History Main / TrustBuildingBlunder

* DCI Tom Barnaby's (predictable) contempt towards team building exercises is on display in the ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode "Days of Misrule" when he is forced to go on one by the new chief superintendent. HilarityEnsues.

* In Creator/SusanCooper's ''King of Shadows'', a JerkAss drops the hero in the falling-backward exercise... and is promptly bawled out by the director and kicked out of the group on the spot.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' episode "Scrambled Eggs", most of the characters int e hotel take part in some trust building exercises as part of the hotel's agenda to reform sinners, starting with a Trust Fall from a bit of height with the addition that they have to tell something about themselves first. The main catch here is that Niffty says something so disturbing nobody wants to catch her, so she just falls and hurts herself. Which, being a masochist, she likes, and she goes back to jump down to the floor again and again. After that, Angel Dust suggests they could build trust with some BDSM since that requires trust, and finally Vaggie takes them into some random combat somewhere to learn to trust each other, which actually kind of works, although it seems to be as much about respect and shared experience as trust specifically.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' episode "Scrambled Eggs", most of the characters take part in some trust building exercises as part of the hotel's agenda to reform sinners, starting with a Trust Fall from a bit of height with the addition that they have to tell something about themselves first. The main catch here is that Niffty says something so disturbing nobody wants to catch her, so she just falls and hurts herself. Which, being a masochist, she likes, and she goes back to jump down to the floor again and again. After that, Angel Dust suggests they could build trust with some BDSM since that requires trust, and finally Vaggie takes them into some random combat somewhere to learn to trust each other, which actually kind of works, although it seems to be as much about respect and shared experience as trust specifically.

* Alluded to in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' when Florence gathers a few trusted robots to share what she's learned about [[spoiler:Gardener in the Dark, a BrownNote for Jean's robot population]]. Because there's the possibility that humans might be harmed no matter what she does (and thus the robots' human-protection safeguards may threaten to kick in if she gives them the whole story), she asks permission to disable their motor controls before explaining things. Sawtooth Rivergrinder (a terraforming robot the size of a dump truck) remarks thusly:
-->'''Sawtooth:''' I would have liked to build trust on a simpler level first, but I suppose I can't exactly fall over backwards and ask you to catch me.

* In a crossover between LetsPlay/{{NerdCubed}} and WebVideo/EmmaBlackery in which they answer fan questions, Dan demonstrates his distrust of Emma by referencing these exercises and falling backwards, without her catching him. To be fair, he gave her no warning -- but to be equally fair, she wasn't all that concerned even after he fell.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'': Phil Ken Sebben, Harvey's boss, tries to get him to participate in a trust fall. A RunningGag for the series is Phil's inability to place objects properly in space, due to his eyepatch; so, he tells Harvey to stand a few feet to his side, in front of an open window. Harvey refuses, despite Phil's increasing insistence ('''"FALL, YOU BASTARD!"''')
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'''s episode where [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Haley ]]trains alongside [[AlwaysSecondBest Jake]] to be a dragon protector. While her [[CoolTeacher Teacher]] performs with her the basic Trust exercise by the book, Jake's [[TricksterMentor Grandfather]] lets him fall into a cauldron of disgusting potion, telling him the lesson was to "Trust no one but yourself".
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': The story "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E17And18SecretSociety Secret Society]]" has the ''villains'' doing this to build trust before taking on the League. Grodd, the leader, also ramps it up, as the ones falling do so off a cliff about 30 feet up, and the "catcher" uses their powers to bring them down; for example, Sinestro using his ring to let his partner fall slowly. Giganta, paired with Killer Frost, warns her that she's heavier than she looks. After the camera cuts away, we hear a loud thud, followed by Frost saying a deadpan "Ow". It's done mostly to avert the inevitable betrayal that ends most {{Villain Team Up}}s. Grodd is being savvy and because he does this, his villain team is one of the more successful, going so far as to cause a temporary disbanding of the Justice League.
* In a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skit, Dr. Phil does the "fall and I'll catch you" with a criminal. He catches him, says, "[[ExactWords I won't hurt you]], ({{beat}}) but they will," before throwing to a bunch of cops who proceed to beat the guy down.
* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead''. The episode [[Recap/BeavisAndButtheadS6E18Substitute Substitute]] features a substitute teacher who makes an effort to connect with the class. He assumes the titular duo are misguided youths who have never been given any encouragement. He tries to show that he trusts them by standing on his desk and falling backwards, but unfortunately, Beavis and Butt-head realize when it's already too late what they're supposed to do, and he ends up needing a substitute himself.

* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'': "In Dragons We Trust" opens with Hiccup trying to coax the other riders into a trust-building exercise with their dragons: deliberately fall off their back in mid-flight and let them catch up. Snotlout is the only one who leaps at the chance. Unfortunately, Hookfang doesn't even ''realize'' his rider just jumped off...
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E24MurderOnThePlanetExpress Murder on the Planet Express]]", the Professor notices his employees are having trouble trusting one another and hires a guy to run the crew through a trust-building exercise. On their way out, he picks up a random hitchhiker to be his assistant, and as he's demonstrating the falling exercise, the hitchhiker turns out to be a shapeshifting alien monster and eats him. The crew run into the ship's panic room in alarm, but some issues come up and the pairs who have the worst trust issues (Fry and Bender, Leela and Amy, Hermes and Zoidberg) are sent out to resolve them. They manage to succeed, but then the monster gets into the panic room and starts assuming people's forms and eating others. The crew scrambles around in panic [[spoiler:and all are eaten until only Bender and Fry are left, and they put one another through a series of tests to confirm one another's identities and resolve not to trust anyone but the two of them. And then the organizer shows up and tells them that his partner only pretended to eat their friends and that the two of them had won. They shoot him until he's dust [[NoKillLikeOverkill and shoot some more]], then the rest of the crew shows up.]]
* In a ''WesternAnimation/DrKatzProfessionalTherapist'' episode with Creator/WinonaRyder, Dr. Katz refers to this.
* One episode of the ''WesternAnimation/TheRippingFriends'' has Rip and Slab doing an extreme version of the "fall and I'll catch you" routine that has Rip standing above a kiddie pool full of piranhas. Of course, Slab fails to catch Rip and the piranhas tear him to shreds.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', a scene has Daria and Jane in the hated hell of gym class. Daria is meant to be "spotting" for a classmate on the trampoline -- effectively trusted to advise her that she's getting too near the edge. Instead she is more focused on a difference of opinion with Jane. The inevitable happens, and the classmate who is trusting Daria to watch out for her ends up taking that jump too far, right off the edge. There is a shriek and a crunch...
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' episode, "[[Recap/SonicBoomS1E52ItTakesaVillagetoDefeataHedgehog It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog]]", Dr. Eggman gathers all the villains in Bygone Island to execute a plan to destroy Sonic. Eggman has all the villains engage in team-building exercises, including the classic trust-fall. Shadow makes absolutely no attempt to catch Eggman, who tumbles onto the floor.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E8Frenemies Frenemies]]", Tirek and Chrysalis are made to do trust-building exercises by Cozy Glow to get them to, well, trust one another. Tirek is assigned to catch Chrysalis after a fall and Chrysalis is made to guide a blindfolded Tirek down a flight of stairs. It goes about as well as you'd expect, with Tirek stepping out of the way just before Chrysalis lands and Chrysalis returning the favor by pushing him down the stairs the first chance she gets.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' flashback episode "Them's the Breaks, Kid", Eda has to participate in a trust fall with a student made of slime. She messes with everyone by casting an illusion that makes it seem as if she fell right through him and the flesh dissolved from her bones instantly.
-->'''Slime Student:''' [[OhNoNotAgain Not again!]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "New Leaf," Plankton, after apparently undergoing a HeelFaceTurn, spends the day with Mr. Krabs at a carnival, where Mr. Krabs performs the typical backwards fall while blindfolded to cement their new friendship. The only problem is that Plankton is, well...a plankton. He just barely manages to complete the task successfully, [[spoiler: and winning Mr. Krabs's trust is essential to convincing him to hand over the Krabby Patty formula. Too bad Mr. Krabs gives him a fake recipe.]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In one of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'''s Sports Fest episodes, Tomo and Chiyo-chan are impressed with the boys' cooperative gymnastics, so they decide to try a supported handstand. Unfortunately, [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Tomo]] is the supporter...
[[/folder]]

* A comical [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ul6Nez0H8 online ad]] by Disney for a Samsung smartphone has film director Rich Moore blunder his way through his workplace, [[JerkassBall offending and endangering everyone in his path]]. In one scene Moore sets up the trust fall, only to be distracted by his phone before finishing the count to three.

* In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3615438/8/Euphemisms this]] ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfic, Sai and Sakura are called upon to demonstrate a trust exercise to Academy students. Unfortunately, [[NoSocialSkills Sai]] has never done trust exercises before and thinks he's supposed to trust Sakura not to actually fall. [[HilarityEnsues Predictable results ensue]].

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The protagonists of the slasher movie ''Film/Severance2006'' are a sales team out on a team building weekend in the Hungarian wilderness.
* ''Film/MeanGirls'' had a high-school version of the falling-backwards exercise: Everyone was supposed to admit a flaw, then fall backwards. One of the members of the AlphaBitch GirlPosse apologized for [[BackhandedApology being so beautiful it made everyone jealous]]. After she turns around, everyone except for one girl (another member of the GirlPosse) walks away in disgust. You can probably guess the outcome. Played with when another girl falls and everyone catches her -- and her [[AmusingInjuries very heavy electric wheelchair]].

* In ''Film/{{Trust}}'', one character jumps off a building so that another will catch her. Her love interest doesn't want to do the same since he is much larger than her.
* In ''Film/OldSchool'', the frat pledges have cinderblocks tied to their penises with long lengths of rope, under the trust that the rope will be long enough not to castrate them when thrown from a high ledge. The ropes are indeed long enough, but unfortunately one pledge happens to toss his into a manhole and is dragged along with the block.
* In ''Film/WelcomeToTheJungle'', what was supposed to be a weekend retreat to a jungle island goes FromBadToWorse and eventually becomes a WholePlotReference to ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' of all things.

* Happens in ''Series/NewGirl'' twice.
** In 'Table 34', Jess and the gang go to a dating convention for East Indians. Each are inducted into the event and have to take part in activities. After kissing Nick the night before, Jess is still uncertain about her feelings for him. Her boyfriend Sam arrives and they take part in a team activity where a hula-hoop must travel from one end of a circle to the other. Each member holds hands and the couples deemed compatible have less trouble moving the hoop from one to the other. Jess struggles to move the hoop to Sam, which Nick views as a sign of their incompatibility. In a later exercise, Jess and Nick have to make a table out of newspapers. Those with tables that can hold a phone book have better success as a couple. Of course, the two construct a sound table that is strong enough for Nick to stand on.
** In 'Teachers', Jess attends a workshop for teachers in the area. She is paired up with her co-worker Ryan, who she is pining for but hasn't asked out because he is her inferior. Despite her professionalism, the two work perfectly together in the team-building exercises. In one scene, Ryan must navigate her through an obstacle course while she is blindfolded. They make record time. As Jess reaches the end, she trips, but Ryan catches her in his arms.

* The second episode of ''{{Hippies}}'' has Simon Pegg's character do this with the lead of a musical he's directing. The lead falls just as Pegg is turning to the others to explain the exercise.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Shawn has to get Gus out of a weekend trust-building retreat to work a case.

