History Main / KickTheDOg

->''"In the old days villains [[DastardlyWhiplash had moustaches]] and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings."''
--> -- '''Creator/AlfredHitchcock'''

A more benign, and more comedic, form of this shows the immorality of the villain by [[PokeThePoodle having them cheat at Solitaire]].

->''"In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings."''

Why this trope works could be expressed in the words of William Cowper: “I would not enter on my list of friends (though graced with polished manners and fine sense, yet wanting sensibility) the man who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” In other words, a cruel act, no matter how trivial, establishes someone as a cruel person. Conversely, the creator may show Bob [[PetTheDog being kind for no apparent gain]], to demonstrate that Bob is a nice person and someone the audience is meant to vouch for. Both devices are used to help the audience become emotionally invested in the story.

In cartoons, [[AssholeVictim someone who does this]] can be [[KarmicProtection legally]] [[ThisMeansWar harassed]] by Characters/BugsBunny, Daffy Duck, or [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot]]. The ScrewySquirrel, however, won't wait that long.

If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've KickTheMoralityPet and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint.

This trope is often used to counter or prevent a character from being seen by the audience as a DesignatedVillain or StrawmanHasAPoint. These tropes tend to occur when poor writing or characterization causes a character to become more [[UnintentionallySympathetic sympathetic to the viewers than intended.]] Since the writers can't just give these villains their just desserts if the audience likes them too much or [[RootingFortheEmpire prefers to take their side on an issue]], an effective KicktheDog moment can make them lose their sympathy and make them punishable again. This can [[TropesAreTools backfire though.]]

Of course, the crux of this trope isn't just the cruel act; it's also about the innocence of the victim, ie they have done nothing to warrant their abuse. If the target is an AssholeVictim instead, the cruel act can become a sympathetic one for the villan/anti-hero instead. If going after the [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Target]] is a coincidence, it becomes KickTheSonOfABitch; if the victim was specifically targetted for their assholery, it becomes PayEvilUntoEvil.

When Bob does something evil for no apparent gain, because the author wants to demonstrate that he's not a nice guy and shift audience sympathy away from him.

Authors make characters kick the dog. When this happens they needlessly commit an offence. The audience then subconsciously grow a dislike for them. William Cowper once stated “I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” With that he meant, that someone who is being mean, though in a trivial way, often gives a good indication of their character. Conversely the creator may insert a pat the dog scene for a character the audience is meant to vouch for. This is a brief scene when the character does something charitable. Both devices are used to help the audience project their own lives towards the story.

What separates this trope from other evil or cruel acts is that not only is the act bad, it's also pointless as far as the plot goes. It is the fact that it had [[ForTheEvulz no other point than to be evil]], that puts them on the bad side of the RuleOfEmpathy.

This trope isn't about literal dog-kicking. It's any act or statement that shows the character's [[{{Jerkass}} meanness]] or [[ObviouslyEvil out-and-out evil]], such as a boss demanding an employee come to work during Christmas when the employee's kid is [[LittlestCancerPatient in the hospital]], or stealing from a blind beggar's coin dish, or a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the hero or one of his TrueCompanions or {{Protectorate}}. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain can kick the dog by showing gratuitous racism, sexism, homophobia, etc... or some combination of such non-PC traits. If the event happened off screen in the past, just have your villain [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims fondly recall the incident]] and make it clear they enjoyed it and bingo, mission accomplished.

If an animal ''is'' used, however, a dog is usually the pet of choice, partly out of connotations of blind loyalty, partly from tradition. Arguably, however, substituting a cat can be even ''more'' shocking. After all, [[RightHandCat even bad guys like cats]]. So, the argument goes, if someone goes out of his way to harm one, they must ''really'' be a bastard.

Of course, the crux of this trope isn't just the cruel act; it's also about the innocence of the victim, ie they have done nothing to warrant their abuse. If the target is an AssholeVictim instead, the cruel act can become a sympathetic one for the villan/anti-hero instead. If going after the AcceptableTarget is a coincidence, it becomes KickTheSonOfABitch; if the victim was specifically targetted for their assholery, it becomes PayEvilUntoEvil.

Kicking the Dog is also done for no practical reason (apart from demonstrating the dark side of the kicker); if the perpetrator does it because they care about their victim and want to help them somehow, they're being CruelToBeKind; if their actions have a broader purpose à la [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what had to be done]], ShootTheDog is in play instead ([[MercyKill that's what you do when Ol'Yeller has rabies, after all]]).

Not to be confused with ShootTheDog. [[ItWasHisSled (That's what you do when Old Yeller gets rabies.)]]

See KickTheSonOfABitch for when it's less of a dog and more of a, well, [[{{Jerkass}} you know]].

-> ''"I'm getting five hundred phone calls a day asking what the hell is going on, that our police force is brutalizing women and misplacing children. Christ, [[DiscussedTrope all this picture needs now is for someone to kick a puppy for the cameras]]."''
--> -- '''Mayor Cryer''', ''Film/{{Changeling}}''

Authors make characters kick the dog. When this happens they needlessly commit an offence. The audience then subconcsioucly grow a dislike for them. William Cowper once stated “I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” With that he meant, that someone who is being mean, though in a trivial way, often gives a good indication of their character. Conversely the creator may insert a pat the dog scene for a character the audience is meant to vouch for. This is a brief scene when the character does something charitable. Both devices are used to help the audience project their own lives towards the story.

Authors make characters kick the dog. When this happens they needlessly commit an offence. The audience then subconcsioucly grow a dislike for them. William Cowper once stated “I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense,Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” With that he meant, that someone who is being mean, though in a trivial way, often gives a good indication of their character. Conversely the creator may insert a pat the dog scene for a character the audience is meant to vouch for. This is a brief scene when the character does something charitable. Both devices are used to help the audience project their own lives towards the story.

A character performs an act so casually cruel or evil that you know that they are scum, incompatible with the [[KarmicProtection moral rules]] of the series that they're in. This is a signal to the audience that it's okay to dislike the character. In short, dog-kicking is a sure sign that the writers want the audience to be wary of this character, even if he is [[MoralDissonance nominally]] one of the [[AntiHero good guys]].

* KickTheDog/NewspaperComics

--> -- '''Alfred Hitchcock''', ''Creator/AlfredHitchcock''

* KickTheDog/NewspaperComics

Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack, ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a Kick The Dog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil.

If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've [[KickTheWrongDog Kicked The Wrong Dog]] and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint.

If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, rather than kicking the dog if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've [[KickTheWrongDog Kicked The Wrong Dog]] and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint.

One possible origin of the trope name comes from Westerns, where three bandits would ride into the town, one would shoot the Sheriff, one would shoot the Deputy, and one, just to prove he was also a bad guy, would KickTheDog.

If what is supposed to be a character's KickTheDog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, rather than kicking the dog if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've [[KickTheWrongDog Kicked The Wrong Dog]] and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint.

Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack, ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a KickTheDog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil.