History Main / WickedPretentious

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz]] is a musician, singer, and actor who's proficient with folk songs like "La Llorona" as well as modern ones, and he takes the time to admire Miguel's performance. However, he has no genuine appreciation for whatever art form he performs. Everything he does, [[AttentionWhore he does to attract attention to himself]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney and gain fame and wealth]]. Above all else, he is also [[spoiler:a plagiarist, as he takes credit for worksof other people.]]

* ''WesternANimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Gabriel Agreste presents himself as a stern, but respectable bigshot in the field of high fashion and lives in a large mansion. As the supervillain Hawk Moth, he presents a loud and bombastic personality and gives his minions gaudy costumes and names. [[spoiler: It's revealed later on that his real name isn't even Gabriel Agreste, and that he used to be a young restaurant worker named Gabi Grassette who built his whole legend from the ground up to seem more impressive]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Genesis Rhapsodos has this as a defining feature of his personality. He's one of the world's leading scholars on LOVELESS and is implied to have published writings about his theories to its meaning due to his obsession with it. Normally, this may make him come across as WickedCultured, but as his condition and sanity deteriorate and his desperation for a cure intensifies, he starts drawing parallels between the events of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' and LOVELESS, and becomes convinced it is some sort of holy prophecy or legend that he must fulfill, making him less cultured and more crazy. As for LOVELESS itself, several characters do not have a high opinion of it.

* In ''Film/TheHouseThatJackBuilt'', [[VillainProtagonist The titular Jack]] is a sadistic serial killer who likes to posture himself as a brilliant philosopher and [[MadArtist "artist"]], framing his killings as justification for his pessimistic worldview, while also expressing admiration for fancy things like wine, Greco-Roman architecture, and the works of Creator/WilliamBlake. However, Verge frequently cuts through the BS to remind Jack (and the audience) that not only is Jack very much still a monster, [[SmallNameBigEgo he's in fact nowhere near a diabolical genius as he thinks he is]], very frequently [[UnreliableNarrator exaggerating details of his stories to make everyone other than him seem stupid]], with evidence showing that he avoided suspicion not because he was careful with his work, but because of [[PoliceAreUseless police oversight]] or sheer dumb luck. Verge indirectly calls out Jack as putting on his "cultured" visage simply to impress him.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz]] is a musician, singer, and actor who's proficient with folk songs like "La Llorona" as well as modern ones, and he takes the time to admire Miguel's performance. However, he has no genuine appreciation for whatever art form he performs. Everything he does, [[AttentionWhore he does to attract attention to himself]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney and gain fame and wealth]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'': The prep clique are all like this. They come from privileged backgrounds and speak in fake "posh" accents, but are all thuggish brutes.

* Music/TallyHall: Mr. Fluglemeyer in the unreleased song [[https://youtu.be/GHGWyIh6ooI "Cuckoo"]] dreams of being in the upper class, but it's clear from the lyrics that he's a crude and horrible person who cheats his customers, uses child slaves, and just wants everyone to do his bidding. The song itself uses the tune of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's "Fur Elise," just to hammer in how he attempts to appear cultured.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Genesis Rhapsodos has this as a defining feature of his personality. He's one of the world's leading scholars on LOVELESS and is implied to have published writings about his theories to its meaning due to his obsession with it. Normally, this may make him come across as WickedCultured, but as his condition and sanity deteriorate and his desperation for a cure intensifies, he starts drawing parallels between the events of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' and LOVELESS, and becomes convinced it is some sort of holy prophecy or legend that he must fulfill, making him less cultured and more crazy.

* Chrysler Peavy from ''Literature/MortalEngines'' is a pirate leader who began having delusions of being an honorable mayor after seizing control of the suburb Tunbridge Wheels and now plans to turn it into the world's first respectable pirate suburb... a task which he utterly fails at since none of his crew share any of his ambitions, and he himself is still a ruthless pirate at heart.

