History Main / FantasyCounterpartCulture

* Played with in {{Traveller}}. The Terran Confederation is rather like a space USA. The Vilani have a vaguely Confucian feel to them. The Third Imperium very much resembles TheBritishEmpire. The Sword Worlds interestingly enough are a deliberate attempt to justify a FantasyCounterpartCulture; not only are they largely Scandinavian decent but they were influenced by an nativist ideological movement called ''The Viking Revival.'' However it is a bit of a subversion, simply because Swordies seem a more instictively rooted people rather then a wandering people. While they occasionally go on epic space voyages they don't do it very often and prefer their plot of ground. As for Aslan they are kind of like generic tribesfolk though they have their own characteristics unique to them.

* The Imperium in {{Traveller}} bears a lot of resemblance to TheBritishEmpire especially the LighterAndSofter interpretations of the later.

* Played with in {{Traveller}}. The Terran Confederation is rather like a space USA. The Vilani have a vaguely Confucian feel to them. The Third Imperium very much resembles TheBritishEmpire. The Sword Worlds interestingly enough are a deliberate attempt to justify a FantasyCounterpartCulture; not only are they largely Scandinavian decent but they were influenced by an nativist ideological movement called ''The Viking Revival.'' However it is a bit of a subversion, simply because Swordies seem a more instictively rooted people rather then a wandering people. While they occasionally go on epic space voyages they don't do it very often and prefer their plot of ground.

* In ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' The Spirit Riders are basicaly Plains Indians with motorcycles and [=ATVs=] instead of horses

** The Dothraki are about a 50-50 mix, half {{Born In The Saddle}} [[{{The Horde}} Mongolian Golden Horde]], half [[{{Arabian Nights Days}} Pre-Islamic Arabs.

** The Dothraki are a BornInTheSaddle BarbarianHorde like the Mongols, but they do not physically resemble Mongols.

** Dale in his version of [[{{Film/TheHobbit}} The Hobbit]] appears to be modeled on Russia or Hungary.

** Also somewhat apparent in the Chaos Space Marines, too. Most notably would be the [[http://www.blacklibrary.com/images/large/a-thousand-sons.jpg Thousand Sons]], whose armor and accessories are based ancient Egyptian style, with Pharaoh-like crowns on their helms . The [[http://www.blacklibrary.com/images/large/prospero-burns.jpg architecture of Prospero]] further proves this fact with pyramid-shaped architecture. The NightLords might also be Slavic- inspired, too, with their whole "terrors in the night" schtick and their Primarch Konrad Curze being a fusion of {{Batman}} and Vlad the Impaler.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius'': The general plot of Path of Radiance seems has some parallels with World War II, particularly in the roles of many of the countries. Daein/Germany is a bigoted, militaristic aggressor nation, Crimea/France is a cultured nation invaded by said agressor state, Bengion/Britain is a powerful, aristocratic empire to whom Crimea/France appeals to for help and the Laguz/United States are isolationists who come to join the Allies when they realize Daein/Germany threaten them. To top it all off, the leader of the allied force is called Ike.

** The Warriors of Chaos are Viking Age Scandinavia crossed with Mordor. Complete with long-bearded, muscular, psychotically violent Viking warriors clad in spiky armour who RapePillageAndBurn southern lands from longships and who fight to gain the notice of their capricious gods. They muster in a land known as "Norsca", are led by Jarls who tend to be [[MightMakesRight celebrated Chaos Chosen]], and operate in tribal confederations whose names end with the suffix "-lingr" (for example, Aeslingr, Baersonlingr, Skaelingr). They're even referred to as the "Norse" or the "Northmen". Officially, the barbarian race known as the Warriors of Chaos are known collectively as "Norscans". So, basically Heavy Metal Satanist Vikings. The Norscans even have freeholders and take thralls from their raids and invasions (most of whom will likely be sacrificed to the Chaos Gods), and a man earns his reputation by raiding and earning the favour of the Dark Gods, similar to how raiding was considered a way to forge one's respectability in the Viking Age. They're also extremely fond of horned-helmets, furthering the Evil Fantasy-Viking look they have going.

** For the human cultures: The Empire is early-Renaissance HolyRomanEmpire Germany, Kislev is a blend of pre-Petrine Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Brettonia is France in the high middle ages (with a healthy heaping of Arthurian myth), Estalia and Tilea are renaissance Spain and Italy, and Albion is druidical Britain and Ireland. Further to the East, you've got Araby, Cathay, Nippon, and Ind, which are just medieval European terms for exactly the countries you'd think.

