Parental Hypocrisy: Difference between revisions

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Mom just doesn't understand! She tells our heroine off for going out with the wrong boy or having a secret life, etc. Then, we find out in a dramatic twist that ''[[Former Teen Rebel|she did the same thing when she was her age!]]''. What a hypocrite! But, of course, having seen her hypocritical ways, we love her again or she sees her wrong-doing and allows the act to continue. Or doesn't.

The other case is when the parent has forgotten what it's like to be a teenager. In this case, some other adult their age will remind them, "you were a teenager once, don't you remember?" prompting the parent to guiltily admit they remember, and that's why they're being so overprotective.

Note that this trope isn't necessarily a bad thing: the parents went through the same thing their children are facing, learned from it, and now they want to keep their kids out of the same situations. The parents look upon the situation with regret and want better for their children. Not stopping to remember how much they'd heed such advice in their time, of course. This trope only focuses on the fact that the parent did the same as the child and it is considered a "twist" in the story.

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'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]]'''. While we can all ''definitely'' agree that this is [[Truth in Television]], adding a [[Real Life]] section would simply invite [[Natter]] from people complaining about ''their'' parents.

Possibly a subtrope of [[Generation Xerox]]. The parent or guardian involved is often a [[Former Teen Rebel]].

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* Played for laughs in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Vi Vid]]''. Attempts by Fate to complain about Vivio's [[First Episode Spoiler|newly revealed]] [[Older Alter Ego|adult form]] out of worry were eventually short-circuited when Vivio reminded her that, based on Nanoha's stories...

{{quote|'''Vivio''': I heard that [[Has Two Mommies|mamas]] were quite unruly at Vivio's age, right?

'''Fate:''' [[Dark Magical Girl|Uh... That's, umm...]]

'''Nanoha:''' [[Jumped At the Call|Ahaha...]] }}

* Misae from [[Crayon Shin-chan]] beats bother her [[Domestic Abuse|husband]] and [[Abusive Parents|Shin]] if they flirt with women. However, she is [[Not So Above It All]] when it comes to handsome men.

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== Film ==

* In ''[[The Notebook]]'', Allie's mother scoffs at Allie falling in love a day-laborer in the first act. In the third act, however, she shows Allie that she once loved a day-laborer as well, but instead married Allie's father. She still has feelings for the working man as well.

* In ''[[Back to the Future (film)|Back to The Future]]'', Marty's mother scoffs at Marty for his behavior with Jennifer. "In my day, we never parked and made out." It's quite the shock to Marty when he travels back in time to find his mother willing to "park for a while".

* In ''[[The Patriot]]'', Gabriel spends the night with his fiancee, Anne Howard, and her family. Mrs. Howard sews Gabe into a bundling bag for the night, to keep him and Anne from getting up to anything. Afterwards, Gabe and Anne talk, while her dad listens nervously at the door.

{{quote|'''Mrs. Howard:''' Don't worry, I'm a better seamstress than my mother was.

'''Mr. Howard:''' ''[mortified]'' I hope so! }}

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== Literature ==

* In ''[[Vorkosigan Saga|A Civil Campaign]]'' by [[Lois McMaster Bujold]], two parents get upset about their daughter having premarital sex. A family friend shuts them up by quietly bringing the couch where they first had sex—before they were married, of course—out of storage.

* In one of the [[Berenstain Bears]] books, there's a mild version involving a school dress code. The kids adopt obnoxious new fashions, and due to an escalating power struggle between the acting principal who keeps making new rules and the kids using [[Loophole Abuse]], it looks like the school will be going to uniforms... until Grandma Bear defuses the situation by hauling out photos of Papa and Mama Bear in their ludicrous Seventies attire.

* The [[Sweet Valley High|Sweet Valley Saga]] novel ''The Wakefield Legacy'' featured Theodore Wakefield, the great-great-great grandfather of the Sweet Valley twins, running away from home to avoid an arranged marriage. When Theodore's daughter Sarah was old enough to marry, however, he insisted that she marry the man of his choice rather than the man she loved. Sarah immediately calls him out on his hypocrisy. He doesn't even bother to justify himself, continuing to insist on his right to veto Sarah's choice. This leads to a [[I Have No Son|split between the two that is never healed.]]

