Line #140 Main/AdviceBackfire


1	%%
2	%%
3	%%
4	%%
5	%%
6	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
7	%%
8	%%
9	%%
10	%%
11	%%
12	->'''Lt. Hagerman''': She is grieving. Just don't...''contradict'' anything she says.\
13	'''Grieving mother:''' All my hopes and dreams were bundled in this boy. I can't help but feel that all of this is somehow my fault!\
14	'''Gunter:''' ''[clasps her hands]'' It is. You are completely to blame.
15	-->-- ''Series/BulletInTheFace'', "Drug of Choice"
16
17	I have some advice for you, so listen carefully. [[HypocriticalHumor Never, ever give anyone advice.]] Doing so can only ever end badly for almost everyone involved. Instructions are just as bad. Invariably, one of the following will happen:
18
19	* You're giving advice to TheDitz or {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. Your advice may be perfectly sound, but they are ultimately incapable of acting on it in a logical manner. They may take a euphemism used in the explanation, or [[SarcasmBlind a sarcastic reply]] to one or more questions they raised before or after, literally; or they could take something more normal and make it something completely abstract.
20	* Perhaps they are capable of understanding, but you or they have overestimated their ability. At step 3 in your seven-step plan, they'll measure something incorrectly and won't catch it until the whole thing blows up in their face. Or, alternately, you may have been giving them advice on the proper method to moving heavy equipment, not realizing that all the method in the world won't make up for their physical weakness when the equipment falls on them. Or they could just be [[FinaglesLaw jinxed]].
21	* A vital piece of information may be missing. You might have thought you heard the whole story when you hadn't and given advice based on that, which can result in flawed instructions or an unnecessarily hurtful tirade aimed at someone you assumed was a JerkAss. Alternately, something that [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat went without saying for you]] or had been well-learned from your own experience might be conspicuously missing for them; this version in particular inspires some interesting [[TruthInTelevision anecdotes]].
22	* Perhaps the person you were giving advice to is someone who you ought not have. Maybe they're the villain and you don't know it yet. Maybe ''you're'' the villain and you don't know it yet. Maybe your ultimate goals are simply mutually exclusive. Maybe you're in direct competition, and you figure they're no threat anyway so you might as well be a FriendlyEnemy. In any event, the information you give them will, invariably, result in your defeat at their hands. It doesn't matter if the advice happens to be [[Music/TheyMightBeGiants "it's Istanbul, not Constantinople"]], ''it will get you killed''. Er, if potential death was ever a factor, at least.
23	* Or, maybe you're not the one originally giving the advice. Maybe you're relaying a message from another advice-giver. But, unfortunately, something has been lost in translation, or [[ItMakesSenseInContext only fits in a certain context.]] You obviously can't clarify for the recipient, so if these differences change the message significantly, you're out of luck. On a related note, if you're sending such a message through someone else, you should take care that the deliverer is trustworthy, and preferably also that he doesn't know what the message is; if he acts on information intended for someone else entirely, that could throw things out of whack.
24	* Finally, it's entirely possible for your advice to be [[PoorCommunicationKills conveyed in an extremely poor manner]], causing the person you're advicing to draw [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint wildly different lessons from it than you intended.]]
25
26	[[UnwantedAssistance So don't just go telling someone whatever you think will solve their problems]]. It usually won't, at least not the way you want it to.
27	----
28	!!Examples:
29
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
33	* ''Anime/DragonBallGT'': During the Super 17 Saga, [[MadScientist Dr. Myuu's]] last words to Super 17 are to finish Goku and Android 18, and show them he can't be controlled. Super 17 responds by promptly turning on Myuu and annihilating him:
34	-->'''Super 17''': You're right, Doctor! ''Nobody'' controls me!
35	* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'':
36	** Gowasu, the [[TopGod Supreme Kai]] of [[AlternateUniverse Universe 10]], orders his [[FantasticRacism anti-mortal]] apprentice Zamasu to fight Goku so he can have a better idea on how mortals are. Although he is shocked along with Zamasu on how powerful Goku is, he thinks Zamasu got a positive experience from fighting Goku. Instead, Zamasu just ends up convinced that mortals are both foolish ''and'' dangerous. Then he takes Zamasu 1000 years into the future of a primitive planet, thinking the mortals would have calmed down by then. They've developed some culture but are still pretty barbaric, which doesn't help Zamasu's attitude... and leads to him killing one of their inhabitants.