** The Warriors of Chaos are Viking Age Scandinavia crossed with Mordor. Complete with long-bearded, muscular, psychotically violent Viking warriors clad in spiky armour who RapePillageAndBurn southern lands from longships and who fight to gain the notice of their capricious gods. They muster in a land known as "Norsca", are led by Jarls who tend to be [[MightMakesRight celebrated Chaos Chosen]], and operate in tribal confederations whose names end with the suffix "-lingr" (for example, Aeslingr, Baersonlingr, Skaelingr). They're even referred to as the "Norse" or the "Northmen". Officially, the barbarian race known as the Warriors of Chaos are known collectively as "Norscans". So, basically Heavy Metal Satanist Vikings. The Norscans even have freeholders and take thralls from their raids and invasions (most of whom will likely be sacrificed to the Chaos Gods), and a man earns his reputation by raiding and earning the favour of the Dark Gods, similar to how raiding was considered a way to forge one's respectability in the Viking Age.

** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY The sixth main region]] appears to be based on France, especially since it has [[http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/2/24/XY_Prerelease_Paris.png what looks like the]] {{Eiffel Tower|Effect}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' had the Thembrians, warthog residents of a bureaucratic republic clearly intended to be analogous to [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou Soviet Russia]]. Then there was Panda-La, a nation full of panda bears who were such blatant Asian stereotypes that the episode in which they appeared was eventually pulled from the lineup by Disney.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'': Eagleland is America, with Fourside being a New York-like place. Foggyland (the area where Winters is) is Britain. The city of Summers appears to be a generic Southern-European resort, possibly Spain; Dalaam is Asia; Scaraba is obviously Egypt; and the jungle area (forgot its name) appears to be Africa.

** The draenei have eastern European accents, CrystalSpiresAndTogas architecture, some Southern Asian and Middle Eastern influences, and Greek-sounding names. [[CultureChopSuey Enough said]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the Air Nomads are primarily based on Shaolin and Tibetan Buddhism, the Water Tribes on circumpolar indigenous cultures such as the Inuit, the Earth Kingdom on Imperial China, and the Fire Nation on a combination of Imperial China and post-Meiji Imperial Japan. To make things more complicated:

** Braavos corresponds with Spain, especially as our first Braavosi is the BadassSpaniard Syrio Forel, and many braavos are HotBlooded duellists.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime:'' Mulan's people are Chinese.

* ''StrikeWitches'' is very guilty of this, considering it's set in an alternate version of Earth during WorldWarII. Based on the names of various characters, the Fuso Empire is Japan, Liberion is the United States, Karlsland is Germany (minus ThoseWackyNazis), Suomus is Finland, Orussia is Russia, Romagna is Italy, Gallia is France, and Britannia ([[Anime/CodeGeass no not that one]]) goes without saying. References are also made to RealLife locations, such as London, Yokosuka, and the Ural Mountains. Some of the RealLife currencies also carry over: While stationed in Britannia, the main character is paid in pounds, and Fuso's currency is the yen.

** Then there's the ImperialGuard. Germany and Russia get two apiece: The Valhallans, despite the Nordic name, are RedsWithRockets ready to defend Emperorgrad from waves of Orks, whereas the Vostroyans are Space Cossacks. Both the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Armageddon Steel Legion and the Death Korps of Krieg]] are Weltkrieg Germans, but we're not sure which are which: the Steel Legion conduct Blitzkrieg, but are pretty light-hearted by 40K standards, whereas the Death Korps slog through mud and wire but have more Fascistic levels of GrimDark. Then you have the Catachans, who seem to be ''both sides'' of the Vietnam war; the Tallarn Desert Raiders, who appear to be the Arab Revolt with General Monty's equipment; the red-coated, pith-helmeted, and dark-skinned Pretorians (who, again, seem to represent both sides of the Anglo-Zulu Wars); and the vaguely Prussian Mordians. The Tanith First and Only are subtly Celtic, and while the Cadians are deliberately generic modern military-types, there name is supposedly a nod to Canada's tremendous and oft-overlooked contribution in the World Wars.

** The family names Lannister and Stark are thinly veiled references to the WarOfTheRoses, a civil war in England fought between the houses of Lancaster and York. There are also similarities to the way the Scottish clans used to vie for power - the Lannisters are very Campbell-like. The Red Wedding was based on the Black Dinner, and there is even a place in Scotland called Wester Ross.

Creating a completely new culture from scratch can be a daunting task. Thinking about the everything the word culture encompasses - [[MagicMusic music]], [[AlienLunch food]], [[CoolCrown clothing]], [[MaleRestroomEtiquette etiquette]], [[DancesandBalls dance]], [[FantasyPantheon religion]], and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy combative traditions]], to name a few - can make one a bit more forgiving of such an artistic choice. It's also more easily justified in works containing humans: the [[RealLife real-life]] counterparts of the fictional cultures have all actually come into existence and are the results of real groups of people coming together to build something over time. Basing a new society on one that's already had a turn at some point in human history can both help the audience relate and provide a creative framework to twist and turn said society into an interesting variant of its former self. This approach still has its risks, though - many Fantasy Counterpart Cultures are based on the [[TheThemeParkVersion theme park version]] of a particular region of the world, lacking both depth and [[SeenItAMillionTimes orginality]]. (See HollywoodAtlas.)