History Main / TheyJustDontGetIt

* Throughout ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]'', Chloe proves completely unable to grasp ''why'' nothing turns out the way she anticipates. She can't see where she's gone wrong because that would require her to recognize that she's ''done'' wrong -- and in her mind, [[EntitledBitch she deserves everything she desires]]. So why, for instance, does Adrien find it so abhorrent that she'd gladly turn everyone into her [[MindControl mindless thralls]]? They should be ''happy'' to serve her! She also can't wrap her mind around the notion that Marinette's kindness ''isn't'' an act, and that she's not a SecretlySelfish BitchInSheepsClothing. No matter how much evidence piles up, she continues to insist that she ''must be'' just as self-serving as [[PsychologicalProjection Chloe herself is]].

** Ms. Bustier makes clear that she hasn't learned anything when she taps Marinette and the other active members of Team Miraculous to serve as {{Character Witness}}es in her upcoming divorce/custody trial. Despite her former 'star student' having already called her out for her poor teaching methods, she sincerely expects them to have nothing but good things to say about her, and tries to [[StealingTheCredit take credit]] for Chloe's CharacterDevelopment despite being one of her worst enablers. And even after being called out ''again'' and having things [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech painstakingly spelled out]] for her, she continues to insist she hasn't done anything wrong to deserve her LaserGuidedKarma.

* ''Fanfic/{{What Goes Around Comes Around|MiraculousLadybug}}'': Chloe spends the entire story threatening to have her father [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections use his powers as mayor]] to hurt anyone who defies her or gets in the way of what she wants. She continues this ''long'' after such threats have any impact. Even witnessing [[spoiler:her father being arrested for obstruction of justice]] does nothing to slow her down; her final scene has her screaming that "YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith" and threatening to have her daddy turn the [[spoiler:juvenile detention center]] into a spa, having completely failed to parse that her go-to tactic simply ''won't work'' anymore.

[[index]]
* TheyJustDontGetIt/FanWorks
* TheyJustDontGetIt/LiveActionTV
* TheyJustDontGetIt/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

%%* This happens pretty much ''every single time'' someone tries to explain something to Manga/{{Naruto}}.
%%* Anytime someone on ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' tries to explain romance to [[ObliviousToLove Ash]].

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Gonta Gokuhara, upon leaving a virtual reality simulation, claims to not have any clue what anyone's talking about when they mention a "ver-chew-ul world". Justified in that he's an idiot [[spoiler:and plugged the cords into his VR headset incorrectly so that his memory of the virtual world was wiped upon logging out]].
* Henry from ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' is prone to this. The protagonist is used to just giving up and feeding Henry a bullshit explanation that he understands rather than trying to hammer in a real one that he doesn’t.
* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'': Adrian Andrews doesn't seem to understand that refusing to testify, legally permissible or no, will not help her frame Matt Engarde for murder when the evidence now points to her instead. Justified however in that she does have a mental illness that would cause this behavior.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'', OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Yuuri Shibuya tries to explain to his new royal retainers that he's straight, after he mistakenly winds up engaged to another boy. [[EveryoneIsBi They never really seem to grasp the concept]], and eventually he stops bothering to argue.

* The above example was possibly inspired by a scene from ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' where the lord of Swamp Castle has to struggle immensely to get a pair of his guards to understand the simple order: stay here and keep the prince from leaving the room until the lord comes back to fetch him for his wedding. They make every possible misinterpretation of the order that it's possible to make, including: not letting the prince leave ''even after'' the lord comes back; not ''entering'' the room until the lord comes back; making sure the prince doesn't leave until the lord ''or anyone else'' comes for him; preventing the prince from ''entering'' the room; and asking whether it would be alright for the prince to leave if they accompanied him? When the lord thinks he's finally gotten through to him he turns to leave, only to find the guards trying to follow him out. Exasperatedly explaining it one more time, they seem to finally understand the concept of ''stay here and don't let the prince leave the room''- and then stand there smiling without interfering while the prince scribbles a plea for rescue on a note, ties it to an arrow, and shoots it out the window.

* [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Cersei Lannister]] in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is so [[ItsAllAboutMe incomprehensibly self-centered and arrogant]] that she's pathologically incapable of grasping the concept of an "ally" (an equal partner with whom to work together in a give-and-take relationship for a common end), [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity instead dividing the entire world into "servants" and "enemies"]]. Her house only holds the Iron Throne through the support of the powerful House Tyrell, who married their daughter Margaery to Cersei's son [[spoiler:King Tommen]], but she's convinced that they're enemies trying to undermine her and seize the throne for themselves, so she [[SkewedPriorities dedicates more of her efforts]] towards trying to undermine ''them'' than any of her ''actual'' enemies. When her uncle Kevan advises her to appoint a competent and efficient Tyrell bannerman like Mathis Rowan or Randyll Tarly as her Hand of the King, patiently explaining that this will strengthen her and ''weaken'' the Tyrells by depriving them of one of their strongest supporters and compromising his loyalty to them, she can only see it as treason, preferring instead to surround herself with [[YesMan talentless lickspittles]] who will bow and scrape to her every whim without question.

-->'''Grif''': Dude! I don't think he's physically capable of understanding what you're telling him.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/027/475/Screen_Shot_2018-10-25_at_11.02.15_AM.jpg Surprised Pikachu]] [[MemeticMutation meme]] is all about people being surprised by the incredibly obvious, usually detrimental outcome of a stupid action.

* Season 6 of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' sees Sarge completely unable to grasp the idea that in the time Red Team was split up, [[LazyBum Grif]] got promoted to captain. Once it gets to the point where Sarge asks where their ''invisible captain who has the exact same name as Grif'' is, Grif tells Simmons to stop trying to explain it to him, noting that he just doesn't have the mental capacity.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Several {{Kaiju}} get sent to Equestria and transformed into native species, including Destroyah, who looks like an Alicorn. After she [[AccidentalHero saves the Cutie Mark Crusaders from Timberwolves (she only attacked them because they were attacking her as well)]], the CMC repeatedly cheer her as a princess and a hero. No matter how many times she says she's not a princess, that she's actually a villain, and that they are annoying, they don't stop.
* Rupert and Earl, villainous aliens from ''Fanfic/TheCalvinverse'', believe Calvin is the Earth Potentate solely because Galaxoid and Nebular told them. They steadfastly hold this to be true, and dismiss any evidence to the contrary (including Calvin himself straight-up telling them). ''Fanfic/RetroChill'' finally subverts this when they get their hands on a guide that tells them that the Earth does not have a Potentate.
* In ''[[https://justcourttee.tumblr.com/post/625661666221342720/ Career Day]]'', [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] and his sons come to visit [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette]]'s classroom. Lila had naturally [[CelebrityLie claimed to be connected]] to the family, specifically insisting that Damian was her boyfriend. After Bruce mentions in passing that Marinette invited them, Alya repeatedly tries to 'correct' him, ignoring his repeated insistence on telling the truth.
* In ''[[Fanfic/FullCircleOddSquad Full Circle]]'', Olympia and Oona attempt to explain the concept of {{Shipping}} to Otis, first by listing couples in pop culture and then by boiling it down to "when a person wants two people to be a couple". It takes them a full two hours, to the point where Olympia's ponytail has come undone, Oona's lab coat is (somehow) on a beam in the ceiling, and one of the latter's suspender straps has broken, and the only way Otis is able to get it is by Oona showing him the famous GIF of [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Vladimir making two of his ceramic unicorns kiss]] that she has saved on Pinterest, since he's a visual learner. [[OhNoNotAgain And then he has to ask what Pinterest is...]]
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23773411 i'll come back like a boomerang]]'', Marinette exposes Lila for a ManipulativeBitch at her fashion show [[TimeSkip years after graduation]]. When her former classmates clamor for forgiveness, she calls them out for [[CassandraTruth dismissing her warnings]] and taking her for granted. Cue Adrien stepping forward and declaring that since ''he'' didn't fall for Lila's claims and knew all along, that means there's nothing to forgive with ''him'', right? Naturally, he's quite surprised to hear that she considers ''him'' to be unforgivable for precisely those same reasons -- he ''claimed'' to be on her side, but [[AccompliceByInaction stood by and let her be bullied]].
* In the ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'', you can shout at the Apex all you want, but they will ''never'' admit that they are hurting denizens and others for their fun. It's only until outside circumstances like ''the death of a child'' make them realize that they aren't as invincible as they thought they were.
* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'':
** No matter how many times Plagg, Marinette, or anyone else try to explain to Adrien ''why'' it's a problem to let [[ManipulativeBitch Lila]] continue deceiving their classmates and [[ConArtist running her various cons]], he continues to insist that it isn't an issue since ''he's'' not being directly affected. He also dismisses the notion that he'll ever have to deal with the consequences of his actions, blithely insisting that [[ObliviouslyEvil he hasn't done anything wrong]]. He retains this attitude even as [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty said consequences come calling]], convinced that things ''should'' go precisely the way he wants because [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality he's one of the heroes]]. The story ends without any HeelRealization or even an IgnoredEpiphany, as he continues to wonder what went wrong, unable or unwilling to recognize how he was HoistByHisOwnPetard.
** The same applies to Alya, who schemes to ''force'' Marinette to forgive them by bombarding her parents with sob stories until they make their daughter forgive them. When this [[HoistByHisOwnPetard blows up in her face]], she continues to insist that she ''deserves'' everything she once took for granted.
* Throughout ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]'', Chloe proves completely unable to grasp ''why'' nothing turns out the way she anticipates. She can't see where she's gone wrong because that would require her to recognize that she's ''done'' wrong -- and in her mind, [[EntitledBitch she deserves everything she desires]]. So why, for instance, does Adrien find it so abhorrent that she'd gladly turn everyone into her [[MindControl mindless thralls]]? They should be ''happy'' to serve her! She also can't wrap her mind around the notion that Marinette's kindness ''isn't'' an act, and that she's not a SecretlySelfish BitchInSheepsClothing. No matter how much evidence piles up, she continues to insist that she ''must be'' just as self-serving as [[PsychologicalProjection Chloe herself is]].
* ''Fanfic/LeaveForMendeleiev'':
** No matter how many times it's explained to him, Adrien never grasps the concept of why it's so important to keep their [[SecretIdentity secret identities]] ''secret''. This leads him to casually out Lila when he ''thinks'' that she's the Fox Heroine, ''while she's being held hostage by an akuma''. Even by the end of the story, he barely hesitates before telling [[spoiler:his father]] that he was Chat Noir; while this was spurred by a [[SayingTooMuch slip of the tongue]], he still reveals himself, fishing for sympathy.
** Adrien also never wraps his head around the notion that he's not [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to Ladybug's love]], taking for granted the notion that they ''have'' to get together because 'they're partners'. Even when Ladybug tells him that love takes time and work to build up, he simply declares that [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint it's a good thing they don't have to worry about that]].
* ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'', a RecursiveFanfiction for ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'', has its own share of examples:
** Alya remains insistent that she [[NeverMyFault can't be blamed]] for anything she did under Lila and Adrien's influence, and that Marinette just needs to hurry up and forgive her already so they can be besties again! She also believes that [[EntitledBastard she's entitled to being a superhero]], to the point where she seriously considers [[spoiler:stealing Miraculi from their rightful users]], failing to understand why anyone might have problems with this.
** Ms. Bustier makes clear that she hasn't learned anything when she taps Marinette and the other active members of Team Miraculous to serve as {{Character Witness}}es in her upcoming divorce/custody trial. Despite her former 'star student' having already called her out for her poor teaching methods, she sincerely expects them to have nothing but good things to say about her, and tries to [[StealingTheCredit take credit]] for Chloe's CharacterDevelopment despite being one of her worst enablers. And even after being called out ''again'' and having things [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech painstakingly spelled out]] for her, she continues to insist she hasn't done anything wrong to deserve her LaserGuidedKarma.
* ''[[Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug What Goes Around Comes Around]]'': Chloe spends the entire story threatening to have her father [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections use his powers as mayor]] to hurt anyone who defies her or gets in the way of what she wants. She continues this ''long'' after such threats have any impact. Even witnessing [[spoiler:her father being arrested for obstruction of justice]] does nothing to slow her down; her final scene has her screaming that "YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith" and threatening to have her daddy turn the [[spoiler:juvenile detention center]] into a spa, having completely failed to parse that her go-to tactic simply ''won't work'' anymore.
* In this ''VideoGame/SlyCooper''/''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' [[https://extraneousdominomask.tumblr.com/post/162205227287/a-zooplecoop-where-nick-and-judy-interrogating-a ficlet]], Nick and Judy capture one of Muggshot's guard dogs and keep it in the interrogation room. Carmelita tries to explain the difference between [[FurryConfusion dogs like Muggshot and dogs like the guard dog]] but to no avail.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* One sketch on ''Series/AllThat'' has Superdude, played by [[http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Thompson,_Kenan/ Kenan Thompson]], being confronted by an impostor played by an 11-year-old [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004789/bio Amanda Bynes]] wearing a copy of his costume. The townspeople, incapable of [[SpotTheImpostor determining the fraud]] based on physical appearance, are further unable to distinguish the difference in PowerLevels when they see Superdude bending a giant pipe and the impostor tearing up a piece of paper.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In the fifth season, the fact that [[spoiler:mild-mannered doctor, Ben]] morphs into the Big Bad [[spoiler:Glory]] is concealed from anyone who finds this out by means of a spell which makes them instantly forget it. When several of the Scooby gang actually see [[spoiler:Ben morph into Glory]] in front of them they cannot comprehend what they saw, even when directly and repeatedly reminded of it by Spike [[spoiler: (who is immune to the forget spell)]]. This, of course, drives Spike to utter distraction. Particularly when the spell no longer works:
--> '''Xander:''' Wait, guys... I think... [[spoiler:Ben]] IS [[spoiler: Glory!]]\\
'''Spike:''' Well, ''look at the big brain on you!'' I've only been saying that for the last two weeks!
* ''Series/FatherTed'': Once, Father Ted tries to explain to Father Dougal the difference between cows that are small and cows that are far away.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Alice mentions that Frank Junior wants to name his future son "Frank Junior Junior". When Chandler points out that it should be "Frank the Third", Alice responds with an exasperated "Don't get me started", implying that she's already had this argument with Frank to no avail.
* ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'': A frequent source of humour in the series is the characters being unable to understand a simple fact no matter how long it is being explained to them (Perceval and Karadoc are the most common offenders).
** Perceval can't understand that the Lady of the Lake is a SpiritAdvisor visible only to Arthur. He thinks she's Arthur's cousin, and that she never shows up because she's shy.
** Perceval also has a hard time with TheUndead, asking whether they are living or dead. Arthur's attempt at explaining such {{Oxymoronic Being}}s to him doesn't go anywhere.
** Gauvain can't understand that his father having rebelled against King Arthur means he will have to choose between his loyalty to his father and to the Round Table.
--->'''Gauvain:''' But even if my father betrayed you, you and him are still friends, right?
** [[spoiler:After his failed suicide attempt,]] Arthur doesn't have the will nor the strength to feed himself. Karadoc tries bringing him food, and when Arthur repeatedly tries to explain that he's not hungry, Karadoc (who's a BigEater) just cannot grasp the concept.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': Parker, having SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, falls victim to this trope regularly.
** Series wide, she can never seem to keep track of what "normal" people do or act like no matter how many times the team try and explain it to her. She eventually [[CharacterDevelopment grows out of it]], but it's pretty egregious in the early seasons; her attempts at playing Succotash fall flat because all of her guesses involve stealing things, her idea of hanging out with someone is stealing a painting, and it takes her almost ''five seasons'' to realize Hardison really was terrified every time he was forced to jump off a high point.
** She spends the entirety of "The Miracle Job" convinced Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus are the same person. Parker gets it by the end of the episode, but she keeps having to be corrected way too many times.
** Throughout "The Juror #12 Job", she just cannot remember that "Alice White" is one of her aliases and not someone else entirely. Three seasons later, Parker ''still'' can't fully wrap her head around the notion that she is Alice.
** She really struggles to grasp the concept of Sophie faking her death in "The Two Live Crew Job", to the point where she worries that Sophie might be a ghost.
** She doesn't get that the Fiddle Game con they're running in "The Studio Job" has Eliot as the fiddle until halfway through the episode.
** She spends most of "The Cross My Heart Job" convinced that the island they just came from, nicknamed the Emerald of the Caribbean, had actual emeralds somewhere on it, much to Eliot's exasperation.
* ''Series/LimmysShow'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fC2oke5MFg this sketch]] Limmy fails to grasp that [[StockLateralThinkingPuzzle a kilogram of steel weighs the same as a kilogram of feathers]], even when his friends demonstrate with a literal kilogram of each material on a scale.
