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| - In some shows that revolve around teenagers, preteens, or younger children, adults can't do anything right -- if they appear on-screen at all. Teachers tend to be annoying sticks-in-the-mud who do nothing but spoil people's fun. Parents are clueless, and either over- or underprotective. And any other designated authority figures the kid might come across? Forget it. Shows where Adults Are Useless can also be shows where you Can't Get Away with Nuthin' -- kids who break school rules somehow always get caught, but due to bad luck, not because a teacher was alert.
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| abstract
| - In some shows that revolve around teenagers, preteens, or younger children, adults can't do anything right -- if they appear on-screen at all. Teachers tend to be annoying sticks-in-the-mud who do nothing but spoil people's fun. Parents are clueless, and either over- or underprotective. And any other designated authority figures the kid might come across? Forget it. Usually, this is just plot necessity (especially on comedy shows). After all, a High School Hustler could hardly get anything done if the teachers kept their eyes open, and if the parents were vigilant; being told that You Are Grounded would wreck the plot. But on a handful of drama shows, there's a real venom to it. Radio Free Roscoe is about a group of heroic teens who defy a tyrannical school administration. On a smaller scale, Degrassi the Next Generation has episodes where it is implied that stealing school property is no big deal, but it's disgraceful to inform on the thief. Shows where Adults Are Useless can also be shows where you Can't Get Away with Nuthin' -- kids who break school rules somehow always get caught, but due to bad luck, not because a teacher was alert. Also common when adults are told something is happening, but simply don't believe it, resulting in a Cassandra Truth. The logical extreme of this trope is There Are No Adults. Gives the impression that only teens or younger kids are capable of saving the world and stuff. Can lead to the Family-Unfriendly Aesop that there's no point in telling adults about your problems because they'd either disbelieve you or be too useless to help. This trope can occasionally be used in a more mature fashion to make an Aesop about growing up and realizing that adults are not all-powerful. This is especially common in military or war-themed shows and literature, where the point is that adults are ultimately unable to protect the younger generation. This version is, unfortunately, often Truth in Television. Another interpretation of this is merely that the adults who can help won't because the dilemma's solution (at least the obvious and often more exciting one) would pretty much wind up breaking several laws and safety codes. This can be especially true in a lot of shows involving the police or military; the ones who strictly adhere to code are always shown incompetent whereas the ones who break code are the competent ones. Another seldom-used aspect of this trope sort of plays off the above. In this version, it's not that Adults are useless; quite the opposite. The problem is that the protagonists-because of youthful embarrassment, a need to prove themselves or simple ego- can't ask for help, or accept it when it's given. The message here is that asking for help is a good thing (one can't do everything alone) and not bothering to trust people with more skill/experience ultimately causes more trouble than it's worth. This version is also Truth in Television, but you'll not find many young people who are willing to admit that. Sometimes; it may be a simple case of Poor Communication Kills - sometimes the adults seem worthless because they aren't seeing it from the characters' point of view. Or a combination of the above where the kids simply don't tell the adults so they don't know. Parental Obliviousness and Police Are Useless are subtropes. An Obstructive Bureaucrat may show up, but it's not something the younger age group encounters often. See also: Teenage Wasteland, Competence Zone, Parent Ex Machina, Best Years of Your Life, Lazy Husband, Babysitter From Hell. For an inversion, see Teens Are Monsters. Not to be confused with Humans Are Bastards, which deals with everybody being violently like this. Examples of Adults Are Useless include:
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