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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

ElBuenCuate Since: Oct, 2010
#7626: Jul 30th 2024 at 4:08:07 PM

The Flubber example is a definite cut. There is nothing relating to coronavirus except that someone is on camera for something (the reason he didn't attend was becuase he is absentminded and was still working on a project, there was nothing about illness).

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#7627: Jul 30th 2024 at 4:10:48 PM

Moving here so it doesn't get buried.

I found this Hilarious in Hindsight entry on YMMV.Deadpool And Wolverine:

  • "The TVA noticing a problem is about to occur almost too late to do anything about it" can help explain why they don't show up for: Dr. Strange's spell going haywire in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Wanda causing Multiversal problems in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, Infinity Ultron going on a rampage in What If? season 1, Doctor Strange causing problems in What If? season 2, and finally, Kingpin's, Miguel's and The Spot's respective threats in Spider-Verse.

Those came out before this movie. So, how is it hindsight?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#7628: Jul 30th 2024 at 4:16:47 PM

I don't see hindsight vibes from it. It came before the movie and mostly focus on age rating. I say cut.

Lymantria Tyrannoraptoran Reptiliomorph from Toronto Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Tyrannoraptoran Reptiliomorph
#7629: Jul 30th 2024 at 5:23:02 PM

[up] How is it related to age rating?

Join the Five-Man Band cleanup project!
Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#7630: Jul 30th 2024 at 5:27:03 PM

Yeah I don't get that. Either way, it was moved to HilariousInHindsight.Marvel Cinematic Universe. It still listed as D&W though. Would it work if we list it under a different work?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#7631: Jul 31st 2024 at 6:49:05 AM

From YMMV.Ys III Wanderers From Ys

I don't know much of both games but this really stinks on Fan Myopia. Any thoughts?

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7632: Jul 31st 2024 at 5:18:32 PM

Textbook Fan Myopia. Cut.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
KingofNightmares Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#7633: Aug 2nd 2024 at 8:40:15 PM

On YMMV.Somewhere In Time

Actor morality? For reference, the character in the film starves himself to death accidentally. Unless the actor died in the same way, I can't say this is actually a valid entry.

"It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?"
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#7635: Aug 6th 2024 at 7:41:02 AM

From Who Framed Roger Rabbit:

Pasted all of them because it never hurts to gather more opinions, but the two I want to bring attention to are the ones about Kathleen Turner and Christopher Lloyd. Are they just "actor garbage", as it's commonly referred to in this thread?

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7636: Aug 6th 2024 at 12:43:44 PM

[up]Yeah, actor garbage. Given how many roles actors normally play in their lives, it's not surprising if some of them have recurring elements.

Looking at the other ones, I think the first one might be legit since it will almost certainly bring The Lion King (1994) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney) to mind for a modern viewer, but I'd cut the last three sentences, since they seem like the usual fan-myopic stretches.

The "on the rocks" joke sounds like it counts (it's less absurd now that you can actually get whisky rocks).

The vibrator joke seems like... sex toy myopia? But others might disagree.

randomtroper89 from The Fire Nation Since: Nov, 2010
#7637: Aug 6th 2024 at 1:32:32 PM

Snow White & the Huntsman: All of the examples seem like shoehorns, maybe the Belle Delphine example can stay.

  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Sam Claflin plays an expert archer who gets his way onto Finn's team by shooting his current archer. The next team he joins certainly doesn't need another bowman.
    • Chris Hemsworth wielding an axe.
    • Ravenna draining out her milk bath to feed the peasants, after Belle Delphine proved there was a market for it.
    • William kisses Snow White and is shortly revealed to be Ravenna in disguise. Just a couple of years later, Kristen Stewart came out as bisexual, and Charlize Theron would play a bisexual woman in Atomic Blonde.
    • Charlize Theron is doing the opposite to her role as Ravenna in Mad Max: Fury Road, where she plays a vigilante rescuing girls from a tyrant.

[down],[down][down]: Took care of it

Edited by randomtroper89 on Aug 6th 2024 at 6:28:57 AM

CanuckMcDuck1 PEPSIMAN from Japan Since: Sep, 2023 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
PEPSIMAN
#7638: Aug 6th 2024 at 1:34:26 PM

[up]All of those are actor shoehorns, especially Chris Hemsworth holding and axe. They can all be cut.

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#7639: Aug 6th 2024 at 1:38:01 PM

All of them should be cut

Edited by Echidna on Aug 6th 2024 at 4:38:14 AM

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7640: Aug 7th 2024 at 11:10:12 AM

On HarsherInHindsight.Western Animation:

  • The Powerpuff Girls (1998): In "Powerpuff Bluff", a gang of impostors commit crimes dressed as the girls, leading to a scene where a SWAT team bursts into Pokey Oaks Kindergarten to apprehend them while firing their machine guns all over the place. After the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, this scene becomes much harder to stomach. Seems valid.
    • The episode "Knock It Off" was a parody of misrepresenting the Powerpuff Girls and using them for merchandise purposes and follows the 'Fast-Cheap' of the "Fast, Cheap or Good? Choose Two." maxim. But come 2016, some would argue that the 2016 reboot resembles something that Dick himself would make. This just sounds like Complaining About Shows You Don't Like. Also indentation failure.

  • Arthur: (specific bulletins)
    • In "Go to Your Room, D.W.," D.W. thinks that Kate "killed" her doll Tiffany by pulling her head off. While this might just have seen as a four-year-old's wild imagination when the episode first aired, it's revealed in the later episode "Desperately Seeking Stanley" that toys in the show's universe are alive à la Toy Story. While it's unknown what it takes to kill a Living Toy in the Arthur universe, this means that it's possible that D.W. was right and getting her head pulled off really did kill Tiffany, even though Jane reattached the head! Feels more like Fridge Horror
    • In "Binky Barnes, Art Expert", Francine calls out Arthur and Buster in front of the whole class for copying their art report from a museum catalog. Several seasons later in "Francine's Pilfered Paper", Francine herself commits plagiarism on an assignment, though she didn't know it was wrong. Not sure
    • In Season 1's "Arthur Cleans Up", Arthur complains about the state of a city park by claiming "the oceans are full of oil." Fast forward to April 2010... Last part is ZCE
    • In "Sue Ellen's Little Sister", Sue Ellen spends time around D.W. to see what having a sister would be like, and even shows off an origami crane she spent a lot of time on. D.W. tosses it out a window because she thinks it can fly. And no, she wasn't punished this time either. Not sure
    • In "The Half-Baked Sale", Mr. Morris injures his leg when D.W. and Arthur hide Grandma's cookies inside the janitor's closet, but luckily he doesn't break it. Come "April 9th", he does break it in a fire at Lakewood Elementary and is forced to retire as a result. Not sure
    • Greg Kramer, the voice of Nemo, passed away in 2013. The last episode he worked on was "The Last Day". Actor's last role before death =/= hindsight. That would be Swan Song or Posthumous Credit
    • In "Francine Frensky, Superstar", Buster is forced to wear a light bulb costume without air holes and can barely breathe. Fast forward a few seasons and it's revealed that he has asthma. Not sure, but seems valid
    • "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm" oozes with irony. The episode is about how great life at the farm is, how things have gotten out of hand, and how Grandpa needs more help as he's getting older. He even mentions how long the farm has been in his family. Once he's diagnosed with a brain condition, he has to move closer to Arthur, effectively ditching that farm. Arthur is forced to admit that things aren't the same. Seems valid
    • In Season 1, most of Binky's bullying moments were Played for Laughs: he tackles Brain during a Vitriolic Best Buds moment, gets a Break the Haughty courtesy of Sue Ellen, and admits eventually that he's never had to fight anyone and only acts mean since he's good at it. Then in "Arthur's Big Hit", the other Tough Customers pressure him into hitting Arthur, which he does with reluctance. Afterward, Binky suffers a My God, What Have I Done?, apologizes to Arthur, and briefly "de-founds" the Tough Customers. Not sure, but seems valid
    • In "Arthur's Chicken Pox", D.W. is disgusted when her parents serve her spinach, and complains that Arthur doesn't have to eat it; this leads to a funny scene where she and Arthur blow raspberries at each other. Then in "D.W., the Picky Eater", she throws a tantrum at a restaurant when served a spinach salad. Her parents angrily tell her she can't go to restaurants anymore until she can eat what's in front of her without complaint. Arthur then has to scramble to help D.W. so that Grandma Thora's birthday dinner at Once Upon a Restaurant isn't canceled. Not sure, but seems valid
    • "Sue Ellen's Lost Diary" is overall humorous, with her friends struggling with the dilemma of opening or not opening it to satisfy their curiosity. Then in "April 9th", the fire that burns the school ends up destroying Sue Ellen's diary beyond repair, causing her to suffer a Heroic BSoD. Not sure, but seems valid
    • "Pick a Car, Any Car" has something wrong with the Read family's car. Arthur is attached and turns down any potential car Crosswire Motors has to offer and ends with him figuring out the problem with some help from a couple of radio car show hosts. In "Arthur's New Old Vacation", the old car is towed and replaced with a new minivan and Arthur isn't the least bit upset about it. Not sure, but seems valid
    • In "Arthur The Unfunny" he tries everything he can to be funny, but in "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh", he tells jokes that become too mean to be considered funny. Not sure