37	** When talking to Zamasu about his belief that there must be a BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, he says that evil is needed for justice to prosper since justice is created to counteract evil. Just before Zamasu [[spoiler:tries to kill him]], Zamasu says that he finally understands [[NecessarilyEvil how acts of evil can lead to justice]].
38	* In ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'', Jo Tetsuma is so literal that he takes everything WAY OVERBOARD. When told to 'keep hydrated' in preparation for a match, he went through twenty-something water-bottles in less than five minutes, resulting in the one time he ever deviated from his pass route--running off the field in the middle of a game to get to the bathroom after getting a stomach cramp.
39	* This happens in ep. 32 of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003''. A group of thugs surrounds Al and informs him that he's being kidnapped. Al says he was taught not to go anywhere with strangers. One of the guys advises him not to take orders from adults, saying something along the lines of "You're 14 years old, act like a man and make your own choices!" Al takes his advice and chooses to fight rather than go with strangers.
40	* During the Culture Festival arc in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Tsubame comes to Kaguya for advice regarding a love confession she just got. Kaguya assumes that it must be one of Ishigami's many romantic rivals and tries to help her out by encouraging Tsubame to turn down the boy as harsly as possible... but then she learns that Ishigami was the boy in question and quickly reverses her advice since Ishigami getting his heart broken would force her and Shirogane to put their own potential romance on hold per TheBroCode. This gets taken even further when Kaguya realizes that Ishigami only ([[AchievementsInIgnorance accidentally]]) asked Tsubame out in the first place because of encouragement that she gave him the previous day.
41	* In ''Manga/MyWifeIsAHighSchoolGirl'' a young store clerk is immediately smitten by the eponymous girl Asami, later he tells Kyosuke (oblivious that he is Asami's husband) that he has a crush on one girl, Kyosuke ignorant of the fact that he is talking about his wife advices to "never give up on her, no matter how many times you are rejected, fight for her". You can guess how that turns out.
42	* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' directional advice shouldn't be given to Ryoga. He will follow it to the letter and ignore common sense. One time he was told the quickest way back to Tokyo was to follow this one road straight to Tokyo. He follows it until he came to a curve around a mountain and continues on that straight line, going off the road and into the woods.
43	* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': Kaneki's MissingMom always told him that it's "[[ExtremeDoormat better to be hurt than to hurt others]]." Not only did following her own advice result in his mother literally working herself to death to provide for both her own home and that of her {{Jerkass}} sister, who [[TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity took advantage of her at every opportunity]], but following it himself resulted in Kaneki being captured and undergoing ten days of ColdBloodedTorture at the hands of the crazed ghoul Yamori, resulting in him discarding his humanity altogether.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Comic Books]]
47	* In ''ComicBook/SupremePower'', Hyperion (the Superman AlternateCompanyEquivalent who has been programmed by the US government to be its ultimate secret soldier since his childhood) goes to {{Confessional}} in a Catholic Church desperately looking for someone to connect to on a real level. It turns out he secretly knows that he's been lied to all his life, and he's angry as hell about it, and he details this to the priest in some general and non-specific ways. The priest gives him what would be good, reasonable advice to try to deal with this situation honestly and get rid of the lies, which prompts Hyperion to force a bloody confrontation with the US Military and almost gets the priest accidentally flash fried by Hyperion's heat vision.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Fan Works]]
51	* ''Fanfic/MoralOfTheStoryNyame'': Diggle constantly advising Oliver to ignore Laurel and citing her as a distraction from the latter's mission to save the city is one of the driving factors that leads to Oliver's abusive outburst towards Laurel in the hallway, the situation that led to her suicide. Felicity calls him out on it while she's quitting the team, and later on Oliver, Laurel, and even Diggle himself openly acknowledge that it was terrible advice, mainly driven by Diggle's unwarranted grudge against Laurel for Oliver choosing to help her over him during the episode "Home Invasion". When Laurel briefly visits Starling for Moira's funeral, Diggle goes out of his way to apologize for it.
