History Main / ApatheticCitizens

* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'': Tony decides to call his estranged son, whose family is shown to be sound asleep even though the world is collapsing around them.

* ''Film/{{Blade}}'': When Blade, a man in a black leather duster with a sword hilt sticking up from his collar, attacks a uniformed cop and stuffs him into his squad car, the people walking along the street mere yards away have no reaction.
* [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] and PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' when the brawl between the townspeople of Rock Ridge and Hedley Lamarr's goons, after having swept up a CampGay musical production in its wake, crashes into the Warner Brothers studio commissary. Not only do the characters eating in the commissary not flee or try to break up the fight, but they escalate the conflict by snatching up cream pies and throwing them at random people in an enormous [[FoodFight "pie fight."]] Even the unsuspecting tour group that enters the commissary and gets repeatedly pied doesn't seem to mind what's happening.

* ''Film/ChildrenOfMen''. Facing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt after no new babies are being born, most of the populace retreats into self-centered indifference. When the protagonist is snatched off the street by masked men in broad daylight, some bystanders see it happen but barely break stride, let alone call the police.

** ComicBook/TheJoker finishes off his first display of [[{{Chessmaster}} talent]] by having a school bus drive into the bank and then pull out in the middle of a a group of them, in broad daylight, on a busy street. The only reaction of the people on the street that the audience is able to notice is a bunch of kids cheering.

* Done to both funny and scary effect in ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'', when Louis is cornered by the Terror Dog outside a restaurant. Everyone ignores his pleas to be let in, then just watches as the dog drags him off before going back to their meals. Ivan Reitman really gets a laugh out of the scene on the DVD commentary, calling it "a New York moment."
** Taken to some downright {{Jerkass}} extents in the 2016 ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|2016}}'', especially in the extended addition. For example; when Erin was kicked out of the academy she worked at her boyfriend Phil completely turned his back on her; the jerk pretended she wasn't there when she came to him for comfort.

* ''Film/{{The Long Goodbye|2020}}'': The story is set in a dystopian Britain where white nationalist militias drag Britons of Pakistani ancestry out of their houses, and murder them in the street. In the film, the white people in the neighborhood simply watch from behind their windows as Riz's family is massacred. Riz's brother spots some white people watching and screams "Fucking help us!"

* Zigzagged in ''Film/{{Oldboy 2003}}''. After the hallway fight scene, Dae-su walks out onto the street covered in blood with nothing more than the occasional odd look from passersby. But when he collapses in the middle of a crosswalk, somebody ''instantly'' rushes to his aid (though justified when a short while later it's revealed he's in on the conspiracy.)

* In Literature/NineteenEightyFour, [[spoiler:O'Brien]] goes on lengths to describe how the [[WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons proletariat]] are this, they're so entrenched in BreadAndCircuses that they would never care about all the sheer misery, lies and destruction the Party is perpetuating in plain sight, thus destroying Winston's hope that "if there is hope it lies in the proles".

* Series/KamenRiderOOO has one two-parter where a guy moves into the neighbourhood and forces people to comply with some directives he comes up with (despite not possessing any evident authority to impose them) and [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou installs cameras to enforce them]]. The only characters shown objecting to him are [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything the Cous Coussier staff]].

* Lampshaded on ''Series/{{Lexx}}'':

* In the ''Series/BurnNotice'' episode ''False Flag'', Michael saves a woman from being hit by a car, but nobody else in the street even reacts.

* Played straight in ''Series/{{Scream}}'' where most of the teen population of Lakewood react to [[spoiler: Nina's]] murder with dry sarcasm or mild indifference, which can be justified as many people thought they [[AssholeVictim had it coming]]... then averted later on when [[spoiler: Riley]] is killed, causing many grief-induced breakdowns.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Space 1889}}'': Mostly averted at least with humans, this was the time of plenty of grass root movements and charity movements. In some adventures player characters are sometimes expected to intervene in matters that does not directly involve them for no reason than the goodness of their hearts. Most canal Martians are surprisingly resigned to the ineffectiveness of their rulers and the slow dying of their planet, though.

* Averted in the [[VideoGame/AnnoDomini Anno]] series. One of the best ways to see fireworks is to withhold (or not meet) your population's needs from them for an extended period of time.

* ''[[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes City of Villains]]'' often plays this straight. Civilians often ''completely ignore'' the antics of supervillains and various groups. Gameplay wise, normal civilians ''are'' invulnerable, and since [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight random superpowered public battles]] go on '''all the time''' ... by this point, it's little more than street theater for them.