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
fullmusicbard from Virgil, Texas Since: Aug, 2022 Relationship Status: Married to the music
#7641: Aug 7th 2024 at 7:23:38 PM

I'll have to think more about your "not sure" ones, but I think the oil one can be cut - in addition to being a ZCE, oil spills have unfortunately existed before 2010

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7642: Aug 7th 2024 at 7:38:28 PM

Yeah, and the PPG reboot and Greg Kramer ones?

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
Nen_desharu Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto Since: Aug, 2020 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#7643: Aug 7th 2024 at 7:41:20 PM

[up][up]Not just that, but the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 predates Arthur by almost a decade!

Therefore, easy cut.

Kirby is awesome.
Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#7644: Aug 7th 2024 at 7:42:14 PM

The oil one can be cut as well for me.

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#7645: Aug 8th 2024 at 11:32:17 AM

Found these in Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: The film is pretty hard to watch after Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V featured interdimensional wars being waged with Duel Monsters, destroying or corrupting entire worlds.
    Has no context. Maybe it's a misplaced Recycled Script entry?
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Kazuki Takahashi stated that Pegasus' least favorite food is squid. In the movie, someone with hair resembling a squid is out to kill him. Least favorite food, indeed.
    I mean... the hair looks ridiculous, but a squid? I'm not seeing it.

Cut both?

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7646: Aug 9th 2024 at 5:03:46 AM

[up]Agree to cut. The first one doesn't even make sense without context.

Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7648: Aug 9th 2024 at 12:22:55 PM

I got another one from HarsherInHindsight.Western Animation:

  • Little Rosey was one among many Celebrity Toons and Spin-Off Babies featuring a no doubt slightly unrealistic portrayal of Roseanne's childhood. Considering her later incest allegations and the fact that the character Buddy was based on Tom Arnold and the ugly, bitter end to their marriage, it's best to pretend this never happened — and not because it was a bad cartoon.

Never heard of this show, but I don't recall a single case of incest being present on it. Cut?

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#7649: Aug 9th 2024 at 12:25:08 PM

[up] Wow I never thought Roseanne and Incest would come up together in a statement. She's just hideously racist... Oh God.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Echidna from Ontario, Canada (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Two-timing
#7650: Aug 9th 2024 at 12:25:18 PM

Does not sound like Hindsight to me or even qualify as such so cut.

Edited by Echidna on Aug 9th 2024 at 3:25:44 PM


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