The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
All too often, a plot thread depends on one or more characters doing something really stupid. They don't have any chance of doing the smart thing, because then the plot-driving conflicts wouldn't happen.
Even if the stupidity is an organic outgrowth of prior characterization, that doesn't necessarily make it contrivance-free. As addressed in
The Movie and
lampshaded in the "Homer's Enemy" episode of
The Simpsons, the continued tolerance of Homer by his friends, his family, and his employer — indeed, his very
survival — is simply unbelievable at this point. Then again,
Rule of Funny.
Contrived stupidity commonly causes things like the collapse of
A Simple Plan in a
Sitcom or the effectiveness of
Schmuck Bait in
Slasher Movies. It is often accompanied by the meta-stupidity of the other characters' ignorance of
Hanlon's Razor. It is vulnerable to
Fridge Logic; however, do remember that
Tropes Are Not Bad.
On the other hand, it should be noted that many Contrived Stupidity Tropes are also
Truth in Television to some extent and have several
Real Life examples.
Contrast with
Intelligence Tropes.
Tropes:
