History Main / ViewersAreMorons

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' by Roger Mellie; the TV executives are usually the ones insisting that viewers want to watch highbrow material, whereas Roger's pornographic retoolings of popular shows inevitably end up being massive hits.

* As noted by ''Website/SFDebris'', Franchise/{{Star Trek}}’s repeated use of the word "[[YouKeepUsingThatWord Ancient]]" to describe ''anything'' in Earth's past, which he points out is seemingly done to remind us that this is the future. Because all the starships, aliens and phasers, didn't make it clear to the audience ''before?!''

* ''Film/HerculesReturns''. Ted wants to hire a new act, but can't find anyone his wife Muriel likes.
-->Listen, Muriel love, I'll find someone to please an audience! Though your average audience these days is stupid anyway. ''(AsideGlance)'' No offence...

* ''Film/HerculesReturns''. The King of Greece wants to hire a new act, but can't find anyone his Queen Muriel likes.

* NeverSayDie: Words like "die", "kill", and "dead" are not allowed to be said.

Of course, there ''is'' a "moron" demographic out there, and it has its members, but executives seem to believe that ''every'' person who watches TV belongs in it. This may be due to something known as the "80-20" rule in business--in this case that market-research shows 80% of money spent on television-advertised products comes from the lowest 20% in terms of education and intelligence, so show-content is naturally geared towards them.

* DanBrowned: Claiming that you've done the research, then proving you really haven't.

* FleetingDemographicRule: Reusing old storylines under the assumption no one who saw it the first time is still watching.

* NeverSayDie: Words like "die", "kill" and "dead" are not allowed to be said.
* ObviouslyEvil

Of course, all that means is that the bar for entertainment is raised even higher, and that viewers will get annoyed more and more easily if things like {{Infodump}} happen a few times too many. Additionally, the caveat about this being what ''executives'' believe about viewers was, at least at one point, not particularly untrue. In the era of the "Big Three" networks (Creator/{{NBC}}, Creator/{{ABC}} and Creator/{{CBS}}), before [=VCRs=] and the like, shows really ''were'' ''designed'' to be simple and supposedly "unobjectionable" narratives, for fear of making that one third of the entire TV viewing audience tune out and tune in to one of the competitors. This is why television quickly gained the nicknames Boob Tube and Idiot Box from intellectuals who found television pandering and simple.

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', Abstergo Entertainment, a newly formed division of Abstergo Industries which is the modern front for UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar, is seeking to produce a feature film based on UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy. Their approach to the project is to use their GeneticMemory research technology to discover what life was really like back in that era, then edit and sanitize it until it's another piece of Creator/MichaelBay-esque schlock, believing that that will sell more tickets. This functions as both a [[SelfDeprecation Take That Me]] at the real entertainment industry and as a reflection of the Templars' attempts to [[InvokedTrope turn everyone into the kinds of mindless zombies that are easily swayed by media]].

* In ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' and ''Kronk's New Groove'', this is the way Kuzco treats the viewers when he's narrating.

** Her theory for why, unlike the first movie, ''Disney/LadyAndTheTrampIIScampsAdventure'' keeps showing the faces of the humans.

Lastly, [[TropesAreTools this trope is not necessarily bad]]. Business administrators and anyone else whose job it is to explain things to others (like a coach or a presenter) know the "KISS" method ("'''K'''eep '''I'''t '''S'''hort and '''S'''imple", or "'''K'''eep '''I'''t '''S'''imple, '''S'''tupid) because of the fear that if something is ''[[ViewersAreGeniuses too complex]]'' then no one will understand it, which is certainly true of TV plots. Thus, it's not a bad idea for a writer to assume that their audience are not geniuses and write accordingly, as no one will be entertained if they can't follow along the story. Of course, great care needs to be taken, because if a writer makes their story too simple they also risk alienating the audience who will angrily invoke this trope.

* In ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'', Bottom repeatedly makes changes to Peter Quince's play, insisting that the audience will lack WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and think that everything they're seeing is real. A good portion of this fear is that he's [[KnowNothingKnowItAll so convinced of his own brilliance]] that he'll take everyone in with his work, despite being an absolutely terrible actor. The result is a SoBadItsGood piece of theatre which includes, among other things, the actor playing the Lion delivering an entire monologue about he's ''not'' really a lion.
** Shakespeare seems to have been [[TakeThatAudience poking fun]] at the theatrical conventions of his own time with this one, as some of his other plays, including ''Henry V'', do include Prologues that point out that what the audience is about to see isn't real.

* DontTryThisAtHome (considerably well-placed compared to others on this list).

!Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''ComicStrip/HsuAndChan'', the brothers believe this especially when it comes to RPG gamers who they consider too stubborn to admit they can't beat a broken game the Tanaka's market to them. This trope is also employed when the brother's explore creating an illusion of depth and consequence in a video game.

---> '''Roger Mellie:''' Why bother feeding the pigs cherries when they are happy with shit?

[[folder:Fan Fic]]
* In an in-universe example, the LemonyNarrator to ''[[FanFic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed Equestria: A History Revealed]]'' certainly believes the readers are morons, and that it is her duty by writing this essay to "enlighten them". She also directly calls them stupid a couple of times in the essay too. But it's not that the readers are actually morons, but rather she thinks [[{{Narcissist}} so strongly about herself]] that compared to her [[BlatantLies genius intellect]] they simply can't compare.
* Tropers/ThatKidInTheBasement points out [[FanFic/MyInnerLifeAdaptations in his]] {{MST}} of ''FanFic/MyInnerLife'' that the author seems to think this, since she has to describe things that are common knowledge, like ''dreams.''

[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* In ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' and ''Kronk's New Groove'', this is the way Kuzco treats the viewers when he's narrating.

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

-->'''Joe:''' ''(reading)'': People Against Goodness And Normalcy...P-A-G-A-N...PAGAN!
-->'''Pat:''' ''(sarcastically)'': Good, Joe.

* In ''Ride/MuppetVision3D'', this is Rizzo's justification for trying to pose as [[spoiler:Mickey Mouse -- "They're tourists, what do they know?"]]

--> '''Maeby''': I know what the shape of a banana reminds you of, and I know when I say nuts it makes you giggle.
--> '''College Kid''': * giggles*
--> '''Maeby''': But, do you have any other response to "here's a banana with nuts?"
--> '''College Kid''': Whooooohohoho! *giggles*
--> '''Maeby''': Why are we even going after this idiot demographic?

* Delightfully mocked in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story ''The Daemons'', which shows the production of a TV broadcast from an archaeological dig.

'''Horner:''' No. *Fergus then attempts to explain to the viewers what Sutton Hoo is, but is firmly talked over*
* Occasionally embodied by the various [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling Executives]] in ''Series/{{Episodes}}'';

-->'''Executive:''' There are a lot of important plotlines there. I don't want our audience to miss anything.
-->'''Jason King:''' Miss anything? It's translucent to the point of confusion! It'll all become clear as the story progresses.
-->'''Executive:''' Jason, you know that, and I know that -- but we're intelligent people!

[[folder:Magazines]]
* In the ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'', ''Film/PearlHarbor'' parody, this trope is suggested to be the reason why the film included a bombing mission on Tokyo; the way history is taught, viewers might have left theaters with the impression that the Japanese won the war after bombing Pearl Harbor.
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[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Played for laughs in ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'', when the genius inventor Ralph tries to explain to the idiot Leslie how his holographic machine works. Leslie asks him "could you dumb that down?" When Ralph tries to explain it in simpler terms, Leslie asks him "could you dumb that down a little more?" Ralph ends by saying "It lets you see things".

[[folder:Theater]]

* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' notes this in ''Back to the Future'' Re-Revisited when most of the levels are the same running stage only colored differently. "Do they think we're idiots?"

* ''WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}}'':
** By Caddy's own interpretation, on occasion. Firstly in the ''Series/CoronationStreet'' "[[TheProblemWithLicensedGames game]]", where the hint system is more like, "Can't find it? Here it is, you twat!". The second time is the patronizing clown he uses to state the obvious in ''3, 2, 1, Smurf''. The third time is the sarcastic hints in ''BratzRockAngelz''.
** Games aimed at kids that treat the player as an idiot are a general BerserkButton for him. He points out "Kids may be easily amused, but they are ''not stupid''" and excessive hand-holding is just insulting to their intelligence.

** The "Belladonna Poisoning" count for the Literature/{{Fifty Shades|OfGrey}} sporking--given when [[AscendedFanfic E.L. James' plots, characters or writing bear a striking resemblance to Meyer's work]]--counts egregious hand-holding as a similarity to the Twilight series.

* Parodied in the [[TheTeaser Cold Open]] of ''Machinima/TheGmodIdiotBox'' Episode 7, where an unscrupulous [=YouTube=] user asks about a song in an ''Idiot Box'' episode, despite the very clear notice that songs are listed in the description. #1 is quick to express his disapproval.

