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Hindsight Cleanup

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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

nanakiro Since: Feb, 2011
#5251: Mar 14th 2022 at 6:50:38 PM

Apparently the Advance Wars example does have some merit to it in relation to the 2022 delay, because someone's pointed out that one of the two games included in the remake starts with the game's Russia analogue invading a neighboring country.

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#5252: Mar 14th 2022 at 7:37:40 PM

I think any hindsight examples that are actively acknowledged by the creators should de-facto count. The real issue with the Advance Wars Ukraine example is that it's lacking context which makes it seem like "war happened" when it's really a more specific situation featuring a Russia analogue invading a modern "Western" nation for imperialistic reasons.

maxwellsilver Since: Sep, 2011
#5253: Mar 15th 2022 at 2:37:18 PM

And of course this was added to Seinfeld

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • In the episode "The Label Maker", Kramer and Newman were playing Risk on the subway. As Kramer denounced the Ukraine as being weak, an Ukrainian man standing next to them got angry at them and kicked their board, saying that the Ukraine is strong. In February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine with bombs and military, yet the Ukraine have been very resistant against the invaders.

A similar entry was added in 2014 in reference to Russia annexing Crimea and was deleted then.

I'm inclined to delete for poor grammar alone. Also it's just Ukraine, not "the Ukraine."

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#5254: Mar 15th 2022 at 2:55:05 PM

[up] Agreed. Go ahead and cut it.

maxwellsilver Since: Sep, 2011
#5255: Mar 15th 2022 at 5:38:35 PM

King of the Hill

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • There is a not-so-untrue Urban Legend about an episode and a Columbine survivor who was hiding during the shooting and wrote a love note she intended to give to a friend after realizing how close she was to dying, but the friend turned out to be one of the perpetrators. "Wings of the Dope," the episode with Buckley's angel, aired two weeks later and watching it helped the girl realize she didn't need permission or approval from anyone to mourn her loss (or the loss of what could have been had she spoken up sooner). In the episode, when Hank is tired of everyone talking about the angel and tries to get Luanne away from him, he says:
      "I'm sure with his help you'll do just fine. You'll pass the test and he'll have finished his good deed and there'll be no need for him to come back to Earth again. And if you do see Buckley's angel again, it will actually be an evil angel of death."

That doesn't sound like hindsight.

Indigon Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#5256: Mar 16th 2022 at 6:45:23 PM

Question. In the ABC/ technically Disney show W.I.T.C.H. a character jokes to a frog toy that he needs to have so many kids for fear of them getting eaten by giant ducks, cut a few years later and Amphibia. Does this count as Hilarious in Hindsight?

bwburke94 I am mad scientist! It's so cool! from 1.048596% (Y2: Electric Boogaloo) Relationship Status: She does the things you do, but she is an IBM
I am mad scientist! It's so cool!
#5257: Mar 16th 2022 at 6:55:06 PM

[up] Zero-context, and probably a shoehorn anyway.

2025: the year it all ends?
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#5258: Mar 16th 2022 at 7:13:45 PM

You gotta remember not all of us watch Amphibia. What do giant ducks have to do with it?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Indigon Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#5259: Mar 16th 2022 at 9:41:19 PM

Well it's a joke in the show that every animal that normally attacks frogs is now a giant monster.

Indigon Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#5260: Mar 16th 2022 at 9:42:37 PM

On second thought this was a bad idea. Sorry for wasting time.

MatthewLMayfield from wherever he damn well pleases (Captain) Relationship Status: I wanna know what love is
#5261: Mar 17th 2022 at 8:23:36 AM

Found these on Dwayne Johnson:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: At the 2015 Royal Rumble, The Rock came out to congratulate Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, who many say is an inexperienced performer with lots of potential, but was pushed to the main event way before he was ready. They were both booed with a passion (although a large part of it came not actually from what the crowd think of Reigns but what they think of the fact that Daniel Bryan didn't win which was, not coincidentally the same reason the crowd turned on Batista a year earlier). You can tell by the look on The Rock's face that he was having some bad flashbacks. I am of the opinion that wrestling shouldn't have spoilers as it's presented like a RL sport even though it's really not. But that's another topic. My main point is what bad flashbacks did The Rock have exactly? It's not really made clear what they're all about

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: On January 28, 2013, the night after ending CM Punk's 434-day reign as WWE Champion, The Rock called CM Punk a "punk ass bitch". While it seemed like a great moniker to use in a promo against Punk, YouTubers might get an extra kick out of it if they remember a short video spliced together from May 1, 2009 with a clip of then-long-haired Money in the Bank holder CM Punk saying his name, only to be interrupted by a clip of The Rock saying... well... "punk ass bitch". Not hindsight, but also seems like a huge stretch

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#5262: Mar 18th 2022 at 9:34:52 AM

This was added Avenue Q a few days ago.

