Immediate Self Contradiction
This isn't a game, you know. Alright, now these games will determine which of you has the most important qualities I'm looking for...—Rainbow Dash, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
This is for when a character says something clearly contradictory, if not completely opposite, to what they literally said right beforehand.
May sometimes happen in the context of a Hurricane of Excuses. When a contradiction seems immediate to the viewer but is not immediate in in-universe time, that would be a Gilligan Cut.
Anime and Manga
- In the dub of Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo, Bobobo explains to the wealth-obsessed villain Halekulani that there are things more important than money. Like money!
Film
- Monsters vs. Aliens:"I come in peace; you are all going to die".
- The Gene Wilder Willy Wonka movie. He had several occasions of saying something, then stopping, and exclaiming, "Strike that! Reverse it!"
- Constantine. Chas Kramer has been bugging the title character about being able to get into Papa Midnite's bar for some time.
Chas Kramer: Can you please get me into this bar, John, please? I'm begging you, John, please?
Constantine: Sure, you can get in.
Chas Kramer: I can get in?
Constantine: If you can get in.
Literature
- Peter Pan, in the book: "That's not why I was crying! And besides, I wasn't crying."
Live-Action TV
- In Doctor Who, the Doctor gives explanations for various things, only to immediately say that the explanation is wrong, since a lot of the time, he doesn't seem to have an answer or he thinks his companions need it dumbed down for them.
- In the How I Met Your Mother episode "Zoo or False" Marshall sumultaneously claims that he was and was not "mugged" by a monkey in the Central Park zoo. He was mugged by a person but he says it was a monkey in order for Lily to not want to get a gun, then feels guilty when he learns that the monkey he has accused is going to be deported.
Lily: You weren't mugged by a monkey?
Marshall: Yes, I was!
Robin: So you were mugged by a monkey.
Marshall: No, I wasn't!
- In another episode, Barney says that it's impossible for a man wearing overalls to seduce a woman. He then vows to do exactly that.
- In the British show All Creatures Great and Small, Siegfried is often guilty of telling his employees to do something, then at some point negating what he just said.
Music
- Star Trekkin by The Firm, Captain Kirk's line is "We Come in Peace Shoot To Kill."
Newspaper Comics
- In this Dilbert strip, the Pointy-Haired Boss goes right from an optimistic forecast of company profits to an explanation that the company can't afford to give out raises this year.
- The page image from Calvin and Hobbes comes from this strip.
Theater
- Willy Loman, near-continually, in Death of a Salesman.
Video Games
- The Flash game series Arise has, in the very first game, this wonderful claim left in a book for the player to read: "This is not a joke, and it's not a test. I put you in this shack to test you." Retsupurae called the authors out on this:
Slowbeef: Like right there! I mean, come on!
Diabetus: Oh man, my backspace key doesn't work, but I gotta keep writing my narrative!
- EarthBound has the Onett librarian offering you a map.
Librarian: "All of the information is there, except for the information that isn't there!"
Web Comics
- Xkcd: In Future Timeline, the predictions for the year 2090 include "global warming hits 7 degrees centigrade" and "global warming hits 4 degrees centigrade".
Western Animation
- The above quoted example from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic episode "May the Best Pet Win!".
- The Simpsons has the following from Abe Simpsons in "Curse Of The Flying Hellfish".
The fortune isn't important, boy, what's important to me is that you're safe. Now let's go get that fortune!
- Another Abe example from "Simpson Tide":
My Homer is not a Communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a Communist, but he is not a porn star!
- From a PSA in "Lisa the Vegetarian":
Jimmy: Mr. McClure? I have a crazy friend who says its wrong to eat meat. Is he crazy?
Troy McClure: (laughs) No, Jimmy, just ignorant. You see, your crazy friend hasn't heard of the food chain.
- From Futurama, Professor Farnsworth continually does this. Eg: "You're going to be going on a highly controversial mission!"
Fry: Controversial?
Farnsworth: Oh my, no!
- Another Futurama example, from "The Duh-Vinci Code":
Morbo: Are you ready to play?
Fry: I didn't come here to play, I came to win. Now let's play.
Real Life
- Supposed actual court testimony that's floated around for a good while:
Lawyer: You can't lift your arm any longer due to the injury, correct?
Defendant (suing his company for a job-related injury): Yes.
Lawyer: How high can you raise your arm right now?
(Defendant, wincing, raises his arm to shoulder level.)
Lawyer: And how high could you raise your arm before the accident?
Defendant: (eagerly raising his arm above his head) This high!
Judge: Case dismissed.