History Main / DysfunctionJunction

** [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking The Celestial Incarnae]], who consist of:

An easy way to crank up drama is to supply ''[[ButtMonkey everyone]]'' with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic past]], [[DysfunctionalFamily a messed up family history]], other significant issues (physical, psychological, etc.) or some combination of the three. When Dysfunction Junction comes into play, good parents can be as common as penguins in the Sahara, instead turning out to be [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]], [[MyBelovedSmother smothering]][=/=][[OverprotectiveDad overprotective]], [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent unfeeling]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[KnightTemplarParent misguided]], or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]]. And let's not even get into the [[BigScrewedUpFamily rest of the family]].

An easy way to crank up drama is to supply ''[[ButtMonkey everyone]]'' with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic past]], [[DysfunctionalFamily a messed up family history]], other significant issues (physical, psychological, etc.) or some combination of the three. When Dysfunction Junction comes into play, good parents can be as common as penguins in the Sahara, instead turning out to be [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent negle]][[ParentalNeglect ctful]], [[KnightTemplarParent smothering]], [[TheStoic unfeeling]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided]] or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]]. And let's not even get into the [[BigScrewedUpFamily rest of the family]].

The resulting prevalence of [[TheWoobie personal trauma]] often stretches suspension of disbelief and is a leading cause of CerebusSyndrome. If done poorly, this is a one-way ticket to {{Wangst}} territory, and as so many attempt to smother the series with dysfunction, DeusAngstMachina is a frequent result. If done well, you get a large number of interesting, sympathetic, flawed characters, and their interactions with each other gradually reveal the multiple sides to each of them. More realistic (i.e. not {{Flanderized}}) portrayals of this trope can even help the audience understand and cope with their own dysfunctional lives, especially with regards to issues that are typically glossed over in mainstream society.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': For what it's worth the dysfunction junction is just the beginning of how to describe the relationship between the Emperor and his sons the Primarchs. It can also be argued that the universe is this trope on a massive scale.

An easy way to crank up drama is to supply ''[[ButtMonkey everyone]]'' with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic past]], [[BigScrewedUpFamily a fucked up family]] history, other significant issues (physical, psychological, etc.) or some combination of the three. When Dysfunction Junction comes into play, good parents can be as common as penguins in the Sahara, instead turning out to be [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent negle]][[ParentalNeglect ctful]], [[KnightTemplarParent smothering]], [[TheStoic unfeeling]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided]] or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]]. And let's not even get into the [[BigScrewedUpFamily rest of the family]].

* Music/{{Gorillaz}}: Murdoc suffered a thoroughly unpleasant childhood at the hands of his father, his brother, and various school bullies, and if he's telling the truth he "hit puberty when I was eight and lost my virginity to a dinner lady when I was nine and I've been in a bad mood ever since". He grew up into a Satan-worshipping drunkard who takes out his frustrations by verbally and physically tormenting 2D. 2D, as if being raised with a PunnyName like "Stu Pot" wasn't bad enough, suffered from migraines and at least one severe head injury in childhood. Then he was run over by Murdoc and spent a year in a coma, which he came out of when Murdoc ran him over ''again'', leaving him with missing front teeth, fractured eyeballs, and worse migraines. Later on, he managed to father ten illegitimate children. Russel watched his friends die in a drive-by, and ended up possessed by their spirits. He was understandably traumatised, and only got worse when [[spoiler:the actual GrimReaper retrieved his best friend Del's soul]], to the point that he ended up having a nervous breakdown in Ike Turner's basement. Noodle, meanwhile, was amnesiac when they found her, and later discovered that [[spoiler:she was in fact a genetically-engineered TykeBomb super soldier]]. Regardless of that, she seems to be the only semi-well-adjusted band member [[spoiler:untill she gets dragged into hell and replaced by an AxeCrazy [[RobotGirl cyborg]] with issues of her own, that is]].

* Played for laughs in "Neighbourhood" by Space, where the neighbours include a [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether family of thieves]] (although the house is empty because they've all been arrested), a [[SinisterMinister serial killer vicar]] and a man who thinks he's Saddam Hussein.

* Taken UpToEleven and PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TropicThunder'', where every actor struggles with issues.

* ''Film/{{Sweetie}}'': [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to eleven]]. Kay, one daughter, is very superstitious and neurotic. Her sister Sweetie is [[TheMentallyDisturbed mentally disturbed]] with delusions of show business success. Their parents, Gordon and Flo, are having marital problems. They recognize Sweetie's behavior is a problem, but Gordon in particular also enables that behavior.

