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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"''A father has to be a provider, a teacher, a role model, but most importantly, a distant authority figure who can never be pleased.''"
|'''[[Stephen Colbert]]''', ''I Am America (And So Can You!)''}}
Our hero may be a perfectly [[Nice Guy]], respectable, successful, a loving husband and a good father. But what he really wants is for this ''one guy'' to [[So Proud of You|acknowledge]] [[Like a Son to Me|this]].
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A [[Fawlty Towers Plot]] will often ensue as our hero tries increasingly more convoluted schemes to convince the [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] of his worth.
In the end, one of two things happens. Rarely, the
Cue the [[Full House Music]].
In other genres, this can be a bit more understated, with the
A really unpleasant variation is when the
Contrast [[So Proud of You]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* Crocell Kerori from ''[[Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun]]'' is an idol to try to impress her family (particularly her parents). She received no praise for scoring average with magic while her siblings did better, so she thinks being an idol is playing to her strength, cuteness.
* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', Shinji Ikari is desperate for any kind of approval from his father Gendō. (What's arguable is whether Gendō knows, and if so, whether he cares. {{spoiler|In the movie ''[[End of Evangelion]]'', it is revealed that Gendō may actually have cared about Shinji, at least as much as [[Magnificent Bastard|someone like him]] is able -- but may also have been ''as afraid of his own son as Shinji was of him''. His last words before his head gets chomped are basically "sorry [for all that crap I put you through], Shinji."}})
** Gendo does praise Shinji once -- ''just once''
*** In the manga, Gendo {{spoiler|knows very well that Shinji seeks his approval, he just doesn't give a shit beyond using that to manipulate Shinji so he can become God -- he blamed Shinji for stealing Yui's affection and love from him.}}
** Asuka is arguably a [[Gender Flip]] of the trope. As a young child, she desperately sought her mother's approval of her being selected as an Eva pilot. {{spoiler|The problem is that by that time, her mother was too insane to even recognize Asuka as her daughter, much less give her praise. This is because much of her personality was transferred to EVA-02, where her will only really gets to manifest itself through [[Humongous Mecha]] action; Asuka catches on, but basically only near the bitter, bitter end, where otherwise [[Mind Rape|nothing]] [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|good]] [[Chunky Salsa Rule|is happening]] to her...}}
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* Reporter Takashi Jo from the manga ''Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President'' also frequently tries to meet the challenges that his long-lost father, Democratic presidential candidate (and [[Zen Survivor]] of the Vietnam War) Kenneth Yamaoka, poses to teach his illegitimate son the way of the [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Takashi's attempts to understand Yamaoka conflict with his resentment over Yamaoka's abandoning his mother -- {{spoiler|and the suspicion that her recent, suspicious death was no accident...}}
* ''[[Naruto]]'' is absolutely rife with this. A few examples:
** As a child, Sasuke constantly pushed himself to be the best in his class and get his father Fugaku's attention until, you know, his brother killed his entire family. His relationship with said brother is also like
** Hinata Hyuuga, resident [[Shrinking Violet]] and [[Unfavorite]] of her clan, also desperately seeks approval from her father. She gets her 'Well Done Daughter' at the end of Part I and seems to be held highly by the Hyuuga Clan in Part II.
** And for the last few: Naruto constantly seeks Sasuke's approval; Rock Lee seeks the approval of Might Guy, who seeks the approval of Kakashi, who seeks the approval of {{spoiler|his dead friend Obito}}. Young Gaara started out seeking the approval of anyone who would give it to him, {{spoiler|but nobody did}}. During the Chunin Exam arc, it seems like at least half of the characters are trying to get some teacher or rival to acknowledge their worth, and the rest are trying to get their ''crushes'' to acknowledge their worth.
*** Naruto got his
* Toshiki in ''[[GetBackers]]'' brainwashes Kazuki, steals his soul and nearly [[Murder the Hypotenuse|murders the kinda-hypotenuse]] because he feels Kazuki never paid attention to him when they were younger. In actuality, Kazuki watched him for years, and knows both him and his "beautiful dance of a fighting style" very well. Subsequently, Toshiki joins Juubei as Kazuki's right-hand man and protector for the rest of the series.
* A female example is found in [[Broken Bird|Layla Hamilton]] from ''[[Kaleido Star]]'', who after [[Missing Mom|losing her mother]], swore to not ever disappoint and make her father sad. {{spoiler|She couldn't keep her promise when she chose the Stage over a filming career, but did reconcile with Dad later}}
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* Future Trunks from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' kind of got to have it both ways. Despite being repulsed by his father Vegeta's evil behavior, he still wanted his approval and often [[Shrinking Violet|behaved deferentially]]. Vegeta, being [[Jerkass|Vegeta]], considered this a weakness and even mocked him for it. He was surprised (and more than a little pissed off) when Trunks actually followed through on his threat to attack him if necessary to prevent Cell's transformation, even though that meant giving up all hope of winning his approval. When Trunks later ''died'' at Cell's hands, Vegeta found himself experiencing guilt for probably the first time ever, and [[Papa Wolf|went APESHIT on the murderer]]. Realizing that, after Trunks was revived and returned to his own timeline, Vegeta gave a small but powerful farewell salute.
** Present Trunks also has this towards his father, but Vegeta seems to have learned a small lesson, and shows pride in his son from time to time.
* ''[[Baccano!]]!'s'' [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|Chane Laforet]] is prone to bending over backwards to please her father [[Mad Scientist|Huey]], up to and including [[The Speechless|giving up her voice]] just to better keep a secret for him. This is not helped by the fact that Huey, while surprised by her behavior, actively ''[[Manipulative Bastard|encourages]]'' [[Jerkass|this sort of thing for fun and profit]].
* [[Values Dissonance|Norman]] to Ruby, in ''[[Pokémon Special]]''.
* Flashbacks in ''[[Skip Beat!]]'' show the heroine Kyoko as a child doing everything she can to make her cold mother proud of her, such as by working herself into the ground to get perfect scores on her tests (a habit that continued even though they were apart for years when she tried to finish high school).