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' presents this as the RunningGag of its VillainProtagonist, the yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman, who makes a pretense at being an aficionado of fine food, clothing, and music. Close inspection will reveal that he's only interested in these things because they're popular fads, and actually has little understanding of any of the subjects. Among other things, the SnootyHauteCuisine he gushes about ranges from [[HauteCuisineIsWeird bizarre to inedible]], his clothes are hopelessly mismatched, and all of the musicians he praises were seen at the time as ridiculously cheesy. Creator/BretEastonEllis came from a wealthy background, and this was his roundabout way of [[WriteWhatYouKnow showing that off]], writing Patrick as somebody whose tastes would ''sound'' impressive to an ordinary person but who would come across as a clown to somebody from that world.

* Wrestling/WilliamRegal has historically tried to project the image of English dignity and sophistication whenever he manages to win an "international" contest or title belt. He will lightly clap at the accomplishments of other wrestlers, bow to ladies(if they are "English"), critique the cadence of others' speaking, but the man is a carney conman hooker who is at best "working class" when he tries to posh up, and is a self admitted dirty rotten scoundrel with hate in his heart deep down.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' gives us Gerald Broflovski. As a lawyer, Gerald likes drink AGlassOfChianti and acts [[SmugSnake smug]] and sophisticated. However, Season 20 reveals that Gerald is nothing more than an [[PsychopathicManchild immature]] man who {{troll}}s women on the internet for his own twisted amusement.

* ''Tabletopgame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Nalfeshnee are a race of demons who often have delusions of grandeur and see themselves as a twisted form of aristocracy within their home plane, the Abyss. When not fighting against or bullying others, they host ritual banquets in a twisted mockery of those conducted by mortal nobles, eating rotten meat from filthy crockery with rusted utensils.

* Chrysler Peavy in ''Literature/MortalEngines'' is a pirate leader who began having delusions of being a respectable mayor after seizing control of the suburb Tunbridge Wheels and now plans to turn it into the world's first respectable pirate suburb... a task which he utterly fails at since none of his crew share any of his ambitions, and he himself is still a ruthless pirate at heart.

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' presents this as the running joke of yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman, who makes a pretense at being an aficionado of fine food, clothing, and music. Close inspection will reveal that he's only interested in these things because they're popular fads, and actually has little understanding of any of the subjects. Among other things, the SnootyHauteCuisine he gushes about ranges from [[HauteCuisineIsWeird bizarre to inedible]], his clothes are hopelessly mismatched, and all of the musicians he praises were seen at the time as ridiculously cheesy.
* ''Literature/TheGodfather'': It's noted that the oldest and most experienced wiseguys try to seem the most respectable but also wear the cheapest suits. This is deliberate on their part; they want you to know they are accustomed to getting their hands dirty and respectability hasn't changed that.

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' presents this as the running joke of yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman, who makes a pretense at being an aficionado of fine food, clothing, and music. Close inspection will reveal that he's only interested in these things because they're popular fads, and actually has little understanding of any of the subjects (among other things, the SnootyHauteCuisine he gushes about ranges from [[HauteCuisineIsWeird bizarre to inedible]], his clothes are hopelessly mismatched, and all of the musicians he praises were seen at the time as ridiculously cheesy).

* Rita Skeeter from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', like any good {{paparazzi}}, uses a very [[PurpleProse flowery vocabulary]] in her writings that does nothing however to hide either the gossipy nature of them or the cheap, petty mean-spiritedness that they possess.

