History Main / IndividualityIsIllegal

See also AssimilationPlot, where individuality isn't just illegal, it's ''physically impossible''. See also TheEvilsOfFreeWill, where this is also illegal, or at least someone [[ThereShouldBeALaw wishes it was]], but not really a problem thanks to MindControl and MassHypnosis. AllOfTheOtherReindeer is also somewhat related to this trope, and also the "Aliens as Communists" section of ScaryDogmaticAliens. If individuality is frowned upon instead of being illegal, see LonersAreFreaks. Compare AgainstTheGrain, which is the act of going against expected roles.

* The Auditors of the Literature/{{Discworld}} are creatures of pure law and order, who loathe individuality so much that any Auditor who uses the personal pronoun "I" tends to spontaneously vanish, to be replaced by another, identical Auditor. In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', a number of Auditors take human form, and their excursion to the Discworld ends in chaos and bloodshed, with the only survivor driven hopelessly insane[[note]]at least by Auditor standards. For humans, she's a bit of a SenseFreak, but otherwise a rather nice, if [[BlankSlate inexperienced]], woman[[/note]]. and [[spoiler:[[SenseFreak committing suicide in a vat of chocolate]]]].

** ''Franchise/StarCraft'':

* The Zerg of ''Franchise/StarCraft'' zigzag this. The vast majority of Zerg are non-intelligent animals, acting as one and guided by higher intelligences. However, the "controllers" of the Zerg (Cerebrates, Brood Mothers, Kerrigan, etc.) all possess some amount of individuality and opinion, though most of them lack true free will and are subservient to the Overmind. This doesn't stop one of the Cerebrates from questioning the Overmind in the first game on its decision to leave Kerrigan most of her free will, thinking that was unwise. The Overmind reassures the Cerebrate that while she does retain some individuality, she cannot disobey its orders.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]" centered on a world where once every person comes of age, they are forcibly given plastic surgery and a personality change to make them beautiful and identical to everyone else. The protagonist is a slightly plain-faced girl who desperately wants to be herself.

* The Zerg of ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' zigzag this. The vast majority of Zerg are non-intelligent animals, acting as one and guided by higher intelligences. However, the "controllers" of the Zerg (Cerebrates, Brood Mothers, Kerrigan, etc) all possess some amount of individuality and opinion, though most of them lack true free will and are subservient to the Overmind. This doesn't stop one of the Cerebrates from questioning the Overmind in the first game on its decision to leave Kerrigan most of her free will, thinking that was unwise. The Overmind reassures the Cerebrate that while she does retain some individuality, she cannot disobey its orders.

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In the ''ComicBook/AtariForce'' second series, Morphea the Canopean was raised in a society where even desiring individual needs among a collective is forbidden and subject to punishment by the Hive Mother.

* In ''VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks'', this is enforced by the residents of Sunny Town by accident. [[spoiler:They have mistaken cutie marks for a curse, and will kill any pony who discovers their talent and gains such a mark.]]
* ''Fanfic/AllMixedUp'': Oprah runs Precinct 13579 under this mindset, as it's one that many Directors before her have carried for years. As Odd Squad's main focus and primary expertise is mathematics, agents are conditioned to have, at the very least, a basic understanding of it and basic skills in it. If they are skilled in another subject and have that as their area of expertise, then they must conform to loving mathematics like everyone else. Failure to conform may result in a few harsh scoldings, while actively fighting back may result in getting fired from Odd Squad. Mariana Mag, the story's BigBad, is an example of this in action, and it's why she has a [[ItsPersonal personal]] grudge against Oprah.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse'', the Breen are allowed to be individuals, but not ''too'' individual. They have an egalitarian multi-species society based on masking species so there is no possibility of prejudice or favoritism based on it. This inevitably means hiding other aspects of themselves as well, so as not to give cues as to what their [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is.
* Creator/HarlanEllison's short story ''Literature/RepentHarlequinSaidTheTicktockman'' is about one man's struggle against a dystopian society in which everything is done on an [[ClocksOfControl extremely precise timetable]].
* In the ''Franchise/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/{{Planeswalker}}'', Phyrexian newts are physically identical, have [[YouAreNumberSix temporary numerical designators instead of names]], and are treated as interchangeable and expendable. Then Xantcha, the protagonist, meets another newt which thinks of itself as Xantcha. Each has become attached to that appellation, so they alter their appearances to distinguish themselves from one another. This mild act of rebellion horrifies the other newts, since only priests are permitted to modify a newt, and from that point onward Xantcha is treated like a freak and an outcast.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Tau's Greater Good philosophy doesn't ''quite'' extend this far: the Tau recognize the usefulness of individuality, but everything they do needs to be for the good of all instead of just the individual (and it's hinted this may be enforced via pheromones or mind-control helmets).

