The show is tackling a controversial topic and the writers want to appear even-handed by representing different viewpoints. Their solution is to put the correct opinion (meaning that of the writers) into the mouths of most characters, while one of the characters, often at random, holds the opposing, incorrect viewpoint. This character is in possession of the Strawman Ball.
While the device is ostensibly used to make the show seem balanced, it often has the opposite effect because the "correct" characters lecture the ball-carrier calmly, while he rants irrationally. Members of the audience who agree with the Idiot of the Week feel they are being lectured and that their opinion is being misrepresented. Fans of the character in question are also annoyed by his Out of Character behaviour. Even people who share the "correct" opinion may feel that they're being talked down to Anviliciously.
This is somewhat related to The Watson, but deals with opinions rather than facts. Often goes hand-in-hand with the Strawman Political and the person holding it is likely to be juggling it along with the Idiot Ball and/or Jerk Ass Ball. See also Compressed Vice.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
- Civil War (2006): It was meant to be a takeoff on the Patriot Act, where occasional characters such as Iron Man are given the pro-registration side while being made to appear as fascists or dupes. Bizarrely, the writer apparently thought he was writing the pro-reg heroes as basically right and reasonable but forced to extremes, and since the writing staff in general didn't agree beforehand on which side they were going to support, it led to other writers deliberately amping up the Jerkass quotient on Iron Man. Thus making it an interesting example of meta-fiction due to reflecting a 'civil war' among the writers themselves.
- Hal Jordan, the titular Green Lantern was often reduced to this in Green Lantern/Green Arrow, to give Green Arrow someone to argue with. A particularly egregious example was arguing against fighting a slaver, because he was the legitimate authority in the area. That isn't to say Green Arrow isn't given this role. He was a real Jerkass when he found out his sidekick Speedy was doing heroin, and Green Lantern had to lecture him.
- Subverted in the similarly themed Superman/Batman comics, where both reach the same conclusions on what they should do, but the thought process that got them there is as different as night and day.
Literature
- In the Michael Crichton novel State of Fear, the characters fall into three distinct categories: smart, educated good characters, who don't believe human-caused global warming is an immediate threat and can quote entire geological surveys in their defense; smart, but uneducated good characters who start out believing in global warming but change their minds when confronted with facts; and bad characters who believe human-caused global warming and defend themselves with loud, pissy, easily-refuted propaganda. In one memorable instance, a minor character is effectively used as a concern troll by Crichton as she displays graph after graph — which the reader gets to see too — that "prove" global warming doesn't exist, and is pretty much lost on how to deal with the problem.
- The Truax was a response to The Lorax written by logging supporters who didn't pay enough attention and thought Seuss' book was an attack on them. The Lorax-analogue, a vaguely racist-looking tree man named "the Guardbark", is an excitable, easily-swayed dimwit who the Truax (a logger) manages to convince with lazy and sometimes completely dissonant arguments; when the Guardbark asks what the logging industry is doing for endangered species, the Truax basically tells him, "Well, who's gonna care about gross nasty things like ticks that carry germs that kill cute little Cuddlebears (Yes, Cuddlebears)? And I mean, sure, everyone likes these minnows, but it's too hard to change what we're doing and we don't really want to, so we won't." The Guardbark is totally down with that excuse.
Live-Action TV
- The anti-abortion characters in the Battlestar Galactica (2003) episode on the issue seem to have no ethical qualms with the practice itself, giving more focus to the edicts of their religious text and setting-specific concerns over underpopulation than any concern for the rights or well-being of the embryo or fetus being aborted.
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- "Noncompliance", where Olivia is afraid of the mentally ill.
- "Ridicule", where Elliot dismisses the claims of a man raped by women.
- "Closet", where Olivia is honestly baffled as to why a professional football player's homosexuality would be such a big deal.
- Numerous episodes of the original CSI. On this show, Grissom is never the Idiot of the Week. He's always the one lecturing about alternative lifestyles to one of the other investigators — or at the very least being curious, receptive and respectful while it's explained to him. Nick is usually the one that's handed the Idiot Ball or sometimes the Bigot Ball in the early seasons — notably his rather offensive remarks about the smaller folks.
- NCIS: In an episode about the relationship between Muslims and terrorism, Palmer, the most minor character, makes some vaguely intolerant remarks. He doesn't say anything too ridiculous, but it does present Ducky with an opportunity to soapbox about tolerance and such what.
- The West Wing was particularly guilty of this, with the weekly caricature of conservative arguments set up as straw men for President Bartlett and his staff to knock down. One regular cast member would usually be chosen as the Idiot of the Week. Admittedly, sometimes the left would lose, usually on the small stuff. Donna Moss took up the role more and more as the show went on.
