot because he has no need to buy chocolate from an ooompa loompa chocolate for wonka may as well be worthless

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u/Sayakalood 15d ago

The kids are fine at the end of the movie despite being injured, so I would assume that there’s a good quality medical facility on the premises. Wonka doesn’t even charge the families for its use, so it is presumably free.