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' presents this as the running joke of Patrick Bateman's character. He presents himself as a high-class yuppie, competing with his co-workers over which one of them is the classiest of them all, but all his attempts to look like the cream of the crop of Wall Street's upper crust just come off as silly and strange. Among other things, his fancy business cards are poorly-designed (yet look identical to his coworkers' to a layperson), the SnootyHauteCuisine he gushes about [[HauteCuisineIsWeird ranges from bizarre to outright inedible]], and his taste in music centers entirely on commercial success rather than the actual artistry, leading him to praise acts that were seen at the time as the cheesiest of '80s cheese.
* ''Literature/JamesBond'' villains get this treatment a lot. The average Bond villain is NouveauRiche, vulgarly showy with his wealth, adorns himself with attractive female assistants a fraction of his age, has notable deformities that he calls attention to by trying to hide, and one or two of them even cheat at "gentlemen's" games.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Tywin Lannister is a variation; he makes a big deal about maintaining regal composure in public, but he can stray into hypocrisy sometimes, like when he arranges for [[spoiler: his enemies to be killed over dinner, something that's the epitome of bad taste in the SacredHospitality culture of Westeros; plus, despite calling it unfitting, he's apparently been seeing whores secretly for some time.]] However, he ensures the former is carried out by another house (who do indeed get ostracized by their peers,) and he is so discreet about the latter that his own family are shocked to discover it, so unlike most examples on this page he is smart enough to both maintain appearances and avoid the backlash when convenience requires him to play dirty. His understanding of the pretenses necessary to stay in power fully fit with his reputation as [[DragonInChief "the king who never wore a crown."]]

* Patrick Bateman, the yuppie serial killer from ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'', makes a pretense at being an aficionado of fine food, clothing, and music. Close inspection will reveal that he's only interested in these things because they're popular fads, and actually has little understanding of any of the subjects.
* Chrysler Peavy in ''Literature/MortalEngines'' is a pirate leader who began having delusions of being a respectable mayor after seizing control of the suburb Tunbridge Wheels and now plans to turn it into the world's first respectable pirate suburb... a task which he utterly fails at since none of his crew share any of his ambitions, and he himself is still a ruthless pirate at heart.

* Frieza from ''Franchise/DragonBall''. He is a businessman who drinks AGlassOfChianti and acts sophisticated and aristocratic. However, beneath that elegant personality lies a [[MoodSwinger mood-swinging]] PsychopathicManchild [[HairTriggerTemper with anger issues]].

-->'''Django''': To avoid scratching his face with his "Cat Claws"...he pushes his glasses up his nose [with his palms]. It's proof that he hasn't forgotten how to kill!

* ComicBook/ThePenguin from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is from an upper class family but is also a brutal gangster. Several stories show that he just doesn't fit in among Gotham's social elite despite his best attempts. This ''is'' DependingOnTheWriter though as sometimes he is shown as genuinely WickedCultured and sometimes even more refined (if also more murderous) than the elite he hobbles with.
** In [[ComicBook/BatmanAdventures the comic book series]] based on [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries the animated series]], one of the first things the Penguin is shown doing is to encourage his personal gang to learn new words on their own, then -- as an encouraging teacher -- show that he's ahead of them by defining whatever they bring up... even if he ''doesn't actually know'' and has to make something up.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Starman}}'', Simon Culp is a violent racketeer, cultist and murderer, delighting in taking his revenge on society, which has ostracized him for his proclivities and dwarfism. He makes it a point to dress immaculately and very much prefers to limit himself to talking in French, especially since he feels his own native Cockney makes him look vulgar.
* Likewise, [[Comicbook/TheKingpin Wilson Fisk]] actively cultivates his image as a SelfMadeMan and a philanthropist with refined tastes, hiding from the public at large the violent mobster he truly is.
* Burt Schlubb and Douglas Klump from ''ComicBook/SinCity'', who are described as having "DelusionsOfEloquence", and who are nearly incapable of not peppering every sentence with [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness pretentious twenty-dollar words]] delivered in the most stilted, wordy ways possible. This in spite of the fact that they're two no-name thugs who get no respect from anyone, [[ButtMonkey least of all the story.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'': Warren T. Rat pretends to be quite cultured, quoting Shakespeare and playing the violin...neither of which he's able to do correctly.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz]]. He's a musician, singer, and actor who's proficient with folk songs like "La Llorona" as well as modern ones, and he takes the time to admire Miguel's performance. However, he has no genuine appreciation for whatever art form he performs. Everything he does, [[AttentionWhore he does to attract attention to himself]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney and gain fame and wealth]].