* As a kid, Guts of ''[[Berserk]]'' wanted more than anything to please his adoptive father Gambino, the leader of a mercenary band that took him in. Unfortunately, as this is the ''[[Crapsack World|Berserk]]'' [[Crapsack World|universe]], things turn out badly for him. VERY badly. {{spoiler|Turns out that Gambino was a complete asshole who blamed Guts for the death of his lover Shisu from the plague, and who went as far as to ''have him raped by one of his men'' because he considered Guts "disgusting" and he did not feel that he could be "raised to be loyal like a dog." It all comes to a head when Gambino, having lost a leg in battle, gets drunk and heads into Guts's tent in order to murder him, and Guts has to kill him in self-defense.}}
* A fairly bizarre example occurs in ''[[The Day of Revolution]]'' when an intersexed schoolboy opts for gender reassignment surgery largely because he hopes becoming a girl will mend his broken relationship with his cold and distant father (fortunately it's not his only reason.)
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'''Seto Kaiba:''' The loser suffers a penalty game. That's the rule of Death-T! ''[presses the button]'' }}
*** Mind you, it's also explicitly that he's pissed Mokuba tried to avenge him, since if he lost, that was just dragging the name further in the dust, but if he ''won'' Seto would never have recovered from the humiliation. Still a serious dick move no matter what.
** After Yugi saves Mokuba, the kid explains their backstory with the orphan thing, and after Seto's second, more thorough Mind Crush he gets back his [[Big Brother Instinct]] and then they're a regular devoted pair of [[Morality Chain
* The main character from ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]'' has this relationship towards his father who was killed before he was born.
* Subverted in ''[[Virgin Love|Mens Love]]''. Everyone who knows just who [[Heroic Bastard|Daigo]]'s father is assumes this is why Daigo works so hard. Actually, he just wants to take care of his mom and doesn't even view his dad as a parent, just a difficult employer.
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== Fan Works ==
* Given the importance of this trope to the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|source material]], one can hardly fail to mention ''[[Nobody Dies]]''. Asuka is the gender-inverted version of this trope turned [[Up to Eleven]], to the point where Kyoko is an outright [[Abusive Parent]], but it also remains a facet of Shinji's relationship with his father; Gendo might be a lot less messed up with Yui still at his side, but he isn't prone to overt displays of emotion and it's not always obvious that yes, he ''does'' love his son. They spend a fair chunk of the story working through this.
* Heavily implied in the ''[[X-Men]]'' fanfic ''[[Mutatis Mutandis]]'' by [http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2359030/Artemiss_Liege Artemis's Liege] for Rogue toward Mystique. The latter appears to be the one person the former respects and the reason she bothers to try at her new high school. Unfortunately, though she does care, Mystique sees Rogue as ultimately an agent of the Brotherhood of Mutants for her to brainwash and use against the government.
==
* ''[[Batman]]'', being the emotionally reclusive obsessive vigilante that he is, is generally shown as not showing gratitude, approval, or pretty much any emotion towards his adoptive sons (a.k.a., the Robins), at least for anything short of saving his life. However, they've known him so long that they've can tell when a small nod and an urge to get back to work really means "I'm proud of you." And it often does (how touching).
** It also helps that he does ''tell'' them when they've done good work. He won't gush, but he'll say it. When they have been exceptionally resourceful, he isn't above saying so either:
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'''Nightwing:''' Rest ''easy'', Huntress. That's his ''highest'' praise. }}
** One of the reasons Jason Todd is ''so messed up'' (among many) is that he wants Batman to approve of him, while at the same time believing that Batman never did and wanted to replace him.
** Major [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]: soon after the recent introduction of Damien Wayne, Tim Drake had been feeling somewhat overshadowed, leading him to go out solo in search of information on a recent
** There were a lot of times Batman refused to accept [[Black Sheep|Spoiler]], but there were a few instances that he did. [http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/ScottyQuick/GothamKnights7.jpg " Don't apologize and don't turn it off. I ... don't mind the company."]
** Batman is sometime portrayed as torn between wanting people to carry on the fight after he croaks or retires, and wanting something better for his "kids". One of the reasons he's slow with the praise and quick with the criticism is that part of him ''wants'' his adoptive children to reject his lifestyle and go on to live normal happy ''sane'' lives. That and he's a (self-admitted) bundle of issues. They wisely refuse to take the hint.
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*** On a related note, he sometimes asks Alfred if his father would be proud or ashamed of him....and sometimes he asks Alfred if ''he'' is proud or ashamed of him. Alfred almost always responds that both of them are proud of him, sometimes even if he never asked. Alfred, after all, has always seen Bruce as a son, just as Bruce has always seen Alfred as a second father.
** This is how Damian views Bruce, and the core of their relationship in the New 52. It's not that Bruce doesn't appreciate Damien, but he has no idea how to be an actual father to Damian, and has difficulty trying to express his feelings to him, both as Robin's mentor and as Damien's dad. Alfred is trying to help him figure it out.
* In [[Marvel Comics|Marvel's]] (and now [[Devils Due]]'s) ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' continuity, Storm Shadow felt unwanted and underappreciated after his uncles praised Snake-Eyes's abilities above even his own. However, in a subversion, an assassin uses this resentment, which is by that point out in the open, to frame Storm Shadow for killing his
* Ajak from [[Marvel Universe|Marvel's Eternals]] used to be the only Eternal who could directly communicate with the Golden Celestial. Ajak took this as a sign of favoritism and did all he could to learn about the Celestials. After the series had a reboot, it was revealed that Makkari was the Celestial's favorite. Ajak did not take the news well.
** Ajak was made to talk to the Celestials whenever they show up, it's just ''this'' one isn't like the others and likes Makkari (and [[Iron Man]]) better.
* In ''[[Superman]]'' comics, Lois Lane has something like this going on with her father, Major Sam Lane. Her sister Lucy appears to have it even worse in recent{{when}} appearances.
* Subverted in the [[Furry Fandom|furry comic]], ''[[Associated Student Bodies]]'', where one of the main characters told the story of his childhood being physically abused by his drunken father so badly that he was driven to drink himself, stealing his father's booze. Eventually, the wolf cub grew up tall and strong enough to fight back effectively enough give his father a furious beating. However, even while he was lying in a pool of blood, his father's only comment was an admiring one, "'Bout time you were a man." For his part, the cub was completely disgusted by this perverse admiration of bloody violence and left his father to enlist in the military as soon he could.
