History Main / FourthWallMyopia

'''No examples, please.'''

This is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values. Viewers suffering from this may also consider certain plot developments to be potential {{Headscratchers}} when they are, in fact, simply a result of the characters not being aware that they're in a story nor possessing GenreSavvy or omnipotence; this often takes the form of complaints that the characters "should have just" taken a different course of action in order to resolve the plot easier or even not doing anything at all, not stopping to realise that the characters don't know things such as what other characters in different locations may be doing or how the narrative they're in ends.

This is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values. Viewers suffering from this may also consider certain plot developments to be potential {{Headscratchers}} when they are, in fact, simply a result of the characters not being aware that they're in a story nor possessing GenreSavvy or omnipotence; this often takes the form of complaints that the characters "should have just" taken a different course of action in order to resolve the plot easier or even not doing anything at all, not stopping to realise that the characters don't know things such as what other characters in different locations may be doing or how the narrative they're in ends (and that, in the case of the latter complaint, a character just not doing anything at all because they're secure in the knowledge that everything will work out okay would not make for a particularly interesting story).

This is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values. Viewers suffering from this may also consider certain plot developments to be potential {{Headscratchers}} when they are, in fact, simply a result of the characters not being aware that they're in a story nor possessing GenreSavvy or omnipotence; this often takes the form of complaints that the characters "should have just" taken a different course of action in order to resolve the plot easier, not stopping to realise that the characters don't know things such as what other characters in different locations may be doing or how the narrative they're in ends.

This is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values. Viewers suffering from this may also consider certain plot developments to be potential {{Headscratchers}} when they is, in fact, simply a result of the characters not being aware that they're in a story nor possessing GenreSavvy or omnipotence; this often takes the form of complaints that the characters "should have just" taken a different course of action in order to resolve the plot easier, not stopping to realise that the characters don't know things such as what other characters in different locations may be doing or how the narrative they're in ends.

Naturally, this would be a justified if a character was in fact a FourthWallObserver (thus giving them the same amount of knowledge as the audience), but those are still the exception to the rule.

This is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values.

Essentially, this trope is when the audience complains that the characters in the world of the story, unlike the audience, do not actually realise that they're living in a story.

MoralDissonance may occur if the author tries relying on Audience Myopia, or has it himself, but the audience doesn't. The Quote from the MoralDissonance page is a good example of what may be Audience Myopia: One CowboyCop is fighting a bunch of other cowboy cops, but the former is good and the latter is evil, because everyone killed by Jack was evil (something for which there is no way to check from inside the world).

->''Don't you get it, Ben? Ishiyama doesn't know he's a program in a game. This is all real to him.''
-->--'''Gwen Tennyson''', ''WesternAnimation/Ben10''

-->''Don't you get it, Ben? Ishiyama doesn't know he's a program in a game. This is all real to him.''

There is another form, which is when viewers don't have myopia themselves, but project it on the author, which causes the false claim that StrawmanHasAPoint. For example, the admiral who accuses TheCaptain of reckless endangerment may be perceived as a "strawman with a point", while the author originally intended to [[WhatTheHellHero make the point]] that Captain is in fact reckless.

How can you tell a badass antihero from a violent sociopath? How can you tell TheCassandra from a rambling madman? The answer is: You can't. Not by observing and interacting with them, anyway.

This trope is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values.

Naturally, this would be a JustifiedTrope if a character was in fact a FourthWallObserver (thus giving them the same amount of knowledge as the audience), but those are still the exception to the rule.

Naturally, this would be a JustifiedTrope if the characters were in fact a FourthWallObserver (thus giving them the same amount of knowledge as the audience), but those are still the exception to the rule.

The audience knows things that characters don't. They know that the ''USS Enterprise'' won't blow up, or that Franchise/SpiderMan won't become evil, at least not for long. They know what is real and what is not. Characters, however, don't know that. They don't know they are in a story and don't know who the main characters are, even if they are GenreSavvy. Even if they are willing to share their story, they can't always trust each other.

