Contractual Genre Blindness: Difference between revisions
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Apparently, there ''is'' such a thing as being too [[Genre Savvy]]. [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|Genre Savvy villains]] are evil, and they know it. For every complicated villain with [[Freudian Excuse|abandonment issues]] that has a chance to redeem themselves, there are ten [[Card-Carrying Villain|Card Carrying Villains]] out there who are just in it because they [[For the Evulz|love being villains.]]
But what happens when you have a [[Genre Savvy]] villain who understands that [[Evil Is Stylish|to be a good villain]], you ''have'' to be [[Genre Blind]]? You're left with a villain stricken with
While usually reserved for a [[Genre Savvy]] [[Card-Carrying Villain]], this trope does reach out into the realms of the [[Affably Evil]], the [[Punch Clock Villain]], the smarter [[Harmless Villain]], [[Spy's Suspicious Spouse|Spies trying to keep their job secret from their spouse]], and the [[Deadpan Snarker]] who gives up and "plays along."
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* ''[[Discworld]]''
** In ''[[Discworld/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]],'' the old Count de Magpyr explains that it's better for a vampire to display a sense of fairness (having big open windows with heavy drapes and easily breakable furniture in your castle) and get let yourself be killed every so often, than to become a [[Genre Savvy|hated tyrant]] and have people actually ''trying'' to get rid of you in a more longlasting way.
** Evil Harry Dread in ''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'' is constrained by the Dark Lord Code of Honour, later defined in [http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2919 this Pyramid article].
** Evil Harry Dread in ''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'' is constrained by the Dark Lord Code of Honour, later defined in [http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2919 this Pyramid article].<br /><br />Contractual Genre Blindness is a clever survival technique. In the case of the Old Count, he knows that [[Good Old Ways|deliberately obeying old stereotypes]] is much better than subverting them and earning the total enmity of the local villagers, risking them putting him in a coffin full of garlic and posting a guard every year. Evil Harry Dread's continued "I'll be back" survival also works because he abides by the same rules as the heroes. If they killed Harry once and for all, they would be depriving themselves of a future job. As such, Harry is considered a close friend, even though he is still a "bad guy".<br /><br />In Harry and Cohen's case, in typical Pratchett fashion, the [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|Dangerouly Genre Savviness]] of both sides, resulting in their mutual [[Contractual Genre Blindness]] curved right back around to being [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] ''about'' [[Contractual Genre Blindness]]. When Harry seems genuinely surprised that they were expecting him to betray Cohen's Silver Horde exactly at the culmination of their grand plan, they explain that they expected nothing less from someone like Harry and congratulate him on being one of the best [[Evil Overlord|Evil Overlords]] they had ever encountered. Harry [[Manly Tears|tears up]] not only from the respect he receives from them, but also the idea that they may be parting ways forever.<br />One last note: in much the same way that Cohen and the Horde are the "Last Heroes", Harry is the Last Dread Lord - he always stuck to his end of the code, but ''the other side didn't''. "The first thing they do these days, they block up your secret escape tunnels."▼
Contractual Genre Blindness is a clever survival technique. In the case of the Old Count, he knows that [[Good Old Ways|deliberately obeying old stereotypes]] is much better than subverting them and earning the total enmity of the local villagers, risking them putting him in a coffin full of garlic and posting a guard every year. Evil Harry Dread's continued "I'll be back" survival also works because he abides by the same rules as the heroes. If they killed Harry once and for all, they would be depriving themselves of a future job. As such, Harry is considered a close friend, even though he is still a "bad guy".
▲
** Also, the dragon who became the King of Ankh-Morpork killed, burned, and demanded a virgin to devour, simply because that's what dragons are expected to do. [[Ape Shall Never Kill Ape|The fact that humans do it to each other]] [[What Is Evil?|and call it 'morality']] was apparently [[Even Evil Has Standards|beyond even its standards]].
* ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'' by Austin Grossman: villain Dr. Impossible does many things because that's what villains are supposed to do, but with a lot of realistic consequences {{spoiler|Dr. Impossible dons his supervillain costume to impress the C-list villains at a local hangout, gets beat up and thrown out, and has to change out of his costume in nearby bushes before getting on the local Greyhound bus to go home.}}
In other instances, he manages to stop himself just before pulling a classic supervillain move. In one scene, he's being laughed at by some prison guards, which gets him so annoyed he begins to retort by saying "You won't be laughing when I..." Then he stops, and chides himself for always giving away his master plan.
** This is all because he suffers from a mental illness -- "[[Science-Related Memetic Disorder|Malign Hypercognition Disorder]]." He ''knows'' his actions are irrational, and most of his struggle in the books are with himself, alternately denying his problem and pitying/hating himself for it.
* ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'': A rare heroic example; [[Tom Sawyer]] insists on breaking Jim out in the most elaborate, difficult way possible because "that's how it's supposed to be done." Given all the trouble this causes, you can tell [[Mark Twain]] [[Creator Backlash|had gotten sick of Tom Sawyer]] by the time he wrote ''Huckleberry Finn''
To elaborate on how idiotic the breakout plan was: one step of it involved moving a boulder into Jim's cell (don't ask). The two boys aren't strong enough to move it in themselves, so Jim helps them. That's right, Jim ''walks out of the cell and goes back in voluntarily''. And then lets himself be locked back in again. Poor Jim. Jim is legally already free; Tom Sawyer just refused to tell him until he had 'broken him out' first.
