Agreed. Especially since the "being a little bit less of a bigot"* so-called 'lesson' is still only happening because the target is now seen as "belonging to My Tribe." So how has the character actually grown?

See Also: The history of anti-immigration politics in the U.S., when the Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants were hated and vilified until demographic classifications were changed, and those people were now classified as "White."

*In futuristic science fiction, bigotry against robots and cyborgs is used a metaphor for racism. But in the present day real world, "they're robotic!" & "Like cyborg!" pop culture rhetoric is leading to actual discrimination against the Disabled (especially those on the autism spectrum, and/or those who use prosthetics, tracheostomy tubes, speech synthesizers, even motorized wheelchairs). No metaphor or symbolism needed.

I hate this trope like every other leftist - because I am a leftist. But, genuine question, how else are you going to write a story about a bigot coming to realize: bigotry = bad?

Leftists can hold bigoted views as well but let's analyze this from the perspective of a more conservative protagonist first:

This protagonist is going to hold these views because they hold certain internalized prejudices by default. They live in a society(TM) coloured by bigotry. Their school system, friends, family, boss, elders, culture, religion all teach them certain values.

From whom is the impulse for change realistically going to come from?

• Not themselves. By far most people do not practice introspection on a deeper level. Expecting a significant portion of people to have a Heureka moment is unrealistic. (Yes, the protagonist can be *special* but will the average reader be able to relate?)
• Maybe media? They stumble upon a book or article somehow. But how is that positive propaganda supposed to gain traction in a society that is stacked against it? Sure, you can put flyers in people's letter boxes but so can neo-nazis. Why should a person listen to your ideas if you do not belong to their tribe - but their nazi aunt does?
• The most likely candidate is word of mouth from the immediate social circle. If you look at how advertisers are trying to keep advertising to a consumer market that is increasingly more resistant to advertisement, you will see that they agree. People work on tribe logic and listen to their tribe first.

So why is the trope mentioned by prokopetz specifically so annoying?

• Hollywood generally foregoes deeper analysis of bigotry by focusing on the cringe love story. The problem is romance washing.
• Tribalism is an unspeakable horror floating through all these stories that is never addressed as what it is - because workers of the world unite is a socialism slogan. Anti-tribalism is portrayed as a globalist agenda. The problem is capitalism washing.

In conclusion: I've seen this trope in literally every genre, in every time period. I argue, the trope itself is not the problem and allows for very nuanced discussion. The problem is that the modern capitalist washed version is constipation inducing. It's revolution as fast food, zero nourishment or substance.

“The problem is that the modern capitalist washed version is constipation inducing.”

Okay: that sentence made me laugh.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to remember why I thought the TV series Alien Nation used the police procedural with a “human cop/alien cop partnership” premise to discuss bigotry so well. Maybe it’s 'cause I was just starting out parsing out the politics of popular culture. Maybe it’s 'cause it tackled the subject over 22 hour-long episodes, instead of a single movie. Maybe it’s cause it talked about bigotry and acceptance through a wide cultural lens, instead of just between two individuals.

Unfortunately, it was canceled after one season (I never saw the movie it was based on), though it was “continued” via TV movies; I was disappointed with the first movie, and didn’t bother with the others.

Agreed. Especially since the "being a little bit less of a bigot"* so-called 'lesson' is still only happening because the target is now seen as "belonging to My Tribe." So how has the character actually grown?

See Also: The history of anti-immigration politics in the U.S., when the Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants were hated and vilified until demographic classifications were changed, and those people were now classified as "White."

*In futuristic science fiction, bigotry against robots and cyborgs is used a metaphor for racism. But in the present day real world, "they're robotic!" & "Like cyborg!" pop culture rhetoric is leading to actual discrimination against the Disabled (especially those on the autism spectrum, and/or those who use prosthetics, tracheostomy tubes, speech synthesizers, even motorized wheelchairs). No metaphor or symbolism needed.

I hate this trope like every other leftist - because I am a leftist. But, genuine question, how else are you going to write a story about a bigot coming to realize: bigotry = bad?

Leftists can hold bigoted views as well but let's analyze this from the perspective of a more conservative protagonist first:

This protagonist is going to hold these views because they hold certain internalized prejudices by default. They live in a society(TM) coloured by bigotry. Their school system, friends, family, boss, elders, culture, religion all teach them certain values.

From whom is the impulse for change realistically going to come from?

• Not themselves. By far most people do not practice introspection on a deeper level. Expecting a significant portion of people to have a Heureka moment is unrealistic. (Yes, the protagonist can be *special* but will the average reader be able to relate?)
• Maybe media? They stumble upon a book or article somehow. But how is that positive propaganda supposed to gain traction in a society that is stacked against it? Sure, you can put flyers in people's letter boxes but so can neo-nazis. Why should a person listen to your ideas if you do not belong to their tribe - but their nazi aunt does?
• The most likely candidate is word of mouth from the immediate social circle. If you look at how advertisers are trying to keep advertising to a consumer market that is increasingly more resistant to advertisement, you will see that they agree. People work on tribe logic and listen to their tribe first.

So why is the trope mentioned by prokopetz specifically so annoying?

• Hollywood generally foregoes deeper analysis of bigotry by focusing on the cringe love story. The problem is romance washing.
• Tribalism is an unspeakable horror floating through all these stories that is never addressed as what it is - because workers of the world unite is a socialism slogan. Anti-tribalism is portrayed as a globalist agenda. The problem is capitalism washing.

In conclusion: I've seen this trope in literally every genre, in every time period. I argue, the trope itself is not the problem and allows for very nuanced discussion. The problem is that the modern capitalist washed version is constipation inducing. It's revolution as fast food, zero nourishment or substance.

I wrote a reply to this a couple of hours ago, and put in my queue. It’s left my queue, but didn’t show up in my posts.

So here’s an abbreviated version:

1. This sentence made me laugh:

“The problem is that the modern capitalist washed version is constipation inducing.”

2. I remember liking the TV series Alien Nation (Fox; 1989-'90, cancelled after one season) for how it used the human cop/alien cop partnership trope to discuss racism and other bigotries, but I don’t remember in detail why I liked it.

Agreed. Especially since the “being a little bit less of a bigot”* so-called ‘lesson’ is still only happening because the target is now seen as “belonging to My Tribe.” So how has the character actually grown?

See Also: The history of anti-immigration politics in the U.S., when the Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants were hated and vilified until demographic classifications were changed, and those people were now classified as “White.”

*In futuristic science fiction, bigotry against robots and cyborgs is used a metaphor for racism. But in the present day real world, “they’re robotic!” & “Like cyborg!” pop culture rhetoric is leading to actual discrimination against the Disabled (especially those on the autism spectrum, and/or those who use prosthetics, tracheostomy tubes, speech synthesizers, even motorized wheelchairs). No metaphor or symbolism needed.