That's possible. However, in my opinion, almost all characters in fictitious works do incredibly stupid things almost all the time, to the point where seeing a character make an intelligent plan becomes refreshingly innovative.
For example, imagine that the Big Bad has got an important document MacGuffin which the heroes want to steal, because it contains the locations of some Plot Coupons. The heroes steal it, and the Big Bad is apoplectic with rage. But this story is set in the modern day, and our Big Bad is not without means. Why, then, didn't he just make photocopies of the book's pages? (This is averted in Miraculous Ladybug. There are a couple of occasions where people DO make copies of the important book, allowing both goodies and baddies to have the book at once.)
Hey, should this trope even have a real life section? I was under the impression that we were moving away from negative real life examples. Plus, if we define it as just someone acting stupid, its really too broad, but if we narrow it down to a character being made to act stupid to fuel a plot it shouldn't apply because people and there actions don't exist to fuel plots.
Removed the Statler And Waldorf stinger because editing is to be discussed.
It was originally
- Waldorf: You know, I just realized something. Everyone has the Idiot Ball.
Statler: Yeah. If they didn't, they wouldn't like this show!
Both: Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!
and I changed it to
Statler: Yeah. If they didn't, they wouldn't like this meme!
because "this show" makes no sense. So let's come up with something that is acceptably witty and doesn't include vague references to some sort of show.
Posting this as a general response everywhere this comes up:
Here's the deal: "this show" is used because vagueness is the whole point. More specific references could lead to problems due to the Take That! nature of these jokes, and these stingers have already stirred up enough controversy as is.
If you don't think the joke is funny because it's unspecific, that's fine. But the joke being unfunny to one person is not grounds for removal. If you have a better idea (and hopefully far better than "this meme" or "The Muppet Show", because that makes the stingers even more pointless), suggest it.
Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)
Die Hard : I vote for removing this entry. I fail to see the relevance. John McClane had three options - trust the guy, dont trust the guy, test the guy. He choose the latest and most nifty option, and managed to fool the guy, too. No idiot ball every appears and I bet 99% of people and at least 80% of policemen wouldnt handle the situation as well in reallife. In fact I would expect most people to believe Hans is a victim, not a ganster, and give him a loaded gun.
Edited by Barratsoss
Is it just me... or this trope is often misused as a way for the audience to say "These guys must be idiots to do so! If I were in their shoes, with all my beyond-fourth wall knowledge, could have made a better decision, even at cost of different plots!"
It sounded like complaining and bashing the characters for what the audience perceived as 'idiocy'... What do you think?
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