52	* ''Fanfic/TheOmnitrixHero'': When Shining Armor gets injured during one of Flash Sentry's battles with Vilgax's drones, Flash becomes extremely guilty over it and [[ItsAllMyFault blames himself for it]]. While visiting Shining in the hospital, Shining advices him not to dwell on it and instead try to learn from it instead of repeating the mistake in the future. Unfortunately, this leads to Flash deciding that [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies nobody is safe around him as long as he has the Omnitrix, because villains like Vilgax will keep coming after him]] and tries to isolate himself by leaving his home and everybody he knows behind. This is lampshaded by Shining Armor himself after Trixie convinces Flash to not push his friends away.
53	-->'''Shining Armor:''' When I said you needed to take steps to improve and make sure people didn't get hurt, I didn't mean completely blacklisting everyone you care about.
54	* Happens twice in ''FanFic/TheOneToMakeItStay'':
55	** Alya keeps pressuring Marinette to go after what she wants... while ignoring her BFF's insistence that what she ''wants'' has changed; she's not interested in Adrien anymore, and really doesn't appreciate Alya continuously trying to force them together. Naturally, Alya's ''very'' surprised when Marinette takes her advice about being more decisive by ''decisively'' putting her foot down. All those times she told her to be more assertive, she didn't mean for it to be with ''her''!
56	** Adrien later tells Marinette that she should make up with Alya by apologizing. Marinette immediately calls him out on not knowing anything about ''why'' they're arguing in the first place and treating her like ''she's'' the sole source of the problem. (She does so unaware that [[spoiler:Adrien ''does'' know -- or thinks he knows -- that it has something to do with her former crush on him]]. Not that it would help his case any if she ''was'' aware of that little detail...)
57	* In ''Fanfic/VivaLaVida'', Olive tries to seek advice from Otto and Oscar about her feeling bored and through with Odd Squad. She never tries getting into contact with the latter, and talking with the former doesn't work out when he refuses to listen to her and drags her along to solve a case instead, which in turn leads to them getting into an argument. Instead, she seeks advice from Odd Todd, who tells her to quit Odd Squad and [[WeCanRuleTogether join him instead.]] She doesn't take too kindly to it initially, but does eventually end up joining due to how bad of a state her mental health is in.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
61	* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}'': When King Triton asks Sebastian if he was [[WasTooHardOnHim too tough on Ariel]], the crab says he wasn't being tough enough and says "If I were you, I'd show her who's boss." The next day, when Triton discovers that his daughter has been collecting objects from the surface (and has fallen in love with a human), he responds by flying into an UnstoppableRage and destroying everything in sight, breaking her heart and endangering her life. Needless to say, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone both characters are completely mortified by this]].
62	[[/folder]]
63
64
65	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
66	* ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie'': Jake's sister Catherine advises him that if he wants to get Janey's attention he must sing a song with her name in it. While Janey is taking an outdoor art class, Jake commandeers the school's PA system and sings [[Music/{{Aerosmith}} 'Janey's Got A Gun']]. One of the other students points a finger at her and shouts "She's got a gun!" Everyone except Janey screams and runs off, and the police converge on her; panicking, she runs, is wrestled to the ground by two cops and gratuitously tasered into insensibility.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Literature]]
70	* Creator/JRRTolkien's ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Fellowship of the Ring]]'': The elf Gildor justifies giving a NonAnswer to Frodo because of this trope, admitting that he’s honestly unsure about the best course of action and doesn’t want to influence Frodo with half-hearted guidance.
71	-->Gildor: Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.
72	** As Frodo puts it, "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes."
73	* Creator/PGWodehouse used this in any number of stories.
