Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

In media, the symptoms of attention deficit disorders tend to be exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Sufferers seem to be on a constant caffeine high. They are unable to maintain focus on anything for more than a few minutes before getting distracted by a shiny object, hence the trope title.

 

This trope is not to be confused with-- [[Self-Demonstrating Article|oh, wow! Look at all the examples!]]

 

* Sakura, an [[Ill Girl]] from ''[[Betterman]]''. Her ADHD is only referred to once, but it's a severe case, and she receives heavy, ''heavy'' medication for it. Also, while she ''can'' be considered a [[Cloudcuckoolander]], she's a thoroughly creepy and tragic [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant]].

* ''All'' of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]''—the ''entire series'', as well as its [[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo]]—happens because Nozomi gets distracted one morning before school and chases a passing butterfly. In a later episode, she displayed more realistic ADHD symptoms. ADHD was never explicitly mentioned, but much like Cosmo, the intention was clear.

'''Yotsuba''': (Pointing out to the side) Ah! A bus! }}

* Shinobu of ''[[Ninin ga Shinobuden]]'' has a great one of these in the first episode.

'''Shinobu:''' Yes. Thank you very much. A kitty! ''(wanders off)'' }}

* ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple|Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple]]'': "Renka has a habit of chasing moving objects!"

* Hinako Ninomiya of ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is both hyperactive and easily distracted, especially in [[Dual Age Modes|child form]]. This certainly doesn't help in her job as English teacher, the students frequently taking advantage of her distractions. She's more focused as an adult, but if she stays too long this way she starts reverting to her childish behavior.

* ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'': "Tremble before Baki, the [[Big Bad|Supreme]] [[Obake|Oni]] [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed]] [[Body Horror|in Nube's]] [[Red Right Hand|left hand]] that has been [[Oh Crap|loosed]] [[The End of the World as We Know It|upon the human world]]! With but [[Person of Mass Destruction|a wave of his hand]], this [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|gigantic]], blood-red demon will [[Playing with Fire|incinerate the city]] and [[Nothing Can Save Us Now|there is no-one with the power to stop h]]-- OH MY GOD did that man just [[Diagonal Cut|cut a can with a Ginsu knife]]? How did he do that? Whee, the kiddy train at the park looks fun, I wanna ride it! One, two, one, two! Aerobics is fun! Wh-what is this... ''slinky''? Can I eat it? Look, [[Brother-Sister Team|Minki]]! The man with the animal balloons made me a giraffe, yay!" Then again, if Minki [[Berserk Button|is hurt in any way]], [[Big Brother Instinct|Baki will become fiercely focused]] and absolutely nothing will distract him from annihilating the offender.

* The main children in ''[[Hanamaru Kindergarten]]'' see their attempts to follow Tsuchi during his day off hampered by their kindergartener attention spans. After the trio is distracted by a toy machine, a cat, and a panda-cat poster, Hiiragi decides that perhaps kindergarteners shouldn't be detectives.

* Hotaru from ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]]'' has a fairly realistic display of ADD, but it's played for laughs in the way that the people around him react to him. He comes off as a mix between [[Cloudcuckoolander]] and [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].

 

* Marvel Comics' [[Deadpool]] has complete ADD, along with a [[Medium Awareness|very unique form of insanity]].

* [[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]] seems to have ADD trouble. On a positive note, it makes it hard for him to commit suicide because he tends to lose focus on it halfway though. It got downplayed as the series got [[Cerebus Syndrome]], though.

** [[Jhonen Vasquez]] is apparently very close to a [[Real Life]] example of this.

* Bean the Dynamite from the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comics, occasionally. In his first appearance, Fiona distracts him by throwing some shiny keys away. Later, Sally does almost exactly the same thing ''with one of his own [[Mad Bomber|bombs]]''.

 

* Momoko from ''[[Wedding Peach Abridged]]''.

{{quote|'''Momoko:''' It must be hard on Yosuke [to clean the Olympic length pools all by himself]. ''(pause)'' Hey, this ring gets so shiny when you move it around!}}

* [[Rouge Angles of Satin|Councilmen]] Raynold([[Spell My Name with an "S"|or is it Reynold]]?)'s only defining characteristic in ''[[Soulless shell|Soulless Shell]]''.

* ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6339067/1/Due Due]'': "OOOH! My pen!"

* Ryuk in the original ''[[Death Note Abridged]]'' by TioH and Dargonakis.

* Brutally parodied in ''[[Sonic F]]'':

'''Cream:''' I'm only six years old. I have the attention span of a hamster, so I've forgotten why I was angry-- OOH A SHINY OBJECT! }}

 

* All of the dogs in the [[Pixar]] film ''[[Up (animation)|Up]]'' seem to have thi--[[Verbal Tic|SQUIRREL!!]]... ... ...s problem. And a new meme is born. Note that this may not be an accurate representation of human ADHD, but it's a much more accurate representation of dog psychology. If there's even a suspicion, a dog will do exactly what it does in the movie, minus speaking—jerk its head away and stare waiting to see its target. If it spots it, it wi-- [[Running Gag|SQUIRREL]]! ...will typically bark or growl uncontrollably.

* Hammy in ''[[Over the Hedge (animation)|Over the Hedge]]'' behaves in a spastic, hypercaffienated manner and exhibits Hollywood's definition of ADD. A plot point [[Invoked Trope|relies on]] [[Caffeine Bullet Time|giving caffeine]] to th--

* In ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'', both [[Kaiju|Insectosaurus]] and B.O.B. are like this. The former because he has the personality of a [[All Animals Are Dogs|dog]]. The latter because he has no brain ([[Memetic Mutation|turns out you don't need one]]). Both of them were distracted during the fight with a [[Humongous Mecha|giant alien robot]].

* The "What's This" sequence in ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' is the (probably) unintentional embodiment of this trope. Jack even ends up [[Watch Out for That Tree|running into a pole]]. This, naturally, leads some fans to speculate that Jack has ADD. This is most likely not the case: Jack had been doing the same thing, in the same place, in the same way for an untold number of years. This was the first time he had seen anything like this; he's not distracted by "the shiny" as much as he's trying to take it all in at once while being very (musically) enthusiastic about it.

* Matt Stone's character in ''[[Baseketball]]'' seems to suffer from this—as Ted Denslow (Ernest Borgnine) is explaining his idea for taking the sport pro to Stone and Trey Parker, Stone is distracted by a bird sitting on a branch.

* The main character's younger sister in the film ''[[Pecker]]'' is diagnosed with ADHD, when in reality she just consumes way, way, way too much sugar. After being prescribed Ritalin, she acts quite zombie-ish, culminating with her nearly choking on a pill after she refuses to wash it down with a soda. By the end of the film, she's off both the sugar and the meds.

 

* Greebo from ''[[Discworld]]'' tends to keep his cat personality even when human, which leads to a somewhat ADD-esque behaviour pattern.

* In ''[[The League of Peoples Verse]]'', the entire Cashling species suffer from this: always bored, easily distracted, and unable to focus their attention on anything for very long.

* Helen Burns from ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' probably had inattentive type ADD. The list of personal flaws Helen confesses to Jane all match the diagnostic criteria: "I am... slatternly; I seldom put, and never keep, things in order; I am careless; I forget rules; I read when I should learn my lessons; I have no method; and sometimes I say... I cannon bear to be subjected to systematic arrangements." She goes on to describe how, although she does very well in classes that catch her interest, her thoughts "continually rove away" during uninteresting lessons.

 

* ''[[Bonanza]]'': One of the early episodes, "The Ape," dealt with a lonely man who had a form of autism, but had dreams of becoming a farmer and a land owner. Two things stood in his way: His short temper, which he could neither understand nor control (and when he became angry, he became extremely violent). The other fits this trope: His fascination with a beautiful saloon girl named Shari, a seductress who soon realizes she can manipulate Arnie into buying her expensive things such as drinks and jewelry. Hoss - knowing Shari's true character as a mean, manipulative person—spends much of the episode trying to focus Arnie's attention away from Shari and onto working on his farm, but everytime Hoss leaves him alone, Arnie goes to the saloon to be with Shari and try (in vain) to woo her into his life; Shari plays along, but along with some of the other regulars at the bar, snicker at him and make cruel jokes about him. Eventually, Arnie realizes that Shari thinks nothing more of him than the ape with a pea-sized brain, and he kills her. Arnie is eventually hunted down and shot by a posse.

