History Main / GenreBlindness

** It happens again in the “The Return of Harmony” two-parter when she fails to notice her friends suddenly acting the opposite of their elements, and assumed they just became jerks in the maze.

** She's not the only one. In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn "Keep Calm and Flutter On"]], Rainbow Dash insists the Mane Six come up with a backup plan in case the whole "befriending" business with Discord to have him do a HeelFaceTurn doesn't work out, and the other ponies agree with her, with Twilight settling for good old fashioned brainwashing. Once again, [[SpoilerTitle read the title of the show]], and [[ForegoneConclusion see how well Twilight's brainwashing plan works out]].

** The crew arrives at a town that welcomes pirates. Luffy, Sanji and Usopp fall easily for this, while Zoro and Nami are much more GenreSavvy and ''fake'' being drunk to find out what the town is up to.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' features a rather JustForFun/{{egregious}} example when the group is being assaulted in their dreams by a stand-wielding baby. Normally the group is GenreSavvy bordering on paranoid, assuming that anything unusual happening is the result of an enemy stand, but suddenly everyone except Kakyoin decides that a stand-wielding baby is simply too farfetched an idea (when they'd already encountered a stand-wielding orangutan.)

* The characters of ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' have never seen zombie movies. Fine. But they still don't learn. Multiple characters die/are injured in the exact same zombie-attacking way. Zombies or no, the cop character never quite grasps the concept of "clear one room before going to next". In [[Series/TheWalkingDead the TV show]], however they have become considerably more GenreSavvy by the beginning of the third episode.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': For beings who have lived for millions of years, the Guardians of Oa are painfully genre blind. Some of their greatest hits include [[OldShame creating an army of conscienceless machines]] and acting surprised when they start committing genocide; inducting ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast someone named Sinestro]]'' into the Green Lantern Corps and acting surprised when he goes evil; banishing Sinestro to a universe full of the Guardians' worst enemies and acting surprised when he comes back and starts killing Green Lanterns; trying to stop a SelfFulfillingProphecy and acting surprised when [[Comicbook/BlackestNight it is fulfilled]]; and firing Hal Jordan after he saved their lives for the umpteenth million time. But probably the most egregious example of blindness is the fact that the Guardians demand absolute obedience from the Green Lantern Corps, an organization made up exclusively of the most willful {{Determinator}}s in the universe. It's gotten so bad at this point that the Guardians are set to become the BigBad of the current Green Lantern arc. The only reason for this is if the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Guardians]] were GenreSavvy they could turn every issue of ''Green Lantern'' into a CurbStompBattle. As it is, [[OnlySaneMan Ganthet]] usually manages to be savvy enough that the Guardians get by... [[TheCassandra when they listen to him]].

** Maledict [[SubvertedTrope seems to be a cliché evil overlord Bond villain at first]]... until his real [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] nature starts showing; [[spoiler:he didn't want to kill Sonic or Shadow because they [[LukeIAmYourFather are his sons]] and he knows just how powerful they are]]. By contrast, Allysion and most of the Angels are quite genre blind, with the notable exception of the very [[GenreSavvy savvy]] Jesus.

** While still GenreSavvy, Sokka has had one or two moments of Genre Blindness. Most notable was in [[spoiler:"The Boiling Rock", where he tries to talk to Suki while still wearing his guard disguise. Later, he does ''the same thing'' when he tries to talk to his father]].

** The crew arrives to a town that welcomes pirates. Luffy, Sanji and Usopp fall easily for this, while Zoro and Nami are much more GenreSavvy and ''fake'' being drunk to find out what the town is up to.

** The crew arrives to a town that welcomes pirates. Luffy, Sanji and Usopp falls easily for this, while Zoro and Nami are much more GenreSavvy and ''fake'' being drunk to find out what the town is up to.

-->-- '''The Joker''', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', "Wild Cards Part 1"

** Cersei Lannister believes herself to be TheChessmaster. Problem is, while she is a decent ManipulativeBitch, she's definitely not a [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent one, and she has a nasty case of {{Pride}}, rampant paranoia, and extreme BlackAndWhiteInsanity. To her, people are divided into 'fawning admirers' and 'enemies', and she will strive to destroy the latter, no matter their actual relation to the house or the long-term consequences of her plotting.

