The Blind Leading the Blind: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A [[Universal Tropes|universal trope]], most often spotted in [[Comedy Tropes|comedies]].

== Anime & Manga ==

 

* Literal leading example: in ''[[Bleach]]'', Kenpachi has [[No Sense of Direction]]. Seireitei is a huge maze. He has Yachiru give him directions. Yachiru ''also'' has [[No Sense of Direction]]. Kenpachi is strong enough to break down walls. It's a miracle there's anything left.

* Aria from ''Love Master A''. She's loved at least 50 boys and never had a boyfriend, therefore gaining herself the title "Love Master". To escape this title, she goes to a different school, but her fame precedes her. Unfortunately, no one knows that the title is facetious and she is taken as an expert on love.

== Fan Fiction ==

 

 

== Film ==

 

== Literature ==

** The ''Guide'' itself may be an example, due to being (reputedly) notoriously unreliable.

*** The Guide is definitive, reality is sometimes in error though.

*** Or, to steal a line from [[H. Beam Piper]], "If you read it in the Guide, you can depend on it. It's wrong."

* Similar to the Colbert example above, Dave Barry has also written a few hilarious and obviously fake "self help" books that only ''Darwin Awards'' candidates would take seriously.

* And so has Ben Stein, though his was titled, "How to Ruin Your Life."

* Taken quite literally in ''Naked Empire'' from Terry Goodkind's ''[[Sword of Truth]]'', in which a culture of [[Strawman Political]] pacifists receive their wisdom and guidance from a young boy who is kept blindfolded throughout his life.

* ''Miss Piggy's Guide to Life'' contains some fairly hilarious "advice" on everything from fashion to romance to food. ("You do not sew with a fork, and I see no reason why you should eat with knitting needles...")

{{quote| '''Twoflower''': You said you could fly one of these things!<br />

'''Rincewind''': No, I didn't; I just said ''you'' couldn't! }}

''([[Gilligan Cut]] to Tyler and George, up to their knees in suds)''<br />

'''Tyler''': No, I don't. }}

{{quote| <br />

LISTER: There. I think that's it; boot him up. <br />

* In the pilot episode of ''[[Community]]'', Jeff claims to be a Spanish tutor to get time alone with Britta. Then she invites half a dozen other people to the "study group", and Jeff has to stall and keep them distracted to avoid having to admit that he can't tutor them.

** In a later episode we find out that their Spanish professor does not actually know Spanish and has been teaching them Klingon.

* Jerry vacillated between this trope, "semi-visually impaired leading the blind" and "guy with 20/20 vision who can't be bothered to look where he's going leading the blind" in his [[Straight Man]] role on ''[[Seinfeld]]''.

* In ''[[The Red Green Show]]'', Red gives pretty good advice in his "North of Forty" segments, while he is at his fly tying bench. However, in his "Handyman Corner" segment, his advice of how to build something with the junk you have lying around and duct tape are hilariously the blind leading the blind.

{{quote| '''K9''': Mass detection circuits indicate maximum reading on current vector. Probability of error (beep)<br />

'''Adric''': Well, what is the probability of error, K9?<br />

'''Adric''': You mean you're worse than useless.<br />

'''K9''': Affirmative. }}

* Practically any time anyone asks for advice in ''[[Will and Grace]]''. After Grace's advice backfired for Will she once claimed "Most of the time I'm just talkin outta my ass." In an earlier episode, Grace is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to ask Karen for advice and do the opposite of what she said.

* ''The X Files'' has, at one point someone asking Mulder for dating advice. On hearing about this, Scully goes silent, then quotes this trope.

** Host [[Richard O Brien|Richard O'Brien]]'s reactions to such stupidity became legendary. If the player of the game was a lost cause, or if Richard's advice was ignored, he would often [[Deadpan Snarker|let the viewer know]], before breaking out into off-putting Harmonica music, drowning out the team's 'advice' and breaking the player's concentration. In effect, he became a kind of [[Musical Assassin]].

*** In at least one episode, Richard actually broke out a Fender Telecaster and amplifier.

* Used by name in ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', in the Flying Sheep sketch - the farmer points out a ewe trying to teach her lamb to fly. We hear it "Baa" and hit the ground. "Talk about the blind leading the blind."

 

 

== Music ==

{{quote| Who's to blame for the lives that tragedies claim?<br />

No matter what you say, it don't take away the pain<br />

And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind<br />

'Cause the dead can't testify. }}

{{quote| Trust your leaders<br />

As they send you out to die<br />

 

== Western Animation ==

** "Your Shoe's Untied", where Patrick buys shoes, but doesn't know how to tie them. SpongeBob tries to teach him how, but realizes he's never learned himself.

** Since they're both mentally six, they're occasionally known to do this to ''themselves''-devoid of anyone to provide them with questionable advice, they'll attempt to deduce the proper course themselves and arrive at exactly the wrong answer through some of the unsoundest logic it's possible to come across.

** Another ''Simpsons'' example has Bart getting test answers from Milhouse. Mrs. Krabappel's response after he fails the test? "You did worse than Milhouse!"

* In an early episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang asks Sokka to teach him how to seduce a girl. It helps that Sokka himself has so much experience on the matter (read: he has talked to exactly one girl his age in his life apart from his sister, and immediately made himself immortally ridiculous in front of her. It still worked, somehow). It also helps that Sokka assumes Aang to be in love with someone entirely else than he actually is. [[Hilarity Ensues]], though Aang's efforts do end up saving a village.

** Judging by his creator's deadpan reaction to the ten-pound ball rocketing around his bowling alley, this isn't the first time Bowling Paul has tried to help out some poor bowling-deficient soul, either.

* [[King of the Hill|Peggy Hill]] once led her Spanish class to Mexico for a day-trip. Pity Peggy speaks unspeakably bad Spanish, likely worse than that of some of her students, and it was no surprise when she led them to a butcher's shop thinking it was a carnival (the Spanish word for "butcher" being ''carnicero'').

** This also led to the first of many cases that point to Peggy being at least slightly deluded. After getting arrested for accidentally kidnapping a girl and taking her back to Texas (Yeah) Peggy refuses to admit she had a misunderstanding due to language. To reiterate, she thought the police officer who was interrogating her and promising to lock her up and have rats eat her face was planning to give her an award AND she naturally assumed that her lawyer in her trial was asking to go out and buy a hat when he called her to testify.