* In the '80s, ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' had a series of "Mr. Short-Term Memory" skits starring Tom Hanks.

* Drake from ''[[Drake and Josh]]''. He gets distracted so easily. One time Josh was pouring his heart out to Drake who was listening, only to walk away when a beautiful girl walked by. Also when Josh was taken away to be submerged in a chemical bath, Drake looks like he's about to do something, only to see someone left mashed potatoes on the floor.

 

 

* ''[[Sesame Street]]''

** Many viewers feel that they [[Alternate Character Interpretation|may have introduced]] Elmo to set up a commentary on ADD or ADHD. It never happened, but he sure is easily... ooh, shiny! Or, if you want a simpler explanation... He's supposed to be THREE YEARS OLD.

** Speaking of ''Sesame Street'', another Muppet character Forgetful Jones is a living embodiment of this trope. [[Harsher in Hindsight|Or he may just have Alzheimers....]]

 

 

* The Batwinged Bimbo From Hell class in ''[[Macho Women with Guns]]'' (both being [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], by the way) has access to the skill "distort reality"; by shifting their attention completely to something like their nail polish, a run in their stockings, or a shiny object, they can avert any attack by not paying any attention to it at all. If the skill roll succeeds, the attack instead targets another player.

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]''

* Corax in ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' have this as one of their racial flaws. There other flaw being allergic to gold, this doesn't usually work out to well for them.

* Goblins of ''[[Pathfinder]]'' have this, to the point where nothing can hold their attention for more than a few seconds. This ADOS even shows up in the middle of combat, when a goblin may waste a turn to do something completely stupid.

 

* ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (Cherubino) and ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (Papageno), both composed by Mozart. Those who were close to the composer marveled at how [[Write Who You Know|familiar]] the characters seemed.

 

* [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] arguably has issues with staying still for extended periods of time, though whether he fits this [[Trope]] depends entirely on which continuity you're watching/playing/reading, and occasionally, which ''episode'' of which continuity. Sonic spends a lot of the time he isn't running around in ''[[Sonic X]]'' lying on rooftops and snoozing, yet goes utterly insane when cooped up on a ship for ten days and nights. This may be because he's [[Weaksauce Weakness|somewhat aquaphobic]] and [[Super Drowning Skills|can't swim]]. This is sometimes chalked up to his [[Personality Powers|speedster nature]], a fairly common trope (see: [[The Flash|Impulse]]).

* Melissa from ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'' is often characterized as having a mild case of ADHD. Unlike many other examples, she actually displays hyperfocus—Ancardia is all she can really be bothered to concentrate on, and she's otherwise fairly easily distracted. The more commonly attributed characteristics of the disorder get [[Flanderized]] by the fandom.

* The basis for a joke in ''[[Dragon Age]]'' where the programmers fall victim to this trope. It unfolds as follows in the description of a Glamour Charm:

{{quote|''This minor magical charm captures the viewer's attention and distra... ooo, pretty...''}}

* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' has an Attention Deficit Demon as a potential familiar (though as a rare one by now, since it was available for a limited time).

{{quote|[[Hello, Insert Name Here|[Your Demon] ]]bounces around, helping you pick stuff up. "Did you know that chili peppers aren't actually peppers? And a coconut isn't a nut, either! Hey, remember that one monster you fought? He was crazy. Do you like music?"}}

* The Arakun race in the text-based ''[[Retro Mud]]'' game are famous for being like this. They also have a racial emote called "ashiny". Players tend to ham it up for all it's worth.

* The [[Cute Machines|Curiosity Core]] in ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''.

{{quote|''"My time in the Collective honed me. I am more focused on ... hey, that light is blinking!"''}}

 

* Chicken of ''[[Chicken and Moose]]'' has this, seemingly paired with hallucinations. He gets distracted by a "rainbow," which is actually an oil slick.

 

* In many furry comics, characters that are raccoons or ferrets tend to be easily distracted, especially by shiny objects.

* Fluffy from ''[[Commander Kitty]]'' is a small pink female cat. She likes to push shiny red buttons, and rarely if ever knows what's happening around her. She has a 50% chance of either causing complete catastrophe or miraculously saving the day.

