History Main / WeNeedaDistraction

* ''VideoGame/TheObscuraExperiment'': [[BigBad The Dark Matter]] is easily distracted by large outputs of energy. [[PlayerCharacter Priya]] can overcharge generators so they attract the Dark Matter, allowing her to sneak past it.

-->"Is that a bear?"
-->"Yeah."
-->"Is it mopping the floor?"
-->"Uh-huh."
-->"Have we gone nuts?"
-->"I'm not nuts. It's the bear who's nuts. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint That's carpeted up there.]]"

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': Maui sends Moana as bait to distract the giant crab Tamatoa so Maui can steal back his magical hook, which Moana does by flattering Tamatoa. While he doesn't really care about Moana, Tamatoa gets distracted anyway because he is a '''massive narcissist'''
-->'''Tamatoa:''' Are you just trying to get me to talk about myself? Because if you are...I WILL GLADLY DO SO! In song form!

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': Maui sends Moana as bait to distract the giant crab Tomatoa so Maui can steal back his magical hook. While he doesn't really care about Moana, Tomatoa gets distracted anyway because he is a '''massive nacissist'''
-->'''Tomatoa:'''"Are you just trying to get me to talk about myself? Because if you are...I WILL GLADLY DO SO! In song form!

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'':

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'': As seen in the official trailer, part of the gang's heist operation at a formal party involves getting the security guards to leave their posts, so Mr. Shark (who is DisguisedInDrag) does the honors at the request of Ms. Tarantula (who even quotes the trope name verbatim). Despite Mr. Wolf's advice to "keep it subtle", Mr. Shark hams it up by flipping a table and then pretending "she's" going into labor, and specifically [[LampshadeHanging calls upon the security guards to leave their posts and help "her"]].

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AlienResurrection''. Although it's a mystery just [[ItCanThink how smart the aliens are]], they appear to wait until security on the ship is occupied with the mercenaries and communications are cut off before implementing their escape.
* ''Film/AnimalHouse:''

* When the KGB is assaulting Carlos the Jackal's lair in the climax of ''[[Film/TheAssignment1997 The Assignment]]'' (1997), a KGB agent distracts the gatehouse guard simply by turning up as if for a routine visit and showing his credentials. While the guard leans in to inspect them, an Alpha Group operative slips in behind him with a silenced gun and blows his head off. The KGB man pockets his ID and enters the building [[DissonantSerenity without even breaking stride]].

** During the climax of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', Starlord starts dancing to his mix tape to distract Ronan the Accuser, [[spoiler:buying Rocket Raccoon enough time to fix his {{BFG}}]]. Ronan is so (understandably) confused by this that it actually works.

* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E6FracturedHouse "Fractured House"]], Lance Hunter needs to distract Marcus Scarlotti and his {{Mooks}} for a minute or so, to buy time for May and [[Comicbook/{{Mockingbird}} Bobbi]] to get into position. So he walks straight up to them, claiming to be another mercenary working for Comicbook/{{HYDRA}}, like them, (he ''is'' a mercenary, just one loyal to Comicbook/{{SHIELD}}) and offers them beers. While Scarlotti and his team don't buy Hunter's claim for a second, he keeps them confused long enough for May and Bobbi to catch the villains off guard.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds}} The Best of Both Worlds]]", the Enterprise puts on a distracting light show for the Borg while Data and Worf sneak in with a shuttle and rescue Picard. And it was ''epic''.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "[[{{Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E12WakingMoments}} Waking Moments]]", the crew has been captured and a distraction is needed for an AirVentEscape. Seven of Nine responds by [[ButtMonkey beating up Ensign Kim]] while loudly proclaiming their capture was all his fault.

* The VideoGame/MonkeyIsland series often used the "Look! A three-headed monkey!" line.

* Can be utilised as a strategy in VideoGame/TeamFortress2. For example, a common variation is to harass a target so that a Spy can get behind them to backstab them.

