Line #38 Main/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch


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8	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SuperPaperMario https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spm_message_boards_9.png]]]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:Yeah, Peach clearly didn't play ''Final Quest Heroes 9'' before she bashed it.]]
10
11	->"''You might not know everything about a genre you refuse to listen to.''"
12	-->-- '''sisabet''', [[http://sisabet.livejournal.com/286226.html Hate the Song, Like the Vid?]]
13
14	An all too common phenomenon among characters who bash things: they don't actually look at what they're bashing. These are the people who insult movies before they even come out, or claim a video game RatedMForMoney has more deplorable content than is actually there.
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16	Also, sometimes this can be {{invoked\|Trope}} if some leave out the full context of complaints [[{{Demonization}} to make a show they don't like look bad]]. A character could complain about a part of a show, and it may actually be worse than the person thinks. Or they might end up disliking a show for a different reason.
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18	Now there is some TruthInTelevision to this trope, but while some people have revealed (directly or accidentally) that they haven't watched shows, just as often many will accuse them of it simply for criticizing it (even when people are merely criticizing preview elements for shows not out yet).
19
20	Even for characters in a show doing this, this trope can be driven by other reaction tropes, such as:
21	* AnimationAgeGhetto (dismissing a work as rubbish just because it is animated and therefore intended for children)
22	* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer (a documentation of a work gets their facts about it completely wrong, the lack of research often being because the person creating the article may not have cared about checking for accuracy)
23	* FanHater (they don't just hate this particular work, but they also despise everyone who likes it – or they might hate only its fandom and have nothing against the work itself)
24	* {{Hatedom}}
25	* HateDumb
26	* HypeAversion (disliking a work simply because one is sick of hearing everyone praise it)
27	* MoralGuardians (who are concerned of the effect more than overall content)
28	* PeripheryHatedom (disliking a work that wasn't intended to appeal to you in the first place)
29	* PublicMediumIgnorance
30	* DarthWiki/RuinedFOREVER (fans overreact to changes they dislike by declaring the franchise ruined forever)
31	* ShallowParody (mean-spirited parodies tend to not be an accurate depiction of the work being mocked, often by claiming the work has flaws it doesn't really have or grossly exaggerating flaws that the work does have)
32	* TaintedByThePreview (when people get a bad impression of what the work will be like just from watching a preview)
33
34	Compare Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike and IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam.
35
36	Contrast DontLikeDontRead and PraisingShowsYouDontWatch.
37
38	!!Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly
39
40	[[foldercontrol]]
41
42	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
43	* In Chapter 7 of ''Manga/IThinkOurSonIsGay'', Akiyoshi mentions the gay romance TV drama ''Koi-Men''. He then added it's [[InnocentlyInsensitive "kind of unpleasant to watch a same-sex kiss scene", unaware that his son Hiroki is gay and closeted]]. It turns out he hasn't watched the show to begin with, so [[OpenMindedParent Tomoko]], who knows her son's sexuality, suggests Akiyoshi to watch it first.
44	* A pretty audacious example appears in ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun''. Several gags imply Maeno, [[SequentialArtist Nozaki]]'s former supervising editor, nearly never reads Nozaki's scripts!
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Fan Works]]
48	* In the sequel to ''Fanfic/KingdomHeartsTheShortAndHonestVersion'', the author takes a huge dump on ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. When asked if he's seen ''Avatar'', he falls silent.
49	* ''Fanfic/LightAndDarkTheAdventuresOfDarkYagami'': One directed at ''Anime/CodeGeass''.
50	-->''"Suddenly a rocket WOOOSHED past and left a big line of smoke and a bang at the end where it missed but only the helicopter because it still hit another tower but it was okay because noone was in the tower except for that [[Anime/CodeGeass leloosh guy]] (MORE LIKE LELOSER AM I RIGHT!) an d everyone hates him so its cool except he has a giant robot and also ive never seen it."''
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
54	* In ''Film/{{Birdman}}'', Riggan runs into Tabitha Dickinson, a highly influential ''New York Times'' theater critic shortly before the premiere of Riggan's play. Tabitha tells Riggan point blank that she will write the worst review she has ever written despite not having seen the play simply because she despises Hollywood and the idea of Hollywood actors believing they can achieve "real art" like the theater. [[spoiler:She ends up writing a positive review after all, after witnessing Riggan shooting himself on stage, calling it just what American theater needed.]]
55	* ''Film/{{Matinee}}'': Citizens For Decent Entertainment protesting against ''Mant'' without having seen it. [[spoiler:It is, of course, a stunt to drum up publicity.]]
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Literature]]
59	* ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'': Before civilization collapsed, Josella Playton was notorious for writing a novel called ''Sex Is My Adventure''. When she sees Bill Masen's reaction to realizing she's ''that'' Josella Playton, she sighs and asks him if he's actually read it. He admits he hasn't, and she says the same is true of most of the people who deplored it.
60	* ''Literature/DonQuixote'': With Don Quixote: At Part II Chapter LIX, When Don Quixote hears someone talking how he is not more in love with Dulcinea del Toboso, he is full of wrath and indignation. So he read only a few pages of Avellaneda’s FanFiction about him. After a discussion of how this ContinuationFic is full of CharacterDerailment for Don Quixote and Sancho, Don Quixote believes that the book is bad and not worthy of his time or effort:
61	-->''... though Don Juan wished Don Quixote to read more of the book to see what it was all about, he was not to be prevailed upon, saying that he treated it as read and pronounced it utterly silly; and, if by any chance it should come to its author's ears that he had it in his hand, he did not want him to flatter himself with the idea that he had read it; for our thoughts, and still more our eyes, should keep themselves aloof from what is obscene and filthy.''
62	* In the ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey'' novel ''Gaudy Night'', Harriet attends a literary party, where a gang of authors take turns theorizing why some thoroughly arty and undeserving novel has been awarded a reviewer's prize -- because of advertising deals, or political loyalties, or familial connections, or other underhand reasons. Naturally, none of them have actually read the book, or have the faintest idea what it's even about.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66	* ''Series/TheDailyShow'':
67	** Robert Novak, frequent target of {{Take That}}s due to his role in the Valerie Plame affair, was asked in an interview whether he'd ever seen ''The Daily Show'' or any of its material on him; he said no, then promptly went on to describe Jon as "self-righteous" and a "phony" and so forth. The old incident of Geraldo Rivera ranting to Bill O'Reilly about how TDS and TCR "exist in a small little place where they count for nothing" is most likely also an example, since he cited their supposed use of [[Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos "video of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing,"]] which are not exactly Stewart and Colbert's stock in trade. (We would say these were in-universe examples, except y'know, it happened in ''[[RealLife this]]'' [[RealLife universe]].)
68	** Jon Stewart also lampshaded this in regards to ''Film/{{Noah}}'', with FOX complaining about it using the word "Creator" instead of "God". Jon Stewart points out that in the movie, Noah's son says that the Creator is God. It is then taken a step further with some of their complaints showing that they must not have read [[Literature/TheBible the source material]] either.
69	* ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'': In "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS1E17PunchThyNeighbor Punch Thy Neighbor]]", a number of people criticize the most recent episode of ''The Alan Brady Show'' even though they haven't seen it, because Rob's next-door neighbor joked about it being rotten.
70	* In ''{{Series/Newhart}}'', the townspeople think Dick's do-it-yourself books helped a prison break. They get ready to do some BookBurning, but then Joanna convinces them to actually read his books. They see the books couldn't have told the prisoners how to escape, but the books are boring, so they almost burn the books for that reason. So this was a ZigZaggedTrope.
71	* ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'': Whenever they report on groups protesting a controversial movie, such as ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'' or ''Film/GetOnTheBus'': They say the groups' criticisms are invalid if they haven't actually seen the movie in question (and in nearly all cases, they hadn't).
72	* ''Series/TheGoodies''. In an episode spoofing [[MoralGuardians Mary Whitehouse]], the Goodies are hired to do a sex education video by 'Mrs. Carthorse'. Even though the subject is ludicrously {{Bowdlerise}}d ("This is a man...and this isn't"), Carthorse calls for its banning the moment the title appears, because it has a dirty word ("gender") in it.
73	-->'''Goodies:''' You mean you're going to condemn our film without having seen it?\
74	'''Carthorse:''' Why break the habit of a lifetime?!
75	* An episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'' has a minor character make fun of ''Series/TheMentalist'', something that ''Psych'' itself does occasionally, and then admit he's never actually seen it.
76	* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone\|1985}}'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E14 The Misfortune Cookie]]" stars a CausticCritic who is introduced writing a bad review for a new Chinese restaurant that he has not even dined at yet. When he actually does visit the restaurant at the urging of his editor, all he does is order a massive amount of food (none of which he eats) before asking for the bill.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder: Radio]]
80	* In Creator/TheBBC Radio 2 comedy series ''The Blagger's Guide'', David Quantick lists the three stages of being a music journalist. Stage 3 is when you give up even attending gigs, and just write about how much the group sucks based entirely on what you remember or imagine.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Theater]]
84	* In ''Theatre/DreamGirl'', Clark Redfield explains that he doesn't always read the books he reviews for newspapers, because he still gets to earn the "minimum wage for a maximum working week" guaranteed by his union contract and doesn't want to spend unnecessary time taxing his brain and his eyesight reading through thousands of pages of European history.
85	* In ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'', the women of River City complain about Marian recommending the works Chaucer, Rabelais, and Balzac, calling them dirty books. Marian remarks that none of them have ever actually read those books. During the reprise of "Pick a Little, Talk a Little", the ladies claim that Harold Hill told them to give the books a try, and they enjoyed them.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Video Games]]
89	* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaVictory'': The trophy you get for simply starting the game [[TakeThatCritics questions how many reviewers will actually have that trophy]].
90	* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' features a StrawFan as an ArcVillain, and at one point you have to get past the door via a true/false quiz. One "question" in that quiz is "I love going on message boards and complaining about games I've never played!"
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Web Comics]]
94	* The gaming magazine [=GameBro=] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' gives a so-so review to the highly anticipated Sburb. It later turns out that the reviewer hadn't even touched it.
95	* ''Webcomic/ScrambledEggs'': Quint hates Jimmy Zoopie-Doo purely because of overexposure and his own lack of faith that teen singers can produce quality songs; the only Zoopie-Doo song he ever heard was a ''[[Series/{{Glee}} Gee]]'' cast member's [[http://www.platypuscomix.net/scrambledeggs/index.php?issue=8&page=13 cover]], which to Quint's credit, [[StylisticSuck has pretty awful lyrics]].
96	* [[KnightTemplar Miko Miyazaki]] writes the introduction to ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', heavily criticising it for [[StartOfDarkness its subject matter]]. About halfway through, she mentions that she hasn't actually read it.
97	* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'': When Peanut gets addicted to the ''Pridelands'' books, generally seen as being for cats, the Good Old Dog Club starts to give him a hard time. He suggests they should read them first, and they reply that they ''did'', specifically in order to prove how stupid they were, because "we're not hypocrites". And, yes, there were all these bits they actually ''liked'', but that's not the point!
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Web Original]]
101	* Creator/BobChipman: In the ''Intermission'' editorial [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/moviebob/10126-Tortured-Logic "Tortured Logic"]] concerning ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'', he addressed the controversy over the film's depiction of EnhancedInterrogationTechniques. He wonders exactly where this controversy came from, given not only the film's BlackAndGrayMorality, but also the fact that it quite explicitly averts TortureAlwaysWorks, showing it failing to secure intel on an impending terrorist attack -- precisely the opposite of the claim that the film was an endorsement of the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}'s use of torture.
102	* ''WebOriginal/TheDefrosters'': It's implied that Pixel Girl's hatred of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is this.
103	* ''WebVideo/BeatriceTheGoldenWitch'' mentions this trope in her Let's Argue series regarding ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''. Beatrice says that the hatred of Sword Art Online is largely bandwagoning and most people have not actually watched it, but have seen people discuss how terrible it is enough to know it's bad through word of mouth.
104	* ''WebVideo/{{Hadriex}}'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxLgFbNPB9s "You never really played this game did you?" "Of course not, it would have melted my cerebellum."]]
105	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick'':
106	** She's put her foot down about ''never'' doing ''Anime/SailorMoon'' because she didn't grow up with it, says she wouldn't do it justice, and hates it so much that "I now hate sushi by cultural association."
107	** {{Justified\|Trope}} with her ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' review, which she has admitted was done only because she felt pressured by its 'girly nostalgia', despite the fact she was not a fan nor ever watched the show as a kid.
108	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'':
109	** Critic reviewing ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'', ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' and [[Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries the anime series]] ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' was based off of. He admitted he had never actually seen them, but argued in the latter case that it could be open to a broad audience not familiar with the franchise. [[invoked]]
110	** He received criticism for reviewing ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' and stating that he has never seen [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends the show the movie was based on.]] This is featured in his third "Top 11 Fuck Ups" video and he states that he has done this before (like his Pokemon review mentioned above) and he received a lot of requests by fans to review the movie so he did.
111	* Discussed at length in this banter from WebVideo/ScottTheWoz's ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo Zip Lash'' episode:
112	-->'''Therapist:''' So you've barely played this game, and yet you hate it this much?\
113	'''Scott:''' No, I hate it way more than this much.\
114	'''Therapist:''' You can't form an opinion on a game you've barely played. That's unethical! That's why we have HR.\
115	'''Scott:''' So I should play 10 hours of a game I already know I don't like just to have an opinion on it?\
116	'''Therapist:''' [[DontLikeDontRead Well, if you don't like it, don't play it!]]\
117	'''Scott:''' [[Catch22Dilemma But how would I know I don't like it if I don't play it?]]\
118	'''Therapist:''' ''WELL, JUST STOP DOING STUFF!!!''
119	* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'':
120	** {{Lampshaded}} in that he's never actually played ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', beyond maybe two hours, but avoided it ''solely'' because he hated the art style, and hadn't been paying any attention to the first two hours, since he wrote Zidane off as an "androgynous-whiny-pansy-ass character". He also admitted that "it was likely that [he] was being fiercely unfair" to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' on judging it by its art style, especially when the game was specifically targeted at fans of the NES and Platform/SuperNintendo-era Franchise/FinalFantasy games like him, but he just couldn't get over it. He elaborated in his Q&A at [=MAGfest=], and admitted his reasons for avoiding it were entirely childish, and he really can't stand the art style so much that he simply can't make himself keep playing. [[invoked]]
121	** Also admitted to never playing the ''Worlds of Ultima'' spin-off games because they were based on the Ultima VI game engine, which he hated.
122	** In his (alternate) Worst Films of 2010 list, he included ''Film/LittleFockers'' just because he hated the jokes in previous movies involving Ben Stiller's character's name. He admitted to never even watching it. By alternate, we mean Spoony compiled a second list of movies that would be horrible and would probably be on his main list if he managed to watch them. Included were ''Film/BloodRayne 3'' and ''The Nutcracker'' in 3-D.
123	* ''WebVideo/StuartAshen'': In the 2012 Halloween special the Silver Skull reviews a number of horror films sold in Poundland despite not having seen any of them.
124	* [[WebVideo/VideoGamesAwesome Fraser]] actively writes off ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' as being bad despite admitting to never playing any of the games and has mocked its fans, at one point saying after watching the ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' teaser that [he] can't wait to tear apart [the fans'] favorite game.
125	* [[https://medium.com/think-tube/my-little-pony-friendship-is-marxism-d8dcaac974eb#.bs7mcvjvf This satirical article]] is largely based around this trope. It is about an in-story author named Cliven Irving who claims that the TV show ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' is a tool by the "Six Pointer Commission", [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial which is not at all an antisemitic slur]], to promote "Cultural Marxism" and LGBT activism. He makes several blatant errors, such as claiming there aren't any male characters in the show (and then claiming this [[InsaneTrollLogic as proof that the show promotes lesbianism]]) and also that one of the characters is named "Molestia" (which he fails to realize is a fan nickname). It also gets lampshaded when he proclaims that "And I know them to be named that based on contacts who see people who watch this filth, for [[KnightTemplar I]] [[PureIsNotGood will not let my purity be polluted]]".
