->''You're a supervillain. Your efforts are ''supposed'' to be foiled by your [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]] and [[{{Pride}} hubris]]. Failure is the surest sign of success.''
-->-'''The Green Grocer''''s henchman played by a black pawn, ''TerrorIsland'' [[http://www.terrorisland.net/strips/092.html theorem #092]]

->''182. No figuring out the plot and killing the actual villain five minutes into the adventure.''
-->-'''[[http://theglen.livejournal.com/16735.html 1525 things Mr. Welch can no longer do during an RPG]]'''

Apparently, there ''is'' such a thing as being too GenreSavvy. GenreSavvy {{villains}} are evil, and they know it. For every complicated villain with [[FreudianExcuse abandonment issues]] that has a chance to redeem themselves, there are ten {{Card Carrying Villain}}s out there who are just in it because they love being villains.

But what happens when you have a GenreSavvy villain who understands that [[EvilIsStylish to be a good villain]], you ''have'' to be GenreBlind? You're left with a villain stricken with ContractualGenreBlindness. This is the man who captures the hero and uses overly complicated {{Death Trap}}s, not because it's the smart thing to do, but because it's what a villain is ''supposed'' to do.

While usually reserved for a GenreSavvy CardCarryingVillain, this trope does reach out into the realms of the AffablyEvil, the PunchClockVillain, the smarter HarmlessVillain, and the DeadpanSnarker who gives up and "plays along."

