History Main / DecadeDissonance

** The other races vary; the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarfs]] are mostly on par with the Empire, but some of their units - mainly primitive helicopters - are well beyond that level. The [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Skaven]] have even more advanced technology, [[MadScientist but it doesn't work right very often]]. The minor human nations like Kislev, Tilea, Estalia, Marienburg, Araby, and the Border Princes average out around the Empire's level. The rest of the factions are less technologically advanced to the point of making the Bretonnians look modern, but make up for it with [[FunctionalMagic magic]] and natural strength. The Lizardmen of the southern continent are practically ''stone-age'', but being Lizardmen, they don't really need good weapons to kick your ass.

** The other races vary; the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarfs]] are mostly on par with the Empire, but some of their units - mainly primitive helicopters - are well beyond that level. The [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Skaven]] have even more advanced technology, [[MadScientist but it doesn't work right very often]]. The minor human nations like Kislev, Tilea, Estalia, Araby, and the Border Princes average out around the Empire's level. The rest of the factions are less technologically advanced to the point of making the Bretonnians look modern, but make up for it with [[FunctionalMagic magic]] and natural strength. The Lizardmen of the southern continent are practically ''stone-age'', but being Lizardmen, they don't really need good weapons to kick your ass.

** Bretonnia's status as an independent state in the face of an expansionist technological superpower is {{justified|Trope}} for a number of reasons. First, the most mundane: there's a giant mountain range on the border between the two nations that makes moving armies between them difficult. Second, magic granted by the local goddess, the Lady of the Lake, gives Bretonnian knights some level of resistance to bullets (modeled as a 6+ ward save on the tabletop, i.e. attacks of a 1/6 chance of being negated); it doesn't prevent them from getting slaughtered the many times they try to charge an artillery line, but it does help. Third, the Bretonnians have managed to domesticate the Pegasi which live in the mountains of Bretonnia and recruit Pegasus Knights in such numbers that the country effectively has an organised and powerful air force -- in the Empire, meanwhile, Pegasi are exceedingly rare and really just a neat pet for the nobility. Fourth, the Empire's armies are constantly busy with other threats (or [[WeAreStrugglingTogether fighting each other]]), being right next to Norsca, the Orcish Badlands, the Chaos Wastes, and the continent's biggest concentrations of Beastmen, meaning they have little power to throw at Bretonnia. Finally, the absolute lack of technology and infrastructure in [[TheDungAges Bretonnia]] means that even ''if'' the Empire managed to successfully conquer them, they'd have monstrous logistical and economic problems -- for a real world analogy, think the issues that faced West Germany when it was reunified with the much less economically prosperous East Germany [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar after being split for nearly 50 years]].

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' fantasy setting has this big time with Bretonnia (read Medieval France in a fantasy setting) and TheEmpire (the Holy Roman Empire in a fantasy setting). Bretonnia is typical Medieval fantasy fodder with a feudal system, knights, archers, etc. The Empire, on the other hand, has Renaissance-era level technology that borders on the early Industrial Revolution era level with elements of SteamPunk thrown in for good measure; including things like steam-powered tanks, primitive machine guns, ironclad warships, flamethrowers, and a few other things as well. This can make for some interesting battles in the series.
** Bretonnia's status as an independent state in the face of an expansionist technological superpower is {{justified|Trope}} for a number of reasons. First, the most mundane: there's a giant mountain range on the border between the two nations that makes moving armies between them difficult. Second, magic granted by the local goddess, the Lady of the Lake, make Bretonnian elite knights (the bread and butter of the Bretonnian army) ImmuneToBullets, thereby rendering the Empire's most effective weapon useless. Third, the Bretonnians have managed to domesticate the Pegasi which live in the mountains of Bretonnia and recruit Pegasus Knights in such numbers that the country effectively has an organised and powerful air force -- in the Empire, meanwhile, Pegasi are exceedingly rare and really just a neat pet for the nobility. Finally, the absolute lack of technology and infrastructure in [[TheDungAges Bretonnia]] means that even ''if'' the Empire managed to successfully conquer them, they'd have monstrous logistical and economic problems -- for a real world analogy, think the issues that faced West Germany when it was reunified with the much less economically prosperous East Germany [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar after being split for nearly 50 years]].
** The other races vary; the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarfs]] are on about the same level as the Empire, but with more efficient technology, while the [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Skaven]] have even more advanced technology, [[MadScientist but it doesn't work right very often]]. The rest of the factions are less technologically advanced to the point of making the Bretonnians look modern, but make up for it with [[FunctionalMagic magic]] and natural strength. The Lizardmen of the southern continent are practically ''stone-age'', but being Lizardmen, they don't really need good weapons to kick your ass.

