History Main / TheatricsOfPain

* In ''Film/TheReturnOfTheKing,'' Saruman gets stabbed in the back. PeterJackson attempted to direct ChristopherLee on how someone reacts when stabbed like that. Lee replied that he knew perfectly well how people ''really'' reacted, from his time in the Special Forces during WWII. Make of that what you will.

* In PunchOut, especially the Wii version, boxers react in differing degrees to punches; depending on how you hit them, they'll either stand there stunned and take a flurry, take one hit and back off, or, depending on if you knock them down with a jab or a body blow, get sent flying or twirling backwards instead of merely falling over as real boxers usually do. Of course, the comical reactions are there to help the player and give them a rush from clobbering their opponent.

** One of the most memorable examples of a wrestler ''over''-selling is the ShawnMichaels vs HulkHogan match at Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Summerslam 2005. You can go see [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJVjsqv6W9Y here]].
** And a great example of a wrestler [[NoSell no-selling]] is HulkHogan [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=anKWu5QW8TE no selling the Undertaker's chokeslam]] so badly that Undertaker actually has to remind Hogan he needs to jump for the move to work.

* This is called "flopping" in the NBA. "Flopping" generally refers to receiving light, completely painless contact from an opposing player and acting like you've been shot repeatedly in the chest, but in some cases there's ''no'' contact at all. Hallmarks of flopping include screaming as if hurt, clutching your head, and just plain throwing yourself on the ground. The NBA started cracking down on flopping in 2012, fining players who are caught faking, though the most notorious floppers have gone unpunished due to being really huge stars.

* In ''TheReturnOfTheKing,'' Saruman gets stabbed in the back. PeterJackson attempted to direct ChristopherLee on how someone reacts when stabbed like that. Lee replied that he knew perfectly well how people ''really'' reacted, from his time in the Special Forces during WWII. Make of that what you will.

* This is called "flopping" in the NBA. "Flopping" generally refers to receiving light, completely painless contact from an opposing player and acting like you've been shot repeatedly in the chest, but in some cases there's ''no'' contact at all. Hallmarks of flopping include screaming as if hurt, clutching your head, and just plain throwing yourself on the ground. The NBA started cracking down on flopping in 2012, fining players who are caught faking.

* This is called "flopping" in the NBA. "Flopping" generally refers to receiving light, completely painless contact from an opposing player and acting like you've been shot repeatedly in the chest, but in some cases there's ''no'' contact at all. The NBA started cracking down on flopping in 2012, fining players who are caught faking.
** Somewhat related is "selling" real foul contact so the ref will call it. Some consider this no better than flopping because it involves a lot of the same histrionics and overreacting.

* The NHL allows referees to call a 2 minute minor penalty on a player who takes a dive or tries to sell a fake injury, and the league can also fine or suspend a player after reviewing the incident. The NBA in 2012 instituted a similar policy of fining players for "flopping".

* As mentioned, often very blatant in soccer/football, often with the commentators snarkily pointing out the attempt. One of the worst on recent memory was a quarterfinal game in the 2011 Women's World Cup. With Brazil up 2-1 only minutes left in extra time, Brazilian player Ericka suddenly crumbled to the ground in apparent agony, and after a four minute performance (and remember, the clock doesn't stop in soccer), jumped up off the stretcher taking her off the field and sprinted back into position. (Ian Darke, the British commentator for the game, drily noted her "miraculous recovery".) However, she was [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoist by her own petard]] because the referee, annoyed, gave her a yellow card and added three more minutes of extra time. The US scored in this extra time and eventually won the game in the shoot-out.
* This was so common in the NFL, especially in the last few minutes of a half as a way of giving a team a time out if they had already used the three allowed (or they were trying to save an official time out), that news rules were put into place which essentially penalized the team that stopped the clock. [[SarcasmMode Miraculously, the vast majority of those late-half injuries disappeared.]]
* The NHL allows referees to call a 2 minute minor penalty on a player who takes a dive or tries to sell a fake injury, and the league can also fine a player after reviewing the incident. The NBA in 2012 instituted a similar policy of fining players for "flopping".

* Wrestling has the most literal version; the theatrics of pain is called "selling" in that medium. Many wrestlers find themselves praised or derided based on their ability (or lack thereof) to sell an opponents attacks.

** And a great example of a wrestler no-selling is HulkHogan [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=anKWu5QW8TE no selling the Undertaker's chokeslam]] so badly that Undertaker actually has to remind Hogan he needs to jump for the move to work.

Usually, it is quite easy to tell in wrestling if someone has been injured for real or is "selling" the move by its absence. It is harder in film and television because the stuntmen (whose job it is to do all the dangerous maneuvers) are trained to handle such situations professionally in a contained environment--and such things are all behind the scene anyway.[[note]] Which isn't surprising as many Professional Wrestlers are former stuntmen and many stuntmen are failed professional wrestlers (Successful Profession wrestlers are more often the ''Actors'' in the role and usually do require the use of a stuntman.[[/note]]

* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'', notorious for their very physical slapstick humor, had ways of making things look far more painful than they really were. For instance, Moe's EyePoke was really a poke to the eyebrows which Curly, Larry or Shemp would sell by flinching and covering their eyes. The accompanying "[[kungFoley doing]]" sound made it more convincing and humorous as well, in fact the foley work in general made Moe's attacks seem more harsh than they actually were.