How can you tell a {{Badass}} antihero from a violent sociopath? How can you tell TheCassandra from a rambling madman? The answer is: You can't. Not by observing and interacting with them, anyway.

When viewers forget about this fact, strange things will happen. A reasonable helmsman on a starship, who objects to going on a SuicideMission, will be seen as a whiny [[TheScrappy scrappy]], and when TheCaptain is CourtMartialed for his decision, viewers won't understand why. For GenreSavvy viewers the captain's plan had a 100% success chance, but for characters it was more like a 99% chance to get their entire crew killed and their ship destroyed. Viewers won't approve the SuperRegistrationAct, but for comic book world bystanders, superheroes are masked armed men with unknown agendas. They don't know what to expect from them, and have all the reasons to be paranoid, especially considering that {{Face Heel Turn}}s are not uncommon for supers. A CowboyCop finally arrests John The Ripper and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats him until]] he confesses his crimes, but an AmoralAttorney gets him released. Viewers are infuriated, but nobody in-universe can be sure that the cop caught the right man (unlike us, they didn't [[ReverseWhodunnit see him do it]]), and they can no longer trust any evidence brought in by the arresting officer. Viewers are calling the king of Arcadia TooDumbToLive because he [[CassandraTruth refuses to believe]] that Sir Gabriel actually saw the [[EldritchAbomination Beast From Beyond]], but the king is more concerned that one hundred men came to his palace this month and claimed that they saw the Beast, which means the treasury has to pay for another mental asylum because the existing ones are overcrowded. We can go on forever.

The audience knows things that characters don't. They know that the ''USS Enterprise'' won't blow up, or that SpiderMan won't become evil, at least not for long. They know what is real and what is not. Characters, however, don't know that. They don't know they are in a story and don't know who the main characters are, even if they are GenreSavvy. Even if they are willing to share their story, they can't always trust each other.

How can you tell a BadAss antihero from a violent sociopath? How can you tell TheCassandra from a rambling madman? The answer is: You can't. Not by observing and interacting with them, anyway.

When viewers forget about this fact, strange things will happen. A reasonable helmsman on a starship, who objects to going on a suicide mission, will be seen as a whiny [[TheScrappy scrappy]], and when TheCaptain is court-martialed for his decision, viewers won't understand why. For GenreSavvy viewers the captain's plan had a 100% success chance, but for characters it was more like a 99% chance to get their entire crew killed and their ship destroyed. Viewers won't approve the SuperRegistrationAct, but for comic book world bystanders, superheroes are masked armed men with unknown agendas. They don't know what to expect from them, and have all the reasons to be paranoid, especially considering that {{Face Heel Turn}}s are not uncommon for supers. A CowboyCop finally arrests John The Ripper and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats him until]] he confesses his crimes, but an AmoralAttorney gets him released. Viewers are infuriated, but nobody in-universe can be sure that the cop caught the right man (unlike us, they didn't [[ReverseWhodunnit see him do it]]), and they can no longer trust any evidence brought in by the arresting officer. Viewers are calling the king of Arcadia TooDumbToLive because he [[CassandraTruth refuses to believe]] that Sir Gabriel actually saw the [[EldritchAbomination Beast From Beyond]], but the king is more concerned that one hundred men came to his palace this month and claimed that they saw the Beast, which means the treasury has to pay for another mental asylum because the existing ones are overcrowded. We can go on forever.

This trope is closely related to LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt; viewers know something is unlikely because it would disrupt the [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo]], but for characters in the setting, [[ThisIsReality there's no reason to think this way]]. See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values.

See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values.