74	* In one of the Airplane extras of ''Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong'', Luo Binghe asks his advisors in extremely vague terms how he should go about courting the human man he has feelings for. Shang Qinghua, who unbeknownst to Luo Binghe has a significant amount of specific information about Shen Qingqiu the object of Luo Binghe's affections, advises him in similarly nonspecific terms to show vulnerability and offer his beloved an opportunity to help and protect him, which works extremely well for Luo Binghe with Shen Qingqiu. Unfortunately for Shang Qinghua, Mobei-jun, who has due to a CrossCulturalKerfluffle been fruitlessly endeavoring to court Shang Qinghua himself for years, also hears the advice and decides to have Shang Qinghua watch over him during the Ascension ritual when Mobei-jun will be temporarily helpless. This confuses and upsets Shang Qinghua, who does not share Shen Qingqiu's tastes, nearly gets Mobei-jun and Shang Qinghua killed by EvilUncle Linguang-jun, and starts a fight that nearly splits Shang Qinghua and Mobei-jun up for good.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78	* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Liz Lemon tried to advise Jenna on aging gracefully with this exchange:
79	-->"You can try to fight getting older. You can be like Madonna and cling to youth with your Gollum arms. Or you can be like Meryl Streep and embrace your age with elegance."\
80	"So you're saying it's a choice? Between the dignity of middle age and the illusion of youth."\
81	"Two paths: Meryl Streep...or Madonna."\
82	"Very well. I will emulate my acting inspiration. A woman of profound poise, whose career is what we all aspire to."\
83	"Okay, this build-up is making me nervous."\
84	"A woman whose feminine grace and normal outfits are an inspiration."\
85	"Just say who it is, and I'll feel better."\
86	"Someone whose very name stands for enduring beauty and the wonder of womanhood!"\
87	"Please don't say..."\
88	"Madonna!"
89	* One of the first few episodes of ''Series/The100'' has Bellamy try to help a little girl deal with her nightmares by giving her the same advice his mother gave him: "Don't be scared of the demons; ''fight back''." This backfires when [[spoiler: we find out her nightmares involved President Jaha, and she interpreted the advice by killing his son, since she couldn't kill the real thing]].
90	* Inverted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': When his friend Stuart is about to go on a date with Penny, Leonard deliberately gives Stuart what he thinks is bad advice about what to do on the date. Stuart follows the advice and ends up making out with Penny anyhow. Penny called out Leonard's name rather than Stuart's, though, and since the advice was exactly what Leonard had done himself, the implication is that Penny was simply trying to replace Leonard with someone very similar.
91	* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Mike gives a memorable speech to Walt about how it was time for "no more half measures" in dealing with the problem that Jesse had become to Gus' empire. Mike meant this to get Walter to abandon his half assed attempts to protect Jesse from himself and stand out of the way when Gus inevitably decides to remove Jesse from the picture, but it instead galvanizes Walt to whole heartedly support Jesse and become just as adversarial to Gus' operation. This gets lampshaded the next time Walt and Mike see each other, and Mike is less than pleased about the fact.
92	* One episode of ''Series/{{Brimstone}}'' features one of the 113 trying to get a handle on her hellspawned superpower (burning people with her mind) by going to therapy. When the therapist advises her to confront her anger issues head-on, she interprets this as license to embrace her evil side, and promptly goes on a rampage.
93	* In one episode of ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'', set after the Browns returned to Cleveland, Drew and his three friends are behind a guy in line for tickets. The guy gets one ticket, but Drew stops him and tells him the return of the football team is a special time and should be shared with friends. He ends up getting five tickets, which happened to be the last five.
94	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Frasier himself, on many occasions. He means well, but the advice he gives usually tends to end up making things worse. Especially where Niles is involved, with Frasier's attempts to mediate in his marriage cause an already miserable relationship to finally go into meltdown. Then there's the episode "Look Before You Leap", where Fras' advice backfires for everyone. Eventually, Niles catches on to this (Martin tends to side-step the issue by just ignoring his son).
95	-->'''Frasier:''' You know, if you want my advice -\
96	'''Niles:''' Oooh, you really need to stop doing that.
97	* From an episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Joey is teaching an acting class. One of his students wants a part as a boxer on a soap - a part Joey wanted. He goes to Joey for advice and Joey tries to sabotage him by telling him to play the boxer gay. It totally works and the student gets offered the part.
98	* On ''Series/HappyDays'' Richie takes over the college paper's advice column, and Postie & Ralph (who are sharing an apartment) write in for advice on how to get along. Richie jokingly suggests dividing the apartment in half and they [[ThisIsMySide actually do it.]]
99	* In ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', Rinko comes across TheDragon; and they actually wind up chatting. The Dragon complains about having to work for the BigBad, and Rinko - having just found evidence that he UsedToBeASweetKid - encourages him to just BeYourself and break from the Big Bad's control. The problem is that he's really not the same person anymore, but a monster using the "Sweet Kid's" face; where Rinko interpreted the Big Bad's control as forcing him to be evil, it was really forcing him to ''hold back''. The only upshot to him taking Rinko's advice is that it helped push the hero to put the threat down for good.
