History Main / PopularIsDumb

* ''{{Manga/Loveless}}'': Someone researching Ritsuka's backstory discovered he used to be popular and got poor grades. Thanks to [[DomesticAbuse various events]], including the death of his brother, he became anti-social and introverted, not to mention that his mother's already present abuse escalated.

* ''Series/SabrinatheTeenageWitch'': Sabrina's college roommate Morgan is a good example, being both tremendously dim and very popular.

* Holly Fischer from ''Series/TheOC'' (especially in her later appearances when she is leader of a pack of young brides and very much the stereotypical [[TheBrainlessBeauty Brainless Beauty]]). To a lesser extent Luke Ward, though he was a bit deeper than the usual JerkJock. Summer Roberts very much fitted this trope at the start of the series, but evolved into more of a GeniusDitz as the show progressed.

* Romeo on ''Series/TheSteveHarveyShow''.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' has Finn, Puck, Brittany and the former AlphaBitch Terri.
* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Ross asked Joey, "Didn't you read ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' in high school?" Joey responds, "No, I had ''sex'' in high school."
* Troy on ''Series/{{Community}}'' when he is playing up TheJock part of his character is a classic example. God bless him, he is not the brightest bulb in the box.
-->'''Jeff:''' "I want you to clear your mind."\\
'''Troy:''' ''(immediately)'' "Done."
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' gives us STEVE HOLT!!! who has had to retake his final year of school twice.

* Dash, Kwan, and Paulina from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''; Valerie, who was kicked out of the "popular" gang when her family lost all their money, has since shown herself to be of more-or-less average intellect for the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' universe.
* Tad, Chad, Trixie and Veronica from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''. Butch Hartman likes this idea, doesn't he?
* Mandy in ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies''. It was always implied that she did poorly in school, such as failing chemistry, and at one point in the fourth season, got ''straight F's'' on her report card [[spoiler:which got mixed up with [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Alex's]] report card, which had A's and B's]].
** In the latter situation, [[spoiler:everything's OK by the end, and Mandy's mom grounds her for the rest of the school year for getting such poor grades]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' is a subversion, as she is both [[TheSmartGuy the smartest]] ''and'' [[LovableAlphaBitch most popular girl in school]]. Her rival Bonnie seems to be a close second in popularity, but while she's obviously not as intelligent as Kim, she isn't exactly dumb either--she has more average intelligence at best (although she did once mistakenly call Cincinnati a country).
* In ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' Courtney Gripling plays the trope straight as TheBrainlessBeauty head of the GirlPosse. Miranda Killgallan, on the other hand, is of average-to-smart intellect as to fulfill her ManipulativeBastard role and The AlphaBitch (Courtney is mostly harmless).

* ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'': Kimmy actually believed this trope to be true, as since she was popular she could never be smart. It wasn't until Newton showed her that she can pull off anything she sets her mind to that she subverted this trope.
* Most who are popular in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''. Played for laughs when Peter is forced to tutor [[DefrostingIceQueen Liz Allen]] in order to raise her grades
--> '''Liz''': Couldn't [[JerkJock Flash]] tutor me instead?
--> '''Biology teacher''': I'm not sure you understand. We want your grade to go ''up'', not ''down''.

When a character is a JerkJock, AlphaBitch, or member of the GirlPosse they'll likely be beautiful, rich, and, to some extent, charismatic enough to be envied by many of their schoolmates. However, they're typically depicted as being unintelligent--sometimes to the point of TooDumbToLive--but rarely seem to suffer the ill effects of this as they are either:

* In ''Film/{{AmericanPsycho}}'', Bateman's wealthy, powerful and socially highly regarded close associates are shown to be oblivious to basic human knowledge - including one claiming that dyslexia can be sexually transmitted and that Sri Lanka is full of "Sikhs killing tons of Israelis", plus accusing a business rival of being Jewish for "spinning a menorah" in his office.

* Webcomic/OzyAndMillie plays with in an AndIMustScream-ish way. It's implied that Felicia actually has normal intellegence, but has to constantly play dumb because her friends would see her as a nerd if they found out she wasn't as shallow as them.