** Another rather blatant example is the differences between South Korea and its neighbor North Korea. North Korea is sandwiched between South Korea and China, two industrial nations with healthy economies and cutting edge technology. In comparison, North Korea has almost zero electricity usage and infrastructure, and outside the capital, you'll only find farmland and military bases. To put things in perspective, [[http://tizona.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/north-korea-is-dark.jpg this is what North Korea looks like at night compared to its wealthier neighbors]]. There are city blocks in New York City with more IP addresses than all of North Korea.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': Midland is a medieval kingdom for the most part, but some other kingdoms seem to be at a Renaissance level of architecture and dress (however, guns are still limited to bombards, with Guts' ArmCannon being the closest thing to a personal firearm anyone has ever seen).
* Invoked across multiple levels in the world of ''Franchise/DragonBall''. The Earth as shown in the story has a strange mix of WWII-style vehicles and mechs [[ThoseWackyNazis that wouldn't be out of place in a parody]], [[{{Zeerust}} cities and flying cars that are seen as futuristic from the lens of the 80s]], phones, CRT televisions and normal cars that are more literally from the 1980s, pirates that somehow use all of the above, and of course the science fiction elements that originate from space. This not even mentioning the elements of [[{{Wuxia}} ancient China]], Native Americans, Arabic cultures and Nordic towns mixed in, as well as the futuristic elements evolving to match the aesthetics of the time (compare Bulma's tech in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' to what was made in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''). The use of WWII designs is unsurprising once you learn that Toriyama [[AuthorAppeal is a keen model builder]].

** Gotham also contains Decade Dissonance within ''itself'' - there are TV studios, computers and modern guns (right alongside Tommy Guns), but everyone drives 1930s cars and TV shows from maybe 10-15 years ago are in black and white. In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', this was deliberately done to make the time period of the show difficult to pin down.

* ''Comicbook/{{Bone}}'' takes place in a magic-fueled, monster-roamed medieval land, yet the three main characters come from a town that reportedly has an education system, advanced economy, industry and even ''nuclear power''. In order to, presumably, avoid distraction from the story, the technological differences between Boneville and the Valley are only used for side-jokes and don't play any role in the course of events... save for one major plot point.

* ''Literature/OryxAndCrake'' (Margaret Atwood) is set somewhere late in the 21st century, and shows present day trends of inequality taken to the extreme. The privileged few live in gated communities in comfortable settings, the majority live in the "Pleeb Lands" which are disadvantaged, violent (or at least perceived by the privileged as such), drug fueled and dependent on mass-produced technology that trickles down from the upper echelon.

* On ''Series/{{The 100}}'', roughly a century AfterTheEnd of the world, the Mountain Men have maintained most of the technology and culture of early 21st Century America, while the Grounders who live on the land surrounding the mountain have regressed to tribalistic {{Future Primitive}}s. A JustifiedTrope, since the Mountain Men's low radiation tolerance means they can't survive outside of the mountain, keeping them cloistered away from the rest of humanity's development, while they actively suppress any attempts by Grounders to pick up LostTechnology that would let them challenge the Mountain Men for supremacy.

* Spoofed on ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' when the gang learn that Robin was a pop idol in Canada named Robin Sparkles. Although her singing career was in the mid nineties, the music video they watch looks like it's from the mid-eighties. When Ted comments on this, Robin explains that the eighties didn't come to Canada until 1993.

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' fantasy setting has this big time with Bretonnia (read Medieval France in a fantasy setting) and TheEmpire (the Holy Roman Empire in a fantasy setting). Bretonnia is typical Medieval fantasy fodder with a feudal system, knights, archers, etc... The Empire, on the other hand, has Renaissance era level technology that borders on the early Industrial Revolution era level with elements of SteamPunk thrown in for good measure; including things like steam-powered tanks, primitive machine guns, ironclad warships, flamethrowers, and a few other things as well. This can make for some interesting battles in the series.
** Bretonnia's status as an independent state in the face of an expansionist technological superpower is {{justified|Trope}} for a number of reasons. First, the most mundane: there's a giant mountain range on the border between the two nations that makes moving armies between them difficult. Second, magic granted by the local goddess, the Lady of the Lake, make Bretonnian elite knights (the bread and butter of the Bretonnian army) ImmuneToBullets, thereby rendering the Empire's most effective weapon useless. Third, the Bretonnians have managed to domesticate the Pegasi which live in the mountains of Bretonnia and recruit Pegasus Knights in such numbers that the country effectively has an organised and powerful air force - in the Empire, meanwhile, Pegasi are exceedingly rare and really just a neat pet for the nobility. Finally, the absolute lack of technology and infrastructure in [[TheDungAges Bretonnia]] means that even ''if'' the Empire managed to successfully conquer them, they'd have monstrous logistical and economic problems - for a real world analogy, think the issues that faced West Germany when it was reunified with the much less economically prosperous East Germany [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar after being split for nearly 50 years]].

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' different planets within the Imperium can have massively different technology levels and cultural views. Examples range from "feral worlds" with mostly medieval technology (save what's imported from other planets), to planets with fairly modern-looking cities (except with more skulls and statues) to dystopian hive worlds where the entire populace lives inside enormous plasteel towers surrounded by uninhabitable wasteland.

** It also often applies within planets or even single cities. It's especially used in the ''Necromunda'' setting, with underhive gangers often using what amounts to real world projectile guns and even just point sticks, while rich kids from the upper hive will come down to hunt them with all the highest tech available in 40K - powered armor, stealth suits, and so on.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' can be bad for this, with domains ranging from the Stone Age to a Psuedo-Victorian era. Granted it makes more sense when you realize each domain is snatched up from a different world, and some of the {{Dark Lord}}s tend to isolate their populations from the influence for multiple reasons. Also, the [[PowersThatBe Dark Powers]] are explicitly stated as inducing LaserGuidedAmnesia in the populations of various domains so that they do not question their surroundings and certain peculiar aspects thereof. For example, many darklords have lived for centuries and yet the general populace does not notice, much less connect it to the supernatural. The Dark Powers also apply PhlebotinumInducedStupidity in order to maintain the [[StatusQuoIsGod status quo]]. For example, Medieval warlord Vlad Drakov will always fight using weapons and tactics appropriate to his culture. Even though some nearby domains have things like firearms, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim he will never adopt them]].
** Drakov's stagnation is actually justified by Drakov's immense arrogance and psychosis; convinced that magic and guns are "coward's weapons", he stubbornly refuses to adopt them and instead insists on doing things the way he always has. No, it's not sane, but then, sane people don't impale people each night as dinner entertainment. Drakov's lack of sanity should never be in doubt.

* ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' has its fictional MMORPG set in TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar. As a consequence, the futuristic-looking strongholds of the technology side are surrounded by StandardFantasySetting landscapes.

** Amish acceptance of technology is based on the effect it has on their community, particularly if the device would prevent them from being self-sufficient. Running a compressor using purchased fuel and using air power (aka "Amish Electricity") for appliances is fine, but paying a monthly bill for electricity is not. Some tech like solar panels and pay-as-you-go cell phones (especially since a flip phone is just an upgrade to a wireless phone) are accepted on these grounds, while many Amish are happy to pay for a ride to work in a car.

* Common in India, which has a very significant presence in the global technology industry, centered around large modern cities. However, nation-wide infrastructure is somewhat limited, and thus many places in the country will have small villages that live like they have for centuries.
** A rather nasty side effect is that some of those villages have adopted farming technology and techniques introduced to the area in the Green Revolution, including use of powerful herbicides and pesticides, with no real understanding of how it works or the dangers inherent in those materials due to the lack of educational infrastructure. This has led to massive over-use of the chemicals and a total lack of basic safety precautions in some places, with corresponding damage to the water supply and general health.
* Malaysia as a whole is like this--its location at the intersection of the South China Sea, the Java Sea, and the Malacca Strait means that some of its cities are quite wealthy and wouldn't look out of place in South Korea or Japan, especially their shopping malls. However, most of these large, expensive, shiny shopping districts are not far from residential areas that are substantially more humble and run-down; some sections don't even have paved roads, instead having to make do with gravel and sand. Some houses are little more than clapboard squatter arrangements built in the shadows of high-rise condos, but due to Malaysia's location, the slums usually suffer more during the seasonal torrential rains and typhoons. Due to the income gap of the nation, it isn't unheard of to see expensive, modern luxury sedans next to sputtering old motorcycles from the 70's side by side on the street.
* Russia, for that matter. Just compare Moscow and St. Petersburg to the hunters of the Far North - or sometimes even to plain Russian villages devoid of sanitation.
* This can be said of China in comparison to the rest of the world especially after the fall of the Roman Empire. Until the Industrial Revolution, China boasted the world's largest cities, largest population, largest global GDP and the only blue-water navy in the world. Even during the Industrial Revolution, the Chinese economy remained viable, until a combination of natural & man-made catastrophes destroyed much of China's infrastructure, leading to economic collapse.
* Often invoked by Catholic monks and nuns. Their basic garments haven't changed since the Middle Ages: but they'll add modern garments (parkas, hats, gloves etc) to dress for the weather. They also don't carry bulky wooden chests, since you know, that would be wildly impractical (or do any of the other things you'd associate with someone dressed like that). The resulting mismatch can be rather humorous (and usually they'll be the first to crack the obligatory joke). It gets really weird when they whip out a cell phone and start speaking Latin... At least if you live outside of Italy, it's easy to forget that Latin is still the language used for day-to-day business by The Vatican.

* The Kingdom from ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'' was regarded as this in the Battle Weary World before it's destruction in a nuclear civil war in 1983, due to it's fame in the Industrial Revolution and their production and export of next-generation weaponry. To give an idea, when the leading superpower Kaesel (the equivalent of a combined United States and Israel) was starting production of F-14s and F-15s, The Kingdom was testing ''F-22s and F-35s.''

* The Kingdom from ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'' was regarded as this in the Battle Weary World before it's destruction in a nuclear civil war in 1983, due to it's fame in the Industrial Revolution and their production and export of next-generation weaponry. To give an idea, when the leading superpower Kaesel (the equivalent of a combined United States and Israel) was starting production F-14s and F-15s, The Kingdom was testing ''F-22s and F-35s.''

* The Kingdom from ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'' was regarded as this in the Battle Weary World before it's destruction in a nuclear civil war in 1983, due to it's fame in the Industrial Revolution and their production and export of next-generation weaponry. To give an idea, when the leading superpower Kaesel (the equivalent of a combined United States and Israel) was starting procution F-14s and F-15s, The Kingdom was testing ''F-22s and F-35s.''

** Gotham also contains Decade Dissonance within ''itself'' - there are TV studios, computers and modern guns (right alongside Tommy Guns), but everyone drives 1930s cars and TV shows from maybe 10-15 years ago are in black and white. In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', this was deliberately done to make the time period of the show difficult to pin down (and to [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar get real guns past the censors]]).

