TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Overshadowed By Controversy Cleanup

Go To

Overshadowed by Controversy has several examples, particularly under the Fan Works, Webcomics, and Web Original folders, that don't fit the trope as described. The controversy is supposed to overshadow the work, so if it doesn't do that it shouldn't count as a valid example.

The media folders, such as Anime or Western Animation, could also use a look, as some entries deal with shows, while others deal with actors, fans, or creators. Additionally, some of the entries are not controversial anymore or are not known enough to overshadow the show completely, and others seem closer to Never Live It Down.

Some examples even point out that the controversy was debunked or died down eventually, which doesn't fit the trope, as well as examples saying things like "time will tell if [x] can recover." I originally tried the Real-Life cleanup section, and then a TRS thread, but I hope this is the right section to help us clean up this trope's examples. ^^

MOD NOTE: For something to be overshadowed by controversy; it has to have a significant, arguably overwhelming impact on that work/creator/thing that’s provable by pointing to actual evidence beyond social media likes or a news report. The controversy has to be bigger than the thing for it to overshadow the thing.

For a work, did it bomb directly due to the controversy? Was it pulled from shelves or streaming services? Nothing like this? Then it most likely doesn’t count.

For a creator, did they lose their job/get banned or lose all of their sponsorships or are unable to get any work directly due to the controversy? Did they at least retire directly because of the controversy? Nothing like this? Then it most likely doesn’t count.

Valid examples would be people like Gina Carano or Louie CK. As they were both fired and black listed for their controversies. Or Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are now more known for those controversies than their actual careers. Clearly being overshadowed by it.

If only chronically online people like us are going to be aware of something, it definitely doesn’t count. The controversy has to be so big that even people who are rarely online or know very little about something, would still have heard of the controversy.

Edited by kory on Oct 4th 2025 at 10:21:54 AM

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#952: Dec 7th 2020 at 9:02:35 PM

[up][up] The Aliens example is rather bloated, so I'd say go for it.

[up] Tough to judge, controversies for shows like that one aren't going to get the traction a more well known and wider audience show might. I'll say keep for now, but I'm no authority on the subject and fine with cutting if consensus is in favor of it.

ejmenendez Since: May, 2015
#953: Dec 8th 2020 at 12:06:35 AM

I found this on the trope's main page:

  • Olaf's Frozen Adventure became known soon after its release less because of anything related to the film itself and more because of the circumstances behind said release: It was originally meant for a television special before being put as the opener for the Pixar film Coco, and the fact that its length was meant for television and not as an opener for a Pixar film upset many of the moviegoers who went just to see Coco. It went to the point that most Mexican movie theaters outright removed the short from their showings of Coco (as Coco prominently features Mexican culture as its backdrop) before Disney officially pulled it from all future screenings of Coco beginning on December 8, 2017. While Disney has not given an official reason why Toy Story 4 is set to be the first Pixar film since Toy Story to not have a short subject attached to its theatrical release, the scuttlebug is that Olaf's Frozen Adventure had a lot to do with it. That's to say nothing about the film itself coming out in the wake of John Lasseter taking a leave of absence from the company (which later became permanent) due to sexual harassment allegations, which has made headlines as much as the movie itself. It hasn't harmed the critical or box office performance of the film, but it has made it much harder to talk about without mentioning the allegations in light of similar ones in the industry.

The bolded part definitely needs to go. On one hand, it can be its own section regarding Coco. On the other hand, it could be removed because I honestly don't recall anyone bringing up the John Lasseter controversies when bringing this movie up, unless I'm wrong of course.

DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#954: Dec 8th 2020 at 9:08:09 AM

[up]I'd say keep, 20 minute shorts before movies are almost unheard of for a reason. But yeah, the Lasseter stuff can go.

HamburgerTime Since: Apr, 2010
#955: Dec 8th 2020 at 7:10:07 PM

I see someone recently added the Punisher, the Marvel character, due to his adoption as a pro-police brutality symbol. Did that come through here? I thought we decided that factor didn't (yet) overshadow everything about the character.

DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#956: Dec 8th 2020 at 7:27:08 PM

[up]I don't think it's been discussed around here, at least recently. I'll post the example here for further discussion:

  • The Punisher: In the 2010s, The Punisher's logo has been adopted as a symbol by law enforcement along with The Thin Blue Line. As the decade continued, there were several high profile cases of Police Brutality, most involving African-Americans. It's even acknowledged in one comic where Frank Castle meets two cops who have his logo on their vehicle. Frank rips it up and tells them that he is not a hero and that if they "want a role model, look up to Captain America."

My take is that it doesn't do a great job tying in to the issue of how it is connected to Police Brutality. But I think a case for the example is compelling, I've seen quite a few Punisher logos lately.

GoodGamer14 Since: Aug, 2015
#957: Dec 9th 2020 at 12:01:03 PM

Aliens: Colonial Marines, the game that nearly ruined Gearbox's reputation, led to two lawsuits against SEGA and cause a discussion about misleading pre-release material in advertising.

Yup, not controversial enough some people say.

Just streamline the entry rather than deleting it just because you don't like it.

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#958: Dec 9th 2020 at 12:04:25 PM

Because the game is bad. Theirs no real controversy in that.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#959: Dec 9th 2020 at 12:06:02 PM

If everyone and their mothers agree that the game is bad, there's no controversy. And what would it be overshadowing?

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#960: Dec 9th 2020 at 12:07:11 PM

[up][up][up] Why don't you try rewriting us an entry (on this forum) that explains how the controversy overshadowed the content of the game? The controversy isn't just the game being bad.

Edited by mightymewtron on Dec 9th 2020 at 3:07:27 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#961: Dec 9th 2020 at 12:10:19 PM

But genuine question ? Overshadowed by controversy is when the "controversy" is the first thing you think off. With this game it being crap is a pretty universally known fact which people know off first. Whats the controversy in that ?

Edited by miraculous on Dec 9th 2020 at 12:12:10 PM

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#962: Dec 9th 2020 at 1:55:10 PM

The one big controversy for Colonial Marines that I remember making the rounds among the gaming community was when it turned out that demos used at press events featured better graphics and AI than the final game, and people accused Sega of false advertising to make the game look better. That resulted in a class-action lawsuit being brought against Sega and Gearbox that they eventually settled on.

So, I think an entry on that game should focus on that, since the poor quality of the game was because people where comparing it to the much more polished demos.

GoodGamer14 Since: Aug, 2015
#963: Dec 9th 2020 at 3:02:37 PM

[up][up] This guy is right, at least keep the feather thing.

Removing the entire entry is very myopic and petty.

Edited by GoodGamer14 on Dec 9th 2020 at 8:33:54 AM

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#964: Dec 9th 2020 at 3:07:22 PM

You do realize Mir was explaining why you were wrong, right? That there's no controversy because "Game is bad" isn't a controversy, and a game being bad can't "overshadow" it since you're still talking about the game?

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
ImperialMajestyXO Since: Nov, 2015
#965: Dec 9th 2020 at 3:11:16 PM

Honestly, I agree with Chase on this.

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#966: Dec 9th 2020 at 3:49:50 PM

There's defiantly things that Aliens Colonial Marines is controversial for. Being bad isn't one of them.

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#967: Dec 9th 2020 at 3:50:39 PM

Right, let me rephrase that. "Bad game" isn't a controversy and the quality of a work can't overshadow said work. The rest of the issues here can be valid.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
NoUsername she's only programmed to be very nice Since: May, 2012
she's only programmed to be very nice
#968: Dec 9th 2020 at 4:48:52 PM

on the video games subpage, there's this:

  • The general hype surrounding the release of Fire Emblem Fates has been very hard to come across in light of the massive uproar surrounding its localization. Much of the anger is directed towards the removal of Skinship (a mechanic for support conversations in which players can use the touch screen to stroke the faces of their partner), the exclusion of an optional Japanese vocal track due to copyrights, and shoehorning memes into the game's dialogue. Even before the game's Western release, the Japanese version came under heavy fire for its portrayal of Soleil, a bisexual character whose support conversations supposedly endorse Slipping a Mickey and Cure Your Gaysnote , and there was even a petition to cancel the game's localization. All in all, online discussions on the merits of the game's localization heavily outweigh discussions on the game itself, with detractors of Fates citing it as a microcosm of what they see as a Dork Age for Nintendo of America. It's worth noting that the game sold well despite this; however, this almost certainly had as much to do with publicity as it did with the games' distribution method.

it's not listed on the game's actual YMMV page, so is this okay to remove? the problems listed haven't really been big issues in the long term; most of the complaints with the game in hindsight are about the overt fanservice and One Game for the Price of Two model. this seems biased to a very particular vocal minority of the base, and the phrasing of the entry seems to indicate it was put in close to its release date. that's putting aside it being a wall of text with an even longer justifying edit in the note, as well.

GoodGamer14 Since: Aug, 2015
#969: Dec 9th 2020 at 6:37:41 PM

If we are gonna start deleting entries of "bad" games then remove No Man's Sky, Anthem, Wii Music, Action 52, Daikatana and Duke Nukem Forever.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#970: Dec 9th 2020 at 6:43:07 PM

The point we're making is that "bad game" isn't a controversy. If those other games have controversies besides just being bad, then they're valid.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
ImperialMajestyXO Since: Nov, 2015
#971: Dec 9th 2020 at 6:44:25 PM

[up] I'm on your side, but I'm not sure you're getting something. All of those are on the page for reasons other than "bad game is bad". Negative reception alone doesn't qualify something for OBC.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#972: Dec 9th 2020 at 7:04:51 PM

Wii Music might be overshadowed by its crappy E3 reveal as opposed to just bad quality but I'm not sure if that's this or just Tainted by the Preview.

If you think the Aliens game can be rewritten from a similar angle, then do it in this forum.

Edited by mightymewtron on Dec 9th 2020 at 10:07:40 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
NoUsername she's only programmed to be very nice Since: May, 2012
she's only programmed to be very nice
#973: Dec 9th 2020 at 7:15:26 PM

[up] definitely leans Tainted by the Preview imo. the E3 debacle isn't really discussed out of the context of memes anymore, and wii music is more just a So Okay, It's Average game in general.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#974: Dec 10th 2020 at 1:33:49 AM

Me, I'd call this Disappointed By The Game After The Preview (but with a less clunky title). Tainted by the Preview is more when the preview itself is disappointing.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#975: Dec 10th 2020 at 6:33:37 AM

I think Wii Music is Overshadowed by Controversy, the fact that Nintendo tried to promote it as the main event of E3 2008 with a disastrous showcase doomed it to infamy. This goes a lot further than standard Tainted by the Preview fare, as it’s unlikely it would have received nearly as much vitriol at the time if not for that.

Edited by DDRMASTERM on Dec 10th 2020 at 7:35:01 AM


Total posts: 6,229
Top