History Main / ApathyKilledTheCat

Compare MisappliedPhlebotinum and ForgottenPhlebotinum. See also ItsProbablyNothing, SomebodyElsesProblem, and of course DyingLikeAnimals, which this attitude often supports.

* In ''ToLoveRu'', approximately no one (other than Rito, on occasion) seems to care that aliens exist and show up on earth on a regular basis, or that Lala's father apparently rules the entire galaxy, including the earth, and that he's threatened to destroy it.

* In MetalGearSolid Peace Walker, No character on Mother Base cared what happened to Paz after she fell out of the [[DiabolusExMachina Metal Gear you built]]. Except an armie of players, of course...

** There are multiple explanations for this, and they vary depending on the specific show you are watching. Kirk's Enterprise was an exploratory vessel, most of the places they were going were not explored or had very little know about them. The red shirts sacrificed are the people the (future) history books will cite when they say "Planet 56793-d: Breathable atmosphere, rocky terrain, salt vampires". Picard's Enterprise had this as less of an excuse, though they did encounter new territories and cultures. The ones they were even mildly familiar with were probably cataloged in the ship's computer, and served as intercom messages before departing. Even so, laws change, and the files may be dated. And regardless of which ship you are on, the fact remains that if you go to a foreign country/planet, and break a law, "I didn't know" doesn't tend to work.

** To be fair, he does ask questions. It's just that he either gets no answer (Mikuru), an answer that doesn't make sense(Koizumi and Yuki), or an answer that makes sense that has 'unreliable!' written all over it (Koizumi and Mikuru, Yuki claims it). [[spoiler:Oh, and the anti SOS Brigade puts all three together.]]

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*** College students during lectures.

* TheNostalgiaCritic points out in his review of ''Suburban Commando'' that Christopher Lloyd's character seems to have no questions or comments when it is revealed that his tenant is an alien bounty hunter. The most he registers is mild annoyance at the fact that he [[MemeticMutation WAS FROZEN TODAY!]]

***** And ''whon'' would he ask? His father [[spoiler: had ObfuscatingStupidity going, so he wouldn't answer. He dropped it, but right now the are kind of busy with all that battle against the BigBad.]]

* Exactly TWO Chinese Gundam00 fans cared whether if the "Nena Look-alike" character in the 00) mivie is related to Nena. yes, one is this troper.

** This might be justified in that the entire series tells us that Harry is a lot like Voldemort, and in the end Voldermort suffers a fate worse than death largely because - like Harry - he never bothered to learn much about magical theory.

* ''{{Naruto}}''. God, Naruto! I mean, a world filled with jutsu and he cares to learn only THREE (Toad Summoning, Rasengan and Shadow Clones) and improve himself in only the second, while using the third to make up for his general lack of actual fighting skill. Not to mention the fact that, despite seeing the power of Elemental-based Ninjutsu (He even nagged Kakashi to teach him Chidori after Naruto saw Sasuke use it), he never actually cares on learning his own elemental power until Kakashi mentioned it, 2 years in as a ninja. Averted completely by Sasuke, who creates, uses, and recreates his own jutsu many times and tries to explore them to their full potential. Given, he is the analytical, cold, and rational type, while Naruto is the emotional, soft, and irrational type who just kicks and goes with the trail the ball makes. Made worse if you note that he is host to a demon that gives him virtually unlimited chakra, so one would expect him to explore it, rather than acknowledge and ignore it afterwards.