** Not genre-blindness, but an example of how the writers know their [[WordOfGod source material]] ''And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.'' - 2 Thessalonians. 2:8-12 In other words, people are deluded then because they didn't take advantage of the opportunity for salvation that is offered now. You have to assume that there are, as illustrated, people who figure that they can hedge their bets - and if you can assume it, you can rest assured that God has thought of it.

** Cersei Lannister believes herself to be TheChessmaster. In reality, she's really just a pawn and has been led to believe this by the ''real'' chessmasters; Varys and Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish.

Although genre blindness can be a legitimate flaw, [[TropesAreNotBad it should be noted]] that it can be difficult for writers to create characters who are not genre blind without [[LampshadeHanging hanging a lampshade on it]] by saying something like [[{{Anvilicious}} "This is just like in the movies!"]], especially in genres which require suspense that can easily be undone by such comedic relief (such as horrors, thrillers, etc). Furthermore, some stories in some genres [[NecessaryWeasel really couldn't function at all]] if the characters displayed an innate and complete understanding of what genre they were in and exactly how they should act at all times within a story in said genre if they want to avoid trouble. A certain amount of Genre Blindness can be required to provide the story with tension and drama, since if the character knows exactly what to do to avoid trouble and conflict in their particular story, they'll do it, and consequently have an easy, trouble-free life, and... why are we watching again? Finally, not all of a genre's classic tropes are in fact TruthInTelevision, but as far as the characters are concerned, ThisIsReality, so their "blindness" may be the same as common sense. After all, people in real life don't usually live their lives as if everything they do or which happens to them conforms to a series of strict narrative conventions, so why would fictional characters? For example, in real life, a single cough usually does not [[IncurableCoughOfDeath herald a fatal disease]], so ItsProbablyNothing is probably rational despite being Genre Blind.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', [[KnightTemplar The Illusive Man]] continuously warns his [[TheDragon right-hand man, Kai Leng,]] to [[WorthyOpponent show respect to Commander Shepard's skills and how dangerous s/he is.]] Kai Leng stubbornly refuses and even takes being compared to Shepard in anyway as an insult to him. [[spoiler:This underestimation ends up being his undoing.]]

* ''Film/SpaceBattleshipYamato'': After Captain Okita gives the order for the ship to prepare for warp, Doctor Sado stops a passer-by in the hallway to worriedly ask her what "Warp" is. Given that this is the first time humanity has ever used a warp engine, she might be forgiven for being uniformed. As it is, the passer-by herself only seems to be kind of sure that her explanation[[note]]that they will be jumping over a very large distance[[/note]] is correct. Also, Doctor Soda is [[INeedAFreakingDrink very drunk.]]

** In the Prequel Trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi demonstrates a surprising amount of Genre Blindness. He knows that there's an AncientConspiracy out there somewhere looking to plunge the Galaxy into darkness, he knows that Palpatine is an ambitious and slimy politician who used a crisis to seize an alarming amount of power, but he's so cynical about politics and politicians that he can't quite put two and two together. At worst, Obi-Wan figures that Palpatine is the UnwittingPawn of the unknown Sithlord. The possibility that Palpatine ''is'' the Sithlord - and the possibility that this entire crisis has been deliberately and systematically engineered ''by'' him - doesn't enter Obi-Wan's head until it's too obvious to deny...and too late to do anything about it.

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', episode [[Recap/CommunityS2E06Epidemiology "Epidemiology"]], as fitting for a zombie parody.
-->'''[[spoiler:Rich:]]''' I thought I was "special"!

** A bit character from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]] [[FamousLastWords goes out]] with the wonderfully Genre Blind line:

** Guest characters in ''Supernatural'' also do this ''constantly'', especially in the first season. This included the couple making out in the middle of the woods who hear strange noises. The boy gets out of the car to investigate and disappears, following which the girl ''gets out too''.

** Guest characters in Supernatural also do this ''constantly'', especially in the first season. This included the couple making out in the middle of the woods who hear strange noises. The boy gets out of the car to investigate and disappears, following which the girl ''gets out too''.