* On one ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode, Tom Servo is completely unable to grasp the concept of TabletopGame/TrivialPursuit, giving nonsensical answers that have nothing to do with the questions and sticking with answers even after being told they're wrong. Joel finally says the trope name word-for-word.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
** This exchange from the episode "Stasis Leak":
--->'''Cat:''' ''[to Rimmer]'' What is it?\\
'''Rimmer:''' It's a rent in the space-time continuum.\\
'''Cat:''' ''[to Lister]'' What is it?\\
'''Lister:''' The stasis room freezes time, you know, makes time stand still. So whenever you have a leak, it must preserve whatever it's leaked into, and it's leaked into this room.\\
'''Cat:''' ''[to Rimmer]'' What is it?\\
'''Rimmer:''' It's singularity, a point in the universe where the normal laws of space and time don't apply.\\
'''Cat:''' ''[to Lister]'' What is it?\\
'''Lister:''' It's a hole back into the past.\\
'''Cat:''' Oh, a magic door! Well, why didn't you say?
** Not to mention the TropeNamer for EverybodysDeadDave, where Lister simply cannot comprehend that all of his shipmates have been killed. Either that or he can't get past the [[FiveStagesOfGrief first stage of grief]].
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': The episode "Symbiosis" featured drugs. Wesley Crusher says he doesn't understand why anyone would take drugs because the health problems associated with them are well documented. Tasha Yar tries to explain drug addiction and how people turn to drugs to escape from their problems, but he is completely unable to comprehend the concept.
* ''Series/{{Survivor}}'':
** [[EntitledBastard Russell Hantz]] ''still'' has no idea why he lost the game twice in a row, despite everyone from interviewers to fellow contestants, to Jeff Probst himself explaining that you ''just can't'' piss off the people who will be casting the votes that decide whether or not you get the million. Instead, he's going with the theory that ''the game'' is flawed -- especially since the two girls he lost to beat him by being less reprehensible than himself. Even Parvati was seen as the lesser of two evils in "Heroes vs. Villains" (and received three jury votes).
** He and his allies also didn't realize why he was evicted from "Redemption Island" so early despite that unlike the first two times he played, people ''knew'' who he was, and he had made ''no'' visible effort to change his game. (There is more or less ''no'' excuse outside of having never seen the show before for ''not'' knowing Russell's game by now.)
--->'''Jeff:''' ''[in a sneak preview for Redemption Island]'' He ''still'' doesn't get it! He still thinks that everybody loves him.
* One sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' featured a young doctor working in a ''Film/CarryOn'' style saucy seventies hospital, where everyone communicated in sexual DoubleEntendre and he responded by offering to get his cock out. He was ultimately fired after failing to understand the difference.
* ''Series/TheWhitestKidsUKnow'': in the bank robbery sketch, the leader shows blueprints for the bank they plan to rob. Train Bike has a problem with understanding it's two levels of the same building and not two different buildings. This ends up costing them their first attempt. [[StupidCrooks The next attempts don't go any better.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The centerpoint of the Chicken Boo sketches on ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' is that the OnlySaneMan is trying, and for most of the sketch failing, to explain why Chicken Boo, who walks like a chicken, clucks likes a chicken and looks like a chicken is, in fact, a chicken.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': Master Shake, Meatwad, and the Mooninites try to cash what they think is a check [[spoiler:(it's actually a medical bill)]] at a convenience store. The clerk tries in vain to tell them they don't cash checks but they just think he's refusing to cash it. They try again later by having Meatwad (badly) impersonate Carl to cash it. Which the clerk sees through but doesn't care since, again, they don't cash checks.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'':
** The title character is simply unable to grasp the notion that a [[InsistentTerminology rigid airship]] filled with non-flammable helium is considerably safer than, say, UsefulNotes/TheHindenburg. Lampshaded at one point:
--->'''Lana:''' What part of that aren't you getting?\\
'''Archer:''' Obviously the core concept.
** Archer is, in fact, unable to grasp a number of basic concepts related to his job. He's ''competent'', but also ''an idiot''.
--->'''Mallory:''' Most secret agents don't tell every hooker from here to Hanoi that they're a spy!\\
'''Archer:''' ...then why ''be'' one?
** Archer, as well as the other characters, keep trying to shoot Barry, despite him having become a cyborg who is completely ImmuneToBullets, and Archer even stupidly tries to fight him hand-to-hand on several occasions. Effectually Archer finally [[spoiler:''does'' get it, and buys explosive shotgun shells during their second-to-last meeting]]
--->'''Barry:''' Yeah, remember right now, when I'm a ''friggin cyborg?!''
* In the ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' Creator/ChristianBale vs Creator/AdamWest fight, everyone thinks Adam West is dead and was brought back with the Deathmatch Time Machine. Despite West reminding them they sent him a car, everybody still think he died. [[spoiler: This helped him turn the fight around when Bale pushes the dead button one too many times.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': In "Chess Mom", Dexter competes in a chess tournament. His mother loudly cheers for him, but everybody tells her to be quiet so the players can concentrate. She doesn't get it and keeps cheering louder and louder until she is kicked out of the building.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'': Similarly to the Simpsons example, Duckman once contracted an incurable disease from ingesting a mix of ingredients, one of which included acid from a car battery, that made him grow uncontrollably whenever he lost his temper. When Dr. Stein tried to explain it, Duckman kept demanding it "in English".
-->'''Stein:''' Okay.... the square thingie in your car has a goo inside it...
* ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|2017}}'': In an episode, Launchpad's response when Mrs. Beakly suggests he try driving a subway train ''without'' crashing it is confusion at the concept.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', when Peter is trying to help Mort get more business for his pharmacy he explains the concept of sales and selling things at a discount, however all the [[GreedyJew stereotypically Jewish]] Mort can hear is gibberish. He understands just fine when Peter talks about sales at others business's, just not his own.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Averted in an episode. The Professor shows everyone a complex equation. Amy gasps as she realizes it describes the impending end of the world. Then Hermes reacts as he realizes what it means. Fry just says "Don't wait for me."
