The Idiot Plot: Why Characters Often Make Dumb Decisions

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and found yourself thinking, “What are they doing?” If you repeat this question frequently throughout one story, then you’re probably looking at an idiot plot.

As said by famed film critic Roger Ebert, the idiot plot is any narrative that works only because everyone in it is an idiot. If they weren’t, the plot would be resolved in five minutes or less.

Definition of the Idiot Plot

The idiot plot happens when, for the sake of the story, characters don’t ask obvious questions, exchange valuable information, or make intelligent decisions. They either self-sabotage or take roundabout ways to resolve the conflict. Sometimes, they even fail to realize what the conflict is. In this regard, they are idiots—too obtuse to end the problem swiftly.

This allows the narrative to advance in places where a single, intelligent decision would have ended the story. It isn’t enough for just one mistake or stupid decision from one or two characters too. A true idiot plot consists of a string of stupid decisions, mistakes, and unnecessary secrecy from almost every principal character involved.

Sometimes it includes characters who are supposed to be idiots though, but the majority are just characters who are portrayed to be intelligent and competent yet seem to frequently make the most obvious mistakes.

In his book In Search of Wonder, Damon Knight says that the term may have originated from a fellow science fiction writer, James Blish. Knight later coined the term “Second-Order Idiot Plot” where everyone in society, not just the story’s principal characters, are idiots.

Examples of Idiot Plots

Idiot plots can be hard to identify if you’re not actively searching for them, especially when you’re already immersed in the story.

To give you a better picture of what they are, I’ve compiled a few examples for your review. Some of these aren’t idiot plots in full, but works that include a few of its elements. Check them out below!

Spoilers ahead! To illustrate the idiot plot, I’ll be talking in detail about my chosen examples. Read at your own risk.

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (The Movie)

Newt Scamander, a “magizoologist,” arrives in New York City, with a briefcase full of magical creatures in tow. Unfortunately, he loses the briefcase and the creatures are soon let loose all over the city. He must find them all before the muggles take notice of all the strange things happening around them.

There are many reasons why this film can be considered an idiot plot. Here are a few:

Newt Scamander is an expert in his field of “magizoology.” Even without common sense, he should know that bringing illegal magical creatures in a city of muggles is a no-no. Especially in a broken briefcase.
Newt knows the briefcase is broken, yet never attempts to fix it, despite having a wand and a repair spell being one of the simplest spells available. Even at the end, when everything is sorted out, we still see the briefcase unrepaired and held closed only by a piece of rope.
The aurors, who are highly trained detective-esque authorities fail to realize that one of them is a baddie, yet an odd and bumbling magizoologist manages to deduce so.
Lastly, America is portrayed as very anti-magic so it’s perfectly reasonable how harsh magical law is. What’s hard to comprehend is that witches and wizards know this but almost every magic you see in the movie is flashy, loud, or big. Some of the magical community, Newt included, even have a large degree of nonchalance to using magic. How idiotic are normal people that they don’t notice any of these?

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Victor Frankenstein dedicates his scientific genius to creating life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monstrous creature which he immediately abandons. The Creature proceeds to stalk him and make his life miserable.

Frankenstein isn’t a true idiot plot, but it does possess a few elements, mainly on Victor’s part:

In all his obsession to create his creature, he never stops to consider contingency plans for the things that could happen if he succeeds or fails. So when it didn’t succeed as he wanted it to, he’s left confused and horrified.
When the Creature demands a bride of his own, Victor destroys the unfinished female in fear of the two creatures multiplying. At this part of the novel, it is already established that Victor is an expert in human anatomy. He did create a perfectly functioning being, after all. So he could have neglected to add a reproductive organ in the female (he doesn’t even need to mention it to the Creature). Instead, he gets his life destroyed.
When Victor refuses to give the Creature a mate, it swears to deny him everything that he denied it during his wedding night. It was clearly communicated that the Creature intended poetic justice, but Victor never seems to realize that the target wasn’t him but his wife.
Victor never utilizes his wealth and connections to gain assistance against the Creature. A team of trackers and hunters would have made his pursuit far easier.

3. The Phantom of the Opera (The Musical)

In 1880s Paris, the Palais Garnier Opera House is haunted by the Phantom of the Opera. A young opera singer catches the Phantom’s attention and he abducts her to his secret lair. Unmasked and lonely, the phantom begins to obsess over keeping the object of his affections forever.

When analyzed closely, The Phantom of the Opera is a strong idiot plot. Here are few points to ponder:

In all their years of bowing down to the Phantom, why have the old managers never tried to have him investigated even once?
Why were the police never called when the Phantom killed a stagehand, or more recently, caused a chandelier to fall and kill a spectator?
Why did Raol decide to confront the Phantom inside the opera house—which is the Phantom’s territory that he’s filled with traps and secret hiding places? It wouldn’t have worked, considering how the Phantom preferred the shadows, but it’s idiotic how no one even presented the idea for consideration.
Why did Christine tell Raol about her desire to be away from the Phantom in the roof of the opera house, of all places? The phantom has already demonstrated that he knows pretty much everything that happens in that building.

Idiot Plots in Storytelling

The idiot plot, like any storytelling technique, has disadvantages and advantages. When used too much or too obviously, it frustrates your reader, especially when you consider how intelligent your characters are supposed to be. A character with a science degree wouldn’t be poking around at unknown things without proper equipment or data right? But it frequently happens in movies.

What happens here is that the suspension of disbelief (the intentional avoidance of critical thinking for the sake of enjoyment) no longer works because the idiocy cannot be ignored. How could these people with Masters and PHDs act so stupidly? When the answer is already so obvious that the audience can figure it out but the characters can’t, it makes for a frustrating experience.

The idiocy feels deliberate and the audience is forced to go along with it despite how bad it is. Doing so makes them feel like idiots themselves.

But idiot plots aren’t all bad—writers often use them deliberately to create humorous situations, either to showcase the antics of an idiot or to make a light social commentary about idiocy in society. Or, in serious situations, idiot plots often highlight how tragedies can be avoided by making correct and careful decisions.

Idiot plots are also unavoidable in some cases. There are times when a character’s situation (their mental health, level of education, or age) justifies their idiocy. You can’t expect a child or mentally ill person to make rational decisions.

Most times, idiot plots happen simply because the writer isn’t paying attention. As a writer, you may deal with so many details that you fail to realize some plotholes or fail to properly map out your plot and character development. Then there are times that you simply know the story so well that you don’t notice the inconsistencies in it or the lack of finer details.

Often, idiot plots can be easily corrected by adding a bit of backstory or some form of explanation. This gives your readers an acceptable reason for your character’s actions and the overall plot development.

Using Idiot Plots the Right Way

To summarize, overusing the idiot plot to advance your story can make for lazy writing. Rather than creating a situation that reinforces your narrative, the audience is forced away from the plot due to its implausibility.

If you do use it in advancing your narrative, make the idiocy believable by making it go along with the narrative. A character can forget details or make stupid decisions due to the trauma of their current situation. Most of all, make sure that it’s subtle enough to not be the focus of your readers.

Can you think of any examples of an idiot plot? Share it in the comments below!

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