“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
Hitchhikers Guide? I feel like I’ve read that somewhere…?
That’s the one.
well, they tried to warn humans but alas they were only able to make out
So long, and thanks for all the fish
They did warn one person: Wonko the Sane.
He’s probably my favorite character in all the books.
I’d forgotten about him and his wife… might be time to read that series again. It’s my all time favorite. I can’t even tell you how many times i have read it or listened or watched! It’s a story that came into my life at just the right time and I can honestly say it was a singular in helping me survive my childhood
It’s my Torah.
Discworld is my Talmud.
Discworld is my new obsession
Small Gods is so fucking good, I can’t express how amazing in so many ways that book spoke to me. It’s more biblical than anything else I have ever read
This is the way
I love how Nanny Ogg is described as having the equivalent of a “kingdom” for herself out of her own children and grandchildren
One of my favorite Hitchhiker quotes.
They didn’t feel the need to make a complex language, because they were content in keeping their more complex thoughts to themselves.
That’s why It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is my favorite show. 100% idiot plots all the way down. They represent some of the worst human beings on Earth, and it’s more fun to laugh at the morons than think about how much they’re fucking up life for the rest of us…
Seinfeld is also like that. The best ones are where all their individual idiocy ends up making a spectacular fireball of stupidity.
Though I hope Earth gets a better finale.
Wouldn’t Arrested Development fit in here too?
It’s one banana Michael, how much could it cost? Ten dollars?
Luz, that coat cost more than your house! Oh, that’s how we joke. She doesn’t even have a house.
I love Lucille :D
No, they’re not just idiots, and not just “bad people” like in Seinfeld, but powerfully stupid and actively hateful. I just can’t stomach that show.
I can only watch it in small doses
The only episode I’ve seen is the crossover with Abbott Elementary
I remember the first season or two that it was out, it was too stressful for me to watch. At that point I had simply never seen any fiction with that level of consistent, nonstop manic trainwreck quality and it was overwhelming at first. Loved it after I acclimated, of course.
I recently watched a miniseries called A Teacher, in which a highschool teacher has an affair with her student and there are actual consequences. With all the people in the epstein files that are escaping justice, it was kind of cathartic to watch a sexual predator be punished for her actions
Oh? They made a tv show about that republican mayor already?
Does this include the plot points where there’s a misunderstanding in a relationship? Like where a girl sees her boyfriend hug another girl but doesn’t know it’s his cousin or something and instead of talking about it just ignores him and so he ignores her and it’s just dumb and entirely avoidable?
“wait! I can explain!”
No waiting or explaining ensues
The real idiots are the audience who finds that compelling instead of enraging
Ah that’s end of season 2 or beginning of season 3 of every series that has a couple in it, right?
Often, but not always, yes. If the misunderstanding is reasonable and they had ample opportunity for an explanation but didn’t, then yes, it’s an idiot plot.
If they legitimately didn’t have an opportunity to explain, or the explanation, while true, was completely unbelievable, that’s not an idiot plot IMO.
Only if 3rd parties who witnessed the context of such misunderstanding re-enforce the stupid. Otherwise that’s just your average contrived romance drama.
They already said idiot plot
I feel like there are so many plots that stem from simple miscommunications or a lack of communication between two charatcers which would easily resolve the whole situation.
That’s gotta be its own trope
It is, they even reference it in the IT crowd.
“So I followed him to the restaurant.”
“She was his sister, wasn’t she.”
“Yeah.”
That’s similar to the one where the couple breaks up over a misunderstanding and all it takes is one of them explaining in like 10s. But instead someone storms off while the other pleas, and deep down you’re like, “That motherfucker so wanted it to end anyway.”
But then we deal with post-break up scenes and you realise they’re just idiots that still haven’t even thought to clear up the misunderstanding via a single text, call, or friend. It could all be resolved, laughed about, and fucking again like that afternoon.
I think idiot plot is supposed to be so stupid that it’s essentially not possible to happen irl
The example you outlined could happen in real life if one person completely blocks the other or something
Would be an idiot plot if everyone involved is fully able to communicate to the other parties, everyone has plenty of information, and they decide to go through with whatever stupid shit they think they need to do, that would be completely unavoidable and anyone with half a brain would understand that they don’t need to do what they think they need to do.
Like a movie where there’s a killer on the loose and nobody thinks of even trying to call the police. No “oh there’s no signal here”, just straight up nobody even tries.
The entirety of American history, or at least since Jan 6, 2021, when Trump would have been immediately arrested and tried for treason in a sane and efficient society
I earned my Reddit permaban because I said that in most countries throughout history, on the evening of a failed coup like Jan 6, the entire staff of the White House would have been dragged out onto the lawn of the White House and publicly executed.
Brazil nearly suffered the same consequence, thankfully bozonazi is jailed now. Too bad a lot of the supporters are still out and about, including his sons
So… the majority of popular sitcoms and movies.
I immediately thought of the Cohen brothers
They usually involve competent professionals though. I’d say some of their plots are more about idiots than they are idiot plots.
Yeah Burn After Reading, Fargo, and the Big Lebowski were my first thoughts
Isn’t this the plot of C-SPAN?
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen another TV show jump the shark so quickly. Still, it’s kinda on brand if you read the series it was based on.
I always call the trope “Steve” when I see it.
“Hey look, Steve left the door open so the dinosaurs got out.”
“Oh no, Steve forgot to zip his hazmat suit now all the apes are smart.”
“Steve took his helmet off on an alien planet because the air smelled fine.”
“Steve went on a spacewalk without a tether cable!”
“Smoking indoors near flammable chemicals again, Steve?”
“Really Steve, no condom?”
it’s also known as life
What do we call it when it happens in real life? The News…
Do I put the /s?The current state of affairs in the US.
based
That’s the entire “It’s always sunny” plot!
just like all the news coming from the US nowadays
Every episode of Frasier.
It’s crazy to me how many gay and liberal folks worked on Frasier and Kelsey Grammer is a huge Trump supporter.
There is also another similar trope, defined by “Any problem important to the plot that can be solved by 5min honest conversation between participating parties”
Once you learn that term, you start noticing it everywhere in movies and shows. So many conflicts would disappear if just one character asked a simple question. 😅
Oh look, the USA
You shouldn’t attribute to idiocy what is committed in malice.