* Harry Osborn of ''[[Spider-Man]]'', anyone?
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* Most incarnations of Quicksilver are this with Magneto, but Ultimate Quicksilver has this in spades - Magneto repeatedly condescends towards him, and even requests that Cyclops {{spoiler|call him 'Father' in Quicksilver's presence}} - until finally {{spoiler|Quicksilver betrays his dad}} after being 'treated like dirt under your shoe his whole life', then puts on that iconic helmet in private after thinking {{spoiler|that Magneto really died}}. He does the helmet thing all over again at {{spoiler|the end of the Ultimates series}}.
** Not to mention getting it on with his sister Scarlet Witch (hot or squick, YMMV)... When {{spoiler|Magneto}} returns, he shoots {{spoiler|out both of Quicksilver's knees (not for betraying him, but for sissyfying his organization)}}, but later seems to show concern over {{spoiler|his son's}} condition.
* Kalibak ''lives'' for the approval of his father [[Darkseid]]. Darkseid repays Kalibak's devotion by constantly snubbing him in favor of Orion and giving Kalibak the Omega treatment whenever he fails to meet Darkseid's impossible
** Darkseid's other sons don't share Kalibak's desire for approval. Orion ''loathes'' his father and is a sworn enemy of Darkseid and Apokolips. [[The Unfavorite|Grayven]] constantly tries to escape his father's shadow one way or
* In ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', Gen. Armand D'Coolette's pride in his son, Antoine, wasn't quite obvious to the latter until the former was [[Tear Jerker|on his deathbed]] in issue #168.
* ''[[All Fall Down]]'' has IQ Squared and his father, IQ. {{spoiler|He gets his dad's respect in the end, but for something he didn't actually do.}}
* In DC's super-hero parody comic ''The Inferior Five'', this is true for ''all five'' members of the team. They're incompetent as heroes, they ''know'' it, they don't ''want'' to be heroes, but they want their parents - more competent heroes who are now retired - to be proud of them.
== Films -- Animation ==
* In Disney's [[Tarzan]], Tarzan is constantly seeking the approval of Kerchak, who refuses to accept Tarzan as a member of the gorilla pack, much less as his adopted son. That all changes when Tarzan [[Big Damn Heroes|comes back to save them]]. Sadly, it doesn't last that long, as {{spoiler|Kerchak receives a fatal bullet wound from Clayton. After Clayton's death, Tarzan kneels over Kerchak, who passes on leadership of the pack to Tarzan and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|even acknowledges Tarzan as his son]] [[Famous Last Words|with his last words]].}}
* The direct-to-DVD movie ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|Kronk's New Groove]]'' is focused around Kronk desperately attempting to impress his
* In ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'', part of Tai Lung's motivation is feeling betrayed by his de facto father, Shifu, for not standing up to Master Oogway when the turtle refused to dub him Dragon Warrior after working so hard to impress him. Conversely, Shifu feels profoundly guilty for having raised such a bully and only finds peace in training Po, who effectively becomes a new son for him. For his part, Po grows to see Shifu as a second father and strives to live up to his hopes, although Po loves his (obviously) official adoptive father no less.
** And true to form, while the pride Po's father has for him is mostly implied by his acceptance of the panda as a Kung Fu warrior instead of a noodle-maker, Shifu actually comes right out and tells Tai Lung that he was always proud of him, that he'd had his respect all along ([[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|then he had to go and ruin it by turning evil, of course]]).
** Also, it is implied that Tigress has been training her entire life to earn Shifu's approval, but he has been too guilty over his failure with Tai Lung to give it to her.
*** This is explained in the Short film ''Secrets of the Furious Five''
*** There is more than that. Tigress clearly sees herself as an unloved, unpraised, second-rate [[Replacement Goldfish]] for Tai Lung and blames Tai Lung for breaking Shifu's heart and making him the [[Jerkass]] he is in the beginning. Funny that Tai Lung accuses Shifu of exactly the same lack of love and approval (except that being the [[Evil Counterpart]] he actually snaps as a result). While they are wrong about Shifu, the latter's parenting techniques clearly suck.
* In an interesting variation, happens twice to Simba of ''[[The Lion King]]'' (though [[Sequelitis|with decidedly less subtlety the second time around]]). Although by no means an emotionally distant father, Mufasa is often rather preoccupied with the duties of the throne, and little Simba certainly sees him as a hero, worshiping the ground his paws tread upon. But there is no indication Simba ever doubts he has his father's love or respect...until Scar convinces him he is to blame for his father's death. Then, overcome with remorse and believing no one could ever forgive him, he voluntarily goes into exile. It is Mufasa's ghost, reminding him of his place in the Circle and telling him "You are my son and the one true king," that sets him back on the right path again. And with a simple, single word, "Remember..." he lets his son know he is very proud of him indeed.
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* Again from [[Pixar]], Remy from ''[[Ratatouille]]'' tries his best to show his father that he can be a chef and get along with humans, despite both these things seeming impossible due to them being rats.
* In ''[[Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs]]'', Flint wants his father's approval, and {{spoiler|finally gets it with the help of a monkey translator. Revealing he was always proud of his son, he was just unable to say it}}.
* Both Mario ''and'' Donkey Kong are this in ''[[The Super Mario Bros Movie]]''. In fact, when each learns that the other has a father who "thinks I'm a joke!" they realize they're [[Not So Different]], which leads to becoming [[Fire-Forged Friends]]. Both get a [[So Proud of You]] from their respective fathers by the end of the movie.
== Films -- Live-Action ==
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** Bender lives '''down''' to his parents' expectations.
* The Master is this to Chang Lee in ''[[Doctor Who]]: [[The Movie]]'', although this was more apparent in the novelisation than the film.
* Emperor Commodus in ''[[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]]'' is a ''very'' odd example of this. He {{spoiler|murders his father}} to become
* In ''[[Hamlet 2]]'', most of protagonist Dana Marschz's hang-ups and neuroses (which are presented in a [[Creator Breakdown|not-at-all-subtle fashion in the titular play]]) can seemingly be directly traced back to his difficult relationship with his father. Curiously, in this example the father doesn't actually appear; as such, Dana appears to have adopted the tight-ass principal of the high school where he teaches as something of a warped substitute, going so far as to screech "[[Freudian Slip|You never believed in me, Daddy, I hate you!!!]]" in the middle of an argument with him completely out of the blue, and then having the principal kidnapped and forcibly made to watch the play so that he can get his approval.