Usually, it is quite easy to tell in wrestling if someone has been injured for real or is "selling" the move by its absence. It is harder in film and television because the stuntmen (whose job it is to do all the dangerous maneuvers) are trained to handle such situations professionally in a contained environment--and such things are all behind the scene anyway.[[note]] Which isn't surprising as many Professional Wrestlers are former stuntmen and many stuntmen are failed professional wrestlers (Successful Profession wrestlers are more often the ''Actors'' in the roll and usually do require the use of a stuntman.[[/note]]

Usually, it is quite easy to tell in wrestling if someone has been injured for real or is "selling" the move by its absence. It is harder in film and television because the stuntmen (whose job it is to do all the dangerous maneuvers) are trained to handle such situations professionally in a contained environment--and such things are all behind the scene anyway.[[note]] Which isn't surprising as many Professional Wrestlers are former stuntmen and many stuntmen are failed professional wrestlers (Successful Profession wrestlers are more often the [[Actors actor]] in the roll and usually do require the use of a stuntman.[[/note]]

Usually, it is quite easy to tell in wrestling if someone has been injured for real or is "selling" the move by its absence. It is harder in film and television because the stuntmen (whose job it is to do all the dangerous maneuvers) are trained to handle such situations professionally in a contained environment--and such things are all behind the scene anyway. [[hardline]] [[note]] Which isn't surprising as many Professional Wrestlers are former stuntmen and many stuntmen are failed professional wrestlers (Successful Profession wrestlers are more often the [[Actors actor]] in the roll and usually do require the use of a stuntman.[[/note]]

Usually, it is quite easy to tell in wrestling if someone has been injured for real or is "selling" the move by its absence. It is harder in film and television because the stuntmen (whose job it is to do all the dangerous maneuvers) are trained to handle such situations professionally in a contained environment--and such things are all behind the scene anyway. [[hardline]]

[[folder: Comics]]

* ''{{Superman}}'' in any given media is reduced to a pain riddled heap around kryptonite. Often his anguished reaction is over-the-top in order to emphasis how painful the experience is to him as he rarely feels discomfort, never mind unspeakable agony. Interestingly one of the great criticisms of Superman is that he is either being beaten near to death or feels [[NoSell no pain at all]]. What exactly does "invulnerable" mean?

* Wrestling has the most literal version; the theatrics of pain is called "selling" in that medium. Many wrestlers find themselves praised or derided based on their ability (or lack thereof) to sell an opponents attacks.
** One of the most memorable examples of a wrestler ''over''-selling is the ShawnMichaels vs HulkHogan match at {{WWE}}'s Summerslam 2005. You can go see [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJVjsqv6W9Y here]].

[[folder: Theatre]]

* Demonstrated in ''{{Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead}}'' when Guildenstern seizes the Player's dagger and tries to stab him to death. Guildenstern thinks the Player has been KilledOffForReal, when the Tragedians start applauding and congratulating the Player on a death scene well played. (He considers his own performance "merely competent.")

[[folder: Videogames]]

* In {{Punch Out}}, especially the Wii version, boxers react in differing degrees to punches; depending on how you hit them, they'll either stand there stunned and take a flurry, take one hit and back off, or, depending on if you knock them down with a jab or a body blow, get sent flying or twirling backwards instead of merely falling over as real boxers usually do. Of course, the comical reactions are there to help the player and give them a rush from clobbering their opponent.

<<|ProfessionalWrestling|>>

* ''{{Superman}}'' in any given media is reduced to a pain riddled heap around kryptonite. Often his anguished reaction is over-the-top in order to emphasis how painful the experience is to him as he rarely feels discomfort, never mind unspeakable agony. Interestingly one of the great criticisms of Superman is that he is either being beaten to death or feels no pain at all. What exactly does "invulnerable" mean?

* Wrestling has the most literal version; the theatrics of pain is called "selling" in that medium.

* One of the great criticisms of {{Superman}} is that he is either being beaten to death or feels no pain at all. What exactly does "invulnerable" mean?
* In {{Punch Out}}, especially the Wii version, boxers react in differing degrees to punches; depending on how you hit them, they'll either stand there stunned and take a flurry, take one hit and back off, or, depending on if you knock them down with a jab or a body blow, get sent flying or twirling backwards instead of merely falling over as real boxers usually do. Of course, the comical reactions are there to help the player and give them a rush from clobbering their opponent.

<<|ProfessionalWrestling|>>

* Every now and then various soccer players get accusations of this.

* Demonstrated in ''{{Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead}}'' when Guildenstern seizes the Player's dagger and seems to stab him to death for real.