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': This is Dib's problem. No matter how much he tries, no-one believes his claims that Zim is an alien from another planet. Whenever he's not foiling one of Zim's schemes (or trying to), he's trying to get the proof he needs; but even when he does get something, something else happens and he loses his credibility. (His sister Gaz knows, she just doesn't ''care'', mainly because she realizes Zim is too incompetent to ''actually'' conquer Earth.)
-->'''Dib:''' ZIM IS AN ALIEN! Why do I even have to try and prove it this much!?
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who would be at least mildly competent at the whole MadScientist thing if it weren't for the fact that he just ''cannot'' grasp that Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus is, in fact, his arch-nemesis, Perry the Platypus. As long as Perry doesn't wear his NiceHat, Doofenshmirtz is simply incapable of recognizing him, even if he changes right in front of him.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePJs'': Yet another doctor example, when Thurgood's doctor tries to explain high blood pressure to him.
-->'''Doctor:''' Your blood is bad, especially when you get mad, and if you die, you'll be very sad!\\
'''Thurgood:''' Now was that so hard?
* ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'': This is frequently the case between the Angry Scientist and General Specific.
-->'''Angry Scientist:''' We are not needing a plan! We simply go having to the house of Little Lisa Rental!\\
'''General Specific:''' I see. And she knows where Sheep is?\\
'''Angry Scientist:''' She has Sheep! She has Sheep! What she calls a dog is really Sheep! The dog is Sheep! Can I be making it any clearer to you!\\
'''General Specific:''' Perhaps. Do you have any charts? I love charts!\\
'''Angry Scientist:''' ''The dog is Sheep! The dog is Sheep!'' '''The dog is Sheep!'''\\
'''General Specific:''' I'm finding you hard to believe without any charts.\\
'''Angry Scientist:''' '''AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!'''
:: General Specific eventually figures it out when he wakes up to Sheep bleeting in the night. Rendering Angry Scientist making all those charts worthless.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons:'' Homer Simpson more than once.
** Most famously when the doctor was trying to tell him that he needed a coronary bypass/heart surgery, and Homer continually asking him to use simpler terms until Hibbert said, "We're going to cut you open and tinker with your ticker," in a slow and deliberate fashion as though talking to a child. Homer still asked him to dumb it down.
** In another episode, the family is in a witness relocation program, and given the surname Thompson. Homer is given instructions to say "Hello" back when someone says "Hello, Mr. Thompson." Homer claims to understand that he is Mr. Thompson, but doesn't respond when prompted immediately afterwards. Time passes and the next thing we see is Homer failing to even non-verbally acknowledge the agent stomping exasperatedly on his foot, believing the other agent to be the "Mr. Thompson" that the first agent is trying to talk to.
** In "Bart Carny" when Homer and Bart are working the ringtoss booth at the carnival. Wiggum tries to get Homer to bribe him, (Bart, of course, gets it immediately) but after three tries (one of which includes mentioning his friend "Mr. Bribe"), Wiggum decides "screw this", and shuts the booth down. Later in the episode, Wiggum refuses to help the Simpson family when the owners of that booth took over their house. Homer ''still'' doesn't get it.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** This happens pretty often when one of the kids tries in vain to explain the facts of the situation to the adults, and the adults either just don't get it or else get it horribly, horribly wrong. For example, in two separate episodes, Stan and Kyle (respectively) try to demonstrate that psychics are fake by explaining their methods. Both times, [[SpringtimeForHitler they are revered as psychics themselves.]]
** Another episode has a [[EvilCannotComprehendGood moral equivalent]] to this when Butters [[DisproportionateRetribution is arrested]] for toilet papering a house when the main characters were the ones who really did it. Cartman ''cannot'' understand why the others think this is a bad thing, since he's a sociopath who simply does not care about other people in the slightest.
** One episode has the military ask Creator/MNightShyamalan and Creator/MichaelBay for help in defeating the terrorists occupying Imaginationland. The first describes a bunch of plot twists, the second a long action sequence where everything explodes. When told what they just said doesn't help at all, their response is to stare blankly back at the general. [[spoiler:When Creator/MelGibson comes in, [[BunnyEarsLawyer he's insane, but they say at least he understands story structure.]]]]
--->'''General:''' Those aren't ideas, those are special effects!\\
'''Creator/MichaelBay:''' ... I don't understand the difference.\\
'''General:''' [[TakeThat I know you don't.]]
** Another episode has Sharon repeatedly expressing her annoyance at how Randy and seemingly everyone else are so concerned with [[SeriousBusiness the massive]] [[ToiletHumor piece of crap Randy excreted]], going "Why are men so obsessed with how big their crap is?!" Stan tells her later in the episode "You don't understand, Mom. You just don't understand," much to her exasperation. (Both a news anchor and a employee at Guinness World Records, both of whom are also female, also express their annoyance, though in the latter's case, she's heard explaining to someone on the phone that Guinness simply doesn't want to handle the flood of men calling about their giant craps and instead redirects them to another organization.)
* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': The silly song "ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything" features Pa Grape and Mr. Lunt singing about all the pirate-related activities that they have never done, but Larry sings about completely random and ridiculous things he has never done. Pa and Mr. Lunt try to explain to him that "we're supposed to sing about pirate-y things", but get sidetracked into a debate on whether Pa looks like Cap'n Crunch. Larry sings another gleefully un-piratey verse and Pa shakes his head and proclaims "You just don't get it" before the song ends.
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** [[https://notalwaysright.com/dog-gone-cruelty-will-make-your-dogs-gone/78530/ Another perfect case]], where a woman drops a pair of dogs off at an animal shelter -- please note, by "drops off" we mean that literally: [[KickTheDog dropped from the top of a five-foot fence just so she didn't have to pay a fee]] --, then comes back long after said dogs have been adopted by someone else looking for them, assuming the place was a boarding kennel and refusing to believe otherwise. She ends up dragging a police officer into the mess, who immediately arrests her for animal cruelty and neglect -- and the story ends with the reveal that she also had contempt of court charges added to that, for ''still'' not understanding that the place was not a kennel and even ''[[WhatAnIdiot spitting in a judge's face]]'' for siding with them in the case.

** [[EntitledBastard Russell Hantz]] ''still'' has no idea why he lost the game twice in a row, despite everyone from interviewers to fellow contestants, to Jeff Probst himself explaining that you ''just can't'' piss off the people who will be casting the votes that decide whether or not you get the million. Instead (like some of the [[FanNickname Hantz Nation]]), he's going with the theory that ''the game'' is flawed -- especially since the two girls he lost to beat him by being less reprehensible than himself. Even Parvati was seen as the lesser of two evils in "Heroes vs. Villains" (and received three jury votes).

* Throughout ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]'', Chloe proves completely unable to grasp ''why'' nothing turns out the way she anticipates. She can't see where she's gone wrong because that would require her to recognize that she's ''done'' wrong -- and in her mind, [[EntitledBitch she deserves everything she desires]]. So why, for instance, does Adrien find it so abhorrent that she'd gladly turn everyone into her [[MindControl mindless thralls]]? They should be ''happy'' to serve her! She also can't wrap her mind around the notion that Marinette's kindness ''isn't'' an act, and that she's not a SecretlySelfish BitchInSheepsClothing. No matter how much evidence piles up, she continues to insist that she ''must be'' just as self-serving as [[PsychologicalProjection Chloe herself is]].

* ''Fanfic/LeaveForMendeleiev'':
** No matter how many times it's explained to him, Adrien never grasps the concept of why it's so important to keep their [[SecretIdentity secret identities]] ''secret''. This leads him to casually out Lila when he ''thinks'' that she's the Fox Heroine, ''while she's being held hostage by an akuma''. Even by the end of the story, he barely hesitates before telling [[spoiler:his father]] that he was Chat Noir; while this was spurred by a [[SayingTooMuch slip of the tongue]], he still reveals himself, fishing for sympathy.
** Adrien also never wraps his head around the notion that he's not [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to Ladybug's love]], taking for granted the notion that they ''have'' to get together because 'they're partners'. Even when Ladybug tells him that love takes time and work to build up, he simply declares that [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint it's a good thing they don't have to worry about that]].