* Indy and Short Round trade hats in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]''. Trust me, it's ''way'' more important in context.
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* Billy in ''[[Buffalo '66]]'' hates both of his parents but still thrives to impress them, going so far as to kidnap a beautiful woman so he can pretend she's his wife.
* In ''[[The Guardian]]'', rescue swimmer trainee keeps trying to earn the respect of the class instructor, Ben Randall.
* [[The Paper Chase (film)|''The Paper Chase'']]: Hart idolizes Professor Kingsfield, who doesn't even admit to recognizing him at the end of the school year.
== Literature ==
* Neville Longbottom from ''[[Harry Potter]]''. Throughout the series Neville is the [[Butt Monkey]], the lamest, most pathetic wizard in existence. All he wants is to live up to his parents' legacy, and it's mentioned how his grandmother was so ashamed of his clumsiness. Then after his epic [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], in both The Battle at the Ministry, and in ''[[
** Also, to some extent, Ron Weasley. He's always been [[Overshadowed by Awesome|overshadowed by his brothers]] and simply wants to be set apart, and earn the recognition of his parents. However, the Weasley family is an extremely loving one, so while he doesn't necessarily feel "special" in their eyes, he does know that he's loved.
** Also Draco Malfoy, although more so in the films than in the books. Draco obviously worships his father and is constantly trying to live up to his considerable reputation.
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* Tywin Lannister plays this role in George R.R. Martin's ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''; the desire to please him pushes Tyrion and Jaime, though neither would admit it. As is typical of the series, Tywin never provides validation, especially for Tyrion. Well, not the ''typical'' form of validation. {{spoiler|Of course, this leads to him contracting an unfortunate fatal case of crossbow-bolt-through-bowels [[Karmic Death|at the hands of, naturally, his son Tyrion]].}} Even after that, it serves to motivate Jaime, to the point that one aunt has to point out to him that Tyrion is much more Tywin-esque than Jaime.
** It seems to drive [[Smug Snake|Cersei]] (to a lesser extent) as well, although she flip flops between [[Daddy's Girl|wanting to make him proud]] and wanting to become so much greater than him that he would only be remembered as her father, [[Never a Self-Made Woman|instead of the other way around.]]
** Theon Greyjoy seems to have a case of this towards his father Balon. His feelings toward surrogate father Ned Stark are even more conflicted, which is unsurprising given Theon's dual role of hostage/ward. He at times finds himself wondering what Stark would say to some particular deed and then becomes angry with himself for caring. Thus far, the net result is that he's managed to totally alienate himself from the Greyjoys ''and'' the
** In a ''very'' twisted sense, Joffrey Baratheon is like this towards Robert, irritating Tywin immensely as he had been given to understand Joffrey did not care for Robert and is pissed the little brat shows some pride at being a Baratheon rather than a Lannister.
** [[Knight in Sour Armor|Jon Snow]] seems to greatly desire [[The Stoic|Eddard Stark's]] approval, to the point that he has a few dreams about being [[So Proud of You|accepted as a true Stark]] and given the rights to Winterfell. He suffers a lot of guilt over that last part though, given [[Heroic Bastard|his status]]. {{spoiler|While Ned did love and respect him and wanted to tell him so, Joffrey's interference meant he would never get the chance. Made more complex by recent hints that Ned might not actually be Jon's father at all}}
* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[War of the Dreaming|Mists of Everness]],'' there are not one but two examples in the same family. [[Handicapped Badass|Peter]] regarding his father's [[Ancient Tradition]]; Peter's son [[Kid Hero|Galen]] regarding his [[I Just Want to Be Normal|father]].
* In Steve Perry's ''[[Matador Series|Black Steel]]'', it's revealed that the brash revolutionary Sleel is the son of the two most famous botanists alive - who are both [[Absent-Minded Professor|Absent Minded Professors]] who care only about their work. Sleel's father in particular is very dismissive of everything his son has ever achieved, since it doesn't involve botany or genetic engineering. Sleel has known all this from childhood, but can't help trying to get their acknowledgment and approval when visiting them during the course of the book.
* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer
** Prior to the storyline Captain Nathaniel Garro had craved validation from Mortarion but finds himself moving away from his primarch's ideals at the time the book starts and Solun Decius is desperate to live up to Garro's expectations {{spoiler|despite the cancer from hell (pun intended) infecting his body}}. By extension this trope probably applies to most of the Deathguard, considering that those who sided with Mortarion are known for worshipping ''Father'' Nurgle.
* Jochi in the ''[[Conqueror]]'' books is constantly trying to gain some small measure of the respect his father, Genghis Khan, [[Parental Favoritism|showers on his younger brothers]]. No matter how successful as a warrior and general Jochi is, he never gets more than a reluctant, grunting acknowledgement that he's done something right.
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** Bluestar, whose father Stormtail was just distant from his kits.
** Crookedstar. His mother Rainflower doted on him and his brother, but when he broke his jaw as a kit ruining his "handsome" appearance, [[Abusive Parents|she became outright abusive]], rarely visiting him in the medicine cat's den and refusing to let the other kits visit him to keep his spirits up, renaming him from Stormkit to Crookedkit, making him sleep alone in the nursery, and frequently saying that he would never be as good as his brother. One of his goals in life was to make her proud of him.
* In Simon Spurrier's ''[[Warhammer
* The title character Adeline from ''Chinese Cinderella'' is this trope cranked [[Up to Eleven]]. She constantly tries to get approval from pretty much everyone in the household. Feeling honored to play with her siblings, anyone?
* In ''[[Maximum Ride]]'', Jeb's son Ari becomes this in the second book, hanging out with the copycat Max to make Jeb mad, and also coming up with a plan to take Max for his own. The plan eventually gets Jeb to notice him, which makes him happy enough to go out and steal a Game Boy. So...