* An example is present in ''WebAnimation/AnimatedInanimateBattle'' with an ''entire team''. More specifically, Team 6. So you got a KillerRabbit, a LovableJock, a [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins couple]] of [[ValleyGirl Valley Girls]], an intelligent guy, a person who's over-reliant on her friend (who isn't on the same team as her), an old man, a [[DumbMuscle no-brains brawn]], and a shy guy. The OnlySaneWoman is an ''EmoTeen''. Most of these guys argue '''a lot''', even when they aren't at each-other's throats, thus barely getting anything done in challenges.

An easy way to crank up drama is to supply ''[[ButtMonkey everyone]]'' with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic past]], screwed-up family history, other significant psychological issues, or some combination of the three. When Dysfunction Junction comes into play, good parents can be as common as penguins in the Sahara, instead turning out to be [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent neglectful]], [[KnightTemplarParent smothering]], [[TheStoic unfeeling]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided]] or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]]. And let's not even get into the [[BigScrewedUpFamily rest of the family]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/SaveMe https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dysjun.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Suicidal or taken to jail, they all need therapy.]]

* ''Film/{{Sweetie}}'': [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to eleven]]. Kay, one daughter, is very superstitious and neurotic. Her sister Sweetie is [[TheMentallyDisturbed mentally disturbed]] with delusions of show business success. Their parents, Gordon and Flo, are having marital problems. They recognize Sweetie’s behavior is a problem, but Gordon in particular also enables that behavior.

* Eddie and Sarah in ''Film/TheHustler'' bond with each other over their various dysfunctional pasts.

* UpToEleven and PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TropicThunder'', where every actor struggles with issues.

[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock What's your]] [[Film/FullMetalJacket (major) malfunction?]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dysjun.png]]

A character with flaws is more interesting than [[MarySue a character without flaws]]. Ergo, a cast of characters with flaws is more interesting exponentially. QED.

* In ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', the adults are almost all neglectful and condescending at best, to the point that they serve as [[ObliviouslyEvil the secondary antagonists to Freddy himself]]. AbusiveParents are the norm in Springwood, and the teenagers are so used to it that by the time the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet5TheDreamChild fifth movie]] rolls around, one scene has them casually commiserating over their controlling parents. This series is one of the more realistic treatments of this trope, since their situations aren't too far detached from young people in real life. But importantly, the films take the teenagers' concerns seriously, [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped while the adults that talk down to them are seen as in the wrong.]]

* In the 2011 film ''Film/{{Warrior}}'': Paddy is a lonely recovering alcoholic, Tommy has PTSD (and a lot of chips on his shoulders) and Brendan has inferiority and abandonment issues. %% This entry was added automatically by FELH2. In case the wording doesn't make sense, rewrite it as you like, remove this comment and tell this troper.

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!!Examples:

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

[[RuleOfDrama Normality is boring]] and [[TrueArtIsAngsty unartistic]]. An easy way to crank up drama is to supply ''[[ButtMonkey everyone]]'' with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic past]], screwed-up family history, other significant psychological issues, or some combination of the three. When Dysfunction Junction comes into play, good parents can be as common as penguins in the Sahara, instead turning out to be [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent neglectful]], [[KnightTemplarParent smothering]], [[TheStoic unfeeling]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided]] or [[ParentalAbandonment dead]]. And let's not even get into the [[BigScrewedUpFamily rest of the family]].

->''"I'm not sure why the Light Warriors worry about obstacles or monsters standing in their way. They are nothing compared to the obstacles and monsters ''within'' the party."''
-->-- '''Creator/BrianClevinger''', creator of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''

[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock What's your]] [[Film/FullMetalJacket malfunction?]]

-->''When we were young the future was so bright.''
-->''The old neighborhood was so alive.''
-->''And every kid on the whole damn street was gonna make it big in every beat.''
-->''Now the neighborhood's cracked and torn.''
-->''The kids are grown up but their lives are worn.''
-->''How can one little street swallow so many lives?''

* The titular ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', thanks to the Great Curse.
** And then there are [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils the Yozis]], because being defeated in the Primordial War and reshaped into new forms effectively gave each of the Yozis the cosmic equivalent of a mental disorder.
** Pick a Fair Folk court. ''Any'' Fair Folk court.

** Plus, all of them have the stress of [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity their chosen going mad]] and their addictions to the Games of Divinity going to their heads.
* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', in part due to what TheFairFolk did to everyone before the game began. At worst, the Spring Court are desperately throwing themselves into distraction to avoid coping with the pain, the Summer Court are endlessly angry and want to fight the immortal mad gods that made them, the Autumn Court throw themselves into the weird powers they picked up as a result of cosmic abuse, and the Winter Court would like it ''very much'' if you did nothing to draw ''their'' attention. And that's not counting whatever [[LesCollaborateurs Loyalists or Privateers]] that may be lurking in secret...
* ''TabletopGame/BurningWheel'' requires you to spend resource points during character generation to acquire significant relationships. You get discounts for various aspects of said relationships, including having them be hateful, forbidden, and/or family. Thus it's not unusual to have a party full of family dysfunction.
** More significantly, the con demo scenario "The Gift" is about four Elves sent as emissaries to the crowning of a new Dwarf prince, who has three close advisors. Except the Elves start by making an immense diplomatic faux pas. The eight premade characters, all [=PCs=], have widely differing attitudes and goals. One is a broken-down alcoholic. Two are on the verge of catastrophic meltdown, one from too much Dwarven Greed and one from too much Elvish Grief. The often disastrous results are a lesson in dysfunction critical mass.
* TabletopGame/BlissStage, what with all the adults but one having vanished, imminent alien attacks, and a bunch of teenagers way over their heads knowing that they are dead at 18.
* For [[RuleOfDrama some reason]], this trope is heavily involved in the formation of some -- if not all -- PlayerCharacter groups in any tabletop game, ever. It's almost never "A bunch of folks good with {weapons/skills in use} that like to go treasure hunting and killing things for profit because they're good at it." The mage is power mad and/or BlessedWithSuck, the warrior/soldier is haunted by past battles or trying to reclaim honor, the priest only turned to religion after tremendous personal tragedy, etc. etc. etc.
** Moreover, {{point build system}}s encourage this to happen, as by picking flaws and misfortunes -- say, being an orphan -- the player gets bonus points to spend on the character's stats.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': For what it's worth the dysfunction junction is just the beginning of how to describe the relationship between the Emperor and his sons the Primarchs.\\
\\
It can also be argued that the universe is this trope on a massive scale.
* Heavily and deliberately averted in ''TabletopGame/TeenagersFromOuterSpace'' - no matter how wacky an alien you might be, you come from a perfectly normal suburban family.
* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': in each faction, at least one or more member in it has some serious issues, or is bat-shit crazy. The great houses tend to have one member who ends up being a tyrant or worse.
* ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'': Of the eight archetypal characters for the Glass-Maker's Dragon campaign, six have some kind of psychological hang-up. Natalia had her hope carved out of her along with her weakness during TrainingFromHell in which surviving for long periods on ice chips was a regular feature; Jasper is cut off from her true home and marooned among people with strange habits like sneezing; Entropy II's father was a grade-A evil bastard who he may have killed, and distrusting your memories is stressful enough without having to cope with seeping mutagenic blood from your hands; Leonardo is a lonely, broken genius whose life has been a fairly nonstop parade of suckage from a young age, struggling with a self-assumed responsibility that may be too heavy for him to bear; Seizhi is stressed out about not being properly real; and Miramie is just stressed out in general ''and'' has to deal with her past life being an enemy of the world. About the only ones who are relatively stable are Chuubo, who is heavily implied to be an AmnesiacGod and is struggling with great power he is ''really'' bad at using sensibly, and Rinley, who [[TheTrickster defies rational explanation]]. Thankfully, most of them are just dysfunctional enough to produce interesting storytelling possibilities without being quite messed-up enough to be dangerous.

* An example is present in ''WebAnimation/AnimatedInanimateBattle'' with an ''entire team''. More specifically, Team 6. So you got a KillerRabbit glass, a LovableJock, a [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins couple]] [[ValleyGirl Valley Girls]], an intelligent guy, a person who's over-reliant on her friend (who isn't on the same team as her), an old man, a [[DumbMuscle no-brains brawn]], and a shy bathtub. The OnlySaneWoman is an EmoTeen. Most of these guys argue '''a lot''', even when they aren't at each-other's throats, thus barely getting anything done in challenges.

* An example is present in ''WebAnimation/AnimateInanimateBattle'' with an ''entire team''. More specifically, Team 6. So you got a KillerRabbit glass, a LovableJock, a [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins couple]] [[ValleyGirl Valley Girls]], an intelligent guy, a person who's over-reliant on her friend (who isn't on the same team as her), an old man, a [[DumbMuscle no-brains brawn]], and a shy bathtub. The OnlySaneWoman is an EmoTeen. Most of these guys argue '''a lot''', even when they aren't at each-other's throats, thus barely getting anything done in challenges.