* Fighter from ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'', so very much so. Invoked nearly word-for-word in [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/10/03/episode-083-a-shout-out-to-all-you-web-heads-out-there/ this] strip.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander|Eddie]] from ''[[Emergency Exit]]''.

'''Eddie:''' OOH, where? I collect those! }}

* Nina Delacroix of ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' is easily distracted by butterflies and her unfortunate werewolf classmate Ace, calling out "Puppy!" whenever she spots him and chasing after him.

** Roy pretty much spells it out on [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0325.html their first trip to the Oracle].

{{quote|'''Roy:''' Proof once again that we are the only adventurers for whom the letters "AD&D" stand for "Attention Deficit Disorder".}}

* Minmax the Invicible Warrior, from ''[[Goblins]]''. [http://www.goblinscomic.com/07312005/ "...OOO! A shiny rock!"] He probably [[Min-Maxing|traded this for a combat bonus]].

* ''[[Archipelago]]'': Blitz. To give you an idea, in the second book a man lost in the woods asks him for help. Blitz rather focuses on a shiny bauble he is wearing and asks to show it to his friend. Given permission, he grabs the shiny and gleefully runs back home, unaware that he is ''dragging the man behind him.''

* ''[[Blade Bunny]]'' is either this or pretending to be.

* In ''[[Shifters]]'' [[Our Werebeasts Are Different|Werebeasts]] are often subject to the drawbacks of their animal forms as well as the advantages.

{{quote|'''Sun:''' Don't let go, Sabrina!

'''Sabrina:''' [looking down] OH MY GOD, SUN! When did you start wearing a thong? }}

 

* Crops up very frequently in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''. Some portrayals of ADHD (such as Lance Barrett) are very low-key and realistic. Others however, like with Owen Fontaine, are of the plain old bouncing off the walls variety.

* ''[[WALL-E Forum Roleplay]]'': Spectrum, oh so very much.

{{quote|'''Spectrum:''' Hi! You're colorful!}}

* Similarly, [[The Nostalgia Chick]] gets constantly distracted by puppies, cute jewelery or her team's antics.

* [[YouTube]] personality [[Tobuscus]] is this trope personified in his "Lazy Vlog" series, which are often more of a [[Motor Mouth]]-fueled stream of consciousness than anything planned. Some [[Running Gag|recurring]] distractions approach the level of [[Catch Phrase]]s, such as "Ooh, an airplane!" or "[[Male Gaze|Hot hot hot!]]" when seeing an attractive female. He also has a [[Let's Play]] channel (called TobyGames), in which he can be counted on to constantly lose track of what he's supposed to be doing, leading to amusing (if occasionally frustrating) misadventures.

{{quote|'''Atlus developer:''' ... Wait, I'm confused. What was I fixing again? Oh, look! A puppy!}}

* ''[[Noka]]'': Found has the [[Sarcasm Mode|brilliant idea]] of smashing the furniture down and refashioning all of it into a fort-igloo hybrid. Albeit, he did almost none of the work and spent most of the time searching for his bacon-print underwear to fly as the fort's flag, he still managed to convince Abel and Solo to help him.

{{quote|'''Found:''' ...Convince?

'''Az:''' Yes! Convince! How do you sell someone the angle of "Wanna destroy the furniture in this room and turn it into a fort? We can stick my underwear on top and call it the flag!" -- [[Dumbass Has a Point|actually that's pretty convincing]] in itself... }}

{{quote|'''Stuttering Craig''': Seeing something pretty will never be more important than gameplAY- what is that over there. *pauses* That looks really- I'll be right back. Hold on. That looks really cool. *Runs off* IT'S SO SHINY!}}

 

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''

** Bart, after pulling a few too many pranks in one day, was diagnosed with ADD and put on "Focusyn". The episode was more focused on the side-effects of the drug, which wound up making him insane and paranoid. Although...he [[Properly Paranoid|turned out to be right]] about major league baseball spying on people with satellites. In fact, his reaction to the medication is [[Truth in Television]]. ADHD medications like Ritalin and Adderall have increased anxiety as one of the nastier side effects. Psychiatrists sometimes prescribe anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds with the stimulants to balance that out and symptoms of depression are official contraindications against usage of the drugs.

** There's another one, in which he's committed to writing a school essay:

{{quote|'''Bart:''' Gotta study, gotta study, gotta look at that bird...}}

{{quote|'''Homer:''' Wait, I'm confused. So the cops knew that internal affairs were setting them up?

