Misused: Kafka Komedy

The trope page for Kafka Komedy is all over the place. There are at least three different tropes mixed in on the page. I think this is in large part due to people not knowing what the term "Kafkaesque" means, and that unfortunately includes the trope starter.

(1) according to the dictionary, "Kafkaesque" means a senseless disorienting complexity, generally referring to bureaucracies. Office Space and Brazil are good examples of this.

(2) according to the trope description, the page is about nice people who have horrible things happen to them (and their nice attempts to clean it up result in worse repercussions). That's absolutely not the same thing; it's actually more like our trope The Woobie. The example about The Drew Carey Show is a good one.

(3) numerous examples on the page are simply people that have horrible things happen to them even though they're actually a jerk anyway. We have different tropes for that, e.g. Schadenfreude or the various Karma tropes. The examples for The Simpsons and Avenue Q are a good example of this.

So this needs cleaning, but first we need to agree on which definition to actually use for this page.

I dispute your first point. Where does it say that this trope is equivalent to the term "Kafkaesque"? Three examples (Dilbert, Brazil, Office Space) use the term "Kafkaesque". All are using that term properly, since they take place in a setting with a needlessly complex and confusing bureacracy. They're also Zero Context Examples, but IMO they could be seen as Kafka Komedy as well. If this trope was named Kafkaesque, and people were making this mistake, you might have a point, but it's not. Even so, Kafkaesque means in a more simple sense "resembling the works of Kafka", and considering that Kafka is known for this kind of story, Kafka Komedy qualifies as Kafkaesque.

Using it for bad things happening to unsympathetic characters is definitely misuse, but 'jerks' are not necessarily unsympathetic. I don't think there's a definition issue; it's clearly distinct from Sadist Show and our pseudo-karma tropes.

Similarly, Schadenfreude is not necessarily "delight in the misfortune of jerks".

The main character in a Kafka Komedy can still be a bit of a jerk, so long as the misfortune that plagues them is never implied to be the result of their jerkishness.

Clocking due to lack of activity.

Okay, so we need to agree upon a definition to this page, but I'm having trouble putting solid crowner options together.

If I understand correctly, the page is supposed to be about sympathetic people that have nasty things happen to them, and their efforts to clean it up result in worse things happening. Is that broadly correct?

If that's what it's about, it needs a new name. Regardless of whether it says this is a synonym for Kafkaesque, that's what the current name sure sounds like.

That's a good point, but let's agree on a definition first; considering whether the name still fits is the second step.

I think we're fine as long as there's no meat-touching.

Page action crowner hooked.

Bumping for votes.

Calling crowner in favor of top option.