History Main / WhileRomeBurns

* In ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'', Tycho and Gabe are so addicted to ''Videogame/{{Titanfall}}'' that Gabe thinks that the game crashing is a ''good'' thing since he'd never be able to stop playing otherwise. Tycho's ''house is burning down around him'' and he still won't stop playing, though he hopes the game crashes before the licking flames reach him.

->''The earth died screaming\\

Dreaming of you.''
-->-- '''TomWaits''', "Earth Died Screaming"

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In the final episode of ''KamenRiderOOO'', [[CrazyAwesome Kosei Kougami]] indulges in his hobby of singing "Happy Birthday" and baking birthday cakes while the city outside is gradually being devoured by a monstrous construct out to absorb everything, and the building he's in grows increasingly damaged.

* The song ''Accordion Player'' by Music/{{Voltaire}} is about an accordion player who refused to take part in a war in his country, even when the fighting came to his town. The song ends with the musician declaring repeatedly "I want to die playing", the music becoming more frantic and impassioned as sounds of battle rage around it.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
* The feast of Belshazzar in the Bible.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* There are many stories about high-ranking Nazis who were still in Berlin as the Soviets were entering during the closing days of WorldWarTwo, engaging in hedonistic parties and orgies.

* Barbara Tuchman in ''The Guns of August'' characterised Nicholas II as a grotesquely incompetent, apathetic leader, stating that when Nicholas received a telegram informing him of the [[RussoJapaneseWar Russian fleet's annihalation at Tsushima]], he read it, put it away and then went on to play tennis.

* ''You'' are able to invoke this trope (and BystanderSyndrome on top of it, [[WhatTheHellHero as if that weren't enough]]) in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' in Geosenge Town [[spoiler: after Team Flare activates the Ultimate Weapon that not only is going cause a lot of destruction, but will absorb all the life force of the residents in Route 10]], where Phil the Photo Guy still offers his services. Yes, the NebulousEvilOrganisation is ''[[spoiler: unleashing their DoomsdayDevice that they intend to destroy the world with, but at least you can get a great picture of it.]].

* ''You'' are able to invoke this trope (and BystanderSyndrome on top of it, [[WhatTheHellHero as if that weren't enough]]) in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' in Geosenge Town [[spoiler: after Team Flare activates the Ultimate Weapon that not only is going cause a lot of destruction, but will absorb all the life force of the residents in Route 10]], where Phil the Photo Guy still offers his services. Yes, the EvilOrganization is ''[[spoiler: unleashing their DoomsdayDevice that they intend to destroy the world with, but at least you can get a great picture of it.]].

-->'''Antony:'''

* During the Siege of Sarajevo, the Serbs would shell the city every night. It was under this backdrop of shelling that cellist Vedran Smailović would play Christmas songs in the middle of the town square ''while the city was being shelled around him!'' He said he did this to prove that, despite all evidence to the contrary, the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place. According to The TransSiberianOrchestra, this act of bravery/craziness was the inspiration for their song Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.

* In VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}, you can stumble upon a bizarre building owned by a Russian named Dukov. All he does all day is party, drink, get high, and have sex with his two "party girls". They seem completely ambivalent to the fact that they are completely defenseless in the middle of a hilariously dangerous city full of mutants.
** Not true. Dukov is an ex-mercenary, which is the only reason his whores stick around and put up with him in the first place. One of them even asks you for a safe escort out. Of course, Dukov is old, and likely both out of practice and drunk off his ass, so he's easy enough for ''you'' to kill. It helps that he wears pajamas.

* Parts of the Citadel in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' can leave this impression. The galaxy is fighting a losing, hopeless war against the Reapers, while the Citadel denizens are busy gossiping and drinking in bars, even after [[spoiler:the Cerberus attack]]. The Citadel DLC takes this UpToEleven: Shepard gets a big fancy apartment on the Citadel, throws a party for companions from all three games, and hangs out with them in an entertainment complex with a casino and arcade center. This struck some players and reviewers as insensitive, considering the state of the rest of the galaxy.

** The original has another great example with the "Hunting Parties". While in [[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead the first film]] they are doing an effective, if [[KillEmAll ruthless]] job of clearing the countryside, by this point it is evident that they are likely going to fail, so what we see is a bunch of soldiers, cops, and assorted rednecks grilling, getting drunk, and doing there damnedest to enjoy their last hours of life.

* Stephen King's ''{{Cell}}'' has the 'Sprinters', people who steal the most expensive/fast looking vehicles they can find and drive them down the street after the ZombieApocalypse renders their owners either dead or insane. On the two occasions when specific Sprinters are mentioned, they manage to get themselves either injured [[TooDumbToLive or killed spectacularly]].

*** Nero may not have done it, but there is little doubt that he benefitted from it; the section of Rome that burned, Nero had had plans to raze it to build something. This fact probably contributed to the suspiscion that he deliberately set the fire.

* OlderThanFeudalism: The feast of Belshazzar in the Bible. Also Herodotus records the same story.

They're still reading a book, listening to music, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife browsing this site]], whatever. Maybe [[ApatheticCitizens they just don't care]], or they approve of what's going on. On the other hand, maybe they figure that if they're going to die, they might as well go out with quiet dignity rather than in a panic or with RageAgainstTheHeavens. If combined with DissonantSerenity it might have heroic or [[TheStoic stoic]] overtones.

[[quoteright:251:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/quo-vadis-nero-singt.jpg]]

* English soldier [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill]] started playing his pipe while waiting for the Germans to capture him. Since he is also the guy who [[CrowningMomentofAwesome fought with bow, arrow]] [[{{Badass}} and a claymore]] (the sword, not the anti-personnel mine) in ''WWII'', we shouldn't be surprised.

* Jenny from the film ''DeepImpact'' ends up spending her time at home with her dad as a huge asteroid approaches the Earth. A minute later, as a huge wave is destroying New York, we see a man on a park bench quietly reading a newspaper just before he's swept away.

* On May 19, 1780, [[http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2004/alm04may.htm a cloud of darkness]] (a combination of forest-fire smoke and heavy clouds/fog) spread over New England. Some members of the Connecticut state legislature, fearing that [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Judgment Day was at hand]] proposed adjournment; legislator Abraham Davenport convinced them to stay:
--> I am against an adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of an adjournment: if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I move that candles be brought, and we proceed to business.

* On May 19, 1780, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England's_Dark_Day a cloud of darkness]] (a combination of forest-fire smoke and heavy clouds/fog) spread over New England. Some members of the Connecticut state legislature, fearing that [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Judgment Day was at hand]] proposed adjournment; legislator Abraham Davenport convinced them to stay:
--> I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.

* Two examples in the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' "Meet the Team" trailers, with one involving The Engineer calmly strumming a guitar and sipping beer while his turrets slaughter all incoming enemies, the other in the "Meet The Sandvich" video, with the Heavy observing a fight on a cliff while happily munching on a sandwich.