* In ''VideoGame/FateExtellaLink'', Karl intends to impose this on all of SE.RA.PH out of disgust for humanity's inability to unite under one banner and continual desire to kill each other over differences in doctrine. He plans to enforce this through his AssimilationPlot, in which he will control everyone through his vision of peace. [[spoiler:But ultimately, Karl's greatest wish is to live as himself, uninhibited by the flights of fancy of his counterpart, Charlie.]]
* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' ExpandedUniverse reveals that there are only two types of beings in the [[BeePeople Yanme'e/Drone]] hierarchy that have much of anything in terms of individuality outside of their loyalty to their hives. The first are the queens themselves, who are the ultimate authorities in question. The other are "Unmutuals", male Drones that have personality disorders akin to psychopathy that cause them to act out and murder their fellows (including eggs) without remorse. Unmutuals are so common that it's common practice to ship them off ''en masse'' to be enslaved in penal colonies.
* A recurring and common trait in the movie Labyrinths of ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'' is that individuals that acted differently from the other inhabitants in the movies are considered villains and will be rightfully destroyed in some way. In reality, [[spoiler:the movies represent Hikari's mindset, since she believes that having any sort of individuality is what got her into being constantly abused emotionally in her childhood and made her into the depressed mess she was at the start of the game in the first place.]]

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', iconically.

* Played for laughs with the motivational posters in ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants''.

* Creator/HarlanEllison's short story "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" is about one man's struggle against a dystopian society in which everything is done on an [[ClocksOfControl extremely precise timetable]].

* The Auditors of the Literature/{{Discworld}} are creatures of pure law and order, who loathe individuality so much that any Auditor who uses the personal pronoun "I" tends to spontaneously vanish, to be replaced by another, identical Auditor. In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', a number of Auditors take human form, and their excursion to the Discworld ends in chaos and bloodshed, with the only survivor driven hopelessly insane[[note: at least by Auditor standards. For humans, she's a bit of a SenseFreak, but otherwise a rather nice, if [[BlankSlate inexperienced]], woman[[/note]]. and [[spoiler:[[SenseFreak committing suicide in a vat of chocolate]]]].

* The Auditors of the Literature/{{Discworld}} are creatures of pure law and order, who loathe individuality so much that any Auditor who uses the personal pronoun "I" tends to spontaneously vanish, to be replaced by another, identical Auditor. In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', a number of Auditors take human form, and their excursion to the Discworld ends in chaos and bloodshed, with the only survivor driven hopelessly insane and [[spoiler:[[SenseFreak committing suicide in a vat of chocolate]]]].
** Mind you, the rogue Auditor is hopelessly insane ''by Auditor standards''. For [[PunyHumans humans]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], and [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies zombies]], she's a bit of a SenseFreak, but otherwise a rather nice, if [[BlankSlate inexperienced]], woman.

* In the game ''[[https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev_265.phtml Zero]]'', the {{PC}}'s are former members of the Equanimity, an underground hive mind revolving around Queen Zero. They must escape from their now-hostile former comrades.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}: Black Plague'' a failed attempt to assimilate you into the HiveMind results in one of the members being stuck in your head. "Clarence" hates it so much that will try to lead you to your death in order to die with you or reintegrate. When you [[spoiler: finally manage to transfer him into another body, he is quickly destroyed by other members of the HiveMind as he's become too unique during the time he spent inside you.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* A variation in ''Film/{{Rollerball}}''. Rollerball player Jonathan E refuses to retire, so is targeted for death by the {{megacorp}}orations that run the game. During a meeting of executives, we discover the reason for this DisproportionateRetribution--the purpose of Rollerball is to demonstrate the futility of individual effort.

* A variation in ''Film/{{Rollerball}}''. Rollerball player Jonathan E refuses to retire, so is targeted for death by the {{megacorp}}orations that run the game. During a meeting of executives, we discover the reason for this DisproportionateRetribution, as it's revealed that the purpose of Rollerball is to demonstrate the futility of individual effort.