*** I really hope you're not suggesting the Weasleys should turn cats into clothing.

* ''{{Naruto}}''. God, Naruto! I mean, a world filled with jutsu and he cares to learn only THREE(Toad Summoning, Rasengan and Shadow Clones) and improve himself in only the second, while using the third to make up for his general lack of actual fighting skill. Not to mention the fact that, despite seeing the power of Elemental-based Ninjutsu(He even nagged Kakashi to teach him Chidori after Naruto saw Sasuke use it), he never actually cares on learning his own elemental power till Kakashi mentioned it, 2 years in as a ninja. Averted completely by Sasuke, who creates, uses and recreates his own jutsu many times and try to explore them to their full potential. Given he is the analytical, cold and rational type, while Naruto is the emotional, soft and irrational type who just kicks and goes with the trail the ball makes. Made worse if you note that he is host to a demon that gives him virtually unlimited chakra, so one would expect him to explore it, rather than acknowledge and ignore it afterwards.
** Played straight with Sakura, pre and post-time skip. After all her talk on wanting to get stronger and stop depending on others, she barely has any jutsu to fight, with her Superstrength being her ONLY battle-useful strength. Mind you, this is a world with people who can blow you away from blocks away with fireballs, wind gushes, earthquakes, thunderstorms and other such destructive powers, and Sakura, being apprentice of one of the greatest ninjas of this world, cares only for medic skills and Super-strength. Like, even Kabuto, the Evil Medic Ninja is more effective in the battlefield than she is.

Remember that old [[StockAesops saying]], "Curiosity killed the cat"? It seems that many fictional characters have taken it so close to heart that it may as well be a pacemaker.

Of course, in some cases, the characters are afraid of messing with something they don't understand. Most of the time though, they don't even ask the simplest questions that anyone would be dying to know; or, you know, might lead to them ''not'' screwing up things further. The [[IdiotBall plot cannot have that, however.]]

* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in RuleOfRose. After being given [[ChekhovsGun a storybook]] by an [[CreepyChild strange boy]], [[MysteriousWaif Jennifer]] inexplicably [[TrappedInAnotherWorld finds herself aboard a ghostly airship]] filled with [[KidsAreCruel nasty children]]. You'd think that she'd ask ''someone'' where she is and what's going, but between the UnreliableNarrator and the Thirty MindScrew Pileup, the player only gets a secondhand view of Jennifer's character. Hell, since the game is likely [[spoiler: [[YourMindMakesItReal a hallucination]], [[AllJustADream a dream]] [[DeadAllAlong or the afterlife]]]], it's also possible Jennifer knows the answers already.

*** Not, of course, that our protagonists are [http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2004/04/lb_inhumanly_pr.html that kind] [http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2004/08/lb_nice_people_.html of] [http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2005/04/lb_neros_fiddle.html heroes].

* The [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Nostalgia Critic]] points out in his review of ''Suburban Commando'' that Christopher Lloyd's character seems to have no questions or comments when it is revealed that his tenant is an alien bounty hunter. The most he registers is mild annoyance at the fact that he [[MemeticMutation WAS FROZEN TODAY!]]

* ''{{Naruto}}''. God, Naruto! I mean, a world filled with jutsu and he cares to learn only THREE(Toad Summoning, Rasengan and Shadow Clones) and improve himself in only the second, while using the third to make up for his general lack of actual fighting skill. Not to mention the fact that, despite seeing the power of Elemental-based Ninjutsu(He even nagged Kakashi to teach him Chidori after Naruto saw Sasuke use it), he never actually cares on learning his own elemental power till Kakashi mentioned it, 2 years in as a ninja. Averted completely by Sasuke, who creates, uses and recreates his own jutsu many times and try to explore them to their full potential. Given he is the analytical, cold and rational type, while Naruto is the emotional, soft and irrational type who just kicks and goes with the trail the ball makes.

** Sandman's Death(who has become DC's official AnthropomorphicPersonification [[GrimReaper of Death]], give or take a few badly attempted retcons) has mentioned in some sources that she has no idea where people go after she takes them.

**** In the new (2006-present) Doctor Who series, the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler asks about the language issue, and the Doctor finally [[strike:offers a [[AppliedPhlebotinum Plot Device]]]] explains that the living heart of the Tardis translates alien speech telepathically for the travelers journeying in it, even when they're away from the Tardis for a while.

* In ''The Lost Room,'' a character gets a key that takes him into a hotel room that exists outside time and space. Walking out of the room takes you to any place in the world with a door. Why, why, '''why''' didn't he start experimenting with things like climbing out the window to see what happens? This is especially glaring considering that other characters do things like put things in the room, then close and open the door (making them disappear) and check if the room has electricity and running water (it does).