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Author: bejjinks

Jul 29th 2014 at 12:16:21 AM

Actually, WiseFool is a trope that's older than television but it has a more specific definition than what the description here says. The Wise Fool specifically is someone who doesn't care about what most people care about and his wisdom comes specifically from the fact that he cares about other, more important matters. For example, a guy who doesn't care about sports because he's too busy caring about the children of the community or a woman who doesn't care about fashion because she's too busy caring for the environment. Typically, the wise fool arrives on the scene in time to help everyone with a crisis and then leaves as soon as the crisis is cleared up.

In fiction, people don't assume that the wise fool is stupid. People recognize that the Wise Fool is wise but the Wise Fool gets ostracized anyway, not because people think he's stupid but because he just doesn't fit the mold.

Bob: What did you think of the game last night. Pretty awesome, eh?

Wise Fool: There was a game last night? I guess I missed it. I was helping your son with his math homework.

Mary Poppins is an example of a Wise Fool and so is her friend Bert.