History Main / ExpectationLowerer

* St Thomas Aquinas believed that the righteous in {{Heaven}} will be able to observe the torments of the wicked in {{Hell}}; [[ComedicSociopathy the better to enjoy their blessedness]]. This is probably the harshest demonstration of the second kind of Expectation Lowerer, with gloating and Schadenfreude [[RecycledInSPACE on a celestial level]].
** Or, as a demonstration of justice to their persecutors.
** [[OlderThanTheyThink St Thomas was by no means the first person to think this]]; the early Christian writer Tertullian wrote [[http://www.archive.org/stream/apologydespectac00tertuoft#page/298/mode/2up a remarkably nasty account]] of how much he was looking forward to seeing the benighted Roman heathens burning in Hell.

* ''Series/MadTV1995'' has the skits of The Depressed Persian Tow Truck Man, who constantly say things on how his life sucks, that people he's talking with feel better about themselves as their lives aren't as bad as his. One skit has him be part of a therapy group, where him talking about his crappy home life, makes the other members feel better about their lives.

* In ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', Ray Barone makes an enormous blunder when stuck for a blank videotape in a hurry to record that year's Superbowl. He ends up using his own wedding video tape. Despite, as wife Debra tells him at great and furious length, it having a massive label on it that says "Our Wedding" in 108-point font. His father reflects later [[note]]And this is ''Frank Barone'' saying this[[/note]] that wherever men are gathered together who have done dumb bone-headed things to aggravate their wives, however dumb, however stupid, they can take comfort in saying

* The Crestfallen Warrior in ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and his various counterparts in the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series serve as a reminder of what you essentially are if you give up on trying to beat the game. They started out on a quest not unlike your own, and died enough times that they lost their nerve to go on. The one in ''Demon's Souls'' even invites you to cop a seat next to him, saying "We can sit here forever." In other words, ThisLoserIsYou...but only if you let the game get the better of you. On a broader level, "going hollow" in the ''Dark Souls'' universe--becoming a mindless zombie--is implied to be the fate of players who give up on the game, as undead remain sane only as long as they retain some sense of purpose and the will to press on.

** The same show also gives us [[PersonAsVerb "doin' a Homer"]] for any action or deed or remark which is so completely outrageously unbeleivably stupid that there is only ever one person who could conceivably behave that way. The phrase, in fact, becomes so widespread InUniverse that it gets into Webster's Dictionary.

** Squidward is a lameo who think himself as an underappreciated genius, when he is living a lousy life as a cashier at the Krusty Krab, and his talents are mediocre to horrendous. He basically makes everyone else's life look happier then his dead end career.

* This is the reason for many negative character tropes such as the BumblingDad.

** The same show also gives us [[PersonAsAVerb "doin' a Homer"]] for any action or deed or remark which is so completely outrageously unbeleivably stupid that there is only ever one person who could conceivably behave that way. The phrase, in fact, becomes so widespread InUniverse that it gets into Webster's Dictionary.

* [[TheAlcoholic Barney Gumble]] from ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'', is meant to be even more of a StrawLoser than Homer is. Subverted in that Barney makes an effort to get clean and sober (although he does fall OffTheWagon every now and again.) He's been OutOfFocus in more recent seasons, because, with his recovery efforts, he does not fulfill his Expectation Lowerer role anymore.

** The same show also gives us ''doin' a Homer'' for any action or deed or remark which is so completely outrageously unbeleivably stupid that there is only ever one person who could conceivably behave that way. The phrase, in fact, becomes so widespread InUniverse that it gets into Webster's Dictionary.

Compare/Contrast the MarySue, a character who (like the ExpectationLowerer) the audience does ''not'' identify with, but due to the character's ''strengths'' rather than ''weaknesses''.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has the very infamous example of Shinji Matou, a character who believes himself to be more important than he really is. While he is a hit with the ladies at school, most important female characters want nothing to do with him, his magical capabilities are at an absolute zero, and often resorts to cowardly and despicable acts to get what he wants. While there is no shortage of monstrous villains, Shinji stands as being the most pathetic of them all. So much so that in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'', his sister [[ShreakingViolet Sakura]] outright states that he only exists to make everybody around him look good.

* In ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', Ray Barone makes an enormous blunder when stuck for a blank videotape in a hurry to record that year's Superbowl, he ends up using his own wedding video tape. Despite, as wife Debra tells him at great and furious length, it having a massive label on it that says "Our Wedding" in 108-point font. his father reflects later that wherever men are gathered together who have done dumb bone-headed things to aggravate their wives, however dumb, however stupid, they can take comfort in saying

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* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has a {{Metagame}} example in Sombra. When she was made available to play, fans found that [[DifficultButAwesome she has a very high skill floor]]; good Sombra players can use her hack-based skills to interfere with the enemy team's effectiveness, but bad Sombra players, who are everywhere, contribute virtually nothing of value, not helped by her main weapon being rather low on the damage side. This trope comes into play with accounts of some Sombra players being told to switch to Hanzo, who was previously ''the'' meta's MemeticLoser and face of "awesome but misused character" (i.e. even if you're playing poorly as Hanzo, he's still more effective than Sombra at low-level play).

