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...Jerkass Façade and Hidden Heart of Gold are really similar tropes. Really, really similar. I haven't looked very deeply into this, so I may be completely wrong, but my instinctual response is that Tropes Are Flexible and those two should be merged.
I think Wyldchyld's definition is correct - the difference between a Hidden Heart of Gold and a Jerkass Façade is that, while they're both hiding their true nature, the Hidden Heart of Gold IS legitimately a jerk but just pretending to be worse than they are, while the Jerkass Façade is not even really a jerk at all.
The question is whether that distinction is important enough to warrant a separate trope...
I think it could be, because it says different things about their intentions.
A Hidden Heart of Gold is likely to be genuinely a misanthrope but with redeeming traits, that is trying to hide those traits in order to seem "tough" or to separate himself from humanity.
Wheras, a genuinely 100% nice guy putting up a Jerkass Façade is likely doing it on a temporary and limited basis (since if he acts like that to EVERYONE then he's no longer a genuine nice guy) and is likely to have some specific reason for putting on that front.
Edited by wrm5
I think the description for Jerkass Façade might have to be edited then, because it doesn't always seem to fit with the trope you described.
Take this line: "In more light-hearted media, maybe he just feels he has a reputation to uphold as a Jerkass. So rather than letting anyone get close to him, he behaves like a completely obnoxious douche bag to scare them all away from wanting anything to do with him."
That sounds like what Hidden Heart of Gold is trying to be.
Edited by Unknownlight
I was more just making up my own interpretation... ^^;;;
Maybe we should take this to TRS?
Yeah, that's probably best. TRS thread.
You've both pretty much covered why I wanted the clarification - the two tropes seem so similar, that I wanted to be certain there was a legitimate difference rather than just me misunderstanding the tropes. As I don't appear to be the only one who is uncertain about the scope of the differences, it might be worth a wider discussion.
Edited by Wyldchyld If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Just want to get a quick clarification:
Am I understanding the difference between the three tropes correctly?
Edited by Wyldchyld