126	* The film review aggregation site Website/RottenTomatoes [[https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/rotten-tomatoes-audience-scores-verified-fandango-ticket-buyers-1203224424/ cited this trope]] when, in May 2019, they redid how they handled audience ratings, requiring users to present their ticket stubs (working with Fandango, which owns the site, and several theater chains) in order for their ratings to count towards the audience score. The cause of this was a number of high-profile {{troll}} campaigns aimed at driving down the audience scores of popular movies that they didn't like and boost the ratings of unpopular movies that they liked[[note]]Or, [[https://www.indiewire.com/2018/06/gotti-rotten-tomatoes-user-score-manipulation-1201976664/ as was]] [[https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Kirk-Cameron-Tried-Cheat-Rotten-Tomatoes-It-Did-Go-68399.html the case]] with ''Film/{{Gotti}}'' and ''Film/SavingChristmas'', the studios and other people behind the films trying to AstroTurf their way to popular approval[[/note]], skewing the ratings away from the opinions of the broad majority of moviegoers and towards those of a VocalMinority of the most diehard fans. Earlier that year, Rotten Tomatoes disabled user comments on films that had not yet come out, for much the same reason.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Western Animation]]
130	* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': The episode "Moody Foodie" has Bob literally tie up a food critic to force him to change his mind about the restaurant. When a package arrives for the Moody Foodie and Bob opens it, he scoffs because it's a movie he doesn't like, but can't explain why. As it turns out, he never even watched it and only hates it because [[ReviewsAreTheGospel he read a review stating that it was bad.]]
131	* ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'': Baboon in "A Troo Storee":
132	-->'''Weasel:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Don't you see what this means, you brainless louth? You wrote a book so bad that it makes people stupid instead of smart!]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Why did I trust you?! What was I thinking!?]] [[WhatTheHellHero Your book has ruined the world!]]\
133	'''Baboon:''' [[DumbassHasAPoint You say book is bad? But you never even read it yet!]]
134	** [[spoiler:Later averted when Weasel actually reads the book and admits that not only does it do a decent job of describing what being a baboon is like, and that even though he disliked the writing, he realizes that the book has no effect on the people who read it because everyone was ''already'' stupid.]]
135	* ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids'': Sarah villifies Creator/ThomasPaine's "Common Sense" even when she meets the author personally. Once she gives it a read, she learns to at least appreciate it.
136	* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': In "Animaestro," the titular akuma victim is the director of an in-universe Ladybug and Cat Noir movie. When they face off, Ladybug complains that the movie's trailer declares that she's afraid of cats, which isn't true. It only annoys Animaestro more that she's complaining about a movie she hasn't seen, and Cat Noir admits he has a point.
137	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E16ReadItAndWeep Read It and Weep]]" is all about this trope, beginning with Rainbow Dash dismissing the entire idea of reading books as "undeniably, unquestionably uncool", to the confusion of her friends. [[SubvertedTrope However]], with nothing else to do while stuck in the hospital for several days, she eventually picks up the book that Twilight Sparkle left behind. [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything To her horror]], Rainbow [[FandomNod admits to herself that she actually likes it]], and becomes a ''huge'' fan of the series from that point onwards, spending much of the episode trying to get a chance to finish that first book.
138	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Candace is examining a row of books with no visible titles.
139	-->'''Candace:''' Boring, dull, stupid, lame, heavy-handed and derivative.\
140	'''Linda:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh, thank you for those insightful reviews of books...]] you haven't read.
141	** Admittedly, Candace does get in a good zing when Linda says she can't judge a book by its cover. To which Candace asks what made Linda acquire said books in the first place, causing Linda to hesitantly reply "[[NotHelpingYourCase I thought they looked interesting]]."
142	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeamGalaxy'' had one of Yoko's performances be bashed by a CausticCritic. When Yoko confronts the critic, he reveals that he didn't even watch the performance, he just gave it a bad review for seemingly no reason other reason than ItAmusedMe.
143	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch