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Recognition Failure: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[Recognition Failure]] is the trope when a character fails to recognize a famous person that everyone else knows, played for comic effect. This is a popular stock gag in [[
Of course, for the gag to work, the identification subject must be someone who everyone in the work ''should'' immediately recognize, for whatever reason. This is usually done with a renowned [[Real Life]] person, though it's also possible to use a fictional celebrity whose fame has been established in the story.
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== [[Literature]] ==
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld
** Also, one clicks fan refers to the Patrician as "some local bigwig" trying to get reflected fame.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Lindsay is trying to meet men. She is enticed by a bearded homeless fellow described as having the rugged, unkempt appearance of a movie star. When she finds out he's just homeless, she leaves. However, it turns out that the homeless man is actually [[Real Life]] actor Thomas Jane, doing some [[Method Acting]] character research for a couple upcoming movies by posing as homeless. When Lindsay finds ''this'' out, she is enticed again. Tom Jane is confused that she doesn't know who he is, but seems pleased that she thinks he's gross.
* There was an episode of ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' where the (fictional) famous person had the fantasy of being somewhere where nobody knew who she was. She was sent to the wilds of [Africa/South America], where she fell in love with an explorer who didn't know who she was. [[Subverted]] though in that it turns out he ''did'' know, he just didn't care about her celebrity.
* In ''[[The George Lopez Show]]'', Carmen runs away and becomes one of the rapper Chingy's groupies. George ends up being the only person who doesn't know who that is.
* In the ''[[
* This is ''inverted'' in one episode of ''[[Hello Cheeky]]'', in which Tim, Barry and Denis all confuse fellow cast member John Junkin for Doris Day. Particularly surreal as John is middle-aged, male, and ''bald''.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* This is a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[
** Pennington quickly uses his detective skills to deduce that Mario is in fact, Luigi.
* In ''[[Mario and Luigi Bowsers Inside Story
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* At the end of the ''[[Batman:
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Homer meets [[George Harrison]]. At first he appears to recognize him, but then he cries out, "Where did you get that brownie?!" It's not entirely clear whether Homer failed to recognise Harrison or knew exactly who he was but [[Big Eater|just thought the brownie was more important]].
** He also confuses [[Stephen Hawking]] with Larry Flint.
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* In an episode of ''[[The Boondocks]]'', Grandpa Freeman doesn't know who Usher is, and thinks everyone is talking about a theater usher, wondering what the big deal is.
** In another episode involving Martin Luther King Junior<ref>In this universe the assassination attempt was a failure, but put him into a decades-long coma</ref>, Huey and MLKJ try to get past a bouncer to MLKJ's ''own benefit'', only for the bouncer to demand a cash payment.
* In the ''[[Superman:
* There was an episode of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' where a burglar had somehow never heard of the girls, leading to a [[Freak-Out]] when he sees their powers.
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