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'':
** Ryan invites all the managers of the different Dunder Mifflin branches on a camping retreat type thing....except Michael. HilarityEnsues when Michael decides to go off into the forest by himself, Bear Grylls style.
** Also the blind egg race from the ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' style beach games Michael uses to pick his replacement. Dwight screams at Kelly so much she drops the egg out of frustration, Jim misleads Karen into the water as a prank and Stanley drops it right at the start so he can be disqualified and return to his crosswords.
* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' pre-movie sketch for ''Film/{{Gamera}}'', Tom Servo and Crow try the trust-building exercise and Crow lets poor Servo fall.
* ''[[Series/{{Tosh0}} Tosh.0]]'':
** Daniel Tosh did "surprise trust falls" for a few episodes. Over numerous clips, only ''one'' person ever caught him...and it happened [[spoiler:in the shower of a gym with a primarily gay clientele (the guy who caught him was indeed gay)]].
** One episode has a web video that of a group of people trying to catch a guy who is demonstrating a trust fall, and they end up dropping him.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Detour" has the protagonists en-route to a "teamwork conference." Of course, they run into some trouble on the way and end up having their own wilderness retreat from hell.
* In the ''Series/MurphyBrown'' episode "Retreat", the crew go to a camp to compete against a group of bankers in a series of teamwork exercises and fail miserably. For instance, in a simulated river crossing, all the bankers make it across but only one reporter does by actively sacrificing the others.

* An episode of UK newsroom comedy ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' had the characters attend a weekend paintballing seminar. Naturally, given that they are all a bundle of collective neurosis and almost universally hate each other, it didn't turn out well.

* In the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Patriot In Purgatory", Brennan (inspired by watching a basketball game with Booth) gets several of the Squinterns together to identify various lost remains in a "team-building" exercise. Played for drama(and sudden MoodWhiplash) when Vasiri identifies the body of a homeless vet who was present at the Pentagon during the 9/11 attacks. Emotions ran high throughout the investigation, and by the end even Brennan was in tears, reflecting on her stint identifying remains at the WTC wreckage, and realizing that Booth might have easily been at Ground Zero, meaning he could have died before they met.

* In an episode of ''Series/LostGirl'', Bo and Kenzi go undercover at a juvenile detention camp; Bo as a counselor, Kenzi as an inmate. Bo organizes a trust-falling exercise, choosing Kenzi as her partner. Kenzi deliberately lets Bo fall, figuring it will help her gain the trust of the other inmates. And also because it's funny.
* In the ''Series/MadeInCanada'' episode "Corporate Retreat", the staff at Pyramid Productions spend the day at Y.E.S., Canada's most irritating and least effective corporate teambuilding programme. Stuck for the day with a supremely annoying programme director, the staff are forced to take part in dressed-up versions of school sports day events like egg-and-spoon races, and over the course of the day, production adviser Veronica gets covered in insect bites, film production head Victor gets severe burns on his forearms after dozing off by a campfire and falling into it, and CEO Alan gets so sick of the Y.E.S. director that he knocks him to the ground with one punch - and watches in disbelief as he springs back to his feet, none the worse for wear. Inevitably, the characters participate in the "fall backwards and your partner will catch you", and television production head Richard surprises Victor by actually catching him - only to immediately drop him after chiding him for his lack of trust.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'': Agent Michelle Vega asks Kimball Cho to do a trust fall to rebuild his trust in her in the seventh-season episode "Black Market". Cho tells her if she tries it, she'll end up on the floor. But, though they don't do the trust fall, Cho does ask her to go with him to the gun range at the end of the episode.
* Played with in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Angel Investigations are working on their WeHelpTheHelpless advertising. "We'll catch you when you fall!" In the background, FaintingSeer Cordelia promptly keels over without them noticing.
* One episode of ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' features a guy who was put in charge of his department's trust building exercises, and it goes as expected since the guy was only hired because he's related to an executive. A consultant who was interviewed for the bit says that these exercises are meant to build up camaraderie, and when done well, employees can actually benefit by applying the general lessons they were taught at a seminar. The consultant also mentions that when done badly by applying whatever cliché technique seen on [=TV=] or in a book, as done by the guy in the story proper, employees will not learn anything, and will only make existing office tensions even worse.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* The ''Series/WimziesHouse'' episode "Who Do You Trust?" features exactly this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/PvPOnline'' has had two so far, paintball and a LARP.
* Alluded to in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', when Florence gathers a few trusted robots to share what she's learned about [[spoiler:Gardener in the Dark, a BrownNote for Jean's robot population]]. Because there's the possibility that humans might be harmed no matter what she does (and thus the robots' human-protection safeguards may threaten to kick in if she gives them the whole story), she asks permission to disable their motor controls before explaining things. Sawtooth Rivergrinder (a terraforming robot the size of a dump truck) remarks thusly:

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. The episode "Secret Society" had the ''villains'' doing this to build trust before taking on The League. Grodd, the leader, also ramped it up, as the ones falling did so off a cliff about 30 feet up, and the "catcher" used his powers to bring them down; for example, Sinestro using his ring to let his partner fall slowly. Giganta, paired with Killer Frost, warns her that she's heavier than she looks. After the camera cuts away, we hear a loud thud, followed by Frost saying a deadpan "Ow". It was mostly done to avert the inevitable betrayal that ends most {{Villain Team Up}}s. Grodd was being savvy and because he did this, his villain team was one of the more successful, going so far as to cause a temporary disbanding of the Justice League.

** In 'Table 34', Jess and the gang go to a dating convention for East Indians. Each are inducted into the event and have to take part in activities. After kissing Nick the night before, Jess is still uncertain about her feelings for him. Her boyfriend Sam arrives and they take part in a team activity where a hula-hoop must travel from one end of a circle to the other. Each member holds hands and the couples deemed compatible have less trouble moving the hoop from one to the other. Jess struggles to move the hoop to Sam, which Nick views as a sign of their incompatability. In a later exercise, Jess and Nick have to make a table out of newspapers. Those with tables that can hold a phone book have better success as a couple. Of course, the two construct a sound table that is strong enough for Nick to stand on.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had the ''villains'' doing this to build trust before taking on The League. Grodd, the leader, also ramped it up, as the ones falling did so off a cliff about 30 feet up, and the "catcher" used his powers to bring them down; for example, Sinestro using his ring to let his partner fall slowly. When Giganta drops from the cliff toward a waiting Killer Frost, however, you just hear a loud offscreen thud, with Frost going "Ow." It was mostly done to avert the inevitable betrayal that ends most {{Villain Team Up}}s. Grodd was being savvy and because he did this, his villain team was one of the more successful, going so far as to cause a temporary disbanding of the Justice League.

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead''. One episode features a substitute teacher who makes an effort to connect with the class. He assumes the titular duo are misguided youths who have never been given any encouragement. He tries to show that he trusts them by standing on his desk and falling backwards, but unfortunately, Beavis and Butt-head realize when it's already too late what they're supposed to do, and he ends up needing a substitute himself.

Since we've already established you are reading this on Wiki/TVTropes, we can assume these activities can and have been extensively lampooned, mocked, and generally made fun of quite a lot by people.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse" flashback episode "Them's the Breaks, Kid", Eda has to participate in a trust fall with a student made of slime. She messes with everyone by casting an illusion that makes it seem as if she fell right through him and the flesh dissolved from her bones instantly.

* The protagonists of the slasher movie ''Film/{{Severance}}'' are a sales team out on a team building weekend in the Hungarian wilderness.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do with]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter building trust in a person who does not deserve it.]]

[[quoteright:249:[[Manga/AzumangaDaioh https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trust_building_blunder_6.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:249: Well she learned about trust, just not the lesson you wanted.]]