TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Hindsight Cleanup

Go To

The Hindsight tropes, Hilarious in Hindsight, Harsher in Hindsight, and Heartwarming in Hindsight, are among the most misused Audience Reaction tropes on this site. Many people don't understand that the tropes require more than just "This happened, so that happened", and end up adding examples which either lack connection or the substance that makes them funny/serious/not-so-funny/heartwarming. Some of them may be suited better for other tropes (ex: Life Imitates Art), while some may not belong on TV Tropes at all (such as ones involving politicians, due to Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment).

Please report any Hindsight example that you feel are questionable, and we'll analyze them to see if they are actually examples or not.

Remember that the Hindsight tropes are Audience Reactions. That means if an example under review discusses significant fan response pointing out the hindsight, the example can't be cut solely for being too tenuous for this thread.

    Common NOT in Hindsight examples 
  • Creator's character/portrayal dies in work and then creator dies in real life, unless their fictional death is closely similar to their real one (such as Billy Bob Joe portraying a character who dies from pancreatic cancer, then Billy Bob dies from pancreatic cancer himself)
  • Mundane word related to something terrible (such as "corona" or "Epstein") unless there's more to the connection (such as someone named "Corona" having the flu)
  • Creator appears in work then becomes more controversial later on.
  • A common event (such as a typical natural disaster) happens in work, then happens in real life (unless they are closely similar, such as the event happening to the same area in both reality and fiction around the same time) For once, not everything related to disease has to do with COVID-19, not everything related to racism and Police Brutality has to do with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, and not everything related to sexual abuse has to do with #MeToo.
  • A common/generic concept was used in this work and then later reused in that work (too loose for a connection, unless the concept is so unique it's identified with the work)
  • Two actors appear together then do so in another work
  • Hindsight examples involving recent events, due to them often being shoehorns. Specifically:
    • COVID-19 examples, before 75% of the population has returned to normal
    • George Floyd/2020 Black Lives Matter examples, before protests have declined
  • Examples which fall guilty of Older Than They Think, such as "Make X Great Again" slogans. Aside from violating the ROCEJ, this slogan has been in use since the 1940s.
  • Characters using slurs which are treated as annoying at worst in the work, but is now harsher due to how severe the slur is made now. Discrimination has always existed with that slur. (May qualify for Values Dissonance if work is at least 20 years old.)

Note: As of January 2022, "Funny Aneurysm" Moment is no longer separate from Harsher in Hindsight.
  • The former redirects to the latter and all wicks to the former (with the exception of ones on archive pages and the YMMV Redirects index) must either be moved to the latter (if they're valid) or removed (if they're invalid).
  • The subpages for the former are still accessible from this page. After a subpage for "Funny Aneurysm" Moment has been completely cleaned up, turn it into a redirect to the Harsher in Hindsight subpage for the same medium to preserve inbounds.

Edited by Tabs on Jun 21st 2023 at 11:51:25 AM

maxwellsilver Since: Sep, 2011
#3501: Apr 18th 2021 at 7:08:15 AM

[up]Those are all some serious stretches. For the first Hilarious in Hindsight example, why yes, having a Led Zeppelin song is clearly the one and only reason Thor: Ragnarok did better than John Carter.

From Gone with the Wind

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Rhett's personality change and complete breakdown following Bonnie's death can be doubly painful to watch if one recalls that Clark Gable himself was similarly devastated when his wife Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash just a few years after the film's release. Between the funeral and Gable's next appearance in a film, he had lost 20 pounds. It was remarked by Esther Williams that Gable was never really the same after that.Seems valid
    • Then there's Ashley Wilkes who was patriotic despite having his reservations about the war. It gets doubly sad when you remember that the actor who played him, Leslie Howard, was killed when the plane he was flying in was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay during World War II.No connection
    • The marital rape of Scarlett is given a "Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization. Vivien Leigh would later play a Southern Belle who gets brutally raped, and it causes severe Sanity Slippage this time.Vaguely similar roles
      • The worst part in all this is that because of censure and the Hays Code, when scenes hinting at offscreen sex had to be "sanitized", one method was by making the consent on the woman's side at best ambiguous. One can look at The Sheik, where its heroine is assaulted by her love interest since a respectable woman couldn't be seen agreeing to have sex on screen... Needless to say, this particular aspect in old films has not aged well...
    • When Scarlett is raped in the sequel Mini Series, there is no ambiguity about it whatsoever — her attacker slaps her, tears at her clothes, etc.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Of the four leads in the movie, only one, Melanie Wilkes, dies onscreen. Meanwhile, Olivia de Havilland passed away in 2020, 81 Years after the movie's release, having long outlived her three co-stars.??? Is this entry basically saying "HAHAHA THEY DIED!"?

RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#3502: Apr 18th 2021 at 11:08:29 PM

Harsher 1. Keep. 2. Actor Mortality, cut. 3. Leaning on cut.

Hilarious 1. NO. That's NOT Hilarious at all, nuke it and flush it's ashes to the center of the earth's core where it will NEVER be seen again.

For the record, I've removed a bunch of similar ones for Seven Samurai (ohhh, another classic old BW film that's prone to Hindsight misuse because of how old it is):

  • In the movie, Rikichi outlives his wife. In real life, Yukiko Shimazaki outlives Yoshio Tsuchiya.
  • Minoru Chiaki, who played the first Samurai to die, lived the longest of all seven actors.

I'm considering looking through YMMV pages for old movies with an Ensemble Cast and deleting similar "Hindsight" garbage. And maybe adding a disclaimer on the folder on top about "stop shoehorning real-life irony in examples" or something to that effect

Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#3503: Apr 20th 2021 at 9:42:06 AM

Bringing up the following examples from Walk Hard:

Delibirda from Splatsville Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
#3504: Apr 20th 2021 at 9:44:40 AM

Hindstight tropes are supposed to go on the work that appeared last. They all seem to be misuses anyway, maybe worthy of other tropes.

"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#3505: Apr 20th 2021 at 6:27:38 PM

[up][up] The line about three actors in a film together before Wreck It Ralph can be axed as well, the troper who added the line apparently never heard of Production Posse.

I'm assuming this bit from Tombstone is Actor Mortality and have no business on any pages:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Morgan Earp (Bill Paxton) is shot, and then dies while surgically trying to take the bullet out. Bill Paxton, who played Morgan, died from surgical complications in February 2017 while getting open heart surgery. Made worse when Powers Boothe, who played Curly Bill, passed away only a few months later.

EDIT: Oh, another shoe-horned Bill Paxton example. Nevermind Paxton is a Chronically Killed Actor in his films...

The Circle (2017)

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Bill Paxton plays Mae's ailing father. He died of a stroke two months before the film reached theaters.
    • Glenne Headly, the actress who plays Mae's mother, died two months after the movie came out.

Edited by RobertTYL on Apr 20th 2021 at 9:35:34 PM

RallyBot2 (Elder Troper) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
#3506: Apr 20th 2021 at 6:52:06 PM

[up][up]Hindsight tropes are supposed to go on the work that contains the "thing" that is made hilarious/harsher/etc. in hindsight by something that happens later. Hindsight tropes on the later work are misuse.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3507: Apr 20th 2021 at 10:56:07 PM

From Press Your Luck:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • The May 14, 1984 episode featured the question "What symbol does the Whammy wear on his chest?" Two of the choices were a "W" and a dollar sign ($). One player guessed the "W", which, on this version, was incorrect (it was the dollar sign). Had she made that guess on a certain revival, however, she would've been correct.
    • The selection of Elizabeth Banks as host of the ABC revival, given how her last major film role saw her stealing gold— much like the Whammies do. This revival airs on ABC, which carried PYL's predecessor, Second Chance, back in the 70s.

The first one is fine, but the second one feels like a big stretch, and it's on the wrong page (it would go on the Power Rangers page). The Whammies aren't even known for stealing gold. They usually steal paper money.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Delibirda from Splatsville Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
#3508: Apr 21st 2021 at 12:22:01 AM

[up][up]Do you have a link to a guideline or sumfin' that says so?

"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#3509: Apr 21st 2021 at 12:44:09 AM

Thinking of removing this from Diamonds Are Forever:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Bond's line "Well it's just proves no one's indestructible" following killing Peter Franks and switching their identities once Tiffany Case inspects Franks' corpse becomes much sadder in light of Sean Connery's passing in his sleep on Halloween 2020 and the fact his widow revealed he was suffering from dementia.

And this line from OHMSS:

  • Had Sean Connery still been Bond during this film, the ending showing Bond and Tracy together till death did they part would've been worse as in real life, Diana Rigg and Connery died months apart in 2020. — Oh FFS, Connery wasn't even in this movie...

