Head Desk: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Most often seen in visual comedies, as doing this in [[Real Life]] could prove very painful. On the other hand, it ''can'' appear in more serious works, either to lighten the mood of a moment or to punctuate the gravity of the situation.

 

 

{{examples}}

* In ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei|Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei]]'', Dr. Mikoto Itoshiki, along with the rest of his family, has an [[Unfortunate Name]] which can, in his case, be read as ''zetsumei'' ("death"), thus making him ''zetsumei-sensei'' ([[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Dr. Death]]) and discouraging patients from visiting him. Calling him this results in his banging his head against the wall for several minutes ([[Hypocritical Humor|in one instance, this was near a poster warning about cranial injury]]).

* Kyon of ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' can be seen doing this in the [[Anime Theme Song|opening theme song]], ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIKRn1dbT28 Bouken Desho Desho]'', cementing his [[Deadpan Snarker|personality]] and his [[Only Sane Man|role]] in the [[True Companions|SOS Brigade]].

* ''[[Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (Manga)|Sekaiichi Hatsukoi]]'' has [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/StarRose/GIFS/headdesk.gif one memorable instance] when a character tried to get rid of his crush on a random guy.

* In ''[[School Rumble]]'', Tenma does this repeatedly while trying to work out the (probably non-existing) hidden meaning behind [[The Stoic|Karasuma's]] words.

 

== Comic Books ==

* [[Archie Comics]]: After ignoring a warning from his mom that it looks like rain and he might catch a cold if he goes out, he and Jughead both get soaked and head for Veronica's place. After going through a sauna and doing laps of a pool to try and avoid getting sick ("No germ would be stupid enough to stick around for that punishment") Archie gets home and...sneezes. "Banging your head against a wall is not an accepted cold medicine!"

 

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Buckaroo Banzai]]''. Perfect Tommy lightly bumps his head against the prison bars while Buckaroo is talking to Penny Priddy in jail. The expression on his face and later dialogue indicates that he's doing it out of disbelief that Buckaroo is wasting his time with a woman who tried to kill him. Watch it [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsxZLiFSjNQ here, starting at 3:20].

* On ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]'', Tulio is banging his head against a wall to try to figure out a way to escape from Cortez's ship. He appears to get an idea... but just resumes banging. Made funnier when Tulio appears to have a black eye and the wall had ''a dent'' in it.

* [[Sylvester Stallone]]'s character also does this in ''[[Oscar]]''.

* [[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Stitch]] does this when he's in the pound, and actually knocks a brick out of place because of his power.

* In ''[[Corpse Bride]]'', Victor bangs his head on the bar counter.

* Dramatic example: In the aftermath of {{spoiler|Smith's death}} in ''[[Event Horizon]]'', Miller does a subdued version of this against the nearest wall.

* ''[[The Whole Nine Yards]]'' and sequel, with more violent head-on-wall banging, ''The Whole Ten Yards''. Dramatic and played for laughs in one go.

* Done a lot in the movie ''[[Cold Turkey]]'' as the townspeople go through the withdrawls from smoking, most notably a pre-''[[All in The Family]]'' Jean Stapleton clonking her head against a tree.

* President Bartlet from ''[[The West Wing]]'' does this ''on the Resolute desk'' after being tormented for hours by the [[Sarcasm Mode|thrilling]] tales of an [[Old Soldier]]-esque retired diplomat while stuck in the Oval Office waiting on the phone during an international crisis.

* The TV series of ''The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'' has a very drunken priest seemingly hitting his head on the table to clear it enough to string sentences together.

* ''[[Sesame Street]]'' character Don Music, a frustrated composer, had a habit of slamming his forehead on the keys of his piano. Which is why you don't see him on ''[[Sesame Street]]'' anymore.

* In the "Sectionals" episode of ''[[Glee]]'', Artie does a full-body version of this in a wheelchair when {{spoiler|the club realizes their set list's been stolen}}. {{spoiler|Emma}} even mentions on the phone that it's been going on for a few minutes.

* At one point in ''[[Ally McBeal]]'', the main character makes her head meet desk a few times, saying "I have my health" every time.

