History Main / RuleAbidingRebel

* The Creator/DisneyChannel original movie ''Film/RadioRebel''. The main character is a teen radio commentator who is supposed to be seen as this cool, rebellious girl, but she doesn't really do anything anti-authority. She mostly complains about cliques and school rules being unfair but doesn't say anything that would be considered controversial or new by most people, especially teens.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' showed a {{Grunge}} music video Robin made back in Canada. It's trying to be all rebellious, but when mixed with [[CanadaEh Canadian politeness]], you get the message, "Consider Questioning Authority, Please." In another scene, she "storms out" of an interview by politely excusing herself and repeatedly apologizing as she leaves.

Someone who is going for being a RebelliousSpirit but whose rebellion is mildly inconvenient at best, or so minor to be unnoticed at worst. This may be a fumble on the writer's part where they genuinely think the act is impressively rebellious but due to ValuesDissonance the audience doesn't think so. However, usually it's used as a characterization trope to show that the character himself is either so out-of-touch or self-important that they believe they're edgy and pushing the envelope even when it's unimpressive. They may also be too timid to really commit to a truly rebellious act. Maybe [[{{Hypocrite}} they don't even really believe in their cause]], but just want to [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority fit in with "cool" modern culture]].

** The March 11, 1992 strip had Calvin complain that the generation that created rock 'n' roll likes to act like they're still rebelling against the establishment when in reality they've long since sold out and became the establishment.

* In terms of the rules of ''Film/TheMatrix'', this is how Agents work. They have superhuman strength and speed, but they are still bound by The Matrix's system rules as they are a part of it and designed to enforce it. They can bend the rules, but not outright ''break'' them: they can dodge bullets but if one lands they still die, they carry guns with limited ammunition, they can jump high but not fly, they are still vulnerable to injury, etc. Thus they're a great threat to a regular human or even a freed human, but against The One who can outright ''break'' the rules they're basically harmless. Of course, even killing one is of little consequence to them as they, being programs, can just turn right around and re-enter The Matrix good as new, which they [[SuicideAttack frequently abuse to great effect]]. [[spoiler: The sequels show what happens when an Agent gets unplugged and becomes able to break the rules, and [[AGodAmI it]] [[GrandTheftMe is]] [[TheVirus not]] [[ApocalypseHow pretty]].]]

** In an early series of strips from 1987, Calvin got it into his head to rebel - but he was determined to [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority rebel only in a "cool" way]] that (he thought) wouldn't get him actually mocked. Hobbes finds him leaning against a tree with a smug, world-weary expression on his face and claiming to be "cool"; Hobbes points out that Calvin doesn't look very happy, whereupon Calvin tells him that that's the whole point of being cool. Hobbes disagrees, and when he comes back he's wearing a sombrero simply because he likes the look and says ''this'' makes him cool. Calvin tells him that not only do "cool" people not wear sombreros, but ''nobody'' wears sombreros. Annoyed, Hobbes leaves and then comes back wearing some "cool" Mickey Mouse pants - again, simply because he likes how they look on him. Again Calvin mocks him...but Hobbes does not care. [[note]] The joke here is that Calvin thinks Hobbes is the Rule-Abiding Rebel, but that [[{{Irony}} it's clear from the overall strip that that person is Calvin himself]]. [[/note]]

* ''Series/FullHouse'' really wants its audience to believe that Uncle Jesse is a badass because he drives a motorcycle and listens to/plays rock music (''Classic'' rock like Music/{{Elvis|Presley}} that is. A TakeThat at Music/TwistedSister indicates that [[WriterOnBoard neither he nor the writers]] care for HeavyMetal). In reality, not so much. Eventually Jesse leaves his "wild ways" behind when he decides to get married and have [[CousinOliver twins]]. It is implied though that Jesse ''was'' more rebellious in his youth before the show started. But after his sister was killed by a drunk driver, he had to become more mature and responsible so he could help out with raising his nieces. And then, he began to lose more and more of his edge.

** His original heel turn after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Jeff Hardy, was primarily based around his Straight Edge lifestyle vs. Hardy's drug use. Yes, the bad guy was the one who didn't smoke, drink, or do drugs[[note]]Though he was heel because of his HolierThanThou attitude[[/note]].

* Blunt in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' is trying to wipe out all intelligent robots (including himself) to protect humanity which is mostly willing to take the risk. This qualifies as both treason and genocide. Nevertheless, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02520.htm he scrupulously refuses to break any law in his quest]]. As was said earlier, law-abiding criminals can be the hardest ones to stop.

** This is also her opinion in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU1ffHa47YY "Woke Disney"]], where she discusses many Creator/{{Disney}} films of the late 2000s and 2010s in relation to this. Most of them do express liberal ideas, but also consistently show the problems in society to be unnatural outliers rather than InherentInTheSystem, introduce sympathetic characters on the other side in an effort to show that BothSidesHaveAPoint (which undermines the resulting message), avoid bringing up things that could frame Disney or corporations in general in a negative light, and mainly poke at things that [[CaptainObviousAesop most people have long since agreed are bad]] (i.e. animal abuse). She describes the resulting message as "we need more female [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEOs]]."
* ''Website/TheHardTimes'': [[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/office-worker-subverts-system-by-wearing-vans-in-cubicle/ Office Worker Subverts System by Wearing Vans in Cubicle]]. The woman profiled in the article identifies as a punk and rebel against the system, but is a model worker whose acts of rebellion, like secretly flipping off her boss or wearing punk shirts under her work shirt, are too minor to be noticed by anyone.
* Website/TheOnion: [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/teen-rebel-refusing-to-purchase-yearbook,19901/ Teen rebel refusing to purchase yearbook]].