When viewers forget about this fact, strange things will happen. A reasonable helmsman on a starship, who objects to going on a suicide mission, will be seen as a whiny [[TheScrappy scrappy]], and when TheCaptain is court-martialed for his decision, viewers won't understand why. For GenreSavvy viewers the captain's plan had a 100% success chance, but for characters it was more like a 99% chance to get their entire crew killed and their ship destroyed. Viewers won't approve the SuperRegistrationAct, but for comic book world bystanders, superheroes are masked armed men with unknown agendas. They don't know what to expect from them, and have all the reasons to be paranoid, especially considering that {{Face Heel Turn}}s are not uncommon for supers. A CowboyCop arrests a man and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats him until]] he confesses that he is the infamous John the Ripper, but an AmoralAttorney gets him released. Viewers are infuriated, but in RealLife history shows us that a judge-jury-executioner rolled in one person is a recipe for disaster. Viewers are calling the king of Arcadia TooDumbToLive because he [[CassandraTruth refuses to believe]] that Sir Gabriel actually saw the [[EldritchAbomination Beast From Beyond]], but the king is more concerned that one hundred men came to his palace this month and claimed that they saw the Beast, which means the treasury has to pay for another mental asylum because the existing ones are overcrowded. We can go on forever.

See also WhatMeasureIsANonBadass, DracoInLeatherPants[=/=]RonTheDeathEater, RootingForTheEmpire, where the audience and characters have completely different values (the audience values [[EvilIsCool coolness]] and badassery, the characters would prefer someone who wouldn't try to kill them). See also DramaticIrony, where this applies to plot rather than values.

How can you tell a BadAss antihero from a violent sociopath? How can you tell TheCassandra from a rambling madman? The answer is: You can't. By observing and interacting with them anyway.

When viewers forget about this fact, strange things will happen. A reasonable helmsman on a starship, who objects to going on a suicide mission, will be seen as a whiny [[TheScrappy scrappy]], and when TheCaptain is court-martialed for his decision, viewers won't understand why. For GenreSavvy viewers the captain's plan had a 100% success chance, but for characters it was more like a 99% chance to get their entire crew killed and their ship destroyed. Viewers won't approve the SuperRegistrationAct, but for comic book world bystanders, superheroes are masked armed men with unknown agendas. They don't know what to expect from them, and have all the reasons to be paranoid, especially considering that {{Face Heel Turn}}s are not uncommon for supers. A CowboyCop arrests a man and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats him until]] he confesses that he is the infamous John the Ripper, but an AmoralAttorney get him released. Viewers are infuriated, but in RealLife history shows us that a judge-jury-executioner rolled in one person is a recipe for disaster. Viewers are calling the king of Arcadia TooDumbToLive because he [[CassandraTruth refuses to believe]] that Sir Gabriel actually saw the [[EldritchAbomination Beast From Beyond]], but the king is more concerned that one hundred men came to his palace this month and claimed that they saw the Beast, which means the treasury has to pay for another mental asylum because the existing ones are overcrowded. We can go on forever.

The audience knows things that characters don't. They know that the ''USS Enterprise'' won't blow up, or that Spiderman won't become evil, at least not for long. They know what is real and what is not. Characters, however, don't know that. They don't know they are in a story and don't know who the main characters are, even if they are GenreSavvy. Even if they are willing to share their story, they can't always trust each other.

When viewers forget about this fact, strange things will happen. A reasonable helmsman on a starship, who objects to going on a suicide mission, will be seen as a whiny [[TheScrappy scrappy]], and when TheCaptain is court-martialed for his decision, viewers won't understand why. For GenreSavvy viewers the captain's plan had a 100% success chance, but for characters it was more like a 99% chance to get their entire crew killed and their ship destroyed. Viewers won't approve the SuperRegistrationAct, but for comic book world bystanders, superheroes are masked armed men with unknown agendas. They don't know what to expect from them, and have all the reasons to be paranoid, especially considering that {{Face Heel Turn}}s are not uncommon for supers. A CowboyCop arrests a man and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats him until]] he confesses that he is the infamous John the Ripper, but an AmoralAttorney get him released. Viewers are infuriated, but in RealLife history shows us that a judge-jury-executioner rolled in one person is a recipe for disaster. Viewers are calling the king of Arcadia TooDumbToLive because he [[CassandraTruth refuses to believe]] that Sir Gabriel actually saw the [[EldrichAbomination Beast from Beyond]], but the king is more concerned that one hundred men came to his palace this month and claimed that they saw the Beast, which means the treasury has to pay for another mental asylum because the existing ones are overcrowded. We can go on forever.