* Most of MegCabot's series has one of these--e.g. Lana Weinberger in ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries''.

* Webcomic/OzyAndMillie plays with in an AndIMustScream-ish way, It's implied that Felicia actually has normal intellegence, but has to constantly play dumb because her friends would see her as a nerd if they found out she wasn't as shallow as them.

* OzyAndMillie: It's implied that Felicia actually has normal intellegence, but has to constantly play dumb because her friends would see her as a nerd if they found out she wasn't as shallow as them.

* Played with in ''Film/{{Clueless}}''. Popular girl Cher is certainly not a genius-level intellect, but while she's a bit ditzy and naive in many ways she can also be surprisingly savvy, quick-witted and shrewd when she needs to be, being quite capable of "negotiating" her grades with her teachers. ...not [[HotForTeacher that way]], you [[FreudWasRight perverts]].

** Discussed and justified over the course of the movie--Cady, during her [[BecomingTheMask evolution into the]] AlphaBitch, begins [[ObfuscatingStupidity dumbing herself down]] so a boy will like her. Given Regina's MagnificentBitch tendencies and her apparent extensive knowledge of weight-loss drugs, it's possible she's doing the same thing.

* Pretty much every Disney Channel show ''ever'' to have a popular girl for a villain will make her seem dumb.
* Subverted in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', where Cordelia proves to actually be intelligent (at least she tests well) and has a rather acute detective sense. All this is covered up by her "no reason for secrets" mentality and her self-centered priorities (with a hint of outright [[TheDitz ditziness]] for flavor). In the original movie, Buffy herself was a subversion.

It has been noted that generally, popular people actualy have an about average amount of intelligence in their population as any group of people. Some are blindingly stupid, but some are actually smart. It also should be noted that generally, while some popular people are cruel and exclusive, some actually are nice people. (One wonders how a total bitch/[[MagnificentBastard bastard]] would ''get'' to be popular.)

* Cheerleader of Teen Girl Squad, a spin off of sorts of Homestar Runner. While the entire group is [[TooDumbToLive too dumb to live]] and all have multiple gory on-screen deaths, Cheerleader is dumber than at least her "pity friend," What's her face, who is unpopular and shows a glimmer of intelligence. She has been described as merely "acting like" a cheerleader, ie. like an Alpha Bitch, so there's that aspect to her as well.

* Averted in the Kate Brian novel, '''''[[http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-16-kate-brian/1100363242?ean=9781416900337 Sweet 16]]'''''. The main character, [[ItsAllAboutMe an egocentric]], [[SpoiledBrat spoiled]] [[RichBitch rich snob]] named Teagan Phillips, is said to be a straight-A student ''and'' one of the most popular girls at her ultra-exclusive private school.
** [[spoiler:Teagan [[HeelFaceTurn learns to be]] [[SpoiledSweet a kinder and friendlier person]] [[HeelRealization after realizing how her life would end up if she didn't change her ways]]--thanks to being visited by [[FutureLoser the ghost of her future self]]]].

* ''{{Loveless}}'': Someone researching Ritsuka's backstory discovered he used to be popular and got poor grades. Thanks to [[DomesticAbuse various events]], including the death of his brother, he became anti-social and introverted, not to mention that his mother's already present abuse escalated.

It has been noted that generally, popular people actualy have an about average amount of intellegence in their population as any group of people. Some are blindingly stupid, but some are actually smart. It also should be noted that generally, while some popular people are cruel and exclusive, some actually are nice people. (One wonders how a total bitch/[[MagnificentBastard bastard]] would ''get'' to be popular.)

* Brad Bramish, the JerkJock of ''{{Brick}}'', is a definite example. Laura, from the same film, subverts it.

* [[Series/SabrinatheTeenageWitch Sabrina's]] college roommate Morgan is a good example, being both tremendously dim and very popular.

* Holly Fischer from ''TheOC'' (especially in her later appearances when she is leader of a pack of young brides and very much the stereotypical [[TheBrainlessBeauty Brainless Beauty]]). To a lesser extent Luke Ward, though he was a bit deeper than the usual JerkJock. Summer Roberts very much fitted this trope at the start of the series, but evolved into more of a GeniusDitz as the show progressed.

