History Main / ContractualGenreBlindness

* CucumberQuest: A rare heroic example: even before the initial BigBad collects all 8 [[PlotCoupon Disaster Stones]] to awaken the [[SealedEvilInACan Nightmare Knight]], even when they get a legitimate chance to prevent said awakening, everyone except [[OnlySaneMan Cucumber]] takes YouCantThwartStageOne for granted as unavoidable. His [[BloodKnight sister]] actually drives the point home by freely GIVING the last Disaster Stone over to the enemy because she thinks that preventing the crisis anticlimactically, rather than having a long and epic quest culminating in the defeat of the Nightmare Knight in an epic battle, is just a terrible idea and totally boring.
* ''{{Narbonic}}'': Every MadScientist acts in a given manner, even though they know it's going to bite them in the tush, precisely because of the insanity.
* ''TerrorIsland'': The Green Grocers henchmen give said CardCarryingVillain advice in how to be a villain.

* ''JumpLeads'': General Gray, the villain of [[http://www.jump-leads.com/comic/129 Issue 5]]. [[http://www.jump-leads.com/comic/144 He already ''has'' taken over the world once]], but found [[http://www.jump-leads.com/comic/145 actually running the world pretty boring]], so he abdicated. But he still loves ''trying'' to take over the world. So for the past thirty years he's been coming up with outlandish, easily thwartable (and increasing ill-defined) world domination plans.
* ''SluggyFreelance'': [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19991001 Dr. Steve]], though some of that may just be him being completely, batshit insane.
* ''BobAndGeorge''

* ''{{Goblins}}'' : The Goblin clan have strict traditions on keeping all magical weapons in a poorly locked chest in the middle of their war camp, rather than using them in battle. Later subverted; Complains steals the gear from the chest so he can do battle with Minmax (and gets banished from the clan as a result), and the goblins start training as adventurers when they realise they're tired of being fodder for low level adventurers.

* In ''MeleesEnd'', Zelda gets kidnapped. She then simply waits to be rescued, even though she's a perfectly competent fighter, and the dungeon she's in has no doors or guards. When Mewtwo wonders why she hasn't tried to escape, she says that that's not how [[DistressedDamsel getting kidnapped]] works.
* Lindsay and Jenny in WebVideo/HumanCentipedeTheMusical tend to dismiss any suspicions that would hinder the plot.

* ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', by Adam Warren: The bad guys do this as a survival mechanism. Smack around the hero and leave him (her) tied up and escape with the diamonds? Good show, whatever. We'll get you next time! Shoot the hero? Every other hero will be after you.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Señor Senior Sr. is a paticularly GenreSavvy 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.

* Captain Cold alluded to this during The Rogues Revenge storyline after Final Crisis. When your foe is The Flash, a man capable of finishing any fight before you even think of defending yourself, you keep your crimes light and theatrical and hope he responds in turn.

* The reason DickDastardlyStopsToCheat in ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces''. He admits to Muttley in the ''pilot episode'' that he's a CardCarryingVillain who can't just win fair and square. No, he ''has'' to go out of his way to screw over the other racers.

* In ''LethalWeapon 2'', the South Africans dump Riggs in the sea tied up to CementShoes. They leave the scene, but leave a couple mooks to stand guard in case he somehow escapes. Not that it helps, since an enraged Riggs ([[RoaringRampageOfRevenge who found his girlfriend dead, having drowned before he escaped]]) kills all the mooks anyway.

* Pearl in ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'' 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.

* In his second appearance, the ''JusticeLeague'' 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 him--he needs to kill them publicly in an utterly humiliating fashion to prevent further resistance. This means that he gives up two opportunities to [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim kill some or most of them easily]] in favor of a traditionally villainous scheme, and while he plans for ''most'' of the potential pitfalls, the premise of the show necessitates that he accidentally miss one.

* Luka of VideoGame/MonsterGirlQuest is a heroic example. He's a KnightInSourArmor who acts like an IdiotHero because it's the heroic thing to do.

-->'''James''': Why didn't we try this before?
-->'''Jessie''': [[SpoiledByTheFormat We had to fill up the half-hour!]]

-->'''Scott Evil:''' [[JustShootHim I have a gun.]] In my room. You give me five seconds, I'll get it, I'll come back down here. BOOM! I'll blow their brains out!
-->'''Doctor Evil:''' Scott, you just don't get it, do ya?

-->'''[=MitD=]''': Can I at least get out of these dark concealing shadows?\\

'''Xykon''': HEY!! Who's the archvillain here?\\
'''Xykon''': I know the drill, the bad guy always keeps his secret weapon cloaked in the shadows until the climax!\\
'''Xykon''': They can do a cutaway to us at any moment....

---> '''Nale:''' I think I'm giving myself a migraine trying to understand the level of willful ignorance that requires!
---> '''Elan:''' First blood: ELAN!

->''"You're a [=supervillain=]. Your efforts are ''supposed'' to be foiled by your [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]] and [[{{Pride}} hubris]]. Failure is the surest sign of success."''

* [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/7/27/how-to-negotiate-with-the-un.html This]] BasicInstructions comic advises [[[=Supervillain=] supervillains]] to explain their plan to assassins sent to kill them.

* [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/7/27/how-to-negotiate-with-the-un.html This]] BasicInstructions comic advises [[[=SuperVillain=] supervillains]] to explain their plan to assassins sent to kill them.

->''"You're a {{supervillain}}. Your efforts are ''supposed'' to be foiled by your [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]] and [[{{Pride}} hubris]]. Failure is the surest sign of success."''

* ''Anime/DemashitaPowerPuffGirlsZ'': Hyper Blossom and Mojo Jojo in the first episode start their fight because they realise that, randomly given super powers, [[BeautyEqualsGoodness she's obviously a superhero]] and [[ObviouslyEvil he's obviously a supervillain]], and they must fight because that's what heroes and villains do. Considering the original series was all about playing with Superhero tropes to begin with, and this anime-remake is all about doing the same while ''{{Lampshading}}'' tropes from the original…

* ''SoonIWillBeInvincible'' 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.

-->"You're a supervillain. Your efforts are supposed to be foiled by your ambition and hubris. Failure is the surest sign of success."

* [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/7/27/how-to-negotiate-with-the-un.html This]] BasicInstructions comic advises [[SuperVillain supervillains]] to explain their plan to assassins sent to kill them.

* ''KimPossible'': Señor Senior Sr. is a paticularly GenreSavvy 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.

** Most supervillains are members of the Guild of Calamitous Intent -- a WeirdTradeUnion whose bylaws obligate them to behave in this manner. It's suggested that the Guild enforces this as a protection measure for both their members and for society at large. An episode where Jonas Jr does not play along has Brock Samson warning him that a psycho with a private army, flying machines and so forth needs to be indulged if only to keep him away from committing real crimes.

* In ''LethalWeapon 2'', the South Africans dump Riggs in the sea tied up to ConcreteShoes. They leave the scene, but leave a couple mooks to stand guard in case he somehow escapes. Not that it helps, since an enraged Riggs ([[RoaringRampageOfRevenge who found his girlfriend dead, having drowned before he escaped]]) kills all the mooks anyway.

* The Devil in ''Film/TenaciousDAndThePickOfDestiny'' has this almost literally. He is pissed when the main characters challenge him to a rock-off, since the "demon code" prevents him from declining. He has never lost before, but he is still reluctant to accept.

* The Devil in ''Music/TenaciousD'' has this almost literally. He is pissed when the main characters challenge him to a rock-off, since the "demon code" prevents him from declining. He has never lost before, but he is still reluctant to accept.

But what happens when you have a GenreSavvy villain who understands that to be a good villain, you ''have'' to be GenreBlind? You're left with a villain stricken with ContractualGenreBlindness. This is the man who captures the hero and uses overly complicated {{Death Trap}}s, not because it's the smart thing to do, but because it's what a villain is ''supposed'' to do.

** Though to be fair to Grodd, [[spoiler: it is fairly difficult to tell the difference between one shapeshifter, and another shapeshifter who can read the first one's mind to avoid acting out of character.]]

* Dr. Evil from ''Film/AustinPowers''. He criticizes his son for being practical, saying he's just not nearly as evil because he's GenreSavvy.

-->'''MotD''': Can I at least get out of these dark concealing shadows?\\

'''MotD''': But... there's no one here but us!\\

** Xykon, though he's actually [[ObfuscatingStupidity not so stupid]]. He is, however, very lazy.

[[folder:Film]]
* Dr. Evil from ''Film/AustinPowers''. He criticizes his son for being practical, saying he's just not nearly as evil because he's GenreSavvy.
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Toons, as cartoon characters, tend to act very poorly when it comes to being GenreSavvy and acknowledge it, because for them it's very hard if not outright impossible to jump away from the "role" they've been created for. (Roger tells Eddie that he wouldn't ever be capable to murder because "My whole purpose in life is to make people laugh!"). Double-subverted with [[spoiler: Judge Doom,]] who is able to repress his basic toon urges to maintain his human disguise, but can't fight his villain "role" and places the heroes in an overly-dramatic and slow-moving DeathTrap which [[HoistByHisOwnPetard eventually causes his own demise.]]

* The Devil in Tenacious D has this almost literally. He is pissed when the main characters challenge him to a rock-off, since the "demon code" prevents him from declining. He has never lost before, but he is still reluctant to accept.
** In the end he exploits a loophole; they never said ''who gets to judge it''...

* [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} Xanatos]] always wanted to try his hand at cliche villainy. Played with, as his inevitable defeat was [[ThePlan all part of the plan]].

!!Examples

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* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Toons, as cartoon characters, tend to act very poorly when it comes to being GenreSavvy and acknowledge it, because for them it's very hard if not outright impossible to jump away from the "role" they've been created for. (Roger tells Eddie that he wouldn't ever be capable to murder because "My wohle purpose in life is to make people laugh!"). Double-subverted with [[spoiler: Judge Doom,]] who is able to repress his basic toon urges to maintain his human disguise, but can't fight his villain "role" and places the heroes in an overly-dramatic and slow-moving DeathTrap which [[HoistByHisOwnPetard eventually causes his own demise.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{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 [[TheScarpiaUltimatum forcing people into marriage]].