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* Inverted in one of the two third [[Red Dwarf (novel)|Red Dwarf]] novels (it's confusing), ''Last Human''. Arnold Rimmer is understandably dejected when his {{spoiler|long lost son has been sorely disappointed to learn that the heroic feats of his father were a fiction invented by his mother and that the reality is that his father is a sniveling coward. Then, in the end, Rimmer performs an incredibly brave (if a bit reckless) feat; even though he kind of screws up the execution (though it does accomplish the intended end) his son, looking on, is incredibly proud of the act. Seeing his son beaming with pride, Rimmer is finally freed of the neurosis that have plagued his entire existence which ultimately leads to him selflessly volunteering for a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}.
* In ''Trickster's Choice'' of the [[Tortall Universe]], despite knowing her mother loves her, Aly feels that her mother doesn't understand her and underestimates her abilities. However, through one of her dreams where she can see what her mother is doing, she realizes that Alanna does understand and trust Aly and knows she has the talents to survive.
* There's a bit of an inversion in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]. After he dies, Anakin Skywalker becomes a Force ghost. He appears briefly to Luke in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' but says nothing; a hundred twenty years later, in [[Star Wars Legacy]], he speaks to a [[
** Later in the EU she doesn't quite forgive him, but she does come to terms with who he was; she names her third child "Anakin" (who, for his part, was not too happy for being saddled with such a name, but it sort of helped keep him from the Dark Side).
* One could also say that Heather Acosta from the [[Sammy Keyes]] books qualifies. Heather's relationship with her mother and father is a far cry from what Sammy has with her grandmother. Her mom seems to be going through some sort of mid-life crisis and her father admitted that he'd want a retraining order against her. The fact the Casey seems to be their father's favorite has led to some problems (among other things) between the siblings. It's been hinted in the series that this maybe the reason why Heather act's
* [[The Lord of the Rings]]: As noted in the Film category, poor Faramir was [[The Unfavorite]], though he fared slightly better than his movie counterpart.
* Will in [[His Dark Materials]] grew up never knowing his father, and states outright in ''The Subtle Knife'' that he wants to find his father so that he can hear the words "Well done, son." When they finally do meet, {{spoiler|his father is killed within seconds of Will realizing it's him.}} However, {{spoiler|Will finally gets his wish in the third book when he meets his father in ghost-form.}}
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** Angel himself clearly feels this about his father.
*** Angelus later sired an enthusiastic but unimaginative protege named Penn who re-enacted the murder of his family over the centuries over the issue.
** In a deliberate parallel to Angel, Kate Lockley is implied to have had a strained relationship with her father. While not a cruel man, her father never showed her any approval or affection after her mother
*** The Sensitivity Training Guy with his magic stick causes her to have a breakdown and express her feelings about this at his retirement party. He finds this deeply embarrassing and files it under 'We Shall Never Speak Of This Again.' Later he dies without ever having formally approved of her. This is not in the least Angel's fault, for once, but it involves vampires and puts the final nail in the coffin of his friendship with Kate until After The Fall.
**** The former episode throws in a weird perspective on Angel's issues re: this trope. This is before the flashback, but Sensitivity Training Guy says "tell me about your parents" and ''Angel'' snarls "They were delicious." Sounds like the kind of smack he talks when trying to scare bad guys and actually seems to lower the probability that he killed them, but then it turns out he ''did'', and can make ''jokes'' about it. Sick puppy even at his best.
* ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'': Wes Collins and both his [[Meddling Parents|controlling father]] and his [[Always Someone Better]] [[Identical Grandson|Identical Descendant]] Alex.
** ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'': Shane and his brother. (Funny that [[
** ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury]]'': RJ and his dad, who's disappointed he didn't follow family tradition and become a Shark-style Pai Zhua master. (RJ's still a master, he just went with Wolf-style instead.)
** ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'': Scott and Flynn, with Scott's brother being [[Always Someone Better]] and Flynn's dad not thinking much of his [[Wide Eyed Idealism]]. The latter is resolved in Flynn's flashback episode, while the former is an ongoing thread in the series.
* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'': Variation: Lorelai has long since resigned herself to never earning the respect of her [[Meddling Parents]], though she's pleasantly surprised to finally get it from her father after she helps him set up his new business. In a total reversal, though, she's actually ''horrified'' whenever she earns the respect of her mother.
* ''[[NCIS]]'': Tony. So. Much. When he's not being a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]], his desperate need to impress [[Big Brother Mentor|Gibbs]] makes him almost a [[The Woobie|Woobie]].
** Tony's real dad appears in an episode originally aired in January 2009. Yes, ''that''
** In season nine episode "The Penelope Papers" it is revealed {{spoiler|1=that McGee- has almost exactly same issues with his own father.}} Since before it has also been clear that Ziva was brought up with a authoritarian father, seeking his approval.
* ''[[The West Wing]]'': "The Two Bartlets", Toby points out that the President is haunted by the need to make his father like him.
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*** President Bartlet may not have been able to get his own father to love or approve of him, but his real "well done, son" guy is his chief of staff, Leo McGarry- (played by the late John Spencer). Just before a debate between Bartlet and the Republican candidate, Leo gives Bartlet a beautiful smile and says "There's no such thing as too smart. There's nothing you can do that's not going to make me proud of you."
** The President himself is the guy to [[The Unfavorite|his daughter Ellie.]] [[Tear Jerker|"The only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was to come home at the end of the day."]]
* On ''[[
* On ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]].'', Brisco gets his "Well done, son" moment after an encounter with the ghost of his father (who was murdered in the first episode of the series).
* Subverted in the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' episode "Better Than Life", when Rimmer reflects he never heard his father say he was proud of him, before entering the titular [[Lotus Eater Machine]]. In the fantasy world he is an incredibly popular and successful figure, but when his father appears, it's to fulfill the Cat's fantasy of hearing him call Rimmer a total smeghead.
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** Also, in one episode, Turk pined after Dr. Cox's acceptance.
* Spencer Shay in ''[[iCarly]]'' during the episode ''iHire An Idiot'', but with his grandfather.
* Used almost straight in ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', in which Michael is constantly trying to get his
** Michael is so busy trying to save the company and get his father's approval he doesn't notice his own son's attempts to gain his approval.
