Mari ends up recording Sayuri's every word and turns the tables on her. In Asteroid in Love, Sayuri intended to blackmail the Earth Sciences club for their recent rise in popularity, but begins monologuing about her intentions.In The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, Hahari tries to use her authority as school chairwoman to get Toruru to stop harassing Meme, only for Toruru to threaten to leak the photos she took of Hahari's antics with the rest of Rentarou's harem, adding that if she blew the whistle everyone would be in hot water.Not to be confused with film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock. After all, if they've already had sufficient reason to kill at least one person, is it very likely that they'll baulk at murdering another - especially if that other person is trying to squeeze them for money?Ĭompare Blackmail Backfire when the blackmailing fails for some reason. The danger (along with the potential stupidity) is compounded if the intended victim of the blackmail is already a murderer. Informing someone that you know too much is quite rarely the best course of action, especially if Agatha Christie is holding the pen or you haven't told anyone else (but don't tell too many people, as that would, of course, defeat the purpose of blackmail). The modern meaning shows how language evolves.Īlso note that blackmail is an inherently dangerous activity. One side note is that the word originally did in fact mean simply extortion rent or taxes was called "mail" in Scotland therefore taking it illegally (by threatening to burn down a neighboring clan's huts for example) was blackmail. "Extortion" is the broader category in legal terms, consisting of "obtaining money, property, or services from another person through coercion." "Blackmail" is a specific type of Extortion where the threat is "to reveal information that is potentially embarrassing, socially damaging, or incriminating about the victim or their family member(s) unless a demand for property, money or services is met."įor example " I Have Your Wife hostage, give me the MacGuffin or she is done for" would be extortion, however, "I have pictures of you/your loved one committing a crime, give me the MacGuffin or your/their reputation is toast" would be blackmail. While the words 'blackmail' and 'extortion' are used interchangeably, this is not strictly true. Of course, it's rarely stated as such, because "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word. When coupled with Sinister Surveillance, this can become Paranoia Fuel, hence the potency of Big Brother Is Watching. One of the many ways of making someone An Offer He Can't Refuse. Sadly, it's very seldom these days that a blackmail resister (themself a rare animal) does so with the traditional response, and in real life usually effective, "Publish and be damned!" Blackmail is such a key plot device, so intrinsic to the art of storytelling and human nature, that it is used by almost every series at one point or another. To list all the variations and permutations of this trope here would be a lesson in madness. In a more explicit story, an attractive character is blackmailed with information that could incriminate their significant other into performing sexual deeds for the blackmailer (that last variant is really popular in Hentai, especially of the Netorare genre). In a Sitcom, a child blackmails their sibling when they break a rare, expensive heirloom or when they have an Embarrassing Old Photo (or even knowledge of something personal, such as their diary). In a Super Hero story, the hero is blackmailed when someone discovers their Secret Identity. In a Government Procedural, a respected politician is confronted with pictures of them in a strip club or with a girl twenty years too young for them, and is asked for hush money. In a teen comedy, a character is blackmailed by someone outside the main cast, and the others find out and stick up for their friend. So Bob has to do something for Alice so that she doesn't tell anyone. Hiruma (the god of blackmail), Eyeshield 21Īlice knows something that Bob doesn't want anyone else to know.
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