RainbowPumpqueen R A T (she/her) from Kalos Since: Apr, 2021 Relationship Status: Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
R A T (she/her)
#3510: Apr 21st 2021 at 12:44:13 AM

[up] Both of those are actor mortality that don't even have the slightest connection to what they're talking about. Zap them.

Reposting so this doesn't get buried again.

Any thoughts on the Young Justice examples that I brought up here?

Edited by RainbowPumpqueen on Apr 22nd 2021 at 5:16:44 AM

Feel free to help with the sandbox or edit my troper wall
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3511: Apr 21st 2021 at 12:44:33 AM

[up][up][up] It's the definition of the items. If something's whatever in hindsight, that means you have to look back on it. Which means it's the ting that came first and was made harsher/hilarious/heartwarming/whatever by something else.

Edited by mightymewtron on Apr 21st 2021 at 3:44:56 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#3512: Apr 21st 2021 at 10:22:14 PM

These are on Zombieland:

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Amber Heard playing Columbus' neighbour 406 who is turned into a zombie and viciously attacks him can be harsher to watch after a tape was released of her admitting to physically abusing her then-husband Johnny Depp. On the bright side, this makes 406's death much more satisfying in hindsight.
    • Patrick Swayze was the original choice for the celebrity cameo instead of Bill Murray. Unfortunately, his pancreatic cancer lead to him being unable to accept. He passed away just weeks before the film's release.
      • Relatedly, Murray's comments about Eddie Van Halen being a zombie can be uncomfortable after Van Halen's death in 2020.

Theatre_Maven_3695 from Ontario, Canada (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
#3513: Apr 21st 2021 at 10:28:30 PM

[up]

  • How many times do we need to mention the ROCEJ before people get the message?

  • Pretty obvious creator mortality.

RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#3514: Apr 22nd 2021 at 12:51:54 AM

I don't know which Patrick Swayze hindsight reference is more stupid, the one above or this one from Road House (I've sent it into a black hole where it will never see the light of day, ever again, no worries. The Amber Heard reference can be delivered to the same black hole as well. Like, satisfying in hindsight?):

Slow day at work, so I've taken the liberty to go through the YMMV pages of some actors who many considered "died too young". The stupid crap I've erased is just... oh my.

(For Alpha Dog starring Anton Yelchin)

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Any future kidnappings of teenagers makes this a pretty hard movie to watch. — Because there are no such things as kidnappings prior to this movie's release in 2006, apparently
    • Zack's death scene becomes much harder to watch after Anton Yelchin's premature death on June 19, 2016.The actor died a decade later, from completely different causes

(For 42 starring Chad Boseman)

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • This movie became even more tragic to watch after his passing of Chadwick Boseman recently due to cancer. — The movie didn't even have any onscreen deaths... oh, and Examples Are Not Recent

(For Lords of Dogtown starring Heath Ledger)

  • Harsher in Hindsight: One of the first scenes of the film involved a salesman, played by Mitch Hedberg, selling urethane wheels to Skip Engblom, played by Heath Ledger. This was Hedburg's final role, as he died of a drug overdose the same year. Ledger also died of an accidental overdose three years later. — Both actors are in the film for less than a dozen minutes, and neither died in the movie. What does this have to do with their real-life deaths anyway?


Anyway, I feel like scrubbing this bit from Baywatch under the pretense "Examples Are Not Recent"

  • Harsher in Hindsight: "The Life You Save" features the Baywatch team facing a 25% budget cut, which would of course mean some of the lifeguards would be reduced to working part-time hours. This was in 1994. Watching the episode again today, in the midst of one of the worst financial crises ever, it's eerie how it's even MORE relevant.

Edited by RobertTYL on Apr 22nd 2021 at 4:09:21 PM

Delibirda from Splatsville Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
#3515: Apr 22nd 2021 at 2:03:00 AM

[up][up][up][up]From Spoilers Off:

  • Certain Audience Reactions that re-examine events in a later installment. When dealing with things like Fridge Brilliance, Hilarious in Hindsight, or a "Funny Aneurysm" Moment, it may be tempting to put a spoiler for a later installment when describing something that is seen in a new light because of events in that later installment. Don't put those details in the earlier page at all; only reference them in the page for the later work (and in its YMMV page only). If a plot element is re-examined because of Real Life events, then said tropes go in the YMMV page for the earlier work, and without spoiler tags.