* Initially played straight on ''MalcolmInTheMiddle''--the normal kids keep several metres away from the gifted kids at all times, and the most popular kids aren't all that bright. A later episode [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] this when Malcolm met a another gifted boy who was the most popular person in his school and was invited to several parties a week. Also, as time went on, Reese, the stupidest boy in the school, ended up even less popular than Malcolm.

* In series 3 of ''TheMightyBoosh'' Vince Noir, the "Prince of Camden", arguably falls into this category at times.
* Romeo on ''TheSteveHarveyShow''.
* ''{{Glee}}'' has Finn, Puck, Brittany and the former AlphaBitch Terri.
* On {{Friends}}, Ross asked Joey, "Didn't you read TheLordOfTheRings in high school?" Joey responds, "No, I had ''sex'' in high school."

* Subverted in ''PennyAndAggie''. Turns out Penny is just as smart as Aggie--giving Aggie another reason to hate her, since she doesn't use her influence in the way Aggie thinks she should.

* Mandy in ''TotallySpies''. It was always implied that she did poorly in school, such as failing chemistry, and at one point in the fourth season, got ''straight F's'' on her report card [[spoiler:which got mixed up with [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Alex's]] report card, which had A's and B's]].

* In ''AsToldByGinger'' Courtney Gripling plays the trope straight as TheBrainlessBeauty head of the GirlPosse. Miranda Killgallan, on the other hand, is of average-to-smart intellect as to fulfill her ManipulativeBastard role and The AlphaBitch (Courtney is mostly harmless).
* The Fashion Club along with Kevin and Brittney from ''{{Daria}}'' are perfect examples.

* SymBionicTitan: Kimmy actually believed this trope to be true, as since she was popular she could never be smart. It wasn't until Newton showed her that she can pull off anything she sets her mind to that she subverted this trope.
* Most who are popular in ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan''. Played for laughs when Peter is forced to tutor [[DefrostingIceQueen Liz Allen]] in order to raise her grades

* An episode of ''TheReplacements'' had Riley and Tasumi realize that guys fall head over heels for utterly stupid girls. They spend the episode trying to out-dumb one another, competing for the boys' attention.
* In ''TheSimpsons'' episode "Bart of Darkness", the family gets a pool and Lisa instantly becomes popular; when her brain points out that they're just using her, she delivers the page quote. At the end of the episode, the kids abandon Lisa because Martin built an even larger pool, leaving her stranded at the bottom of a now-empty pool.

* Played with in ''Film/{{Clueless}}''. Popular girl Cher is certainly not a genius-level intellect, but while she's a bit ditzy and naive in many ways she can also be surprisingly savvy, quick-witted and shrewd when she needs to be, being quite capable of "negotiating" her grades with her teachers.
** ...not [[HotForTeacher that way]], you [[FreudWasRight perverts]].

See also: AlphaBitch, TheCheerleader, JerkJock, TheDitz, TheBrainlessBeauty. This is often the cause of FutureLoser. The counter part of this tropes is IntelligenceEqualsIsolation. These two tropes often coexist in the same universe because they hinge on the same principle.

* In the Kate Brian novel, '''''[[http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-16-kate-brian/1100363242?ean=9781416900337 Sweet 16]]''''', the main character, [[ItsAllAboutMe an egocentric]], [[SpoiledBrat spoiled]] [[RichBitch rich snob]] named Teagan Phillips, is said to be a straight-A student and one of the most popular girls at her ultra-exclusive private school.

* [[spoiler:Teagan [[HeelFaceTurn learns to be]] [[SpoiledSweet a kinder and friendlier person]] [[HeelRealization after realizing how her life would end up if she didn't change her ways]]--thanks to being visited by the ghost of her future self]].

When a character is a JerkJock, AlphaBitch, or member of the GirlPosse they'll likely be beautiful, rich, and, to some extent, charismatic enough to be envied by many of their schoolmates. However, they're usually not depicted as being very smart though, but rarely seem to suffer the ill effects of this as they are either:

* Because Daddy is [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections on the board of governors of the school]], that or he [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney pulls out his credit card]] and gives the school a new swimming pool if they promise to let his little angel get A's.