** Mention goes to ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'', where you can have the god of the Pokemon universe following you around and no one seems to notice. Well, except the guys at the Ruins of Alph.
** Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''; at one point N suggests that if everybody else in Unova cared about their Pokemon half as much as you do, he wouldn't have a cause, but they don't, so [[WellIntentionedExtremist he does]]. This is averted with the Gym Leaders. Unlike the previous generations where the Gym Leaders are just as apathetic as everyone else, the Leaders from seven of the eight Unova gyms are actively involved in opposing N and Team Plasma.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', two people in the town's Pokemon Center do notice that [[spoiler: an enormous crystalline weapon has risen from the ground in the middle of Geosenge Town, destroying several houses in the process, and that Team Flare has seized control of their town.]] On the other hand, another guy in the Pokémon Center is still too busy talking about the TM he gave you earlier to notice anything unusual. But what really takes the cake is Phil the Photo Guy, as you can still call him to take your picture in the middle of all this, and he doesn't acknowledge any of what's going on. When you call him up, he just goes about his business like usual. Even after [[spoiler: the crisis is averted, nobody really does anything to fix the damage done around Geosenge's north end]], and everyone in town seems relatively unphased by the ordeal.

* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'': The world has been torn apart, an EldritchAbomination is wreaking havoc at night, and Eggman is being uncharacteristically menacing, yet the only townspeople to show appropriate concern or despair are revealed to be possessed by the aforementioned EldritchAbomination. It's a little bit creepy finding people completely aware of the grim state of the world, yet much more concerned with mundane problems. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Amy, where she asks why everyone is so laid-back during the crisis.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. Early on in the game you find yourself impeded by a large door which won't be opened without authorization from the captain of the police force, but the officer who tells you this won't just tell you where to find the captain; apparently, the best use of their time was to devise silly little KnightsAndKnaves games meant to impede people trying to save the princess. The worst part[[note]] Aside from the fact that the captain is the guy who gives you the "find the captain" mission, or, in other words, ''the guy standing right next to the door you want open''.[[/note]] is that, when you finally locate the captain, he tells you they gave you the runaround because they just really didn't feel like helping you save their beloved monarch.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', at one point, a planet appears overhead. The two planets are mere miles away from each other, and it turns the sky a bright shade of purple. However, no one seems to be upset that another world is placed so close to theirs, except for one college student, who worries that it might mess up his senior thesis.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', a similar premise takes place when the Adephagos is introduced into the world. Despite it being blatantly obvious in its eventual destruction of the world, the populace, for the most part, doesn't look like they care much. [[spoiler:However, this is changed when the guilds, Knights, and everyone else joins together to destroy blastia in the hopes of bringing change to the world.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' usually averts this, with civilians screaming and running at any sign of danger. But the last mission of ''Contracts'' hands you a blatant example- you can mug a paramedic for his clothes with a half-dozen civilians ''standing five feet away, looking directly at you''. It doesn't raise the alarm at all.
* ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'': In the Mardi Gras level, the teeming mass of partygoers choking the streets don't notice or care if 47 is running around having gun battles with cops and thugs dressed as giant birds. They don't even count as living witnesses afterwards.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/MetalWalker''. While the majority of the citizens don't have {{Mons}} to help, they know a lot of what's going on and freely share information with you, telling you where places are on the world map. In the very beginning of the game, a citizen even saves your character's life!

* In ''VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject'' the citizens are presumably so used to world ending threats that they don't really care that there's a rampaging Final Boss threatening to destroy the world, reasoning that the world's most popular hero The Unlosing Ranger will stop him. The event is even televised as a media sensation. When the Ranger dies and the torch is passed to a weak bystander who gets killed in one shot, ''they still don't care''. Reaches legendary proportions when [[spoiler:a nuke threatens to destroy Japan in 20 minutes, and nobody can stop it besides the weak bystander. Do they gain faith in him? No, surely someone else besides that loser will save them.]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'': The citizens of Kirkwall don't seem to notice or care that the city's most famous resident, a rogue wizard, the captain of the guard, and a pirate are getting into massive, bloody battles in residential neighborhoods.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] would often ignore huge battles taking place right beside them, and outside of one guy in Lothering, none of the Templars seemed to notice that Morrigan was an apostate. Although the latter is rather justified, as Ser Bryant, the leader of the Lothering Templars does point out that his ''main'' concern is the approaching Darkspawn horde and as long as they don't cause trouble, he simply has bigger fish to fry than a Mage Warden or their Apostate allies. Another reason is that Templars likely don't want to create a diplomatic incident with the Grey Wardens over arresting their allies, especially in lieu of the Blight and a side-quest in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' shows [[CurbStompBattle what happens]] when the Templars ''do'' try to take issue with the Grey Wardens hiring apostates. For the most part, the only objection the Templars have to the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Grey Wardens]] is their refusal to ban BloodMagic, seeing it as simply [[TheGlovesComeOff another tool]] to [[LetsGetDangerous use against the horde]].
* In the Japanese game ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'', the citizens notice that the stars and moon are gone out of the sky, but never notice that rolling balls of... stuff are collecting people, buildings, and land. Son, did you say there's a strange ball collecting stuff? Oh, we have to catch a plane.
* While they don't actually appear, they clearly exist in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare''. The BigBad of ''Modern Warfare 2'' gives a MotiveRant, and references the world's apathy as a reason for his DespairEventHorizon; and his goal is to get citizens to care about the risks and sacrifices the military makes.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]
* In ''Worshippers Of The Gain'' there are various bad endings where your character is put into a terrible situation, from being essentially enslaved to outright murdered, but no one in the town else seems to notice or care. Not even anyone you [[RelationshipValues befriend]] or [[RomanceSidequest become a couple with]] will lift a finger to save you. [[spoiler: This is [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] ''and'' [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]] as there is a [[SealedEvilInACan sealed]] [[BigBad deity]] nearby who is using its influence to cloud the minds of the townsfolk, specifcally to make sure they stay in town to [[ItMakesSenseInContext eat and get fatter]]. [[TheChosenOne Your character is the only one immune to this]] and when you gain max friendship with someone you can help snap them out the deity's influence to help you eventually destroy the deity.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' ChristmasEpisode, this is taken to brutal extremes when Porkchop is treated as a mad dog [[HelpMistakenForAttack due to accidentally hurting Bebe while getting her away from thin ice]] and in danger of being put to sleep. When Doug tries to get up a petition to save him, only Mr. Dink was willing to sign; everyone else refused to get involved in the mess or thought that Christmas wasn't the time to deal with such depressing things. It's not until Doug makes a stirring speech at Porkchop's trial that everyone agrees to give Porkchop a fair shake and hear his side of things.

--->'''Marine:''' Fucking New York...

** When the Maquis protested that their colonies were given to the Cardassians without their consent, rebelling against Cardassian rule, they were denounced as terrorists, rounded up and imprisoned as enemies of the state. As shown in "Non Sequitur", even ''talking'' to a known member of the Maquis and looking up certain information on a ''public'' database is enough to get someone slapped with an ankle bracelet.
** "Paradise Lost" shows one dangerous Starfleet officer trying to force Starfleet into becoming a full-blown police state in the name of Federation security, although this time, the people ''do'' notice the armed personnel on every street corner and take a stand.
** Subverted by the Organians, who ''appear'' this way to the Federation and Klingons at first, even shrugging off the threat of mass murder against their people. As it turns out however, they're really an incomprehensibly powerful race of energy beings, who were just sitting back and observing the two alien powers to see just how rotten they could be to each other.

* In the episode of ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'', "Stranger At Broken Fork", the people '''DIDN'T DO SQUAT''' as the local hooligans were forcing the mental patients out of their convalescent home to be disposed of... [[spoiler:in the middle of the desert, egged on by a low-down and evil GROCER, off all people]]! Even '''AFTER''' Steve and the local police saves the day.
* Hatred at the population of the Glades turns out to motivate the plans of the BigBad of Series/{{Arrow}}'s first season to KillThePoor: when his wife was stabbed in a mugging gone wrong, despite being both out in the open and a wealthy philanthropist who worked in the area (in fact, [[DeathByIrony she was coming home from a free clinic she founded/ran when she was stabbed]]), nobody lifted a finger to help her. With the revelation she only died because nobody even called the police during the ''hours'' she spent bleeding out, with people walking past her indifferently all that time, one can almost [[VillainHasAPoint sympathize with the big bad's views about the need to destroy such a]] WretchedHive.

* ''Film/NightRide'' is a short film involving two goons who viciously harass a trans woman on a tram. The film includes multiple shots of at least three other people in the tram compartment who do nothing, just sitting there as the harassment and threats escalate.

* In ''Film/{{Spree}}'', Nobody believes that Kurt's actually killing people, even as the attacks get increasingly violent and [[spoiler:Bobby's death is filmed.]] Regardless, they keep watching rather than call the police or report Kurt to his social media. Jessie later calls the audience out for it during her fight with Kurt.

** In the fight that makes him an in-universe MemeticBadass, he even indirectly calls a group of them out on this. Judging from their reactions, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint they didn't quite get it.]]

* The citizens of WesternAnimation/SouthPark are the the epitome of this trope. Case in point, one episode had them witnessing [[ButtMonkey Butters]] with a [[EyeScream shuriken in his eye]]... and they ignore that in favor of [[SkewedPriorities Cartman walking around nude]].
* The Bikini Bottomites from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' often behave this way in regards to the main characters. For example, in "Stuck in the Wringer", they don't bat an eye at [=SpongeBob=] getting constantly pummeled at the carnival due to Patrick's incompetence, yet they get on ''his'' case when he justifiably tells Patrick off and [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass outright tell him to his face]] he ''deserves'' to be in his wringer for it, callously sending him into a deep depression.

Expect these to be one of the everyday inhabitants of a {{Dystopia}} or CrapsackWorld, to highlight the psychological despair of the setting. Justified in these kinds of settings, since the immutability of their misery have made them experience the in-universe equivalent of TooBleakStoppedCaring. Dystopian governments also prefer ApatheticCitizens because they gave up rebelling, and might try to deliberately invoke this trope through BreadAndCircuses.

* Shows up a lot in ''Manga/{{Shiki}}'', where most of the villagers are utterly apathetic about the vampires taking over the town (they think it's an epidemic of disease, but ''still''). An epidemic is one thing, but the town having dozens of deaths, and slowly being repopulated by pale people who only work at night, you'd think they'd be at least a little suspicious. This ends up frustrating Doctor Ozaki to no end resulting in him hatching a plan to try and get the villagers to act.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' ChristmasEpisode, this is taken to brutal extremes when Porkchop is treated as a mad dog due to accidentally hurting Bebe while getting her away from thin ice and in danger of being put to sleep. When Doug tries to get up a petition to save him, only Mr. Dink was willing to sign; everyone else refused to get involved in the mess or thought that Christmas wasn't the time to deal with such depressing things. It's not until Doug makes a stirring speech at Doug's trial that everyone agrees to give Porkchop a fair shake and hear his side of things.

* The Bikini Bottomites from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' often behave this way in regards to the main characters. For example, in "Stuck in the Wringer", they don't bat an eye at [=SpongeBob=] getting constantly pummeled at the carnival due to Patrick's incompetence, yet they get on ''his'' case when he justifiably tells Patrick off and outright tell him to his face he ''deserves'' to be in his wringer for it, callously sending him into a deep depression.

* In a Transport Accident Comission (TAC) Victoria ad, the company pay homage to the Jaws franchise, analogizing how people seem to gawk at car accidents while driving on the road, but decide to do nothing about it. In this ad, a young boy is having a great day at a crowded beach while resting on a surfboard, and then cue the music and the shark. He cries for help, but though many look no one responds. It is not just the reactions of the beachgoers that is disturbing, but the fact that we do not even see (or from what we know anyway) his parents or anyone else he went to the beach with, and though we most likely knows what happens, we do not literally see the aftermath. We do see [[spoiler:a father carry his daughter over where the shark attacked the boy circulating around in his blood]], but obviously, no one objects to that. It does not help matters the SoundtrackDissonance that is played throughout this commercial, though it does ease the mood a bit, the disturbing aspects are still obviously there. The incident in this advertisement is plausible, frighteningly, though not likely to occur, but the NightmareFuel, NauseaFuel, and ParanoiaFuel tropes that play in this brief commercial all come into play.

* In ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'', the entire Uchiha clan is killed in a single night and nobody but Sasuke (the sole survivor) seem to care at all. It's true that the Uchiha clan weren't on great relations with the rest of the village [[spoiler:and were in fact planning a coup]], but wouldn't somebody at least ThinkOfTheChildren You'd think the Uchiha clan would have at least ''some friends'' outside the family that would be devastated by this. Even if we assume people simply didn't care about them, this is still a ludicrous scenario. There is a mass murderer who can kill an entire clan on the loose and as far as they know, he could come back and come after ''them too''. The Uchiha clan was at least one of the founding members of Konoha and were killed in a single night. What made the other clans think they could do any better? [[spoiler:Of course, there's the fact Itachi was ''ordered'' to do this by the village leaders in secret, was always still loyal to the village, and he was actually just one of two perpetrators of the act, so there are hints there was quite a government cover up at work about this.]]

* ''Fanfic/PurpleDays'': Joffrey is the only one to call for a Maester when he poisons Tyrion at his wedding, meaning that his entire family (besides Jaime, who ran to his side), multiple noble houses, and the citizenry present did nothing but watch as a member of the royal family died right in front of them.

* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'': Tony decides to call his estranged son, whose family is shown to be sound asleep even though the world is literally collapsing around them.

* [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] and PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' when the brawl between the townspeople of Rock Ridge and Hedley Lamarr's goons, after having swept up a CampGay musical production in its wake, literally crashes into the Warner Brothers studio commissary. Not only do the characters eating in the commissary not flee or try to break up the fight, but they escalate the conflict by snatching up cream pies and throwing them at random people in an enormous [[FoodFight "pie fight."]] Even the unsuspecting tour group that enters the commissary and gets repeatedly pied doesn't seem to mind what's happening.

** Taken to some downright {{Jerkass}} extents in the 2016 ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|2016}}'', especially in the extended addition. For example; when Erin was kicked out of the academy she worked at her boyfriend Phil completely turned his back on her, literally; the jerk pretended she wasn't there when she came to him for comfort.

** Another example from the same film, though probably not from malice; it does depend on the perspective, the infamous Christmas pageant scene. As Kevin sings his solo, unbeknownst to him, Buzz decides to humiliate him, doing things such as giving him "bunny ears" with two electric candles, and pretending to beat on his head like a drum swinging the candles around like drumsticks. This invokes nearly the entire audience to erupt in laughter. It is questionable why an audience mostly full of adults and older students think it is entirely acceptable to laugh at a child being treated as if he was an idiot, either they think what Buzz is doing is downright hilarious and is just goofing around with a harmless prank, or they are doing it for the intentions of demeaning Kevin, difficult to say when we see it from his perspective alone, but it is quite possible, since we are seeing it from his perspective, it is probably coming off much harsher than it actually was. Either way, it is quite sadistic that this would happen in a school performance let alone to a kid. Apparently, everyone was just too polite to violate the (ostensibly) formal atmosphere of the Christmas pageant. Kevin did get everyone to shut up though when he decided to shove Buzz causing him and the rest of the choir to fall over, as well as the set and the pianist, but of course, he had to be called on that.

* Some politicians attempt ''enforce'' this trope in the Literature/{{Newsflesh}} Trilogy, and even without laws, its probably a good way to stay alive. You see, in this world, ''anyone'' dying can, within minutes, zombify. Thus quite a few people (and laws) are concerned that attempts to help people killed in car-crashes or heart-attacks will just lead to further outbreaks.

* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the entire Federation can act like this at times. We never get any indication that the citizens have any problem with Starfleet seeking out new life and new civilizations and occasionally (often by total accident) ''pissing them off''. With how often Trek villains state their end goal is to destroy the Federation (Earth in particular), you'd think there would be ''some'' opposition from the people on Federation worlds that will be razed due to Starfleet's actions? Do the people have any say in things?

* ''Series/SexAndTheCity'': Carrie is mugged. She walks into a salon and shrieks "I've been robbed!" In true New York City style, everyone present basically shrugs and goes right back to what they were doing.

** In [[Literature/BooksOfKings 1st Kings]], Elijah the prophet deals with the religious apathy of the people of the northern kingdom of Israel during King Ahab's reign, telling them, "How long will you stay between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him." (1st Kings 18:21) He then proceeds with the contest between the prophets of Baal and himself to show which one among the two is truly God.

* {{UsefulNotes/Epicureanism}} and Stoicism have sometimes been accused of embodying this trope in their teaching. However, while Epicureanism teaches that one should strive for tranquility, and the Stoics too, both philosophies using the word "apathaia" for this from which we get "apathy", neither meant what we now mean by the word. They had different doctrines regarding "tranquility", but in both cases they didn't mean one should not care ''at all'' for others. Rather, for Epicureans one should not ''seek out'' conflict and adversity, trying to live peacefully with people (or if that wasn't possible, getting away from them or fighting back if attacked). The Stoics are notorious as preaching indifference, but that also isn't the whole story. It's true they did teach we should not let passions rule, but that didn't mean moral concern toward others wasn't good-on the contrary, they said one should act on this. However, they recognized that no matter what, people will face hardship, and said we can control its effects on us (thus maintaining "tranquility" rather than giving in to emotion), not indifference for others' hardships entirely.

* In ''Theatre/{{Lizzie}}'', it is disturbingly implied that the townspeople know, or at least suspect, that Lizzie's father [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade is abusing her]]... and yet, ''no one'' has tried to help her. No calls to the police, no attempts at helping her escape, not one person even asking her if she's alright. And it's more than just one-sided; Lizzie doesn't even consider asking anyone for help, either, perhaps out of fear that she won't be believed or taken seriously. The play is set in 1892, but it should be noted that sexual assault and domestic abuse would have raised an eyebrow even then.

** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Emerald]]'': [[spoiler:the weather's gone to hell, two ancient titans are intent on destroying one another, Hoenn and ''possibly the entire world'' are in jeopardy...]] and that kid in Mossdeep is still rambling on about the rock Steven gave him. Now evacuate before [[spoiler:your island floods.]] It gets worse when you're trying to solve the issue present in the Hoenn games, and trainers ''in the general area'' of the disaster will challenge you to a battle, despite the blistering heat or deluge of rain.

** Mention goes to ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'', where you can have the god of the entire Pokemon universe following you around and no one seems to notice. Well, except the guys at the Ruins of Alph.

* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'': The entire world has been torn apart, an EldritchAbomination is wreaking havoc at night, and Eggman is being uncharacteristically menacing, yet the only townspeople to show appropriate concern or despair are revealed to be possessed by the aforementioned EldritchAbomination. It's a little bit creepy finding people completely aware of the grim state of the world, yet much more concerned with mundane problems. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Amy, where she asks why everyone is so laid-back during the crisis.

* In ''VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject'' the citizens are presumably so used to world ending threats that they don't really care that there's a rampaging Final Boss threatening to destroy the entire world, reasoning that the world's most popular hero The Unlosing Ranger will stop him. The event is even televised as a media sensation. When the Ranger dies and the torch is passed to a weak bystander who gets killed in one shot, ''they still don't care''. Reaches legendary proportions when [[spoiler:a nuke threatens to destroy Japan in 20 minutes, and nobody can stop it besides the weak bystander. Do they gain faith in him? No, surely someone else besides that loser will save them.]]

* In ''WebComic/SecondEmpire'', Xenol has found that the rulers of Dalek society have begun implementing a series of "efficiency" measures such as effectively slaving the Dalek Empire to their computers and stopping assigning names in favor of strings of alphanumeric code, among other measures he sees as polluting the Dalek legacy. He arranges for a break-in into Skaro in a daring mission to kill the Emperor, and even when that fails, he has inflicted massive damage to the Dalek capital and considerably thinned the city guard. He leaves Skaro, fully confident the citizenry will see his acts and begin asking questions and weakening the Emperor's rule. Cue the [[KentBrockmanNews Skaro's Largest Kwalorblmn Fruit report]] next day.

* ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'': During part 3, [[spoiler:the entire conspiracy of the cannibalistic thistle men, their fake war with Bay and Creek, and how the US government is supporting them both gets expose to the public]] and life goes on like nothing has happened with none of the expected shock and outrage. There is barely any mention of it in the news and one guy just says he isn't into politics when asked about it. The protagonists think they have lost until they figure out that they need to gather people together to do something about it.

** The case of toddler Wang Yue provided a chilling example of this that sparked sheer outrage: she had wandered from home and was infamously run over ''twice'' in a Chinese street -- and ignored by at least 18 citizens who continued to walk past as if nothing happened -- before somebody finally stopped to help. The entire event was caught by a surveillance camera and, for those of you who end up looking it up, be warned it is extremely graphic.

* A fire alarm going off in a public building, like a school or a hotel, is often met with mild agitation and a very slow meander out of the danger zone, and even that's usually after a few minutes of chatting up the people around you to confirm why the alarm is going off. This is likely a result of either a lack of preparedness (most people don't have a fire plan for any building that's not their own home) or desensitization from fire drills at school or work. The effect actually can be had from any alarm that tends to [[CryingWolf go off too frequently for other, non-drill causes]] and in some areas there is an effort to actively avert this by improving the accuracy when it comes to sounding the alarm.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' ChristmasEpisode, this is taken to brutal extremes when Porchop is treated as a mad dog due to accidentally hurting Bebe while getting her away from thin ice and in danger of being put to sleep. When Doug tries to get up a petition to save him, only Mr. Dink was willing to sign; everyone else refused to get involved in the mess or thought that Christmas wasn't the time to deal with such depressing things. It's not until Doug makes a stirring speech at Doug's trial that everyone agrees to give Porchop a fair shake and hear his side of things.

* In ''Theatre/{{Lizzie}}'', it is disturbingly implied that the townspeople know, or at least suspect, that Lizzie's father [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade is abusing her]]... and yet, ''no one'' has tried to help her. No calls to the police, no attempts at helping her escape, not one person even asking her if she's alright, perhaps out of fear that she won't be believed or taken seriously. And it's more than just one-sided; Lizzie doesn't even consider asking anyone for help, either. It should be noted that sexual assault would have raised an eyebrow even in the Victorian era.

** Hardly anyone reacts to Harry and Marv chasing Kevin through the streets.
** Another example from the same film, though probably not from malice; it does depend on the perspective, the infamous Christmas pageant scene. As Kevin sings his solo, unbeknownst to him, Buzz decides to humiliate him, doing things such as giving him "bunny ears" with two electric candles, and pretending to beat on his head like a drum swinging the candles around like drumsticks. This invokes nearly the entire audience to erupt in laughter. It is questionable why an audience mostly full of adults and older students think it is entirely acceptable to laugh at a child being treated as if he was an idiot, either they think what Buzz is doing is downright hilarious and is just goofing around with a harmless prank, or they are doing it for the intentions of demeaning Kevin, difficult to say when we see it from his perspective alone, but it is quite possible, since we are seeing it from his perspective, it is probably coming off much harsher than it actually was. Either way, it is quite sadistic that this would happen in a school performance let alone to a kid. Apparently, everyone was just too polite to violate the (ostensibly) formal atmosphere of the Christmas pageant. Kevin did get everyone to shut up though when he decided to shove Buzz causing him and the rest of the choir to fall over, but of course, he had to be called on that.

* In a Transport Accident Comission (TAC) Victoria ad, the company pay homage to ''Film/Jaws'', analogizing how people seem to gawk at car accidents while driving on the road, but decide to do nothing about it. In this ad, a young boy is having a great day at a crowded beach while resting on a surfboard, and then cue the music and the shark. He cries for help, but though many look no one responds. It is not just the reactions of the beachgoers that is disturbing, but the fact that we do not even see (or from what we know anyway) his parents or anyone else he went to the beach with, and though we most likely knows what happens, we do not literally see the aftermath. We do see [[spoiler:a father carry his daughter over where the shark attacked the boy circulating around in his blood]], but obviously, no one objects to that. It does not help matters the SoundtrackDissonance that is played throughout this commercial, though it does ease the mood a bit, the disturbing aspects are still obviously there. The incident in this advertisement is plausible, frighteningly, though not likely to occur, but the NightmareFuel, NauseaFuel, and ParanoiaFuel tropes that play in this brief commercial all come into play.

* In a Transport Accident Comission (TAC) Victoria ad, the company pay homage to [[film/Jaws]], analogizing how people seem to gawk at car accidents while driving on the road, but decide to do nothing about it. In this ad, a young boy is having a great day at a crowded beach while resting on a surfboard, and then cue the music and the shark. He cries for help, but though many look no one responds. It is not just the reactions of the beachgoers that is disturbing, but the fact that we do not even see (or from what we know anyway) his parents or anyone else he went to the beach with, and though we most likely knows what happens, we do not literally see the aftermath. We do see [[spoiler:a father carry his daughter over where the shark attacked the boy circulating around in his blood]], but obviously, no one objects to that. It does not help matters the SoundtrackDissonance that is played throughout this commercial, though it does ease the mood a bit, the disturbing aspects are still obviously there. The incident in this advertisement is plausible, frighteningly, though not likely to occur, but the NightmareFuel, NauseaFuel, and ParanoiaFuel tropes that play in this brief commercial all come into play.