* Peter Paltridge of ''Website/PlatypusComix'', in an installment of "The Worst Comix Ever!", uncovers an example of this in ''[[http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/worstcomixever/theactionfiles.html The Action Files Part One: Picture Not So Perfect]]''. The comic, written for young kids, begins with a couple pages of a character explaining such elementary concept as word balloons, caption boxes, and panels. Then at the end, it has a glossary that has to explain such words as "accident", "future", "photograph", and "weird" as if kids would not already know what those words mean. To quote Peter himself:
-->Are they serious? They're serious. I read my first comic book at age four and it wasn't too difficult to discern how they operated. If you have this much trouble with a comic book, then you probably also need instructions on how to make a [[http://www.platypuscomix.net/videos/peanutbutter.html peanut butter sandwich]].

* II Neige of ''WebVideo/WhatWeHadToWatch'' especially hates it when works aimed at kids talk down to their audience and/or are condenscending in manner (such as the musical segments being mediocre to bad just because they're aimed at children).

* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' , a line in [[https://youtu.be/jHpn8JFO1ZM Glomgold's theme song takeover]] gas him say "Okay, we ran out of budget, but kids 6-10 will love it" in defense of the Main/StylisticSuck.

-->'''Handy:''' Even now, he [The Tick] sulks like AchillesInHisTent.\\
''(everyone stares blankly at him)''\\
'''Handy:''' Achilles?...Literature/TheIliad?...It's Homer?...\\
''(close-up on Handy)''\\

-->''(The Visual Eye attempts his signature attack "rocket from the sockets", i.e. shooting his eyeballs out into the air, but they simply drop unceremoniously to the floor.)''\\

''(everyone stares warily at him)''\\
'''Handy:''' ''Theatre/OedipusRex?''...The play by Sophocles?...\\
''(everyone continues to stare warily...)''\\

''(everyone gives him a look of mild exasperation)''\\
'''Handy:''' (indignantly) READ A BOOK!

* Occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E14CanterlotBoutique "Canterlot Boutique"]]. Rarity's original name for her signature dress, "Reign in Stain" (inspired by the ''stain''ed-glass window of a ''reign''ing princess), is clever wordplay that is declared by her new manager Sassy Saddles to be "very confusing", and she [[ExecutiveMeddling renames it]] to the simpler "Princess Dress" to make it more marketable to the masses.

* Spoofed in ''VideoGames/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice''. The otherwise ordinary-looking apartment set on ''[[ShowWithinAShow Midtown Cowboys]]'' has a potted cactus in front of the window to remind viewers that the main characters (who are, naturally, the apartment's tenants) are "cowboys."

* As noted by ''WebVideo/SFDebris'', Franchise/{{Star Trek}}’s repeated use of the word "[[YouKeepUsingThatWord Ancient]]" to describe ''anything'' in Earth's past, which he points out is seemingly done to remind us that this is the future. Because all the starships, aliens and phasers, didn't make it clear to the audience ''before?!''

* Parodied in a sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''. Creator/GilbertAndSullivan are facing critical failure and try to recapture their past glory with new works such as [[Film/{{Jaws}} "Shark With Big Teeth"]] and [[Film/TheExorcist "The Girl With A Demon That Was Removed By a Vicar"]]. When all of these prove to be even ''more'' unsuccessful, Gilbert and Sullivan decide the shows weren't "accessible" enough and they need something more in the style of their last popular hit ''Theatre/TheMikado'' - so they write an incredibly crude and racist operetta about [[HollywoodNatives natives in the jungle]], which is a smash. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d as Sullivan asks "you don't think we've ... cheapened ourselves?" and Gilbert replies "Nah."

* In ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'', this is what Bottom thinks that the audience of his SoBadItsGood play is and takes things too literally, because he thinks that they don't have a WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.

* According to ''WebVideo/KeyOfAwesome'', Music/{{Kesha}}'s fans perform the careless, drug-heavy behavior promoted in her songs and become dumb.

* AesopAmnesia: Character learns AnAesop but un-learns it the next time round.

* AntiIntellectualism: poking fun at intellectuals.

* {{Anvilicious}}: a not-subtle-at-all Aesop.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: words that are not foreign, but are put in to "sound" foreign.

* ButNotTooForeign: someone is half-foreign.

* CaptainObvious: stating the obvious.
* Sometimes, CharacterDerailment: character changes personality with no explanation.

* DanBrowned: claiming that you've done the research, then proving you really haven't.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: repeating things.
* DontTryThisAtHome (considerably well-placed compared to others)

* FleetingDemographicRule: reusing old storylines under the assumption no one who saw it the first time is still watching

* NeverSayDie: words like "die", "kill" and "dead" are not allowed to be said.

* ThisLoserIsYou: making the main character a "loser" in hopes they're relatable.

* In ''LetsPlay/LetsDrownOut SmashTV'', Yahtzee berated Gabriel by assuming that the audience knows nothing about SmashTV, while Gabriel averted it by explaining that the game was out in 1990 and a fair chunk of their viewership were either born then or after that and they have no reason to learn about its existence.