The "Once Burned, Twice Shy" Syndrome (Unboxed spoilers throughout)

Cafe Society
1

You see this a lot in movies. An over-the-top spoof of it was in Team America, where

One of the guys was raped by Mister Mistopheles from Cats and forever more couldn’t trust actors.

How about Roger Rabbit, where a “toon killed my brother” and therefore the protagonist had a hard time trusting toons?

I woke up this morning thinking this, and of course even though there are hundreds of examples, of course at this moment I can’t think of any.

What are some other examples of this? Any medium is fine.

2

Joe Piscopo in Johnny Dangerously, about all sorts of people:

“Don’t hang me on a hook. My mother hung me on a hook once. Once!”

3

(Partial hijack) I think the “once bitten, twice shy” syndrome is responsible in large part for GM’s current problems. People’s memories for car problems are strong and lasting.

4

Been a while since I read it or watched any version, but isn’t this pretty much Scrooge’s problem in A Christmas Carol? He fell in love once and it didn’t work out so he became embittered.

5

Not really; his fiancee broke it off with him when it became apparent to her that he loved money more than anything else (at least in the Alastair Sim movie version). I’m not sure what Dickens had to say about it; it’s been a while since I read it last.

6

Indiana Jones and snakes?

7

Bruce Wayne having a bad experience with his first catamite probably explains his current rigidity with other heroes.