* In ''Videogame/MassEffect3'''s ''Citadel'' DLC, the team has to infiltrate a casino, and in order to disable some security devices, Shepard's teammate will distract guards to allow Shepard time to work. Distractions range from teammates turning up the cuteness, pretending to be drunk customers, recruiting the guards as possible Spectre candidates, standing in as food inspectors, berating the guards for being terrible at guarding, asking about a volus brothel upstairs, ranting about inhumane treatment of varren, pretending to cry, or in Javik's case, [[RefugeInAudacity insulting their entire species, declaring that everyone in the building would be killed in his cycle because games of chance were illegal, or telling them that he is a Prothean, and demanding to know what they think of that]].

* Webcomic/{{Roza}}: [[http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/index.php?date=2008-06-02 screams for help, and then climbs a tree while he's looking for the helper.]]

* Examples from [[Fanfic/Swing123AndGarfieldodiesCalvinverse the Calvinverse]]:

** [[SupportingLeader Aragorn's]] actions through the end of ''The Two Towers'' and the beginning of ''The Return of the King'' are an extended version of this, played deadly serious ([[Film/TheLordOfTheRings which is]] to say... [[CaptainObvious "A diversion!"]]). His plan is to lead a giant army up to Sauron's front doorstep to make him think he's mounting a FinalBattle, while Frodo and Sam sneak through Mordor and destroy the One Ring, leaving Sauron powerless to menace the world ever again.

* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'': when Lucifer the cat is blocking the door to outside, Jaq comes up with the idea to have one of the mice get his attention while the others get breakfast. Unfortunately, when [[DrawingStraws using their tails]] to [[WhoWillBellTheCat choose who would do it]], Jaq ends up picking ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own tail]]''. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint While Gus shakes his hand in congratulations]], they other mice [[HatsOffToTheDead feel for Jaq]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}': when Lucifer the cat is blocking the door to outside, Jaq comes up with the idea to have one of the mice get his attention while the others get breakfast. Unfortunately, when [[DrawingStraws using their tails]] to [[WhoWillBellTheCat choose who would do it]], Jaq ends up picking ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own tail]]''. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint While Gus shakes his hand in congratulations]], they other mice [[HatsOffToTheDead feel for Jaq]].

** Used again in the POVSequel, where Timon and Pumbaa have to stall the hyenas while Ma and Uncle Max set up their tunnel trap below.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-539 SCP-539]], a small metallic disc which causes a distraction when thrown, with the distraction becoming more extreme the harder to distract the watchers are. The distraction can range from [[NakedPeopleAreFunny people's clothes vanishing into thin air]] to dangerous wild animals appearing from out of nowhere (from a pack of komodo dragons to a ''bull shark''). It also works on proxy observers: when used to "distract" a security camera, the camera's monitoring computer suffered a fatal error that caused the security feed data to become irreparably corrupted.

* DistractingFakeFight

* One of ''UsefulNotes/TheThirtySixStrategems'' is to "clamor in the east, attack in the west" -- make noise about attacking one target while you actually attack a different one. Several other strategems also rely on misdirection of some kind to deceive your enemy into thinking you're going to do A when you're actually going to do B.

* One of ''UsefulNotes/TheThritySixStrategems'' is to "clamor in the east, attack in the west" -- make noise about attacking one target while you actually attack a different one. Several other strategems also rely on misdirection of some kind to deceive your enemy into thinking you're going to do A when you're actually going to do B.

** A much darker example in the penultimate book, where Jake [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll flushes 17,000 unhosted Yeerks into space.]]]] He and the other Animorphs try to justify it by saying they needed a distraction, but it was really [[spoiler:just an expression of raw revenge for everything the Yeerks and the war had taken from them]]. They also used [[spoiler:the Auxiliary Animorphs and the U.S. military as [[WeAreTeamCannonFodder Team Cannon Fodder]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E9CloakOfDarkness "Cloak of Darkness"]], Ventress sets off explosions in the engine room and lures the Jedi there to fight her so that [[TheMole Argyus]] can spring Gunray free with much less difficulty.

* ''WesternAnimation/Moana'': Maui sends Moana as bait to distract the giant crab Tomatoa so Maui can steal back his magical hook. While he doesn't really care about Moana, Tomatoa gets distracted anyway because he is a '''massive nacissist'''