* ''[[Bridge of Birds]]'': The Duke of Ch'in does this out of fear: tough as he acts, he's still [[The Man Behind the Curtain|confused and frightened]], so he mimics the villains in fairy tales rather than think on his own.
* In the book "Heroics for Beginners", the evil overlord mentions trying to foreclose the mortgage on an orphanage and chase down puppies to kick because that's how one becomes an evil overlord.
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* In what may be [[Truth in Television]], the actors in the George Reeves ''[[The Adventures of Superman]]'' show actually said that they never noticed Clark and Superman looked the same because they wanted to keep their jobs.
* Pearl in ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' attempts at first to get accredited by, and then follow the rules of, the Board of Mad Scientists. She is perpetually annoyed at following the mad scientist rules when she knows there are easier ways to do things, but it's "illegal to rule the world if you're not board certified" so she just goes with it.
* Classic ''[[Doctor Who]]'s'' the Master fell into this a lot. New Who manages to make him
== Tabletop Games ==
* In ''[[Exalted]]'', arguably most raksha would fit into this, although it would be quite possible for them to be wrong about what genre they're in. Also, the Infernal Exalted have Acts of Villainy that they can use to lose limit. These include telling their opponents their evil plan, leaving them in a deathtrap, and [[Scarpia Ultimatum|forcing people into marriage]].
* In a fairly meta example, anyone who plays roleplaying games for any length of time will develop this, and also become [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]], because of the [[Fourth Wall]]. To elaborate, while anyone who's played for any length of time will pick up on the cliches and tropes that the [[Game Master]] uses due to dozens of exposures, the character being played will not, so the player must act as if [[Genre Blindness|genre blind]], or risk [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] which most [[Game Master|GMs]] frown upon. If you forgo the contractual genre blindness and go with [[No Fourth Wall]], this leads to powergaming, [[Munchkin
== Videogames ==
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** Xykon, though he's actually [[Obfuscating Stupidity|not so stupid]]. He is, however, very lazy.
** Nale. He truly is [[Genre Savvy|Elan's]] [[Evil Twin|equal and opposite]]. However he gets bit in the rear by the fact that he thinks he's [[Magnificent Bastard]] material, which [[Smug Snake|just isn't the case]].
** Nale and Elan's father Tarquin takes this so far he loops back into [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]. He's running an evil empire fully aware that many stories have such empires toppled and their leaders slain. He doesn't mind the possibility that such will be his fate if it means he gets to run an evil empire for a few decades. He's even happier to go along with genre conventions after finding out his son Elan has become an adventuring hero; rather than dying at the hands of some random schmuck, he will be defeated in an epic duel with his own son. He seems more excited at the prospect of ''losing'' than
** Elan actually manages to ''[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0793.html weaponise]'' this trope by displaying surprise at the revelation that [[Never Found the Body|Nale was alive when he never actually SAW him die]]. Naturally, Elan knew that Nale was probably still alive, but knows that [[No One Could Survive That|the hero never expects the villain to return.]] Nale gets a headache trying to parse [[Logic Bomb|how Elan could be surprised by what he knew happened.]]
* ''[[Casey and Andy]]'': Lord Milligan is textbook evil, with many jokes and [[Lampshade Hanging
* ''[[Narbonic]]'': Every [[Mad Scientist]] acts in a given manner, even though they know it's going to bite them in the tush, precisely because of the insanity.
* ''[[Terror Island]]'': The Green Grocers henchmen give said [[Card-Carrying Villain]] advice in how to be a villain.
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* ''[[Kim Possible]]'': Señor Senior Sr. is a particularly [[Genre Savvy]] old man who took up supervillainy as a hobby and has since adhered to Contractual Genre Blindness. In fact, it's a tradition followed both by the villains and the heroes. So much so that the characters get upset when one villain refuses to follow the rules. He considers it to be good form.
* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]''
** Most supervillains are members of the Guild of Calamitous
** Baron Undherbeit and The Monarch are both try to kill Dr. Venture at the same time. After coming to an agreement to combine their forces, Undherbeit asks if they should run the decision by the Guild first. After a brief pause, they both laugh at the suggestion and decide to 'screw protocol'. However, by the time they have finally decided upon this, all of their henchmen have been massacred by one of Venture's specially built robots.
* Jack Spicer of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]''.
* Dr. Doofenshmirtz of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]''. In "No More Bunny Business" we see that he actually writes a script for his latest encounter with Perry the Platypus (presumably Perry goes [[Off the Rails]], though.) When Perry is reassigned to other villains, he finds the new villain and helpfully tells him where he's doing it wrong and commends Perry for his methods.
* [[Gargoyles|Xanatos]] always wanted to try his hand at cliche villainy. Played with, as his inevitable defeat was [[Xanatos Gambit|all part of the plan]].
* In his second appearance, the ''[[Justice League]]'' version of Gorilla Grodd brings up the concept of propaganda. According to him, just killing Earth's greatest heroes won't make humanity bow down to
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Stupidity Tropes]]
[[Category:Genres]]
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