'''Recruiter:''' What are you talking about? There was nothing like that in the movie...

'''Homer:''' I know, you see when I get bored I make up my own movie, I have a very short attention span... look a bird!

''(runs outside and chases it)'' }}

{{quote|'''Homer:''' (''Gasp'') This man is my exact double! (''GASP'') That dog has a puffy tail! Here puff, here puff! ''(chases dog)''}}

{{quote|'''Homer:''' No, gotta read Marges' book. Can't get distracted. Distracted, that's a funny word. Does anyone ever get 'tracted'? I'm gonna call the suicide hotline and ask them.}}

{{quote|'''Homer:''' ...and I'm not easily impressed! WOW, a ''blue car''!}}

* Chowder of ''[[Chowder]]''.

{{quote|'''Timmy:''' Well, I'm Timmy Turner. I'm ten years old and I have a short attention span. Also... ''(pauses for a moment, then walks off)''}}

* ''[[Clone High]]''

** Gandhi:

{{quote|'''Gandhi:''' Did you hear? Did you hear? Don't tell Paul Revere. Gandhi is contagious. Totally outrageous. A disease with initials. That's the worst kind. ADD. Has warped. His mind.}}

{{quote|'''Tom Green:''' Hi, I'm Ottawa's Tom Green. I live in Hollywood, thank you. So some of you may have been mean to a kid with ADD. That's not cool. Coffee? Anyone for -- coffee anyone? All right, sorry. I like cotton candy. Check out my muscle. Potato chips. It's a Ferris wheel. So I guess what I'm trying to say is -- plastic bag! Plastic bag! Plastic bag! Plastic bag! Plastic bag! Plastic bag!}}

* An episode of ''[[South Park]]'' has the entire elementary school diagnosed with ADHD, and every single kid in town was prescribed Ritalin; the teachers then complained that [[We Want Our Jerk Back|the school was now calm to the point of dullness]] (and how did they illustrate this dullness? [[Take That|Everyone suddenly had a yearning to go and see Phil Collins in concert]]), and everyone was prescribed a Ritalin antidote, [[Just for Pun|Ritalout]].

** Cleveland Jr., before his departure to ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'', was a very hyperactive boy who [[Fleeting Passionate Hobbies|often found lost interest in something he was good at then turned to something else]]. In the only episode where he had a major appearance he becomes a very talented golfer but by the end of the episode he loses interest and starts kicking the golf ball around like a soccer ball.

** Peter is no different either in later seasons. Chris even lampshaded one episode after Peter's stint as a pirate in which he quickly loses interest after losing his parrot and found a piano. Most of Peter's antics is due to his "[[It Amused Me]]" attitude. If something is not amusing him, he will quickly find something else that will, which makes his focus waver all over. Peter also has a nasty habit going completely off topic when he speaks to someone without missing a beat at all. Brian lampshades this when he asks Peter if he is asking for his help or if he is going to ask another pointless question again.

** James Woods, whose animated likeness served as a murderous antagonist for the Griffin family, would often contemplate his revenge against the Griffin family before being distracted by a trail of Reeses Pieces ("Ooh, a piece of candy!" "Ooh, a piece of candy!" "Ooh, a piece of candy!" ... ), before falling victim to a trap box, where he would be restrained until his ultimate arrest—or as the show made it out, to await examination by scientists.

* [[Johnny Test]] might have some degree of ADHD.

* The animals on ''[[My Gym Partner's a Monkey|My Gym Partners a Monkey]]'' go into a hypnotic trance if presented with a shiny object. For that reason, they're banned from school grounds. Jake uses a faceted glass doorknob from Adam's house to put the entire school under his power. They spend the whole day talking about "monkey butt". Pretty pretty, shiny shiny...

* Violet from ''[[Word Girl]]'' is easily distracted by anything remotely cute or pretty. Puppies, butterflies, paintings, cats....

* Pinky in ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' has a severely limited attention span, which is made even worse by the fact that he barely understands [[Take Over the World|Brain's monologues about world domination]] anyway. It's lampshaded several times.

* Gir from ''[[Invader Zim]]''. Where do we even start?

 

 

{{reflist}}