* On ''[[Smallville]]'', Lex's (arguably) main reason for becoming evil is the fact his father never gave him any credit. So one of the richest men in the world, who created an {{spoiler|army of clones, studied spaceships and had a prison for superhumans}}, was unhappy, ''all because his father (Lionel) wouldn't say "Well done, son."'' And then he {{spoiler|kills Lionel in Season 7.}} Talk about messed up.
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{{quote|'''Christopher:''' I have my own TV show and production company!
'''Dad:''' And that shit got cancelled, didn't it! }}
* Dean (from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'') has gotten so little show of his dad’s approval despite always following his orders and being a good hunter that in the Season One Finale, when his dad (possessed by the [[Big Bad]]) tells Dean how proud he is that Dean brought the Colt and used a bullet to save Sam's life, Dean realizes he’s possessed and puts the gun on
** Even when Dean gets an attaboy and sign of trust from his father, it comes with a [[Dark Secret]] that endangers his relationship with his brother, and then his dad dies for him. Since Dean just wants his family to be with him and happy, that's about the worst sort of fatherly recognition he could get.
** Sam feels the same need for his father's approval, but acts out against his father's wishes instead of trying to act as the perfect son Dean struggles to be. Mainly because Sam feels like his flaw is what he ''is'', and not something he can change, whereas Dean thinks that if he just ''does'' enough, he can earn approval.
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** Dexter, too. Everything was to live up to Harry's expectations. When he realizes that a) Harry was using him as an outlet for his own vigilante impulses and b) Harry was deeply revolted by what he'd made him into, to the point of suicide, he...takes it pretty hard.
* Stephen Colbert of ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' makes occasional vague references such as "the fathers we can never seem to please." His need for paternal approval appears to have been mostly displaced onto substitutes such as "Papa Bear" [[Bill O Reilly|Bill O'Reilly]].
** Ironic since Colbert fears and hates
* ''[[Lost]]'': Jack's father, Christian, has, in his own words "sacrificed certain elements of [his] relationship" with Jack in order to mold Jack into a great surgeon. An emotional conversation in which Sawyer relays Christian's last thoughts about his son to Jack gives him some closure...but it's not until the series finale that {{spoiler|Jack encounters his father in the "flashsideways," subsequently revealed to be the afterlife, and they have their true reunion}}.
** Jack almost follows in his father's footsteps when dealing with his own son, David...except {{spoiler|David doesn't exist and is a creation of Jack's afterlife used to help him with his father issues}}.
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** This is also a huge issue of Barney's, as multiple episodes show, most notably 'Showdown' and 'Cleaning House', and he doesn't even know who his father is.
** He has now met his father, and after getting radically worse, he may actually be getting better.
* Flashbacks in the finale of [[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|the rebooted ''
** The show also features the less common mother-daughter variant of this trope, when Kara Thrace goes to see her mother {{spoiler|after earning her commission as a Colonial officer - the first in her family to do so - only to be berated for not graduating higher in her class}}. The fact that her mother was frequently abusive during her childhood in the belief that Kara had a [[Because Destiny Says So|"special destiny"]] means their relationship was already....''strained'', [[It Got Worse|to say the least of it]].
* ''[[Gossip Girl]]''s Chuck Bass.
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* ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''. Legs in "The Greatest Mother of them All"/"Ma Parker."
== Newspaper Comics ==
* ''[[Peanuts]]'':
** Charlie Brown; [[Word of God| Sparky claimed]] numerous times that most of the strips where Charlie Brown's father was mentioned were based on memories of his own father.
** Snoopy and his siblings are this too, admiring his father for befriending rabbits.
** Peppermint Patty is a [[Daddy's Girl]] who both admires and worries about her father.
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Bliss Stage]]:'' The definition of Josh Preston's relationship to the [[GMP Cthe|Authority Figure --]] his father Jim Preston.
* The Emperor to the Primarchs of ''[[Warhammer
** That should be "Welcome to the ''31st'' Millennium". Now, to get to the ''41st'' Millennium, all you need to add is a [[Horde of Alien Locusts]], a nigh-unstoppable uprising by [[Omnicidal Maniac]] [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|zombie robots]], and trillions ''more'' people dying.
** And said Emperor living a horrible half-life powered only by constant psychic sacrifice to allow him to stave off the abominations of the warp from destroying all life in the universe (The '''best case''' scenario involves them "only" killing everyone). All the while humanity goes on to commit daily atrocities in his name.
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== Video Games ==
* The Kid, from ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]'', a game whose [[Story to Gameplay Ratio|extremely peripheral story]] involves nothing more than an incredibly hard quest to become The Guy. The Kid wants to become The Guy. The Father of The Kid is The Guy. The Kid is sent on his quest by Former Grandfather The Guy, who was replaced as The Guy by The Father The Guy, who The Kid now seeks to replace in turn to become The Guy. It doesn't get much more
* The Prince in [[Katamari Damacy]] seeks nothing but the King of All Cosmos' approval, and for good reason: disapproval means [[More Dakka]] eye beams.
** In later games we find out that the King had a similar relationship with his father.
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* In an example of the hero's friend, Sora reveals at the end of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' that he's always striven to be as good at everything as his best friend, Riku. This was hinted at in the beginning of the original game, as well. In true form, Riku also reveals that he was always jealous of the way his friend lived his life.
* Bosch from ''[[Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter]]'' is ''seriously'' messed up because of this reason. All throughout his childhood, his dad put him through ridiculous training (including making him fight a monster ''three times'' his size) and still wouldn't give him the praise he wanted. This left him willing to do anything necessary to get ahead in life which included [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|nearly murdering his former partner,]] [[Appendage Assimilation|grafting a monster's arm onto himself]] and [[Sealed Evil in a Can|linking with an ancient, evil dragon in return for it's powers.]]
* As shown in [https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mkwikia/images/f/fa/1427603296316.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150329121513| this comic book adaptation] of ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' even Goro is ashamed at the thought of failing in front of his father.
* Liquid Snake from ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' may have been this at one point, but has built up a deep-rooted resentment for his father as well as the one his father ''did'' show approval of: Solid Snake.
** ''[[The Last Days of Foxhound]]'' [[Character Exaggeration|exaggarates]] this part of Liquid's character to ridiculous proportions. Then it's revealed that Big Boss is doing it on purpose to help manipulate the boy better.