SlaveToPR to the extreme. Villains who say "Screw it" to this policy instead become DangerouslyGenreSavvy.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* Jesse and James expressed this in the early seasons of ''{{Pokemon}}'', alongside some LampshadeHanging:
-->'''James''': Why didn't we try this before?
-->'''Jesse''': [[BreakingTheFourthWall We had to fill up the half-hour!]]
* The main cast in ''[[SuzumiyaHaruhi The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' literally fall under this trope because they're trying to maintain the {{Masquerade}} when they know that [[spoiler:Haruhi is a very GenreSavvy [[AGodAmI godlike being]], and if she expects a trope, that trope will manifest; however, if she knows this, there's a very real risk of her destroying the universe. (Possibly just Earth. The domain of her power is left kind of vague.)]]
** [[spoiler: Its implied her power is universal, as when she desired a visitation of an alien race, said aliens arrived, possibly summoned or even created by her.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* The bad guys in ''Empowered'', by Adam Warren, do this as a survival mechanism. Smack around the hero and leave him (her) tied up and escape with the diamonds? Good show, whatever. We'll get you next time! Shoot the hero? Every other hero will be after you.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Dr. Evil from ''AustinPowers'' is much the same way, although he never really acknowledges that he is obligated to do these things.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the {{Discworld}} novel ''Carpe Jugulum,'' the old Count de Magpyr explains that for various reasons, it's better for vampires to display stupidity (big open windows, easily breakable furniture) and get killed every so often, than to become tyrants by living forever.
** Evil Harry Dread in ''The Last Hero'' is constrained by the Dark Lord Code of Honour, later defined in [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2919 this Pyramid article]].
*** In both of the above cases, Contractual Genre Blindness is a clever survival technique. In the case of the Old Count, he knows that [[GoodOldWays deliberately obeying old stereotypes]] is much better than subverting them and earning the total emnity of the local villagers, who are actually more capable of killing him once and for all than even they know. Evil Harry Dread's continued "I'll be back" survival also works because he abides by the same rules as the heroes. If they killed Harry once and for all, they would be depriving themselves of a future job. As such, Harry is considered a close friend, even though he is still a bad guy.
* In the novel, ''SoonIWillBeInvincible'' by Austin Grossman, villain Dr. Impossible does many things because that's what villains are supposed to do, but with a lot of realistic consequences [[spoiler: Dr. Impossible dons his supervillain costume to impress the C-list villains at a local hangout, gets beat up and thrown out, and has to change out of his costume in nearby bushes before getting on the local Greyhound bus to go home.]], [[http://www.sooniwillbeinvincible.com/ Soon I Will Be Invincible website]]
* Rare heroic example: in the ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', Tom Sawyer insists on breaking Jim out in the most elaborate, difficult way possible because "that's how it's supposed to be done." Given all the trouble this causes, you can tell [[CreatorBacklash Mark Twain had gotten sick of Tom Sawyer]] by the time he wrote ''Huckleberry Finn''.
** To elaborate on how idiotic the breakout plan was: one step of it involved moving a boulder into Jim's cell (don't ask). The two boys aren't strong enough to move it in themselves, so Jim helps them. That's right, Jim ''walks out of the cell and goes back in voluntarily''. And then lets himself be locked back in again. Poor Jim...
* The Duke of Ch'in in BridgeOfBirds does this out of fear: tough as he acts, he's still [[TheManBehindTheCurtain confused and frightened]], so he mimics the villains in fairy tales rather than think on his own.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Particularly applicable to ''PowerRangersDinoThunder'', where the [[SixthRanger White Ranger]] shows up at the same time that another character suddenly starts dressing in white. Somehow, Tommy fails to suggest looking for somebody who has changed his clothing style, in spite of changing his own wardrobe earlier in the series to suit his new position as Black Ranger (and even {{lampshading}} this), and his previous experiences as a Power Ranger.
* In what may be TruthInTelevision, the actors in the George Reeves ''Adventures of {{Superman}}'' show actually said that they never noticed Clark and Superman looked the same because they wanted to keep their jobs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* In ''{{Exalted}}'' arguably most raksha would fit into this although it would be quite posible for them to be wrong about what genre they're in.
**also The Infernal Exalted have Acts of Villainy that they can use to loose limit. These include telling their opponents their evil plan, leaving them in a deathtrap, and forcing people into marriage.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Xykon from ''{{Order of the Stick}}'', though he's actually NotSoHarmless. He is also very lazy.
** Not to mention Nale. He truly is [[GenreSavvy Elan's]] [[EvilTwin equal and opposite]], isn't he?
* Lord Milligan in ''CaseyAndAndy'' is textbook evil, with many jokes and {{Lampshade Hanging}}s on it. When asked about the benefits, he points out the ability to use the StandardFemaleGrabArea.
* '''Everyone''' in ''{{Narbonic}}''. As a MadScientist you act in a given manner, even though you KNOW it's going to bite you in the tush, precisely because of the insanity.
* As evidenced by the title text, '''The Green Grocer''''s henchmen in ''TerrorIsland'', who mostly give said CardCarryingVillain advice in how to be a villain.
* General Gray, the villain of [[http://www.soulgeek.com/comics/jl/2008/11/21/issue-5-cover/ Issue 5]] of ''JumpLeads''. [[http://www.soulgeek.com/comics/jl/2009/02/10/issue-5-page-15/ He already ''has'' taken over the world once]], but found [[http://www.soulgeek.com/comics/jl/2009/02/13/issue-5-page-16/ actually running the world pretty boring]], so he abdicated. But he still loves ''trying'' to take over the world. So for the past thirty years he's been coming up with outlandish, easily thwartable (and increasing ill-defined) world domination plans.
* [[http://beta.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=991001 Dr. Steve]] from ''SluggyFreelance'', though some of that may just be him being completely, batshit insane.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Señor Senior Sr. from ''KimPossible'' is a paticularly GenreSavvy old man who took up supervillainy as a hobby and has since adhered to Contractual Genre Blindness.
** In fact, it's a tradition followed both by the villains and the heroes.
**So much so that the characters get upset when one villain refuses to follow the rules.
**To be fair, he merely considers it to be good form.
* In ''TheVentureBrothers'', most supervillains are members of the Guild of Calamitous Intent -- a WeirdTradeUnion whose bylaws obligate them to behave in this manner.
** Specifically, it's suggested that the Guild enforces this as a protection measure for both their members and for society at large. An episode where Jonas Jr does not play along has Brock Samson warning him that a psycho with a private army, flying machines and so forth needs to be indulged if only to keep him away from committing real crimes.
** During one instant, Baron Undherbeit and The Monarch are both trying to kill Dr. Venture at the same time. After coming to an agreement to combine their forces, Undherbeit asks if they should run the decision by the Guild first. After a brief pause, they both laugh at the suggestion and decide to 'screw protocol'. However, by the time they have finally decided upon this, all of their henchmen have been massacred by one of Venture's specially built robots.
* Jack Spicer of ''XiaolinShowdown''.
* Dr. Doofenschmirtz of PhineasAndFerb.
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