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I was wondering whether there is a name for the phenomenon or style where characters don't realize something obvious.

This is a style that if often employed in a lot of series, novels, and movies, often (but not always) for a humorous effect. For example South Park does this a lot (people don't recognize sarcasm when people talk about 'sarcastaball', or get a sunstroke when they think they are getting hypthermia), but it is also employed more subtly in a lot of other series (there are, for example, weird names in Harry Potter, but the characters rarely or never seem to notice this).

Ruben
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    Ebert used to write about the "idiot plot," "any plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots." – Casey Aug 14 '16 at 21:40
  • "Tedious" is a term I'm often inclined to use. While the technique can be used to good effect, it is all too often substituted for plot. – Hot Licks Aug 15 '16 at 00:30

2 Answers2

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I think you've at least partially described Dramatic Irony.

Irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters.

The audience is aware of something that a character is oblivious to. This is used for drama as well as humour. If this is not quite specific enough, then already mentioned is the prospect of the idiot plot, which is described as "any plot containing problems that would instantly be resolved if all of the characters were not idiots."

Also, whilst looking at an article on elements of satire, I found the heading Potential Problems with Satire, with this warning -

Misunderstanding: Audience may think the satirist is being serious.

In your question description, you mention South Park and deliberate sarcasm (aka verbal irony, an aspect of satire) being misinterpreted for a humorous effect. Perhaps a makeshift label ought to be 'Extreme Misunderstanding,' or something of the sort, if you truly feel that 'dramatic irony' is too general.

For one last consideration regarding your Harry Potter example, I refer everyone to the adjacent comment, which accurately describes two literary effects dealing with character names.

Dictionary.com

user191160
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    TVTropes – Jan Tojnar Aug 14 '16 at 16:31
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    @JanTojnar linking to TVTropes for "dramatic irony"? Thanks, there goes 5 hours of my life. :P – BruceWayne Aug 14 '16 at 17:32
  • Hm, now I think of it again, I do think there is a slight difference in nature between the examples I've given, and dramatic irony. In the examples I gave, there is a blatantly obvious, but not necessarily dramatic, fact, that most characters miss. If no better answer pops up, I'll accept your answer again. – Ruben Aug 14 '16 at 21:41
  • See if this helps: https://quizlet.com/4709324/different-types-of-satire-flash-cards/ – user191160 Aug 14 '16 at 22:06
  • I am aware of the notion of irony (I find it hard to describe, but it is usually used when there is something that has the opposite effect or represents the opposite idea of what is intended), but I don't think it fits my description and examples very well. The special case of 'dramatic irony' fits quite well. I was hoping there was a more accurate word, but apparently there isn't. I think your answer would be slightly better if you edit it to reflect that (and maybe mention the 'idiot plot' that Casey brought up, since it is also somewhat relevant). – Ruben Aug 15 '16 at 07:40
  • Alright, I've expended a tad more effort. – user191160 Aug 15 '16 at 12:26
  • @user191160 in your "idiot plot" description I think you meant to write "... not idiots" instead of "... now idiots" – Max Williams Aug 15 '16 at 13:03
  • @user191160 I meant to accept your answer already before you edited it (and not do the 'improve your answer and I'll accept it'-thing), but I got distracted and forgot, my apologies. – Ruben Aug 17 '16 at 10:44
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As user191160 pointed out, most of you've described could broadly be categorized as dramatic irony. In a comment you added, you say "In the examples I gave, there is a blatantly obvious, but not necessarily dramatic, fact, that most characters miss." I think you might be misconstruing the sense of the word "drama" here. Dramatic irony doesn't necessarily imply the narrative is intense/emotional/etc. A more basic meaning of drama is simply something intended to be acted out, like a play.

Regarding your example of character names, you may be describing charactonyms/aptronyms. Generally speaking, it's not uncommon for characters to have distinct or conspicuous (or even "weird," as you say) names to the reader. That the characters "never seem to notice this" shouldn't necessarily be taken to have any intended literary purpose. Likewise, a name might not have any intended symbolism behind it at all. For example, a character called "Ruben" might simply be named that because the author liked the name, not to suggest the character is symbolic of a tasty, homophonous sandwich.

Dan
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    Even more damning is the fact that irony is a prominent element of satire, which South Park delivers as it's primary source of humour, seeing as they discuss topical matters. There is no word I believe that fully encapsulates the description he gave, whilst satisfying the contexts given. "Broadly" as you put it is the only way to go in such a manner that directly addresses the title. – user191160 Aug 15 '16 at 03:05
  • To comment on your answer more seriously: It is helpful, especially in combination with the other answer, but I don't think the section "That the characters ... homophonous sandwich." adds much. I was not asking for the name of the phenomenon when most of the characters don't notice something obvious, which in itself has little to do with intended symbolism or literary purpose. – Ruben Aug 17 '16 at 10:57
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    My main intention was to address the question of a device regarding character names. The rest of my answer augments the answer @user191160 gave. I was also sitting in a sandwich shop at the time and couldn't resist the bad joke. – Dan Aug 21 '16 at 15:27