Engineered Public Confession: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"This town means about as much to me as a [[Refuge in Audacity|festering bowl of dog snot]]. You think I care about the pea-brained yokels of this town? If you took their collective IQ, and multiplied it by 100, you might just have enough intelligence to tie your shoe, if you didn't drool all over yourself first! Ah, I can't stand those sniveling maggots, they make me want to puke! But there is one good thing about broadcasting to a town full of mindless sheep. I always know I'll have them exactly where I want them! (points to the palm of his hand and follows up with a maniacal laugh)"''
|'''R. J. Fletcher''', not knowing that he's being recorded, ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]''}}
It's a [[Just Between You and Me]] moment: the villain, secure in his superior planning or intellect, is monologuing in exquisite detail how his [[Evil Plan]] is going to profit him by screwing over all the people who trust or depend on him—completely and blissfully unaware that the hero or an associate has arranged a [[Hidden Wire]], PA microphone or other relay of the villain's words, which are heard with perfect clarity by a figure of authority and/or the villain's dupes. They, of course, realize just how they've been deceived and turn on him. Alternatively, the hero may be concealing a tape recorder, and will replay the villain's words in front of authorities just when it seems as if [[Can't Get Away with Nuthin'|he'll get away with it all]]. Turns out that the hero has recorded the whole thing, and the proof of the villain's evilness is [[Caught on Tape]] - or even inserted in place of a mainstream TV signal using [[Do Not Adjust Your Set|broadcast interception]]. Often accompanied by a priceless [[Oh Crap]] from the exposed villain when he realizes what's happening.
Variation of [[Right Behind Me]], but done intentionally, and usually with more people listening. Also similar to [[Bluffing the Murderer]], but it relies on overconfidence rather than panic on the part of the villain.
Usually the moment of demise for the [[Straw Hypocrite]] and the [[Villain with Good Publicity]]. Has also been the bane of the [[Chessmaster]] and the downfall of the [[Manipulative Bastard]] on many occasions.
With the development of [[w:Deepfake|Deepfake]] technology in the late 2010s, it's possible that anything other than an in-person implementation of this trope may be fated to become [[Discredited Trope|Discredited]].
Compare [[Accidental Public Confession]], [[Did I Just Say That Out Loud?]] and [[Is This Thing Still On?]]
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* Raana Tey from ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' falls victim to this when she gloats about the murder she participated in and framed the protagonist for in front of the sister of one her victims (who Raana had been manipulating). It doesn't end well for her. Partially subverted in that Zayne didn't really plan it.
* Used in an issue of ''[[Doctor Strange]]'', with Clea activating the crystal that Umar the Unrelenting used to make announcements to the public. It might have gone better if Umar hadn't drained the barrier that prevented the Mindless Ones from rampaging across the Dark Dimension; part of her power was drawn from popular support.
* ''[[PS238]]'' had a little surprise when Veles picked a bunch of superheroes for a ritual challenge in [[Pocket Dimension]], but neglected to mention that it will be shown for the whole city to see (and record) via giant TV screen in the sky because hey, it's an important event. The ones who were [[Smug Super|arrogant jackasses]]… well, it "didn't do their ''images'' any favors". It's not like he bothered to spank those who [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?|were impolite to him]], but he [[Trickster God|made them spank themselves]].
== Fan Works ==
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* Brilliant subversion (or perhaps [[Double Subversion]]) in the [[Eddie Murphy]] political comedy ''[[The Distinguished Gentleman]].'' Murphy's conman-turned-congressman is secretly trying to prove that a more senior congressman is taking kickbacks from a lobbyist in return for blocking an investigation into the relationship between power lines and cancer. He claims in a committee hearing to have videotaped a meeting between himself, the senior member, and the lobbyist. When they grab him and pull him into the meeting and demand to watch the tape, they discover its a bluff- it was just an ad for the phone sex business he used to own. Secure that they've dodged the bullet, they launch into discussing their [[Evil Plan]]-as he surreptitiously tapes the whole thing and then plays it for the media as soon as they go back into the hearing.
* In the [[Norm MacDonald]] film ''[[Dirty Work]],'' Norm's character uses his [[Chekhov's Gun|Note to Self tape recorder]] to nab a confession out of the bad guy at the end.