* Gordon Ramsay has only this reaction in an episode of ''[[Kitchen Nightmares]]'' when the cooks of Fiesta Sunrise manage to set flame to a plate of nachos.

* While Rimmer is explaining to Lister that the latter has accidentally signed himself (and, unbeknownest to Rimmer, the other main characters) into a suicide squad in ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', partway through the explanation, Lister starts banging his head on a table.

* This is Peggy Olson's reaction in season 4 of ''[[Mad Men]]'' when she finds out Pete Campbell's wife is pregnant.

* Captain ''[[Blackadder]]'''s reaction to Baldrick's testimony during his court martial.

* This scene from "The Stepford Peg" in ''[[Married... with Children|Married With Children]]'':

'''Al:''' ''(headdesk)'' }}

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

 

 

 

* Manfred von Karma does this in ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney|Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney]]''.

** Gumshoe in game 3 pulls a wall bang (off screen) when Phoenix and Maya tell him that Maggey hates him for betraying her.

* In the vein of his source material, [[Homestar Runner|Strong Bad]] sometimes does this if he has a bad hand during the course of ''[[Poker Night At the Inventory]]''. Especially hilarious because he doesn't say a thing during it, he just has this ''look'' while he slams his head into his cards and chips.

* Not really done to express annoyance, but the first ''[[Dead Space (video game)|Dead Space]]'' game has Isaac come across a guy randomly doing this in a part of the ''USG Ishimura''. The guy is just standing in the hallway beating his head against a wall, with more blood coming out with every hit. Eventually, he hits his head against it hard enough that ''it kills him.'' And when his corpse is on the ground you can see that there was ''nothing'' left inside him, all of his intestines had apparently been ripped out.

 

== Web Original ==

* [[Todd in the Shadows]] employs this too - though in his case it's headkeyboard.

 

* ''[[Veggie Tales]]'' had Archibald Asparagus do this in the Silly Songs with Larry segment ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diOtFw9sB34 The Biscuit of Zazzamarandabo]''.

* ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius|The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron]]'' did this when he couldn't think of a script for a movie.

** Rarity beats her head against a mannequin in "Suited For Success" after Rainbow Dash tells her that the Gala outfit she's making "needs to be about 20% cooler" without giving any actual details.

** In "A Friend in Deed", Twilight Sparkle bangs her head against a tabletop when Pinkie Pie insists on trying to befriend Cranky Doodle Donkey, despite Twilight trying to convince Pinkie that maybe he just wants to be left alone.

* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Hooked on Monkey Fonics" Kyle falls in love with the [[Homeschooled Kids]] Rebecca, who is unfamiliar with the public school system. When he asks her to come to the dance, she says she might see him there. Kyle explains that he meant going to the dance with him, but Rebecca explains there is no need for that since her father will drive her there. Once she leaves the room, Kyle bangs his head against her chair.

* In the ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' episode "Das Mouse", the Brain appoints Pinky to disguise the bad taste of hypnotic sapo in his pancake recipe. Later, when they are making the Titanic rise, Pinky keeps trying to ask the Brain about the "icky stuff that tastes bad" in the recipe, but the Brain keeps telling him, "Cut it out!" Finally, after the pancake jamboree is held...

'''Pinky:''' Ooh, Brain, that looks painful. }}

 

* According to historian Lewis H. Lapham, after the destruction of 15,000 Roman troops (and 10,000 camp followers) under their commander Publius Quinctilius Varus (and his subsequent suicide) at the Teutonberg Forest in 6 AD, [[Emperor Augustus]], "...from time to time until the end of his life... was seen wandering through the rooms of the palace, beating his head against the wall and crying out... "Quinctillius Varus, give me back my legions."

* Popular [[YouTube]] vloggers Hank and John Green (known collaboratively by their channel name of vlogbrothers) sometimes do this in their videos to express dismay at the idiocy of the average internet user (see various You Fail ____Forever tropes) or other frustrations. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VCY4dup3-M In one video] John performed a *headdesk* to the extent that he wondered (possibly jokingly) if he'd given himself a concussion and pretended to have memory loss through the remainder of the video.

* Millions of workers when faced with idiotic management

* Alexander Graham Bell did this when he was trying to create the telephone.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Character Reaction Index]]