** Solid Snake himself in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' doesn't feel like he's accomplished anything until {{spoiler|Big Boss shows up to tell him 'well done'.}}
* This is one of the basics for the [[
** Speaking of ''[[Fire Emblem]]'', let's not forget Prince Zephiel. Ever dutiful, ever charismatic Prince of Bern whose wish is just for his family to reconcile, by having his father acknowledge him. Poor kid doesn't know that his father is very much a [[Jerkass]] who really wants him dead. When Zephiel learns it the hard way, [[Nietzsche Wannabe|take a wild guess what Zephiel turns into]].
** Another [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Fire Emblem 7]] example is [[Badass Adorable|Nino]]. All she wants is to earn Sonia's love and approval, and even agrees to go on a dangerous mission in which she would very well be killed ''just'' for the reward of her mother holding her hand and stroking her face.
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** Meanwhile, if you have the spacer background, [[Player Character|Commander Shepard]] gets to have a nice friendly chat with his/her mother.
** [[Reasonable Authority Figure|David Anderson]] in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC for the second game is revealed to have this relationship with his own son due to Anderson's workaholic nature estranging him from his family. The fact that he states that [[I Have No Son|he doesn't have children]] in the third game is either a continuity error or that they are ''really'' distant.
** It may be easier to mention the characters who don't have fathers like these: [[The Hero|Shepard]], due to his/her parents being either dead, absent, or [[Averted Trope|in the military themselves]], [[Token Evil Teammate|Jack]], who never knew her parents, but [[Ax Crazy|makes up for it in other ways]], and [[Good
{{quote|'''Shepard:''' How's your focus, EDI? Any big questions?
'''EDI:''' No.
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* ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'': According to the "Meet the Sniper" video, the Sniper's parents do not care for the Sniper's career choice. He spends quite a bit of the video speaking on the phone to his unseen father, who seems to think that the Sniper's some kind of crazed gunman.
** The Demoman's mother, on the other hand, disapproves of the fact that he only works three jobs and hasn't yet rid himself of more than a single eye.
== Visual Novels ==
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== Web Comics ==
* Kazuo of ''[[Red String]]'' wants his father's approval so badly that he dumps his girlfriend that he loves dearly, resigns himself to an arranged marriage with a childhood friend he doesn't love that way, works at a job he hates, stops doing any of his
* Gilgamesh Wulfenbach in ''[[Girl Genius]]'' spends his every waking moment (when not obsessing over Agatha) trying to live up to his Machiavellian father's expectations (who pushes Gil to the breaking point so that Gil [[Zen Survivor|won't go through what he did]]). Klaus ''does'' praise Gil upon completing difficult tasks, but the poor kid is usually too annoyed by the circumstances to really appreciate it. Klaus is [[Seen It All|rarely visibly impressed]] and thus easily comes across as dismissive. He was [[So Proud of You|really enthusiastic]] only when saw Gil [[One-Man Army|defeating a mechanized army, single-handed]].
** Though, eventually, Klaus spells it out. Ironically, it's a mistake (he thinks Gil ''intentionally'' sent to catch Agatha someone guaranteed to kill her, rather than doing so by accident).
{{quote|'''Klaus:''' It seems I have misjudged you.
'''Gil:''' [suspicious] Is this another test?
'''Klaus:''' Erk. Please, don't make me laugh. Owch. No. No more tests, my son. The time for such things is over. }}
** Gil made it to the age of ten or so completely ignorant of his heritage, and Klaus only revealed it when he broke into his own records and found the embarrassing decoy story. This was probably primarily to keep him safe, but combined with all the tests later on it instilled in Gil the conviction that he had to ''earn'' the right to be Gilgamesh Wulfenbach.
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** That said, they have a strong mutual affection and Gil never seems to doubt that his father ''cares'', or even that he ''wants'' him...it's just that he can't be completely sure Klaus won't kill him or set him aside if he has to for the good of Europa. On the other hand, Klaus frequently looks down on the kid, but hasn't tried to shape his personality for anything but generic 'strength;' his lab at the beginning of the story contained no weapons whatsoever. (Subsequent events have required him to develop a more militant bent. Klaus seems to have been relying on the Spark to bring those qualities out when they were actually needed.) Basically, the closest to a healthy version of this trope you can get, considering there's an empire involved and both parties are [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder|congenitally insane]].
* The plot of the "So What IS a McNinja?" arc in ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'': Dan and Mitzi McNinja are very disappointed in their son for becoming a Doctor rather than an assassin. Interestingly, the Doctor realizes that gaining his parents' respect with his medical skills is a hopeless task, so he decides to show them that he's "a damn good ninja!" as well.
** Meanwhile, his younger brother Sean still has
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', the reason Roy Greenhilt took on the story's main quest was to prove his worth to his egocentric, self-centered father. He eventually comes to realise that his father simply isn't worth it, and that nothing he can say will ever make him change. He gives up on him entirely, not even bothering with [[Calling the Old Man Out]], and goes so far as to make his father promise not to ever visit his family from the
** Nale also feels this way to his [[Evil Overlord]] father. Nale wants to prove that he can be even better [[Big Bad]] material than the old man, and he wants him to acknowledge that.
* In ''[[Endstone]]'', [http://endstone.net/2009/02/21/issue-1-page-4/ Cole stole her mother's Endstone to attempt to win her father's love.]
* In ''[[DDG]]'' Zip, it turns out, feels this way towards 'Netta since she see 'Netta as a [https://web.archive.org/web/20140504043113/http://www.sincomics.com/phpAlbum/main.php?cmd=imageview&var1=DDG%2FPages+100%2B%2FDDG120.jpg&var2=2 surrogate mother] and could never get validation from her own mum.
* In ''[[The Specialists]]'', [http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-85/ Henry]. He's a jerk, a bigot and a Casanova
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** A similar setup is played for tragedy with [[Big Bad|Fire Lord Ozai]] and [[Daddy's Little Villain|Princess Azula]]. Ozai explains to Azula that he needs someone that he completely trusts to watch over Fire Nation while he {{spoiler|goes off to burn and conquer the world}}, but Azula takes it as a rejection. After all, it was ''her'' idea in the first place. And her mother Ursa clearly favored Zuko, being a nice person. {{spoiler|Feeling rejected by both of her parents ''and'' her friends, Azula descends into an epic [[Villainous Breakdown]].}}
*** Well, she takes it as rejection because it IS rejection. Ozai basically blows her off and gives her a useless title because he just learned that she's not as trustworthy as he thought her to be. We hardly see father and daughter interact much, but this scene really shows that Azula wants Daddy's approval and love just as much as Zuko once did.