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has a {{Metagame}} example in Sombra. When she was made available to play, fans found that [[DifficultButAwesome she has a very high skill floor]]; good Sombra players can use her hack-based skills to interfere with the enemy team's effectiveness, but bad Sombra players, who are everywhere, contribute virtually nothing of value, not helped by her main weapon being rather low on the damage side. This trope comes into play with accounts of some Sombra players being told to switch to Hanzo, who was previously ''the'' meta's MemeticLoser and face of "awesome but misused character" (i.e. even if you're playing poorly as Hanzo, at least you're not sucking at the game as Sombra).

[[folder:Video games]]

* Richard Watterson on ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' seems to have the sole purpose of saying and doing things so stupid even LoserProtagonist Gumball sees how dumb they are. Notably, Richard, unlike Gumball, is ''such'' an idiotic loser that [[TheFool things often actually work around to his advantage precisely because of the fact that no one expects anything of him]], so in a way, by making Gumball (and by extension [[ThisLoserIsYou the audience]]) seem like less of a loser, he makes Gumball look like ''more'' of a loser.

A character who exists to provide a flattering contrast to the audience by being worse than the audience in some specific respect.

This trope exists on a sliding scale of scorn; at one end the character simply exists as a flattering contrast to the audience (the IdiotHero often fits here). At this end of the spectrum, the audience focuses on the "if ''this'' character can do x, then I certainly can do x!"

On the other end of scorn scale is the harder version, where a character that is made pathetic so the audience can feel better about themselves (via [[GratuitousGerman Schadenfreude]]). TheDitz, a very common trope in [[SitCom Sitcoms]], is this (but PlayedForLaughs).

Arguably an Expectation Lowerer is an {{Inversion}} of EscapistCharacter; Escapist Characters allow you to feel good by giving you an AudienceSurrogate that you can experience awesomeness through. An Expectation Lowerer makes you feel good in the exact opposite way; you ''cannot'' identify with this character and this character, in at least one respect, is worse than you.

[[folder:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* [[TheAlcoholic Barney Gumble]] from ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'', is meant to be even more of a StrawLoser than Homer is. Subverted in that Barney makes an effort to get clean and sober (although he does fall OffTheWagon every now and again.) He's been OutOfFocus in more recent seasons, because with his recovery efforts, he does not fulfill his Expectation Lowerer role anymore.

* Carl of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''. Fat, balding, ugly, hairy, a slob, a perverted sleezeball, and beyond.

* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' has Clay Puppington, an abusive, self-destructive, hypocritical, alcoholic AttentionWhore who hates everyone and everything, ''especially'' himself. Deconstructed in Season 3, when his dysfunction gradually alienates every single person in his life.

* Richard Watterson on ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' seems to have the sole purpose of saying and doing things so stupid even LoserProtagonist Gumball sees how dumb they are. Notably, Richard, unlike Gumball, is ''such'' an idiotic loser that [[TheFool things often actually work around to his advantage precisely because of the fact that no one expects anything of him]], so in a way, by making Gumball (and by extension [[ThisLoserIsYou the audience]]) seem like less of a loser, he makes Gumball look like more of a loser

* This is the reason for BumblingDad and all other negative portrayals of men on TV; it is not that feminists have taken over TV, it's that the male audience want to see someone who is more pathetic than they are. And, for example, worse at parenting. (Though arguably the BumblingDad could be indirectly caused by feminists exerting pressure on men to become better fathers, and the men wanting reassurance that they already ''are'' being good fathers in comparison to that loser on TV)

A character that exists to provide a flattering contrast to the audience by being worse than the audience in some specific respect.

Arguably an ExpectationLowerer is an {{Inversion}} of EscapistCharacter; Escapist Characters allow you to feel good by giving you an AudienceSurrogate that you can experience awesomeness through. An Expectation Lowerer makes you feel good in the exact opposite way; you ''cannot'' identify with this character and this character, in at least one respect, is worse than you.

Not to be confused with ThisLoserIsYou; where a [[AudienceSurrogate character you identify with]] is the character that sucks. ThisLoserIsYou basically flings the audience's faults back into their face whereas an ExpectationLowerer allows them to distance themselves from their faults.

* St Thomas Aquinas believed that the righteous in Heaven will be able to observe the torments of the wicked in Hell; [[ComedicSociopathy the better to enjoy their blessedness]]. This is probably the harshest demonstration of the second kind of ExpectationLowerer, with gloating and Schadenfreude [[RecycledInSPACE on a celestial level]].

* Every single guest on ''[[Series/TheJerrySpringerShow Jerry Springer]]'', and the UK equivalent Jeremy Kyle.

* All of the main characters in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''.

* This, mixed with BileFascination, drives sites like Encyclopedia Dramatica and People of Walmart (among many, many others).

* [[TheAlcoholic Barney Gumble]] from ''TheSimpsons'', is meant to be even more of a StrawLoser than Homer is. Subverted in that Barney makes an effort to get clean and sober (although he does fall OffTheWagon every now and again.) He's been OutOfFocus in more recent seasons, because with his recovery efforts, he does not fulfill his ExpectationLowerer role anymore.

* All of the main characters in ''ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''.

* Carl of ''AquaTeenHungerForce''. Fat, balding, ugly, hairy, a slob, a perverted sleezeball, and beyond.
* ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' is not the brightest bulb in the circuit by any means, but compared to [[StrawLoser Patrick]], he looks like a genius.

* St Thomas Aquinas believed that the righteous in Heaven will be able to observe the torments of the wicked in Hell; [[ComedicSociopathy the better to enjoy their blessedness]]. This is probably the harshest demonstration of the second kind of ExpectationLowerer, with gloating and schadenfreude [[RecycledInSPACE on a celestial level]].