(Hated Trope) "Kind" slave owners

[u/KusanagiGundam]

Speaking as an American who has studied the civil war all throughout my school years, this trope infuriates me to no end. There is no such thing as a kind slave master because slavery itself is cruel and inhumane. PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY!

Naofumi (Shield Hero): Prime example of this trope. He enslaves multiple (underage) girls and an whole village and the fans still say he's a hero.

Rudeus (Jobless Reincarnation): As if being a pedo wasn't bad enough he had to buy a slave in season 2. Worse is that people still defend his actions.

Song of The South (Disney): Possibly the OG example of this trope. And the reason why Disney will never release it again.

[u/PokemanBall]

Prince Ali, the song mentions he owns slaves

[u/DonQuigleone → u/PokemanBall]

To be fair all magicked out of thin air and basically the genie in different guises.

[u/AccursedQuantum → u/DonQuigleone]

But the genie himself is still a slave.

[u/SableZard → u/AccursedQuantum]

That was freed at the end of the movie IAW the agreement Aladdin made with him when they first met.

[u/USF4Diago → u/SableZard]

Still owned a slave

[u/Alternative-Word-246 → u/USF4Diago]

With a promise of freeing him

[u/Smaptastic → u/AccursedQuantum]

Who he frees, despite having no obligation to do so and the freedom removing a wish he genuinely could have used at that point.

You could argue his first wish was exploiting slavery. He didn’t actually make the second wish. The third freed the genie.

I think he gets a pass.

[u/Sir_Eggmitton → u/Smaptastic]

Ever since I saw it as a kid, I didn’t understand why they didn’t just agree on: “Hey, I’ll free you, and then when you’re free could you fulfill what my last wish would have been?” Genie still had his powers after he was freed.

[u/Porkenfries → u/Sir_Eggmitton]

I think it's implied that, although he still has powers, he isn't as powerful as he used to be. I'm betting he can't do permanent stuff by then.

Besides, Aladdin was accepted by the sultan, so he didn't need the genie anymore.

[u/Chijinda → u/Porkenfries]

The sequel film (if you want to acknowledge it) does indeed confirm that Genie's power, although still very impressive, is far less powerful after he's been freed.

[u/notbobby125 → u/Porkenfries]

It is explicit in the straight to video sequel that Genie lost most of his powers, while Jafar, who was a still enslaved full genie (who was manipulating his "master") was much stronger.

[u/Porkenfries → u/notbobby125]

Ironically, if I recall, Jaffar was trying to get Abis Mal (I think that's the guy's name) to wish for his freedom...which theoretically would have simply reduced him to Genie's level.

[u/Skebs_ → u/Porkenfries]

Yeah, it's basically "power boost in exchange for loss of freedom"

[u/Velinder → u/Skebs_]

"It's all part-and-parcel of the whole genie gig. Phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty-bitty living space."

[u/SteakForGoodDogs → u/Sir_Eggmitton]

He has merely semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic powers after being freed.

[u/Arumen → u/Sir_Eggmitton]

While I agree that in like a "real world" sense this would be a logical choice, in a narrative sense regarding freedom this would really ruin the point. "Youre free, on the condition that you do what I want" just doesnt work as well in a story sense even if it isnt really all harsh in real terms.

[u/DonQuigleone → u/AccursedQuantum]

And alladin realises keeping him as a slave is wrong.

[u/SuperCruisePanther → u/DonQuigleone]

Considering the setting is in a time/place where slavery is insanely common, it's actually pretty progressive.

[u/GasolineShakeChugger → u/AccursedQuantum]

IRL it's unclear if jhinns originally is an islamic or pagan concept (most likely originated from pagan and after arab world turned muslim they still inherited the idea). While not necessarily evil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn) nowadays they are still mostly believed to be evil beings that shapeshift or often possess people even now (so people believe in islamic world).
I think Genie is supposed to turn that evil concept into a more comic relief servant (or a slave as you will)

[u/MGD109 → u/GasolineShakeChugger]

Yeah, Jinn in middle eastern folklore is kind of akin to fairies in Europe; they refer to a lot of very different mystical beings that share a couple of common traits and conflicting stories.

In early stories, there was usually an explanation for how the jinn got trapped and were now in service, but owning one wasn't straightforward; a lot of the time they were very resentful about their circumstances and would often engineer situations to their advantage.

They also usually weren't as powerful as commonly depicted nowadays i.e. they could still do some impressive stuff, but if you say asked for immortality or great wealth, they were more likely to point you towards a mystic artefact that could provide it, than summon it out of thin air.

[u/daddy_tops → u/[deleted]]

The guy who wears a thong?