* In the ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'', you can shout at the Apex all you want, but they will ''never'' admit that they are hurting denizens and others for their fun. It's only until outside circumstances like ''the death of a child'' make them realize that they aren't as invincible as they thought they were.
* In ''[[Fanfic/FullCircleOddSquad Full Circle]]'', Olympia and Oona attempt to explain the concept of {{Shipping}} to Otis, first by listing couples in pop culture and then by boiling it down to "when a person wants two people to be a couple". It takes them a full two hours, to the point where Olympia's ponytail has come undone, Oona's lab coat is (somehow) on a beam in the ceiling, and one of the latter's suspender straps has broken, and the only way Otis is able to get it is by Oona showing him the famous GIF of [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Vladimir making two of his ceramic unicorns kiss]] that she has saved on Pinterest, since he's a visual learner. [[OhNoNotAgain And then he has to ask what Pinterest is...]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In the ''WebAnimation/HowItShouldHaveEnded'' video "How WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}} Should Have Ended", the Elder Troll tells Elsa that she must control her powers and fear will be her enemy. Elsa's parents ask if he's saying they should do what they did in the movie, which the Elder Trolls points out what they're suggesting has nothing to do with what he said and just flat out tells them ThePowerOfLove will save their daughter. The Elder Troll decides to just take them someplace who can actually help Elsa: [[spoiler:[[Franchise/XMen Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters]].]]
* Season 6 of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' sees Sarge completely unable to grasp the idea that in the time Red Team was split up, [[LazyBum Grif]] got promoted to captain. Once it gets to the point where Sarge asks where their ''invisible captain who has the exact same name as Grif'' is, Grif tells Simmons to stop trying to explain it to him, noting that he just doesn't have the mental capacity.
* In the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' episode "New Challenges", Jaune decides to get the rest of Team JNPR to defeat their opponents through tag team attacks similar to what Team RWBY does. However, when he does so, tossing out the names "Flower Power" and "Arkos", the ''entire match'' grinds to a halt as Pyrrha, Ren and Nora are confused about Jaune's talking about and their opponents are confused as to why they're arguing in the middle of a match.
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/BinderOfShame'': Blobert is entirely incapable of understanding the use of drama cards in ''TabletopGame/{{Torg}}''. Al Bruno tries to explain that they're there to enable cinematic stunts that go beyond the normal dice-rolling system and uses specific scenes from movies as examples of what it would look like, but that just confuses Blobert even more since movies are movies and not roleplaying games.

