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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

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
#8101: Jan 19th 2025 at 5:08:43 PM

[up] What my entry [up][up][up]?

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
maxwellsilver Since: Sep, 2011
#8103: Jan 20th 2025 at 12:02:49 PM

From All Dogs Go to Heaven

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Despite the entire movie being about his character's death, Burt Reynolds was the last of his co-stars to die. Of the main cast, at least. As of 2024, supporting actors Loni Anderson and Melba Moore are still alive. note  Actor mortality
    • A film with heavy themes of mortality and several scenes of a little girl in danger becomes a lot more difficult to watch knowing the tragic fate of that little girl's actress. Even worse, the film's plot is kicked off with a murder. Not actually hindsight. Judith Barsi tragically Died During Production
    • Charlie makes a passing remark about Carface having put on weight early in the movie. Vic Tayback, Carface's VA, died of a heart attack six months after the movie's release. Maybe. Not sure
  • Hilarious in Hindsight

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#8104: Jan 20th 2025 at 12:20:33 PM

[up]Third from bottom is Fan Myopia: there's no connection between the two characters other than "ha ha, singing alligator."

Second from bottom seems like just a standard We Will Meet Again from the villain.

Agree with your verdicts otherwise.

Edited by DoktorvonEurotrash on Jan 20th 2025 at 12:20:53 PM

maxwellsilver Since: Sep, 2011
#8105: Jan 20th 2025 at 2:14:17 PM

I left the entry on Carface putting on weight and the VA having a heart attack because I wasn't sure, but it seems too unconnected.

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#8106: Jan 20th 2025 at 5:13:33 PM

From YMMV.Harley Quinn 2019 under Hilarious in Hindsight.

  • Season 3 has a gag where Commissioner Gordon is baffled to find out that Henry Kissinger was still alive. It becomes even funnier when Kissinger actually did pass away in 2023, he managed to live to be 100-years-old.

Shouldn't this be Harsher and not Hilarious?

costanton11 Since: Mar, 2016
#8107: Jan 20th 2025 at 5:25:12 PM

That seems more like a mortality example.

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
#8108: Jan 20th 2025 at 5:29:20 PM

To UFO: No I meant what do you think about the entry I bumped.

edit: this one.

Edited by Ayumi-chan on Jan 20th 2025 at 9:30:04 PM

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
SharkToast Since: Mar, 2013
#8109: Jan 20th 2025 at 7:23:37 PM

It Ends with Us:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Lily addresses her diary entries to Ellen DeGeneres, who at the time of the book's 2016 publication had a controversy-free public image, best known for her branding as a Nice Girl and her voice in the family films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. As of 2020, she was embroiled in a storm of controversy amid accusations of creating a toxic work environment, resulting in her stepping down as host of her talk show, which eventually ended up cancelled altogether.

In the past we've deleted examples that went "work mentions now controversial celebrity".

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!
#8110: Jan 20th 2025 at 8:54:30 PM

And indeed, this one is "work mentions now-controversial celebrity".

2025: the year it all ends?
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#8111: Jan 21st 2025 at 5:59:47 AM

[up]x5: That's a basic "politician mortality" example (seriously, people die at some point).

[up][up]: Just "mentions a controversial celebrity." Please cut.

Edited by DoktorvonEurotrash on Jan 21st 2025 at 5:59:59 AM

UFOYeah Since: Mar, 2022
#8112: Jan 21st 2025 at 10:00:25 AM

[up][up][up][up] Sorry for the confusion.

In order:

  • "Character that looks a bit like another character from a later work" is Fan Myopia.
  • Actor trivia.
  • Actor trivia and wrong-way hindsight.
  • Possibly, but may also be foreshadowing.
  • Ditto.
  • Fan Myopia and actor trivia.
    • Ditto.
    • Double ditto.
  • Possibly, but it lacks context.
  • Not sure myself.
  • Not sure, it lacks context.
  • Fan Myopia with a side of actor trivia.
  • "(Though it's sadly not Omega)" suggests that the example contradicts itself.
  • Not sure about examples where "The work references another work, then a crossover between the two happens".
  • Possibly, though "Character X does something funny to Character Y, then Character Y does the same thing to Character Z in a later episode/installment" sounds like a stretch.
  • Fan Myopia and actor trivia.

Edited by UFOYeah on Jan 21st 2025 at 10:01:05 AM

The-Omniscient-Dex Just call me Jason, I suppose from Classified (Terrible Twos) Relationship Status: Hugging my pillow
Just call me Jason, I suppose
#8113: Jan 21st 2025 at 10:46:55 AM

Found this on YMMV.MaryPoppins:

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Ellen's suggestion to check the river for Mr. Banks's corpse, the morning after he loses his job, might feel harder to watch for viewers who learned that P.L. Travers' mother attempted to drown herselfnote , traumatizing the writer when she was seven year old.
Far as l know, stuff that happened long before the work even came out doesn't count as "in hindsight".

I'm much too lazy to come up with a caption.
CanuckMcDuck1 PEPSIMAN from Japan Since: Sep, 2023 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
PEPSIMAN
#8114: Jan 21st 2025 at 11:16:15 AM

[up]That’s just reverse hindsight, so it can be cut.

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
LoadsAndLoadsOfFreeTime Raz (Season 2) Relationship Status: I love you for psychological reasons
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
#8116: Jan 21st 2025 at 6:52:02 PM

[up] x4. All entries have been removed.

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
The-Omniscient-Dex Just call me Jason, I suppose from Classified (Terrible Twos) Relationship Status: Hugging my pillow
Just call me Jason, I suppose
#8117: Jan 22nd 2025 at 5:30:21 AM

From YMMV.MeetTheRobinsons:

I feel this is too generic a connection between the two works.

I'm much too lazy to come up with a caption.
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Diesel Konstruktor Since: Jun, 2013 Relationship Status: Abstaining
Konstruktor
#8119: Jan 22nd 2025 at 2:03:09 PM

I find this Harsher in Hindsight example from YMMV.Chinatown rather iffy. I think this can be removed outright because the fires are still ongoing as far as I'm aware, but also, I don't think the comparison really holds? The example discusses people diverting water from urban areas to rural areas, but the film is about people diverting water from farmers. Unlike the Resnicks, Cross also doesn't own the farms. In fact, he's depriving them of water specifically to coerce them into selling their land.

  • In January 2025, Los Angeles had one of its worst fires in history. One eye-opener is people noting that fire hydrants were only half-full at best and so fire crews quickly ran out of water. In a similar manner to how Noah Cross took control of Califonria's water, it has since been revealed that one family, the Resnicks essentially controls 60% of California thru 1994's Monterey Plus Agreement and had diverted much of the water to urban areas to their own farms.
I feel more uncertain about these ones from YMMV.Call Of Juarez The Cartel. I'm not sure how specific the first one is. The second does reek of "not everything related to racism and Police Brutality has to do with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter" though.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • One of the levels is set during a shootout in a nightclub, and there are zero consequences for killing civilians other than losing out on an achievement. As Noah Caldwell-Gervais noted, this can be harder to take in the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shootings.
    • Several cutscenes and quick time events feature the protagonists outright beating up suspects, including sex workers. During the 2010s, police brutality became seen as a serious issue especially in the United States, with large scale civil unrest in 2020 due to the murder of George Floyd by on duty policemen.

ArthurEld Since: May, 2014
#8120: Jan 22nd 2025 at 2:45:48 PM

Yeah i would cit those Juarez examples. Police brutality is not new.

CanuckMcDuck1 PEPSIMAN from Japan Since: Sep, 2023 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
PEPSIMAN
#8121: Jan 22nd 2025 at 2:46:48 PM

[up][up]The Call of Juarez examples can be cut. Nightclub shootings and police brutality are not new concepts.

The Chinatown example seems like a shoehorn, since the Resnicks and Cross are controlling water for different reasons. Info about the Resnicks and their water monopoly has existed for a while and been called out long before the 2025 wildfires.

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Jan 22nd 2025 at 4:46:59 AM

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
IvanovTroping97 Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#8122: Jan 23rd 2025 at 7:31:16 AM

And by the way, about the recent wildfires in Los Angeles and how certain Hollywood celebrities lost their homes, I think one movie's title might've become Harsher in Hindsight - An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn.

Although, I'm kind of on edge if the movie's title (and the Public Enemy song "Burn Hollywood Burn") would count as an example.

Edited by IvanovTroping97 on Jan 23rd 2025 at 8:46:51 PM

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!
#8123: Jan 23rd 2025 at 11:59:52 PM

I'm leaning against on Burn Hollywood Burn.

2025: the year it all ends?
Riolugirl Just "Rio" is fine! from Planet Sparkles (spaaaarklleeees...) (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
Just "Rio" is fine!
#8124: Jan 24th 2025 at 6:17:26 AM

From Funny.Sonic The Hedgehog 2020 (with the problem edit emphasised):


  • Sonic likes to peep in on Tom and Maddie's movie nights from the living room window, his favorite film being, appropriately enough, Speed; Sonic even imitates Dennis Hopper's famous "Pop quiz, hotshot" and notes that Keanu Reeves is a national treasure.

A month before this edit was made, I removed a similar edit for being incorrectly-indented and irrelevant to a Moments subpage. I also sent an indentation notifier to the troper who made the newer edit, but they never responded.

"Hark! For your greatest fears manifest in yours truly!" (She/Her) (Current focus: Image Pickin')
LoadsAndLoadsOfFreeTime Raz (Season 2) Relationship Status: I love you for psychological reasons

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