Edited by Delibirda on Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:03:42 AM

"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3516: Apr 22nd 2021 at 2:06:14 AM

[up]That doesn't really change the point that Hindsight goes on the earlier work, but it is kind of a weird rule since it's basically encouraging half-context examples and spoiler tags on general YMMV pages (not Moments) are allowed.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Delibirda from Splatsville Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
#3517: Apr 22nd 2021 at 2:07:08 AM

Hmm. Maybe it should be changed.

"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
JAG01 Since: Mar, 2012
#3518: Apr 22nd 2021 at 5:33:14 AM

Found on Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Years after playing two different takes on Black Canary, Grey DeLisle and Morena Baccarin once again share a Bat-verse character, Leslie Thompkins, with Grey playing Gaslight counterpart Sister Leslie and Morena playing her closer to modern day counterpart in the live action Gotham.
    • Ironically the story ends up as a spirited role reversal adaptation of Nemesis where the cape crusader is the heroic figure rather than the evil monster and the commissioner is the evil monster rather than the heroic figure.

RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#3519: Apr 22nd 2021 at 7:33:56 PM

These two sounds like Creator Bashing targeted at Amber Heard... not a fan of the actress, but, Come on!

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Mandy being one half of an Outlaw Couple that later breaks up violently became this in light of the tumultuous relationship between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, with accusations of abuse on both ends (first from her and years later from him). While Depp would in November of 2020 lose a libel case against The Sun calling him an "wife beater", meaning the court found there was enough evidence to conclude that he was abusive and not enough to conclude that she was, but some still believe Heard was the abuser and the two of them have multiple court cases against each other that have yet to proceed.

The Rum Diary

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Any scene with Paul and Chenault becomes this in light of Amber Heard accusing Johnny Depp of abuse only for the accusations to be proven false when audio tapes came out that confirmed that Amber was the one abusing Johnny.

Anyway, cut or stay?

Edited by RobertTYL on Apr 22nd 2021 at 10:34:05 PM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3520: Apr 22nd 2021 at 9:32:17 PM

[up] Neither even connects specifically to the allegations. Outlaw Couple does not mean abusive couple and Amber and Johnny sharing scenes probably isn't enough — and if it is, that can still be rewritten neutrally to be about their relationship being toxic without gossipy stuff targeting one party specifically.

Edited by mightymewtron on Apr 22nd 2021 at 12:32:31 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3521: Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:32:41 PM

Double post but this is on the main page on The Nostalgia Critic S 10 E 2. It's probably not Hindsight, since it would just be "actor in bad movie is later in good movie," but what trope is it?

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: The Critic jokes that the child actor who plays Blue will probably not be earning awards any time soon. Then the scene cuts to a poster of Room, revealing that the child actor is Jacob Tremblay, who for his role as Jack Newsome earned a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, much to the surprise of the Critic, who then rewords his rant to indicate that this film is a waste of good talent.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#3523: Apr 23rd 2021 at 1:39:34 AM

YMMV.Friday Night Funkin:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • One of the Couch Gags reads "too overexposed—-Newgrounds can't handle us". Come the release of Week 7, Newgrounds crashed due to an overload of people trying to access the game.
    • Prior to the release of Week 7, there existed a High Effort mod for "Ugh". Said mod gave Tankman a custom sprite for every time he said "Ugh" in the song. Come the actual release of Week 7, and Tankman does indeed have a custom sprite for every time he says "Ugh", only unlike the mod it happens during Up notes rather than Left notes and his expression is one of disgust.
    • One of many skin mods made for the game is the Closer Together mod, which changes Boyfriend's sprite so that he's holding Girlfriend whilst he raps. Come Week 7, this is how he raps against Tankman, during the song "Stress".
    • In Rec D's video adding lyrics to Pico's week, when the Boyfriend asks why Pico's crossed their path, he responds with "Savin' your bacon. Or cookin' it." In Week 7, he really does step in to save The Boyfriend's bacon.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3524: Apr 23rd 2021 at 1:42:13 AM

Newgrounds one totally sounds valid. Not sure if the entries for game mods belong on this page as they're hindsight for the mods, not the game itself. Not sure about the Boyfriend bacon one.

Edited by mightymewtron on Apr 23rd 2021 at 4:42:23 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#3525: Apr 23rd 2021 at 2:08:58 PM

Bringing up the following examples from Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow:


Total posts: 8,910
Top