100	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Halbrand teaches Galadriel to manipulate people by teaching them how to master their own fears if she wants to reach Queen Miriel. Said and done. Next day, Galadriel decides to use her new lesson on the very man who taught her too, something that Halbrand did not like. She lies to Queen Miriel that Halbrand is asking her for military help to take back the Southlands from Orcs, when it's her who wants an army. Halbrand calls Galadriel out on her behavior, but she blackmails him into doing her binding because nobody is going to believe a Southlander over Elvish royalty.
101	* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'', after Carter is confused on his poor score in a training session despite having the fastest time, Captain Mitchell explains that his score was so low because he was acting on reflex rather than thinking things through and gives him the advice "Sometimes the obvious choice is the wrong choice". Carter is confused, wondering what he did wrong and what that even means. When fighting a monster and needing to choose between putting out a fire and saving a boy, the Captain tells him to put out the fire. Carter complies, but debris falls and hurts the boy; feeling guilty, he visits the boy in the hospital and gives the Captain a WhatTheHellHero speech. He then goes back to investigate and notices the drums full of gasoline, realizing that putting out the fire first ''was'' the right decision after all, with the Captain giving a MeaningfulEcho of the advice from earlier.
102	* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': On a fourth season episode, Alexis asks a young, female guest at the motel about a seemingly random/mistaken text message from her ex Ted. The young woman, named Rachel, says that it is probably Ted's attempt to reach out without looking like it, something she does with her ex-fiancé. Alexis goes to see Ted in person [[spoiler: only to discover the text really was a mistake and he meant it for his current girlfriend. Making matters worse, Alexis invites Rachel to a family barbecue, and they discover Rachel's ex is Patrick.]]
103	* Early in ''Series/{{TURN}}'', Abraham's father Richard is ordered by the British to choose which of the community's gravestones to dig up to build fortifications. He's clearly conflicted, and Abraham tells him that the time has come to make a choice, and if he doesn't want to submit, he has no choice but to fight back. The next day, Richard gives an impassioned speech about surrendering what they care about most to show submission to their leaders, and proceeds to personally dig up his own son's gravestone.
104	* An episode of ''Series/WeirdScience'' has Lisa fall in love with Gary, causing her to turn into a StalkerWithACrush. Gary tells her "If you love somebody, set them free", and she decides the best way to do this is by deleting herself. Wyatt quickly steps in and says Gary is an idiot who doesn't know anything and was just spouting off [[Music/ThePolice old rock lyrics]].
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Podcasts]]
108	* In ''Podcast/{{Midst}}'', Comsector Spahr tells Phineas that he's going to lose his job if he keeps showing weakness. Phineas takes it to heart, and kills a witness because he's desperate not to make a fool of himself.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Sports]]
112	* A probably-apocryphal story goes like this: Golfer Sam Snead was playing a practice round with players much younger than himself when they faced a second shot with options. Option one was to go over the trees and make the third shot much shorter, and option two was to follow the fairway with a longer third shot. The young guys asked Snead which option to choose. Snead told them that he used to shoot over the trees. Predictably, none of the young guys could do it, and Snead chose that moment to add something to his previous advice: "Of course, in my day, those trees were thirty feet shorter."
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
116	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s version of the LOTR quote is "Ask not the [[SpaceElves Eldar]] a question, for they will give you three answers, all of which are true and terrifying to know."
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Theatre]]
120	* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'': When Philip Hamilton has an upcoming duel with George Eacker, he goes to [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton his father]] for advice. Alexander counsels him to aim at the sky rather than actually try to kill his opponent, arguing that if George is a man of honor, he'll do the same, and that Philip [[TheseHandsHaveKilled doesn't want another man's blood on his hands]]. Philip dutifully agrees not to aim at George, which [[spoiler:gets him killed]]. Alexander later follows his own advice in his duel with Burr, [[ForegoneConclusion which doesn't end well, either]].