* In ''Series/{{Wipeout}}'' you have to get the through obstacle courses as fast as possible. Being obstacle courses, there will be traps. Despite this there's a shocking number of contestants that are bum rushing through the qualifier and ignores even the most obvious traps like the sole, muddy panel by the ledge.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' Scully ought to have realized after a while that her [[ArbitrarySkepticism persistent skepticism is misguided]]. Eventually, she ''did''. It's a theory that her skepticism dropped as the show ran its course... she just kept contradicting Mulder to be contrary.

** In “A Canterlot Wedding” It seems Twilight hasn’t heard of the concept of impersonation, because [[WrongGenreSavvy she comes to the conclusion that Cadence must have turned evil]] after witnessing several [[OutOfCharacterAlert OutOfCharacterAlerts]].

** In “A Canterlot Wedding” It seems Twilight hasn’t heard of the concept of impersonation, because [[WrongGenreSavvy she comes to the conclusion that Cadence must have turned evil]] after witnessing several [[OutOfCharacterAlerts OutOfCharacterAlert]].

** Twilight Sparkle, the main character, insists that "the future of Equestria does not rest on me making friends.'' [[SpoilerOpening Read the title again]] and take a guess [[ForegoneConclusion how that pans out]].

** She's not the only one. In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn "Keep Calm and Flutter On"]], Rainbow Dash insists the Mane Six come up with a backup plan in case the whole "befriending" business with Discord to have him do a HeelFaceTurn doesn't work out, and the other ponies agree with her, with Twilight settling for good old fashioned brainwashing. The blindness is extra bad because not too long before the Mane Six helped another former villain turn good thanks to ThePowerOfFriendship. Once again, [[SpoilerTitle read the title of the show]], and [[ForegoneConclusion see how well Twilight's brainwashing plan works out]]. [[spoiler:It doesn't.]]

** In the end, it's not Genre Blindness at all. He's smart, but covers it with a lot of [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Bond]] [[BondVillainStupidity Villain Stupidity]]. [[spoiler: The only reason he left the players alive as long as he did was that he ''wanted'' them to become stronger than he is. The entire fight is Arthas giving more and more to the battle, until he finally holds nothing back and fights with his full strength. If the players die, unfortunate, but still good minions. If they ''don't'', he's found minions that surpass even his ''own'' immense power, which is what he ''wants'', being a necromancer with near-unbreakable control over his resurrected minions, and the ability to trap souls in his blade. The raid can't actually slay him on its own - either you're weaker and he kills you, or you're stronger, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment and he]] ''[[FailureIsTheOnlyOption kills you]]''. Knowing that [=NPCs=] are next to useless compared to players, he begins his reanimation ritual, mocking the frozen Tirion while he and the crippled and restrained Bolvar watch helplessly. And, in the end, he only loses because Tirion's rescue subverts every boss battle trope that [=WoW=] has. When, in any other Final Boss Battle, does an ''NPC'' disarm and permanently paralyze the boss, turning him into a glorified ''training dummy''? Arthas, with 10% HP remaining, can actually be struck by weak melee hits until death (which can take something like an hour, if Tirion is the only one doing it). Let's rephrase that: Arthas, the BigBad of an entire expansion, dies because an NPC gets up off the ground after [[TheProtagonist the party]] dies, and [[PrecisionFStrike flipping]] ''solos'' him. '''''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Outside of a cutscene.]]''''']]
*** This is a ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]]'' moment if you're in a raid with GenreSavvy people who don't know how the fight plays out. [[spoiler:Yell out over voice chat "goddamn it, WIPE, ''WIPE!''" and listen to the panic and confusion when everyone dies instantly. Then listen to the ''awe'' when the ''rest'' of the scene plays out...]]

** The heroes not only have Genre Blindness, they seem to have inter-episode amnesia. How many times can you really think say "[[LetsSplitUpGang Let's split up]] to explore the haunted castle" and think it's a good plan? This actually ''is'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'' Long story short, Fred realizes that they ''always'' split up the group the same way and decides to split it up a different way with [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Fred and Shaggy teaming up]]. HilarityEnsues.

* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', at one point Commander Sheridan says that he doesn't believe in dreams and signs and portents ... in a show whose plot '''runs''' on dreams and signs and portents.

-->'''[[spoiler:Rich:]]''' I thought I was "special!"

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