* Invoked across multiple levels in the world of ''Franchise/DragonBall''. The Earth as shown in the story has a strange mix of WWII-style vehicles and mechs [[ThoseWackyNazis that wouldn't be out of place in a parody]], [[{{Zeerust}} cities and flying cars that are seen as futuristic from the lens of the 80s]], phones, CRT televisions and normal cars that are more literally from the 1980s, pirates that somehow use all of the above, and of course the science fiction elements that originate from space. This not even mentioning the elements of [[{{Wuxia}} ancient China]], Native Americans, Arabic cultures and Nordic towns mixed in, as well as the futuristic elements evolving to match the aesthetics of the time (compare Bulma's tech in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' to what the made in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''). The use of WWII designs is unsurprising once you learn that Toriyama [[AuthorAppeal is a keen model builder]].

* Webcomic/Stormbow has the [[CatFolk Felinians]], who have electricity and computers, while the rest of the world seems to be in MedievalStasis.

* Literature/{{Ringworld}}, justified by the fact the ringworld is so large that there simply hasn't been enough time since the collapse of last really advanced ring world society, for tech like gun powder to spread very far.

* The Franchise/{{Kirby}} games generally stick to pastoral areas in a generally MedievalFantasySetting. King Dedede, for instance, lives in a stone castle with a drawbridge over a moat. However, most games have at least one futuristic stage near the end, as well as another one where Kirby must travel into space to fight the final boss, and characters and groups can potentially cover any theme from any time period, from the [[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad Squeak Squad]], who take from Renaissance-era adventure stories, to Paint Roller, who embodies the TotallyRadical aesthetic of [[TheNineties the early 90s]].

* The SharedUniverse that makes up 3/4 of ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'', at least according to ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth''. The Imaginary side of the universe (where ''Webcomic/{{Jailbreak}}'' takes place) is modern with a vague swath of medieval where the warring kingdoms are, while the Game of Life (where ''Webcomic/BardQuest'' takes place) runs the gamut of whatever era would be appropriate at the moment; A covered wagon and relevant diseases from ''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail'' are not so far from a 21st century city or a medieval swamp. Meanwhile, the Real side of the universe (home to ''Problem Sleuth'') is stuck in a 1920's Prohibition that has access to Website/GameFAQs, sudoku, and ''Film/SoulPlane''.

* ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau'' gives Equestria AncientGrome-era military advances, a pre-industrial revolutionary (that is, agricultural) economy, and [[TheDungAges very medieval]] politics and governances (being essentially TheGoodKingdom). This, in combination with its other HighFantasy traits like BlackAndWhiteMorality, usually causes interesting conflicts with the cosmopolitan, highly advanced and usually democratic countries, such as the US, and this usually pits both the extremes of [[RomanticismVerusEnlightenment romanticism and enlightenment]] against each other, both technologically and morally.

* ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau'' gives Equestria AncientGrome-era military advances, a pre-industrial revolutionary (that is, agricultural) economy, and [[TheDungAges very medieval]] politics and governances (being essentially TheGoodKingdom). This, in combination with its other HighFantasy traits like BlackAndWhiteMorality, usually causes interesting conflicts with the cosmopolitan, highly advanced and usually democratic countries, such as the US, and this usually pits both the extremes of [[RomanticismVsEnlightenment romanticism and enlightenment]] against each other, both technologically and morally.

** Societies like the Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch for example) often do advance somewhat using imported equipment without sacrificing their core lifestyle. You get [[SchizoTech weird combinations of technology]] like gas-powered planting machines being pulled by horses, and they will go to a regular doctor instead of relying on older types of "medicine" that you would associate with their general tech level.
*** Amish acceptance of technology is based on the effect it has on their community, particularly if the device would prevent them from being self-sufficient. Running a compressor using purchased fuel and using air power (aka "Amish Electricity") for appliances is fine, but paying a monthly bill for electricity is not. Some tech like solar panels and pay-as-you-go cell phones are accepted on these grounds, while many Amish are happy to pay for a ride to work in a car.