* In ''[[https://justcourttee.tumblr.com/post/625661666221342720/ Career Day]]'', [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] and his sons come to visit [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette]]'s classroom. Lila had naturally [[CelebrityLie claimed to be connected]] to the family, specifically insisting that Damien was her boyfriend. After Bruce mentions in passing that Marinette invited them, Alya repeatedly tries to 'correct' him, ignoring his repeated insistence on telling the truth.

* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': Master Shake, Meatwad, and the Mooninites try to cash what they think is a check [[spoiler:(it's actually a medical bill)]] at a connivence store. The clerk tries in vain to tell them they don't cash checks but they just think he's refusing to cash it. They try again later by having Meatwad (badly) impersonate Carl to cash it. Which the clerk sees through but doesn't care since, again, they don't cash checks.

** No matter how many times Plagg, Marinette, or anyone else try to explain to Adrien ''why'' it's a problem to let [[ManipulativeBitch Lila]] continue deceiving their classmates and [[ConArtist running her various cons]], he continues to insist that it isn't an issue since ''he's'' not being directly effected. He also dismisses the notion that he'll ever have to deal with the consequences of his actions, blithely insisting that [[ObliviouslyEvil he hasn't done anything wrong]]. He retains this attitude even as [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty said consequences come calling]], convinced that things ''should'' go precisely the way he wants because [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality he's one of the heroes]]. The story ends without any HeelRealization or even an IgnoredEpiphany, as he continues to wonder what went wrong, unable or unwilling to recognize how he was HoistByHisOwnPetard.

** [[RecursiveFanfiction Recursive Fanfic]] ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34580389/chapters/86079574 Tales of Karmic Lies: Aftermath]]'' takes this [[UpToEleven several steps further]], with Alya scheming to [[spoiler:steal Miraculi from their rightful users]], sincerely believing that ''this'' will enable her to become a heroine again.

** [[RecursiveFanfiction Recursive Fanfic]] ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34580389/chapters/86079574 Tales of Karmic Lies: Aftermath]]'' takes this [[UpToEleven several steps further]], with Alya scheming to [[spoiler:steal Miraculi from their rightful users]].

* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': No matter how many times Plagg, Marinette, or anyone else try to explain to Adrien ''why'' it's a problem to let [[ManipulativeBitch Lila]] continue deceiving their classmates and [[ConArtist running her various cons]], he continues to insist that it isn't an issue since ''he's'' not being directly effected. He also dismisses the notion that he'll ever have to deal with the consequences of his actions, blithely insisting that [[ObliviouslyEvil he hasn't done anything wrong]]. He retains this attitude even as [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty said consequences come calling]], convinced that things ''should'' go precisely the way he wants because [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality he's one of the heroes]]. The story ends without any HeelRealization or even an IgnoredEpiphany, as he continues to wonder what went wrong, unable or unwilling to recognize how he was HoistByHisOwnPetard.