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Video Games]]
124	* Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' with one of Phone Guy's bits of advice: He suggests playing dead if you're caught since the animatronics might assume you're an empty suit and leave you alone, but ''immediately'' takes it back realizing it could backfire badly with them instead trying to stuff an endoskeleton ''into'' you. [[spoiler:It's zig-zagged when it turns out playing dead ''can'' work: when you're out of power playing dead (not moving the mouse at all) you'll get a solid minute of Freddy's song before he attacks. Since an hour's only a minute and a half, playing dead ''can'' buy you enough time to finish the night if you run out of power after 5.]]
125	* In ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio'', Professor K receives a letter asking for advice on how to deal with a roach problem. As a pirate radio DJ, this is decidedly not his field, so he plays it off and tells the guy to [[KillItWithFire burn his house down]]. Guess who didn't realize it was a joke.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
129	* In Miyako's route of ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'', Yamato becomes concerned when Miyako, already the type to isolate herself from most people outside of their longtime friend group, takes it to new extremes once they start dating, especially after group members start showing up to their Friday meetings less often in order to take crucial steps toward individual goals. Yamato tells Miyako that while he will always love her, she needs more than one reliable source of companionship and cannot just cling to him. Miyako puts his suggestion into action by clinging to ''every other member of the group'' instead, as they are the only other people who she so much as speaks to. She insists to everyone that failing to show up at Friday meetings when she needs them there equates to failing as a friend, and fights over the validity of her point become so intense that they lead to physical injury and threaten to fracture the group forever.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Webcomics]]
133	* ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'' has this as its premise: The narrator gives genuine advice whereas the illustrations show the advice misapplied in funny ways.
134	* ''Webcomic/NextSoundOfTheFuture'': When {{Paparazzi}} Shine meets her favourite retired IdolSinger Tech in the second chapter, she lies to her about her occupation and says she's a landscape photographer who admires idols but doesn't want to be one. Tech tells her to not give up on her passions and follow her dreams. [[spoiler: Tech's advice gives Shine the motivation to be an idol again, which she reveals to her in chapter 7. However, instead of being happy for her Tech yells at her to not be an idol, terrified that her advice had unintentionally led Shine towards suffering the same trauma from the industry that she did]].
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Web Original]]
138	* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' has a series of articles following a format of "So X" where X is some often bizarre situation like "your clone is trying to murder you" or "you're stuck in a time loop". In them the person asks for help, and a disembodied voice gives them advice on how to get out of the situation, which due to a combination of the general incompetence of the person asking and it being terrible, terrible advice, often makes things worse. A common ending is for the advice giver to declare victory because while the person is still in horrible circumstances, the specific problem they were asking about has gone away.
139	--> Congratulations! You have reached the end of this guide, and are now no longer tied up on train tracks! If you require any further guidance, please consult our guide So You're Being Pursued, Potentially Sexually, by an Overstimulated Grizzly Bear.
140	* These [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2i8OVTlA3o two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPktVWI5Wiw videos]] from Robert Half staffing agency.
141	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In the Volume 5 episode "Known by its Song," Raven advises Yang to question everything she's been told. By the end of "Haven's Fate," Yang decides to do just that by [[CallingTheOldManOut calling out Raven]] on her hypocritical cowardice and her irrational perception of strength. By the end, Raven can only whisper a tearful apology before fleeing the Vault in shame.
142	-->'''Yang''': I'm starting to ask questions, like you said.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Western Animation]]
146	* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'', Aladdin and Jasmine travel to Odiferous to attend Prince Uncouthma's wedding. Unfortunately, the bride falls in love with Aladdin, and Uncouthma is very depressed about this. Jasmine advises him to "Fight to win her back!" [[LiteralMinded Uncouthma]], being a ProudWarriorRaceGuy and all, ended up taking this advice...by having a DuelToTheDeath with Aladdin.
147	* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
148	** In "Iced, Iced Babies", Roger, posing as a college professor a la ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'', advissd his students to seize the day and not let anything get in the way of living life to its fullest. Unfortunately, one of his students decides that that means it's okay to kill his father, which Roger and Hayley learn after he invites them over to discuss philosophy.
149	** In "Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls", Stan tries to improve his Halloween haunted house by displaying actual serial killers in glass containers, but Francine doesn't like the idea because "it's like looking at a shark in an aquarium". This gives Roger the idea to release the killers and let them run loose in the house.