* Earth under Aku's reign in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is like this, encompassing every culture from every time period imaginable, sometimes right next to each other. Jack could spend his time in a city of CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain in one episode, then wander into the StandardFantasySetting setting the next, then TheWildWest after that, creating GenreRoulette in the process. Unlike the standard reasons for this trope, it appears the various civilizations never needed to advance past a certain point. The Spartans, for instance, could fight robot armies using their spears and shields, while somewhere else, mobsters armed with Tommy guns park their Model-T's and break into state-of-the-art security systems.

* On ''Website/{{Neopets}}'', lands with medeival, modern, Victorian and even stone age societes exist on the same planet and even freely interact.

* In ''Windaria'', the coastal city-state of Itha runs on windmills and admittedly sophisticated dams and waterwheels, and its military has hot-air balloons, crossbows, Molotov cocktails, and some kind of unarmoured hovercraft. The nearby mountain kingdom of Paro is a dieselpunk dystopia with monoplanes, assault rifles, and tanks. Somehow they fight a war on equal terms.

** The other races vary; the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]] are on about the same level as the Empire, but with more efficient technology, while the [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Skaven]] have even more advanced technology, [[MadScientist but it doesn't work right very often]]. The rest of the factions are less technologically advanced to the point of making the Bretonnians look modern, but make up for it with [[FunctionalMagic magic]] and natural strength. The Lizardmen of the southern continent are practically ''stone-age'', but being Lizardmen, they don't really need good weapons to kick your ass.

** And then Mario travels around the world in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', where different countries have vastly different technological levels. [[BigApplesauce New Donk City]] in the Metro Kingdom has modern highrise skyscrapers and Steam Gardens in the Wooded Kingdom has extremely advanced robots, but then you have Lake Lamode in the Lake Kingdom in which the inhabitants live around the ruins of a presumably earlier society and have only adapted minimally and Shiveria in the Snow Kingdom whose town infrastructure is mostly made of wood and they live by candlelight. That being said, it may be closer to an SchizoTech, as an inhabitant of the traditional-looking town of [[SouthOfTheBorder Tostarena]] talks to Mario about NFC technology, Shiveria's famous Bound Bowl Grand Prix is broadcast within the town on a humongous flat-screen TV, and space travel is so common that it's considered trivial all around the world.

* Invoked across multiple levels in the world of ''Franchise/DragonBall''. The Earth as shown in the story has a strange mix of WWII-style vehicles and mechs [[ThoseWackyNazis that wouldn't be out of place in a parody]], [[{{Zeerust}} cities and flying cars that are seen as futuristic from the lens of the 80s]], phones, CRT televisions and normal cars that are more literally from the 1980s, pirates that somehow use all of the above, and of course the science fiction elements that originate from space. This not even mentioning the elements of [[{{Wuxia}} ancient China]], native americans, arabic cultures and nordic towns mixed in, as well as the futuristic elements evolving to match the aesthetics of the time (compare Bulma's tech in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' to what the made in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''). The use of WWII designs is unsurprising once you learn that Toriyama [[AuthorAppeal is a keen model builder]].

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' different planets within the Imperium can have massively different technology levels and cultural views. Examples range from "feral worlds" with mostly medieval technology (save what's imported from other planets), to planets with fairly modern-looking cites (except with more skulls and statues) to dystopian hive worlds where the entire populace lives inside enormous plasteel towers surrounded by uninhabitable wasteland.
** They actually stated in one ''Magazine/WhiteDwarf'' that they'd created a fictional universe where you can have rock-waving barbarians and antigravity tanks on the same battlefield.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', the kingdom of Lucis is all modern but with swords, compared to the rest of the world being all medieval but with guns, because they used their crystal sparingly instead of getting caught up in an arms race.