* [[http://www.tvspots.tv/video/31149/ This TAC ad.]] On a sunny day at a crowded beach, a shark (not visible) attacks a charming friendly young boy, but [[spoiler:though people stare, no one does anything.]] The ad is to compare how apathetic people can be as they pass by vehicle accidents, they look, but do not act. Here, they look, but go about their business. What makes this ad more disturbing is not only the reactions of the people, and the fact that this is happening to a young boy, but we do not even see his parents, and the end, [[spoiler:a father carries his daughter over where the death occurs and moves her around the blood of the boy.]] None of the bystanders laugh or seem pleased about the situation, but it is curious at the least all of the reactions we see from everyone including the boy himself, so much reactions in one minute ad. Bystander syndrome is scary enough in real life, but this is exaggerated despite its horrific realism. Because all these things, this ad could swerve over to the category of being NightmareFuel, NauseaFuel, and ParanoiaFuel. If you want to see the ad, then take caution. It might be mildly disturbing, the SoundtrackDissonance does ease the mood at least, but the disturbing aspects are still there.

** Another example from the same film, perhaps a much lesser example, since it does depend on the perspective; the infamous Christmas pageant scene. Buzz humiliates Kevin, unbeknownst to Kevin, causing almost the entire audience to erupt in laughter. Either they think Buzz is just doing something funny and is just doing a harmless prank, or are personally demeaning Kevin. It is most likely the former, since we are seeing it from his perspective, and it probably strikes as being much harsher than it in fact was, but either way, it seems pretty sadistic that this would occur in a school performance especially to a kid. Apparently, everyone was just too polite to violate the (ostensibly) formal atmosphere of the Christmas pageant.

* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'': Murray Fetterman gets attacked by a [[MixAndMatchCritters Bat-Gremlin]] (some AppliedPhlebotinum was used to let it survive daylight) in the middle of a busy street. A few people stop to watch, but that's about it.

** Another example from the same film; the infamous Christmas pageant scene. Buzz humiliates Kevin, unbeknownst to Kevin, causing almost the entire audience to erupt in laughter. Either they think Buzz is just doing something funny, or are personally demeaning Kevin, but either way, it seems pretty sadistic that this would occur in a school performance. Apparently, everyone was just too polite to violate the (ostensibly) formal atmosphere of the Christmas pageant.

See also BystanderSyndrome, ItCantBeHelped, UnusuallyUninterestingSight, SuicidalPacifism, AdamSmithHatesYourGuts, ConditionedToAcceptHorror, as well as the Just For Fun page JustForFun/DyingLikeAnimals. If their apathy crosses the line into antagonism, see UngratefulTownsfolk.

* In Sinclair Lewis' ''Literature/ItCantHappenHere'', the citizens who did not take seriously Windrip's rise to power qualify as this. Emma Jessop is a recurring example, as she's more concerned about mundane matters that the rise of fascism in America, much to Doremus' chargrin.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'':
** There are many cases, especially the rulers of the cities and the empire. At the climax of the main story, there is a demonic invasion about to occur outside one of the most important imperial cities. If the battle and the city are lost, the empire will fall as the demons would have a clean march to the heart of the empire. So your character goes around trying to muster support for the coming invasion. If you do everything perfectly (taking over an hour per city), you'll be assisted by...14 standard city guards. Not 14 guards per city. 14 guards total. To top things off, the capital of the empire can't send any troops at all because: "They are too busy protecting the borders". Priorities seem skewed...
** During the main part of the game there are [[{{Hellgate}} Oblivion Gates]] open all over the land, constantly pouring demons out of them, and no one outside of the main quest line seems overly concerned about that.
** [[ArtificialStupidity Wonky AI]] also contributes to this and zigzags it. Plenty of videos have sprung up of people committing flagrant crimes in front of guards and citizens, who yell at them but can't be bothered to get up out of their chair to actually do something about it. On the other hand, it's equally common to see the populace of Cyrodiil [[DisproportionateRetribution drastically overreact to minor crimes]], leading the theft of an onion to balloon out into a full-on riot, leaving a dozen dead.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': Most people seem concerned about the impending draconic apocalypse, but they just go about their normal business since they know there's nothing they can do about it. But if someone dies in front of them, chances are they'll just say "Oh. What happened?", knowing full well that the culprit is right behind them with a weapon covered in blood. Ans sometimes, after the town your visiting is attacked by a ''freaking dragon'', the citizens react to the aftermath like it was a normal day in the neighborhood.