150	--->'''Roger:''' Yeah, Francine was right, a shark's not very intimidating behind glass. ''But if you're in an ocean with it...!''\
151	'''Stan:''' But Roger, they're going to kill us all!\
152	'''Francine:''' AND CHOP OFF MY HEAD!\
153	'''Roger:''' Scary, right? ''[beat]'' [[DidntThinkThisThrough Ugh, I never think things through.]]
154	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]: Efficiency expert Temple Fugate is on his way to a court date to appeal a settlement that will ruin his career. City councilman Hamilton Hill, with whom he shares his commute, offers some friendly advice: he says Fugate is too tightly-wound, and thinks it'll make him look bad to the judge, so Hill suggests he deviate from his rigid schedule, take his regular coffee break at 3:15 rather than 3 on the dot, and relax. It seems to go well at first, but then [[CosmicPlaything fate decides to play silly buggers]] with Fugate, causing him to lose the case and destroying his life. After discovering that Hill's law firm represented the other side of the case, Fugate becomes convinced that Hill purposely sabotaged him and becomes the eponymous Clock King in order to get revenge.
155	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'', Lydia tries to help Beetlejuice get in better standing with his neighbors. The problem is he ends up taking her advice to their literal extremes and making things worse. She mentions he needs to make them feel wanted, he ends up putting wanted posters of Ginger, getting her arrested. Lydia tells him to do them as he would want them to do unto him, he ends up infesting them with beetles. By the end, not only is everyone mad at Beetlejuice, they end up mad at Lydia when they found out she gave him the advice in the first place.
156	* In the ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' cartoon "Making Friends", Betty sees that her dog Pudgy is down and lonely and advises him to "go out and make friends with the world". Taking the advice, Pudgy goes out into the nearby woods and eventually becomes friends with the animals there. Unfortunately, he then proceeds to invite them home and they end up wrecking Betty's house.
157	* Happens to ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' constantly, with the added bonus that most of the time she's not even trying to give advice, people just misinterpret random things she says and run with it.
158	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In "The Switch Glitch," Timmy wishes to be Vicky's BabysitterFromHell so he can give her a taste of her own medicine, turning her into a five-year-old and subjecting her to many of the same torments. When he starts to regret it and intends to apologize, Cosmo tells him to "remember all the good times" they've had. The problem is that Timmy ''hasn't'' had any good times with Vicky, and remembering all the times she tormented him in the past just angers him into ramping up the torment.
159	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "Love, Blactually", Brian gets a new girlfriend and Stewie, knowing that his penchant for sex drove his previous dates away, advises him to take it slowly this time. Unfortunately, she turns out to be an even ''bigger'' sex maniac than him, and she soon dumps him for being too slow.
160	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' has a double-backfire version. Hank and his friends sneak into the box seats at a Texas-Nebraska football game, only to discover it belongs to a famous Nebraska player. Late in the game the Nebraska coach calls the box to ask for advice and Hank, pretending to be the player, gives him a terrible suggestion...[[SpringtimeForHitler only for it to work perfectly]], costing Texas the game.
161	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Pema accidentally got the LoveTriangle really going this way, for the double reasons of not having all the information (Korra only said that the guy she liked was seeing someone else) and underestimating how Korra would fix it (Pema suggested confessing one's feelings, Korra just went and kissed the guy). Pema ''also'' didn't know that the guy's brother had a crush on Korra. Korra misunderstanding her advice led to the team almost falling apart (and causing issues in the following episodes).
162	** In the episode "Original Airbenders", Tenzin comes to Bumi for advice on how to whip the airbenders into shape. Unfortunately for Bumi, Tenzin takes his advice a bit too seriously.
163	** Defied in "The Terror Within", when Varrik tries giving Bolin romance advice after he and Opal get closer. [[RunawayGroom After what happened last time]], Bolin refuses the advice.
164	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E19EverybodyLovesLeniMiddleMen Middle Men]]" is all about this trope. Lynn's first time in Middle School was... terrible, to say the least, and it also [[FreudianExcuse helps explain]] her [[TheLadette abrasive]], {{Jerkass}} behavior. However, while serving as guide to Lincoln and Clyde, her "school survival" advice, based on acting aggressive and showing power [[HadToBeSharp since that's what she got from experience]], ends up landing them in trouble with everybody else. Cue "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" reaction when she sees Lincoln and Clyde [[ShowdownAtHighNoon about to face the people they pissed off at the schoolyard]].