* Downplayed in ''Film/{{Rollerball}}''. Rollerball player Jonathan E refuses to retire, so is targeted for death by the megacorporations that run the game. During a meeting of executives, it's mentioned that the secret purpose of Rollerball is to demonstrate the futility of individual effort.

->''In suspended animation my childhood passed me by''
->''If I speak without emotion, you'll know the reason why''
->''Now I'm to begin a life that I'm assigned''
->''A life that's been lived before a thousand times''

# The society is destroyed, since the structure itself is so finely balanced that the introduction of a different element into it proves catastrophic. This can lead to chaos or genocide. (Then again, it can also lead to a great awakening where other members discover their ''own'' individuality and it turns out that life is better that way. But naturally the collectivized version of society didn't really see that in advance.)

* The premise of ''Anime/DeadLeaves'' is this. People who show signs of individuality who don't conform with society are considered to be mutants and sent to a prison on the moon. Most of the prisoners are also literal mutants.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, this is played straight with the geth, then subverted. Thanks to [[HandWave something related to helping fix another extra-galactic malfunctioning AI]] some geth begin to exhibit individualism, culiminating in an amicable faction split between the Consensus geth and the new "nar tasi" ("children of no one") group that operate as individuals (though still being collections of runtimes--they won't reassociate with other runtimes outside their group the way "normal" geth do).

* ''Film/Zombies2018'': The community of Seabrook is a complete offender of this trope, having an extremely "perfect" community of having the same house design, car models, and all the clothing and toiletry colors there are limited to pastel pink and blue (sometimes green); absolutely ''no one'' living there can be different. Addison is the odd one out in the community due to having natural born white hair which she hides under a blonde wig; when she took it off to stand up for Zed and the zombies, she was resented.

** Of note is ''why'' Auditors spontaneously vanish if they develop an individual identity: they decided that since any individual existence inevitably ends after a length of time and any length of time is miniscule compared to the age of the universe, [[InsaneTrollLogic they will immediately disappear if they develop their own identities]]. This being [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the Discworld,]] Auditors who realise they've developed an identity promptly do just that before they have time to figure out their logical mistake.

* This is how the ants are portrayed in ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' by T.H. White, when Merlin takes Wart into an anthill.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]" centered on a world where once every person comes of age, they are forcibly given plastic surgery and a personality change to make them beautiful and identical to everyone else. The protagonist is a slightly plain faced girl who desperately wants to be herself.

[[folder:Religion]]
* Various scriptures of ''Literature/TheBible'' strongly condemns humanity "following their own heart" instead of obeying God's laws.
** [[Literature/BookOfProverbs Proverbs 3:5-6]] is a common verse which one must always trust in God and avoid thinking for themselves:
-->''"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."''
[[/folder]]

** Legion (your geth team mate) is outright ''terrified'' by the idea of the geth becoming individualistic when you try to claim it's a good thing.

* A recurring and common trait in the movie Labyrinths of ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'' is individuals that acted differently from the other inhabitants in the movies are considered villains and will be rightfully destroyed via some way. In reality, [[spoiler:the movies represent Hikari's mindset, since she believes that having any sort of individuality is what got her into being constantly abused emotionally in her childhood and made her into the depressed mess she was at the start of the game in the first place.]]

** The pixies are an entire race who believe this, and are trying to force it on Fairy World and Earth. When they succeed in ''WesternAnimation/SchoolsOutTheMusical'', they chain down [[ButtMonkey Binky]] when he tries to fly.

* This is Starlight Glimmer's viewpoint in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Believing that friendship is impossible if everypony has different opinions or are more skilled in areas than others, she removes the Cutie Marks of a town's population, stripping them of both the symbols representing their talents and the talents themselves, so that they would all be equal. Whenever someone dares object to her vision, she [[{{Room 101}} stuffs them in a tiny room]] to be reconditioned via listening to hours upon hours of droning about the "evils" of individuality. [[spoiler:Once the Mane Six expose that [[{{Hypocrite}} she still has her old Cutie Mark]], her so-called utopian society crumbles.]]

** The pixies are an entire race who believe this, and are trying to force it on Fairy World and Earth. When they succeed in ''WesternAnimation/SchoolsOutTheMusical'', they chain down [[ButtMonkey Binky]] when he trys to fly.