* Played straight in ''Film/{{Clueless}}''... kind of. Popular girl Cher is certainly not a genius-level intellect, but while she's a bit ditzy and naive in many ways she can also be surprisingly savvy, quick-witted and shrewd when she needs to be, being quite capable of "negotiating" her grades with her teachers.

* ''Film/MeanGirls''. None of the Plastics (the clique of the most popular girls in the school) seem overly intelligent, with Karen in particular being an outright airhead. Even Regina, the arrogant and ultra-powerful AlphaBitch, turns out to be pretty easy to manipulate (though calling her "dumb" as such is probably going too far, and once she realises what is going on she has a trick or two of her own up her sleeve).
** Discussed and justified over the course of the movie--Cady, during her evolution into the AlphaBitch, begins [[ObfuscatingStupidity dumbing herself down]] so a boy will like her. Given Regina's MagnificentBitch tendencies and her apparent extensive knowledge of weight-loss drugs, it's possible she's doing the same thing.

* Bertie Wooster from ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'' instantly makes squads of friends everywhere he goes. Of course, he's [[UpperClassTwit dripping with cash]] and has a brilliant valet who [[TheTrickster solves everyone's problems for free]], so that might help. (Note that [[TheJeeves said brilliant valet]] is a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], being [[TheAce hugely popular because of his unbelievable smoothness and competence]].)

* Mandy in ''TotallySpies''. It was always implied that she did poorly, such as failing chemistry and at one point in the fourth season, got ''straight F's'' on her report card [[spoiler:which got mixed up with [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Alex's]] report card, which had A's and B's]].

* Most who are popular in ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan''. Played for laughs when Peter is forced to tutor [[DefrostingIceQueen Liz Allen]] in order to raise her grade.

When a character is a JerkJock, AlphaBitch, or member of the GirlPosse they'll likely be beautiful, rich, and, to some extent, charismatic enough to be envied by many of their schoolmates. One thing they aren't likely to be, though, is smart. They rarely seem to suffer the ill effects of this as they are either:

* Mandy in ''TotallySpies''
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' is a subversion, as she is both the smartest ''and'' most popular girl in school. Her rival Bonnie seems to be a close second in popularity, but although she is clearly not as intelligent as Kim, neither is she particularly dumb.

--> '''Biology teacher''': I'm not sure you understand. We want your grade to go ''up'', not down.

When a character is a JerkJock, AlphaBitch, or member of the GirlPosse they'll likely be beautiful, rich, and to some extent charismatic enough to be envied by the whole school. One thing they aren't likely to be, though, is smart. They rarely seem to suffer the ill effects of this as they are either:

* Dash, Kwan, and Paulina from ''DannyPhantom''; Valerie, who was kicked out of the "popular" gang when her family lost all their money, has since shown herself to be of more-or-less average intellect for the ''DannyPhantom'' universe.
* Tad, Chad, Trixie and Veronica from ''TheFairlyOddParents''. Butch Hartman likes this idea, doesn't he?

* ''KimPossible'' is a subversion, as she is both the smartest ''and'' most popular girl in school. Her rival Bonnie seems to be a close second in popularity, but although she is clearly not as intelligent as Kim, neither is she particularly dumb.

Unlike DumbIsGood, this is an example of the dim bulbs on a show being the mean ones. The exception to this is when the cool kids are seen as nice, where if this trope is in play they'll become TheDitz, or TheBrainlessBeauty (though a mean popular kid could be a BrainlessBeauty too). This is a trope that rarely shows up in anime, because in anime the popular kids tend to be intelligent, unrealistically beautiful, aloof and [[LonersAreFreaks wouldn't be popular in the real life Western World.]]

* Most of MegCabot's series has one of these--e.g. Lana Weinberger in ''ThePrincessDiaries''.

* Because Daddy is on the board of governors of the school, that or he [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney pulls out his credit card]] and gives the school a new swimming pool if they promise to let his little angel get A's.