  • Harsher in Hindsight: In the early 00's, fraught with political correctness and debates about the same, "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" was a funny reminder of our common, misanthropic humanity. But by the year 2016, to quote another Tony-winning Broadway musical set in NYC, "the racism in America had gone from latent to blatant" and the Avenue Q song didn't quite land the same way.

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#5263: Mar 18th 2022 at 9:38:29 AM

[up] I don't get what it's trying to say. That racism wasn't bad until 2016?

Edited by PlasmaPower on Mar 18th 2022 at 1:38:40 PM

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#5264: Mar 18th 2022 at 9:39:30 AM

...They do realize the musical they're quoting to claim that racism only really got bad in 2016... came out in 2008, right?

There may be some Values Dissonance in that song but I think even back then it was intended as an edgy Hard Truth Aesop not meant to be taken entirely seriously.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 18th 2022 at 12:40:02 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#5265: Mar 18th 2022 at 9:46:32 AM

Matthews@ On the bad flashback, im going to guess it when he first started in WWF and they were trying to present him as a clean babyface which the fan didn't care for. Though, i don't think the example is Harsher.

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#5266: Mar 18th 2022 at 11:51:01 AM

YMMV.Until The End Of Time

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: "Saiyan vs. Hitler" is already hilarious, but gets even funnier when you realize it'd already happened in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, where Hitler fought Goku's son Goten...though he didn't have a Super Saiyan form there and got his zombified ass handed to him.

It's not Hindsight if the moment came from before the work came out.

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
UFOYeah Since: Mar, 2022
#5267: Mar 18th 2022 at 4:32:20 PM

Misuse, therefore it should be cut.

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#5268: Mar 19th 2022 at 11:52:05 AM

From YMMV.Victor Frankenstein:

Do these really fit? They are referencing movies that were released before this one. The first one is also the actors had iconic characters.

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#5269: Mar 19th 2022 at 12:01:14 PM

[up] No, all of those should be cut. Referencing previous works is bad enough, but "actor appeared in this work, then in this other work" is one of the most common forms of HiH misuse.

Edited by TantaMonty on Mar 19th 2022 at 12:01:38 PM

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)
#5270: Mar 19th 2022 at 12:02:18 PM

I haven't gotten a response to this post.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#5271: Mar 19th 2022 at 12:07:06 PM

[up][up][up]I know that metaphorically this is true for many of the hindsight examples this thread likes to call "actor garbage", but that literally looks like a misplaced Role Association entry.

Edited by nrjxll on Mar 19th 2022 at 2:07:18 PM

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#5272: Mar 19th 2022 at 12:07:29 PM

[up][up][up] & [up] And its gone.

Edited by Bullman on Mar 19th 2022 at 2:08:36 PM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#5273: Mar 20th 2022 at 12:22:53 AM

Does anyone understand what this means???

YMMV.Vs Sonic Exe:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Kitsune 2's song "Avast Yours" has a leitmotif similar to Endless. This SEGA Genesis cover has uses the same instrument as Majin's voice for that leitmotif. If nothing else, it sounds like xir. link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjZb-buXYC0
    • Also, this means it also applies to SOINC.WMV, whose week uses three of Kitsune 2's other songs and was originally intended to get SIIVKOI on the dev team. As Girlfriend would say, "SICK!"

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
UFOYeah Since: Mar, 2022
#5274: Mar 20th 2022 at 7:09:19 AM

[up]X has a similar song to Y isn't exactly "hindsight".

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#5275: Mar 20th 2022 at 10:58:40 AM

I found this on Tiny Toon Adventures S 3 E 9 Two Tone Town:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Not too long after this episode aired, Animaniacs, a new series from Warner Bros. and most of the Tiny Toons production crew premiered. The main characters were black and white 1930s cartoons who become stars in the modern world! Sound familiar? Even worse, after Tiny Toon Adventures Night Ghoulery aired in 1995, the Toons have rarely appeared or been mentioned again. Thankfully, in 2020, it was announced that the series would be rebooted as Tiny Toons Looniversity on HBO Max.


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