- Boston Legal usually avoids this, but sometimes Denny comes across as this when talking about being a Republican.
- There was a particularly egregious example in one episode of All in the Family. The issue: Sexism. The Idiot of the Week? The extremely liberal Michael, for whom this viewpoint was completely out of character (at least at the time: as the series went on, it became increasingly clear that for all of Michael's liberal views, he was quite chauvinistic).
- Occasionally happened on the first season of House. Chase hates nuns! Foreman hates the homeless! And so on.
- Strangely common on the The Big Bang Theory, considering that most of the cast are scientists and generally viewed as geniuses. It's rare that the 'stupider' characters take this role.
Web Original
- Played for Laughs in The Nostalgia Chick's crossover with Needs More Gay: while Nella is excited to fangirl with Lindsay and Rantasmo, Lindsay insists that they need a strawman and even provides a script for Nella to begrudgingly read. Made more ridiculous if you know that Nella is bisexual in Real Life.
Western Animation
- More recent episodes of The Simpsons make use of this (usually with Lisa, Ned, and Marge) whenever they tackle topical issues. All the while keeping laughs the main priority. One notable instance was Marge's issues with her sister Patty coming out of the closet (Homer of all people even lampshades the Transparent Closet before the commercial break by essentially saying, "Oh and get this, I like beer!"), after talking up a big show about how open minded she is about homosexuality. She fully recognizes what a hypocrite she's being, and indeed there are a lot of cases where someone believes they're completely accepting of gay and lesbian people until someone they're close to comes out. What makes this example particularly odd is that eight years before that episode was one where the family befriended a gay man (voiced by openly gay director John Waters) and not only was Marge perfectly fine with him, she chewed Homer out for being homophobic and thinking that hanging around John would make Bart "go gay". Aesop Amnesia, or Opinion Myopia? More likely a twist on Not in My Backyard!, as it's one thing to be friends with a non-related gay person, but could hit closer to home when it's a relative being talked about.
- On Family Guy, Lois is the worst of the bunch as it's not only painfully obvious that she's a Strawman Political to Brian's Author Tract, it's hypocritical without being Hypocritical Humor as she's suddenly Mrs. Brady when the subject of drug legalization or gay marriage pops up despite being a pothead (and using harder drugs) with recurring bouts of Depraved Bisexual. Meg's excused because she's a Butt-Monkey both in and out of the show's universe and represents Teen Wangst, but Lois serves no other purpose than as a Foil with no humor or lampshading involved. Toyed with, since there also plenty of times Lois gets away with putting Brian or another character down, either due to Comedic Sociopathy, or because they are even worse. At one point Lois even made clear that Brian is a pretentious Commander Contrarian who plays this trope solely to stand out and be different.
- King of the Hill didn't do this every week. However, if it was a group that existed outside of Hank's comfort zone or value system (RPGers and/or Pagans, New-age birthing techniques, Alternative spirituality, Hippies), you can bet that that particular Strawman wouldn't even have a chance to make a point before the show went right ahead in "proving" how wrong they were.
- It didn't even have to be human. If the episode centered around an animal other than a dog, then you could guarantee that said animal (and even said animal's owner) would be portrayed in a negative light. Taken to ridiculous extremes in "The Petriot Act": Bill is portrayed as being happy, successful, and popular with woman after he decides to look after a very friendly dog that belongs to an army officer for a few days. Hank ends up looking after a cat, who is vicious and nasty and makes Hank's life miserable.
- Not always the case. Hank often exhibited this, but episodes like the one where he joins a Food Co-op involved him learning that he was wrong to dismiss them as a bunch of dirty hippies (of course, he also teaches them basic business practices that make the Co-op productive and financially sound... sound enough to sell out to the local big box store that Hank didn't want to go to in the first place). The above example about the episode where he is forced to adopt a cat was more about the greedy and hypocritical veterinarian and medical supply salesmen trying to milk Hank for every dollar they could get than it was about cats being bad pets (it was just that specific cat was a huge pain). Most episodes that invoked this trope end with Hank learning a lesson or making a reasonable concession to the idea he opposed, but pointing out that the person arguing or acting against him was a hypocrite or at least being a jackass about it.
- Done a few times with varying characters in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the main cast generally take turns representing a negative method of dealing with the current episode's obstacle or conflict and have to learn an Aesop about it. This is mostly rotated around rather evenly, though Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, being the more cynical and abrasive thinking of the team, arguably get it slightly more.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender would generally use Sokka when it needed a Straw Misogynist to be proved wrong in favor of girl power. These attitudes would be brought up only when there was a specific point to be made, and not as part of his general characterization in most episodes.
