That sounds good, the real life examples were the best part of the page.
I agree with the Real Life examples. Who would be offended if they were edited properly? I can think of several: Vietnam: The North won the war, but Vietnam and Cambodia became isolated dictatorships as a result.
The Korean War might count as this since it ended in a stalemate which continues to this day.
Afghanistan: After the US removed the Taliban, they came back and took over after the chaotic withdrawal in 2021. Cold War: The West won, but Communism was replaced by the far more unpredictable threat of terrorism, and Russia under Putin has once again become a Western foe while China is economically (and militarily) on the rise.
The Civil War: The Union won and ended slavery, but Lincoln was assassinated and after Reconstruction ended the South imposed Jim Crow Laws, denied voting rights to freed blacks and their descendants for decades, and rewrote its part in the war as the "Lost Cause" which lasted for generations.
Second World War: Winston Churchill. Churchill and his conservatives lost the 1945 elections in a landslide, while Britain lost its empire and Churchill himself faded into retirement after his second and far less spectacular term as PM.
Richard Nixon: Won a second term in a landslide, ended the Vietnam War, opened up China and made détente with the Soviets, only to be undone by Watergate.
Bill Clinton: Left office with a budget surplus and a booming economy but got tarred by the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
How sweet it is
TRS has merged Pyrrhic Villainy into this trope. Discussion thread
I think there should be a line in this article comparing it to Gone Horribly Right
Edited by Bulby08
X-14: Killer Cheese
This trope isn't omnipresent in Real Life, nor is it particularly offensive. Why not make a separate page for Real Life examples if there are so many of them?
Hide / Show Replies
Seriously. I would personally like to see a subpage since there are a lot, but even just having them on the page would be cool. It's incredibly stupid to have a restriction on something because there are too MANY clear examples.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
I agree. Make a subpage and bring them back; some of those were interesting to read about, not to mention potentially inspiring to any writers who happen across the page.
The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.
Hear, hear. This isn't anywhere near offensive, and there are objectively Pyrrhic victories: Bunker Hill, for example. The Real Life section ought to come back!
Most likely, they fear the offending examples (and thus the edit warring) will come back.
Limpin' with the bizkit.
Why had all the Comic Books and Comic Strips examples been removed? i restored them to the latest known version for those 2 folders.
Hide / Show Replies
I went to Ask The Tropers and asked for a revert since a lot of examples were deleted or changed and I can't figure out why.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
In the Season Three episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "Paradise Lost", Coulson expresses guilt over killing Ward out of payback that he told Fitz, who tried to assure him that Ward's death was karmic, that Ward won in their final encounter. Based on his regret and words, should Coulson killing Ward the way he did out of payback qualify as a Pyrrhic Victory for him?
Maybe add to the entry about "The Thousand Orcs" in Literature that it wasnt a complete Phyrric Victory, Since in the end of that Trilogy Obould Actually wanted to make peace and force his orc armies into a legitimate, peaceful kingdom. SO while there was a lot of bloodshed between his armies and the north before the Treaty of Garums Gorge, its mentioned in the epilogues that the North is one of the few places where its actually relatively safe and peaceful in the spell plague and the aftermath.
Could someone add “A Good Man Goes To War” from Doctor Who to the examples? It is the epitome of this trope, and has an excellent line describing that rivals the page quote.
Queen of Filks
Removed these examples in Literature:
- "The Hunger Games": After Katniss and Peeta win the first Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell is announced, which is implied to have been rigged by President Snow to take Peeta and Katniss out- it requires each district to choose tributes from their pool of victors.
- Also, when President Coin and others of the rebellion/District Thirteen, including Katniss and Haymitch, are discussing what to do now that they've taken the Capitol, they decide on yet another Hunger Games to be held, but this time with the Capitol's children, as revenge.
These examples don't count; the first because the Quarter Quell, if it was rigged, was an act of revenge after their Victory, it was not in itself part of their Victory. The second one only counts on a moral, "We're stooping to their level" defeat-in-Victory. It has nothing to do with the terms of the actual conquest of the Districts over the Capitol. I described how the world does have a Pyrrhic victory set up in it.
Grin and tonic
Independence Day seems like an example of Pyrrhic Victory, yes they won, but civilisation is nearly destroyed in the process and they nuked an american city.
My latest Trope page: Shapeshifting Failure
Could we create a sub page for Real Life examples? If the only reason for not having them is length, that would solve it. They're fun to read, and this trope is one that really could stand to have some real life illustration. Just a suggestion.
Ceci n'est pas une signature. Hide / Show Replies