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'': Lane's mom, a strict Christian, eventually found out that she was hiding her life away from her. How she found out was a mystery to us for a long while (how did she know to look under the floorboards?). Then, on Lane's wedding day, we find out that Mrs. Kim hid her life away from her mother (a strict ''Buddhist'') under the floorboards, and still does to this day! And she needs to hide her lifestyle fast before her mother arrives for the wedding!

* The ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Band Candy" has all the adults regress to teenagerdom; all this, as well as [[Hilarity Ensues|Hilarity]], ensues.

* ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' runs a booming business in high school exposing the hypocrisies of parents for their children.

* On ''[[Home Improvement]]'' Tim and Jill catch their son Brad with marijuana. He deduces that they've used it before based on the fact that they were alive during [[The Sixties|"that whole hippie thing"]], which turns out to be true in Jill's case (Tim preferred beer). The parents discuss whether they should tell Brad the truth, and eventually, they do and she explains the trouble it caused her and that it was a mistake she doesn't want him to make.

* On ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'' Tim and Jill catch their son Brad with marijuana. He deduces that they've used it before based on the fact that they were alive during [[The Sixties|"that whole hippie thing"]], which turns out to be true in Jill's case (Tim preferred beer). The parents discuss whether they should tell Brad the truth, and eventually, they do and she explains the trouble it caused her and that it was a mistake she doesn't want him to make.

* In ''[[Modern Family]]'', it's revealed that Claire has a rebellious past (including being driven home by the police in her underwear) despite reprimanding Hayley for similar behavior.

* ''[[Still Standing]]'': The parents were complete [[Jerkass]]es in high school, so they often run into this trope when disciplining their children.

== Music ==

* Trisha Yearwood's "She's in Love With the Boy" is about a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|girl who's in love with a boy]] while her father complains about how stupid and worthless the boy is. After the boy and girl come home late from a date, the father's about to berate the boy, but the mother reminds him that her father used to [[Dual-Meaning Chorus|think the same way]] about him when they were younger.

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* In ''[[FoxTrot]]'', Andy complains to her mom about sending Peter music that annoys her, defending her claim with "But the music ''I'' annoyed you with was ''good''!"

* Similar to the above, this is a punchline in ''[[The Buckets]]''. The father complains about how his childrens' music is nothing but noise, prompting ''his'' father to stand there smiling because that's the ''exact same thing'' that he said about ''his'' music when he was younger.

== Theatre ==

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Homer is upset because his 10 year old son Bart got his ear pierced.

{{quote|'''Bart:''' Come on, Dad. Didn't you ever do anything wild when you were a kid?

'''Homer:''' Well, when I was ten I got my ear pierced. But this is completely different! }}

* In ''[[As Told by Ginger]]'' Ginger's mom Lois forbids her teen daughter things like using makeup and shaving her legs, but it's immediately shown that Lois have a whole bathroom full of beauty products that she keeps locked.

** This is also because Lois believes that Ginger is ''too young'' to be using those things.

* In the [[South Park]] [[The Movie|movie]], Kyle's mom is willing to start a war if it means stopping her son from beaving improperly. The episode "It's a Jersey Thing" reveals that she's from [[Joisey]].

== [[Stand Up Comedy]] ==

* Mentioned by [[Dave Barry]] on the subject of marijuana: "'If you take ONE PUFF', they said in between pulls on their king-size cigars, 'you will be HOOKED FOR LIFE'!"

* [[George Carlin]] has done a few bits about this subject.

{{quote|''These people went from "Do your own thing" to "Just say no!" They went from "Love is all you need" to "Whoever winds up with the most toys, wins", and they went from cocaine to Rogaine.'' }}

* [[Bill Engvall]] mentions ones how he smacked his son upside the head because he was hitting another kid, following it up with "We don't hit."

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[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Hypocrite]]

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[[Category:~~Parental Hypocrisy~~]]

[[Category:No Real Life Examples, Please]]

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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]