*** She took on ''[[Physical God|the Avatar]]'' and his teachers armed with ''nothing but a knife'' for the man, while he hid out in his bunker during the eclipse. Even as a [[Magnificent Bastard]] who's aware that the opponents are [[Technical Pacifist
*** And the poor girl's only ''fourteen years old''.
* On ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'', the character Goose Lee fills this role for Darkwing. He was Darkwing's sensei in the art of quack fu, and he perpetually refers to Darkwing as a disappointment, for his reliance on crime-busting gadgets and machines, his poor judgment around ninja, and his inability to master the all-important quack fu technique, the belly bounce.
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*** In a later episode, he at least earns {{spoiler|his biological father's}} respect.
** A similar example happens in another episode, but with the daughter Meg instead. She gains Peter's respect at the end of the episode and he reveals to her that he actually does love her, despite his inexplicable abuse. He tells her that when they're alone, he'll be nice to her, but he'll be a jerk to her whenever anyone else is around.
* Jonas Venture Sr. in ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' is the quintessential
** Somewhat repeated with the boys. Although the fact they are mostly retarded doesn't help. Hank has this towards Brock mostly, but both of them often show the desire to be praised by their cold, uncaring, [[Jerkass]] dad.
*** Episodes in the third season revealed that Jonas Sr. was a complete [[Jerkass]]. An episode in season four reveals {{spoiler|that the dads or caretakers of boy adventurers seem to be terrible in one way or another.}} However by the end Rusty decides that for all his faults he's better off than others who shared his fate.
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** Shoot, the first episode he appeared in was called "Father's Day".
* A daughter example with Helen and her dad in ''[[The Goode Family]]''. Charlie frequently ridicules his daughter's liberal belief and insults her in any given opportunity. Helen is so desperate for his approval that she even let an ugly animal he adopts stay with her.
* The only person who ever seemed to get to the infamous David Xanatos of ''[[Gargoyles]]''
** Also a subversion in that his father's disapproval is actually pretty understandable given [[Manipulative Bastard|what]] [[Affably Evil|Xanatos is]] [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|like.]]
** Xanatos's wife Fox completely inverts this trope: her father just wants her to show the slightest respect for honor, morality, heck, even respect for other people's property rights, and he'd give her his full approval and mega-corporation in an instant. Instead, she tries to bankrupt him so her husband can buy the business, because she considers corporate espionage and sabotage ''more fun''.
** Goliath and Angela get a moment of this when he finally acknowledges her as his daughter - not because he hadn't approved of her, but because gargoyles in his clan traditionally didn't keep track of their own offspring, and he really doesn't like abandoning or changing 'the gargoyle way'.
*** Not to mention that he doesn't want her focusing on her [[Fantastic Racism]]-fueled biological ''mother''...
* Jeff's one and only motivation in ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
** Don't forget poor Grim! He pretended to become a country rock star just to please his father, only to discover later that his father would have preferred having the Grim Reaper for a son (and, of course, now will not believe Grim to be the Reaper).
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', it's been often implied through flashbacks and certain episodes that Homer very much had a relationship like this with his father Abe, which would explain why Homer has such a numb and uncaring sentiment towards his dad now during Abe's old age. This was particularly looked at in the episode "Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy".
* Ulrich Stern from ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', especially in Season 1.
* Cleveland Jr. is developing shades of this in ''[[The Cleveland Show]]''.
* Remy Buxaplenty on ''[[The Fairly
* Rameses in ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'' stubbornly refuses to let the Hebrews go because he believes his father, Seti, would view this as a sign of weakness. "I will not be the [[Ironic Echo|weak link]]!"
* Something that Danny, the titular character from [[Danny Phantom]] wants. His parents are ghost hunters, and his alter-ego is the ghost Phantom that they hate and want to 'rip apart molecule by molecule.' He's understandably afraid of this, and tries to make them grow to respect his ghost-half.
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** Which is nothing compared to Doof's feelings about his own [[Abusive Parents]].
{{quote|"So, what am ''I'' gonna do with the [[Out-of-Character Moment|Least-Likely-Inator]], you ask? Make my [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|daughter]] ''obey'' me, make my father ''love'' me? No, and double-no! Well, maybe later."}}
* Twilight Sparkle of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' is this not toward her parents, but her mentor [[Physical God|Princess Celestia]]. She values being a good student and the idea of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2
* Ahsoka Tano from [[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]. Pretty much the only thing that genuinly worries her, is disappointing her master, Anakin. {{spoiler|Well was, until the [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|Season3 finale]].}}
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* Depression and other fun psychological issues often manifest from this.
* All the traditional Eastern martial arts seem to be based on this: your seniors might occasionally be encouraging, but Sifu (or Sensei) will at best give you a little "That didn't stink quite so much" nod.
** Similarly, some schools of Eastern philosophy, particularly Zen, have long traditions of tricking, befuddling, and abusing students in ways that resemble practical jokes more than anything. See if you can tell which of [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612170314/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/20DamianHaas.html the following examples] are traditional Zen koans and which are just someone being a dick.
* Daughter example: English queens [[The House of Tudor|Mary I and Elizabeth I]] were desperate for attention and approval from their misogynistic father, [[Henry VIII]], which had a lot to do with their respective styles of ruling and general personalities. That, and the way he treated their mothers.
* [[Queen Victoria]], according to several biographers, had this type of relationship with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and the Duchess's [[Evil Chancellor|evil advisor]], Sir John Conroy. The only thing of value the Duchess "owned" was her daughter, the heiress presumptive to the throne, and in order to capitalize on the fact, they demanded that Victoria be ''perfect''. Nothing was ever good enough, which Victoria's diary entries show caused her a great deal of angst.
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[[Category:Parental Issues]]
[[Category:Bollywood Tropes]]
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[[Category:"Well Done, Son" Guy]]▼
[[Category:Dysfunctional Family Tropes]]
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