* Lampooned by the Website/BabylonBee: "[[https://babylonbee.com/news/counter-cultural-rebel-believes-everything-athletes-reporters-actors-ceos-believe Man Who Agrees With The Media, Universities, Corporations, And Hollywood Thinks He's Part Of The Resistance]]"
* WebVideo/RenegadeCut: Similar to Lindsay Ellis's "Woke Disney", his "[[https://youtu.be/D0lSoHNmMTA Late Stage Disney]]" video argues that, despite seemingly deconstructing the original works, Disney's live-action remakes still seem to promote morals which were outdated even at the time the original was made.

* The Twitter feed Small Robots has [[https://twitter.com/smolrobots/status/1105809557836783616 Coolbot]], defined as follows:

* In ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', the Assassins claim "Nothing is true and everything is permitted" and that people don't need Kings, Priests, or others to tell them what to do and believe. Yet by and large, the Assassins rarely go against ruling classes despite occasionally threatening to do so. They frequently ally or court support from Kings and Nobles (Richard the Lionheart, Lorenzo de'Medici, Caterina Sforza, Suleiman, Queen Victoria) to fight against Templars. Indeed, the Assassins allied with the French King Philip le Bel, openly serving his offices, to institute ThePurge on the Templars, and in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'', they backed the royalists during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. This is TruthInTelevision as their historical counterparts preferred threatening people into submission by showing that they ''could'' be very scary enemies. With select exceptions, (Altair fighting Genghis Khan, Ezio fighting the Pope and in the New World, Connor and Edward fighting against the Empire), the Assassins rarely take a stand against powerful authorities and usually oppose revolutions since they feel these are StagedPopulistUprising created by the Templars. In general, the games feature the Assassins opposing the Templars, taking over territory and merely becoming [[MeetTheNewBoss the new secret society pulling strings]] over society.\\

Someone who is going for being a RebelliousSpirit but whose rebellion is mildly inconvenient at best, or so minor to be unnoticed at worst. This may be a fumble on the writer's part where they genuinely think the act is impressively rebellious but due to ValuesDissonance the audience doesn't think so. However, usually it's used as a characterization trope to show that the character himself is either so out-of-touch or self-important that they believe they're edgy and pushing the envelope even when it's unimpressive. They may also be too timid to really commit to a truly rebellious act. Maybe [[{{Hypocrite}} they don't even really believe in their cause]], but just want to fit in with "cool" modern culture.

Overlaps heavily with SmallNameBigEgo. Compare PokeThePoodle, where someone's attempt at doing evil is similarly unimpressive. Also compare TheManIsStickingItToTheMan, where a company encourages rebellion by following their own rules and buying their products. Someone who is portrayed as a real rebel but never actually crosses this line is a BadButt. If they pretend to be a political radical but never actually do anything worthwhile, that's RevolutionariesWhoDontDoAnything.

* Blunt in ''Webcomic/FreeFall'' is trying to wipe out all intelligent robots (including himself) to protect humanity which is mostly willing to take the risk. This qualifies as both treason and genocide. Nevertheless, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02520.htm he scrupulously refuses to break any law in his quest]]. As was said earlier, law-abiding criminals can be the hardest ones to stop.

* When he teamed up with Wrestling/RandyOrton to battle D-Generation X in the fall of 2006, Wrestling/{{Edge}} accused Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH of being this. Certainly, compared with their overtly offensive incarnation during TheNineties, DX's second coming in 2006 looked pretty {{Badbutt}}.

* Aiko Hibana in ''Webcomic/TheLegendOfGenji'' isn't a RebelliousSpirit by nature and just wants her emotionally distant mother to pay attention to her, so she'll limit herself to petty acts of rebellion that will grate on her mother's nerves but go unnoticed by everyone else. Early in the story, when Aiko shows up to a formal party that her mother was forcing her to attend, she deliberately arrives hours late in a pink gown clearly different from the one her mother picked out for her, while sporting extremely high-heeled slippers in defiance of her mother's previous instructions to not bring shoes that would make her seem tall.

** The March 11, 1992 strip had Calvin complain that the generation that created rock 'n' roll likes to act like they're still rebelling against the establishment [[UnderminedByReality when in reality they've long since sold out and became the establishment]].

Overlaps heavily with SmallNameBigEgo. Compare PokeThePoodle, where someone's attempt at doing evil is similarly unimpressive. Also compare TheManIsStickingItToTheMan, where a company encourages rebellion by following their own rules and buying their products. Someone who is portrayed as a real rebel but never actually crosses this line is a BadButt. If they pretend to be a political radical but never actually do anything worthwhile, that's RevolutionariesWhoDontDoAnything. If the work itself attempts to be controversial and anti-establishment but in reality its creators sold out and support the establishment, that's UnderminedByReality.