165	* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', OncePerEpisode (at ''least''). One episode actually revolved around people trying to avoid giving him advice. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption It still didn't turn out well.]]
166	-->'''Orel:''' Reverend, I just feel terrible about making [[VillainSong that awful song]] so popular. What can I do to make it up to God?\
167	'''Reverend Putty:''' N-nothing! God knows you've done enough. Just don't do anything, and sit still, will you?\
168	'''Orel:''' ''Really'' still?\
169	'''Putty:''' No, not ''really'' still! T-that would be too still. No, you know -- be normal.\
170	'''Orel:''' Huh, normal.\
171	'''Putty:''' Orel, wipe that look off your face! You don't need to do anything special to be normal.\
172	'''Orel:''' Oh, I get it! I can just be myself!\
173	'''Putty:''' Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! Don't do that, either! Don't be normal. Sorry, I used the wrong words. Come on, Putty, grab a hold of yourself. Okay, um, can't you just forget about all this?\
174	'''Orel:''' Well, I guess I can forget about it if I ''really'' try!\
175	'''Putty:''' Don't try! Please, God, don't try doing anything!\
176	'''Orel:''' Oh, Reverend, I'm getting confused!\
177	'''Putty:''' Yeah, me too, buddy.
178	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Discordant Harmony", after Discord offers to host his next tea party with Fluttershy, he goes to Pinkie Pie for some advice throwing a party. Pinkie advises him to try and make his guest comfortable, but Discord goes a little too far in trying to make [[WorldOfChaos the chaotic pocket dimension he calls home]] more "normal". Not only does seeing Discord acting calm and polite leave Fluttershy unnerved, but it turns out Discord suppressing his chaotic powers nearly causes him to [[FadingAway literally fade away]].
179	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', Eeyore seeks Tigger's advice on how to be popular. Tigger explains, "[[BeYourself I've just got to be me!]]" Unluckily, Eeyore understands this to mean [[IJustWantToBeYou he just has to be Tigger]]. This doesn't work out so well.
180	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Damned", Hillary Clinton's associates advise her to say "My opponent is a liar and should not be trusted" as a response to anything Mr. Garrison will say in their debate. However, they didn't expect Garrison to try to throw his campaign and say that Clinton will make a better president than him, which ends up getting Garrison more supporters than ever, [[SpringtimeForHitler to both campaigns chagrins]].
181	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "A Life in a Day," Larry the Lobster, a professional daredevil, declares he lives every day as if it was his last and tells [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick they should do the same and start "living like Larry." While Larry meant that they should live their lives to the fullest, Sponge and Pat take his advice literally and start performing life-threatening daredevil stunts just as he does, eventually landing themselves and Larry in the hospital.
182	* In the ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' episode "Song of the Petalars", young Prince Lion-O mistakenly views his friend Emrick's well-meant advice that ItsTheJourneyThatCounts through his HotBlooded ProudWarriorRace perspective, assuming that he and his [=ThunderCats=] should live LikeYouWereDying and [[TheLastDance rush to engage]] an army of LizardFolk pursuers. They end up needing rescue by a DeusExMachina.
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:RealLife]]
186	* This happened multiple times with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Dexter Timothy Dexter]], the real-life example of TheFool, who acted on the advice of rivals who hated his guts and wanted to ruin him several times, only to come out ahead. Examples include:
187	** Shipping coal to Newcastle ("coals to Newcastle" is a metaphor meaning "giving them something they have too much of already"), where it arrived ''in the middle of a miner's strike'', with people there buying the coal from him at a premium.
188	** Shipping bed warming pans, stray cats and mittens to the Caribbean. The captain on the ship sold the pans to the molasses industry as ladles, the stray cats helped take care of a rat problem, and the mittens were sold to traders bound for Siberia.
189	** Hoarding several warehouses full of whale bones - until someone discovered whale bones made an ideal reinforcing material for corsets and he sold clean out.
190	[[/folder]]
191	----
192	->[[TheStinger OK, well, with all this time I save by not giving people advice]], I'll be able to [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike complain a lot more about shows I don't like]]! [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Thanks!]]

Context Main / AdviceBackfire