* In the [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] film ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'', an evil network executive goes on a tirade about how little the community means to him and [[Viewers are Morons|how stupid he thinks its inhabitants are]]. Eventually this gets broadcast to the entire community in question in place of the important message that the executive intended to make.
** Odd in that the opening line of the confession that we see earlier in the film (the rest is saved to be revealed later) and the full confession that we see later on are obviously from two different takes, since the line is delivered differently, the character is seated instead of standing, etc.
* Done to the [[Man Behind the Man]] in ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]''
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* In the second ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'' film, Vlad infects John McCloy with the Chimera virus, and will only give him the antidote if he confesses to leaking it. {{spoiler|However, it's all a trick, and Vlad was really Ethan in disguise with a tape recorder hidden under his coat}}
* Used to in the live action [[Yogi Bear]] movie {{spoiler|when the corrupt [[Big Bad|Mayor Brown]]'s attempt to dispose of an endangered turtle that's existence would stop his attempts to close Jellystone park. Turns out Boo Boo's bowtie camera (which previously in the film had been put on him for a nature documentary about him and Yogi) recorded Brown stating both this and how he doesn't care about Jellystone at all. The heroes then play it during his election promo, revealing what a slime ball he is to the entire city. To make matters worse, said turtle gets on stage at that very moment, confirming the confession. He and his Chief of Staff are arrested on the spot.}}
* This is how Ernesto del la Cruz is defeated in ''[[Coco]]''. Miguel's deceased aunts record the confrontation between Ernesto and the Rivera family where the entire Land of the Dead overhear the fact that Ernesto murdered Hector and stole his songs and then witness Ernesto throw Miguel to his supposed doom. Once he reaches the audience again, he's shocked to see everyone turn on him until he sees the entire thing recorded when Miguel is saved by Pepita. What Pepita does to Ernest afterwards is just [[Laser-Guided Karma|icing on the cake.]]
== Literature ==
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** This is (at least) the second time Castle has employed this trope. The previous was only two episodes prior. Ryan wired up the youngest kid in a crime family and had him try to get a confession out of his brother for killing his tutor. He gets it, with his brother pointing a gun at him. Cops bust in, and the kid gets shot. {{spoiler|He's not quite dead. The shooting was a ruse to get the kid into protective custody.}}
* Used by Patrick Jane in ''[[The Mentalist]]'' against another 'psychic' to get him to leave a woman alone.
* [[Once Per Episode]] in ''[[Perry Mason (TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', when he gets the actual culprit to confess on the witness stand. Played With in the the culprit knows he's being listened to, but confesses anyway.
* ''[[Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries]]'': In "Dead Air", Phryne confronts a murderer in a radio studio. She switches on the microphone so that the killer's confession is broadcast live.
== Radio ==
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* ''[[The Mask (animation)|The Mask]]'' had an episode where Peggy tricked a southern Colonel into confessing illegal toxic waste dumping without knowing the confession was being displayed.
* ''[[Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries]]'': Tweety engineers one in "Double Take", hovering over the bad guy's head with a microphone as he blabs his plan to Sylvester.
* A reversed example of this (as in, the villain doing it to the - alleged - hero) occurs in ''[[Harley Quinn (TV series)|Harley Quinn]]''; Harley captures Robin (who is Damien Wayne in this version, and something of a brat) suspends him over a shark tank (the shark in question being Harley's ally Killer Shark) threatening to dunk him unless he confesses to lying about his claims that he fought and defeated Harley and that she is his "nemesis". Robin refuses, claiming he is "Gotham's sweet potato pie and those rubes will believe ''anything'' I say!" Then a curtain is pulled back revealing a studio audience and [[Intrepid Reporter |Tawny Young]] broadcasting the whole thing, not only exposing his lies but proving Harley could have killed him any time she wanted. What's worse - for Robin - the humiliation causes his nose to bleed and the blood to hit the water, causing Killer Shark to go berserk and make a lunge for him, requiring Harley to reluctantly save him [[Embarrassing Rescue|and humiliating him even more.]]
== Real Life ==
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