* ''Film/{{Django Unchained}}'''s main antagonist Calvin Candie ''thinks'' he is charming, intelligent and cultured, but is actually cruel, petty, stupid and disgusting. Despite presenting himself as a lover of French culture, insisting on being addressed as "Monsieur Candie", and naming one of his black slaves after the protagonist from ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'', he doesn't actually speak French and is not even aware that Creator/AlexandreDumas was part black himself. The greatest challenge facing Schultz and Django during their stay on Candie's plantation is flattering him and playing along with his hypocrisy without revealing their utter disgust.

-->'''Mob boss''': I've heard you've become quite the golfer.\\
'''James''': Yes. But unfortunately, I've just lost my golfing partner.

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': White supremacist and attempted CopKiller Gordon Pratt attempts to present himself as a refined, educated revolutionary. He even owns a copy of ''Literature/TheRepublic'' in the original Greek, which he brags about whenever he isn't smugly mocking Lewis and Pembleton (who are black) with alleged "scientific evidence" of how black people are genetically inferior to white people. Pembleton manages to provoke him into a VillainousBreakdown by challenging him to read a passage; while he cannot, Pembleton can. Pembleton then dismantles his facade by revealing he's actually a high school dropout who flunked all of his classes, and mocks him for being such a pathetic failure.

* The Penguin once again:

* Still ''more'' Penguin:

----> "Living well is the ''best'' revenge."

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' gives us Gerald Broflovski. As a lawyer, Gerald likes drink AGlassOfChianti and acts [[SmugSnake smug]] and sophisticated. However, Season 20 reveals that Gerald is nothing more than an [[PsychopathicManchild immature]] man, who {{troll}}s women on the internet for his own twisted amusement.

Compare and contrast with WickedCultured, of course, and with LowerClassLout; NouveauRiche characters who are outright evil are usually this trope, but nothing's stopping old money from also fitting it. See also DelusionsOfEloquence, DelusionsOfLocalGrandeur, FeigningIntelligence, InferioritySuperiorityComplex.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'': Ribby and Croaks mention that they used to be rough-and-tumble fighters, but their mother helped them clean up their act, and now they're "respectable" types who wear pinstripe suits and run a high-class riverboat club. The problem is, Ribby and Croaks are still very prone to violence, and they have a {{Jerkass}} streak, making it clear that they're not quite as reformed or squeaky-clean as they think they are.

** In the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', everything about Penguin as depicted here is an inversion of the WickedCultured ManOfWealthAndTaste he's invariably depicted as: he speaks with a guttural Cockney accent instead of the [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish urbane facsimile of Received Pronunciation]] other adaptations use; instead of a classy cigarette holder, he's typically seen [[CigarChomper with a big, fat stogie clamped between his lips]] (and this habit has [[SmokingIsNotCool resulted in him needing a voice box]]); his clothing is anachronistically upscale until the final game, in which he wears a loose necktie and gold necklace with a rumpled, unkempt shirt stained with food and sweat; and his [[HighClassGlass signature monocle]] upon closer inspection is actually [[EyeScream the bottom half of a beer bottle that got permanently embedded into his eye socket during a bar fight]]. Overall, he's a pushy, rude, arrogant, petty, sadistic, openly bigoted LondonGangster who nevertheless believes himself to be the height of sophistication and class because of his OldMoney family.

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': White supremacist and attempted CopKiller Gordon Pratt attempts to present himself as a refined, educated revolutionary. He even owns a copy of ''Literature/TheRepublic'' in the original Greek, which he brags about whenever he isn't smugly mocking Lewis and Pembleton (who are black) with alleged "scientific evidence" of how black people are genetically inferior to white people. Pembleton manages to provoke him into a VillainousBreakdown by challenging him to read a passage; while he cannot, Pembleton can. Pembleton then dismantles his facade by revealing he's actually a high school dropout who flunked all of his classes, and pointing out he only shot [[spoiler:Felton, Howard, and Bolander]] [[IJustWantToBeSpecial so he could feel like he accomplished something after a life of failing to achieve anything meaningful.]]