History Main / NotUsedToFreedom

* ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'': in the early months of the anarchic post-Cataclysm Gotham City, Batman frees a group of civilians from Scarface, only to find that the people need leadership and protection to survive, and don't much care who it comes from. He is forced to become a "warlord" in his own right, even recruiting Scarface's lieutenants to act for him instead;
** When Superman tries to intervene in No Man's Land, he helps to "liberate" the city's last functioning power plant from a crime lord, but is disappointed to see local residents lining up outside the plant to pay tribute to its foreman as their new "master"; Batman confesses that it took him much longer to absorb the lesson than it did Superman;

* In a less depressing case, but affecting more people, players used to Japanese {{Role Playing Game}}s, which are by nature relatively linear, with a pre-defined order to where you go, preset characters, and a single tightly-written story, often get confused when they play Western Role Playing Games where there is normally a focus on open-world gameplay, customizable characters, and decisions that affect how the story moves forward. In other words, most Japanese [=RPGs=] are designed to tell you a story; most Western [=RPGs=] are designed for you to make your own story. This is a popular theory as to why the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games, which are the genre's epitome of choice-based gameplay, failed to catch on in Japan: The games give a lot of choices from the start, but it's interpreted instead as poorly-written challenges for you to figure out the right decision.

Related to FreedomFromChoice, HappinessInSlavery, HopeIsScary, IChooseToStay, JustGotOutOfJail, {{Manchild}}, QuicksandBox, and TheresNoPlaceLikeHome. Can be a consequence of UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome. May be a factor in a soldier going FromCamouflageToCriminal, if they turn to crime because they couldn't adjust to civilian life.

* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'': PlayedForDrama. At some point during the other heroes' retirement, Orion finally defeated and killed his monstrous father. However, when he attempted to free the enslaved population of Apokolips, the people long since broken by Darkseid's tyranny couldn't handle the concept. As such, they forced Orion to become their new dictator, and overall nothing has changed. The experience has effectively broken Orion, who refuses to help Superman and wonders if all sons are doomed to become their fathers.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', Marty's uncle "Jailbird Joey" is more comfortable as a toddler confined in his playpen; Marty tells him, "Better get used to these bars."

*** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E23IBorg I, Borg]]", the ''Enterprise'' rescues a Borg drone from a crashed ship. His first few interactions with the crew involve telling them that [[CatchPhrase they will be assimilated]], and he struggles to understand why people find this so distasteful. Even when he begins to develop an individual identity, it's all based on his life in the moment; he never indicates that he remembers who he was prior to being assimilated.[[note]]Although the [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E16QWho first appearance]] of the Borg implied that there were "home-grown" Borg, and later episodes establish that they assimilate children and even babies (whom they then stick in maturation chambers until they're old enough to be drones). It's possible that Hugh was either always a Borg or was assimilated at a young enough age not to have developed much of a personality yet.[[/note]]

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* ''FanFic/TraitorsFace'': After spending her entire childhood imprisoned in a small cage, [[spoiler:Katara]] often feels unsafe in new surroundings after being freed. [[spoiler:Bloodbending helps her to get over this fear, though.]]

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--> '''Ant''': Freedom! Horrible, horrible freedom!

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Related to FreedomFromChoice, HappinessInSlavery, HopeIsScary, {{Manchild}}, QuicksandBox, TheresNoPlaceLikeHome and JustGotOutOfJail. Can be a consequence of UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome. May be a factor in a soldier going FromCamouflageToCriminal, if they turn to crime because they couldn't adjust to civilian life.

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* ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'': The titular Violet was a former WildChild turned ChildSoldier. Her first priority when she is able to write is to ask for her commander for orders. The first attempt to rehabilitate her fails due to her rejecting her foster family and desperate pleading for any orders from her beloved Major Gilbert, so she is given a job to help her cope.

Related to FreedomFromChoice, HappinessInSlavery, HopeIsScary, {{Manchild}}, QuicksandBox, TheresNoPlaceLikeHome and JustGotOutOfJail. Can be a consequence of StockholmSyndrome. May be a factor in a soldier going FromCamouflageToCriminal, if they turn to crime because they couldn't adjust to civilian life.

* The Borg of ''Franchise/StarTrek'' expand their collective by "assimilating" people into their hive mind, effectively wiping out their individual identities. While those rescued quickly can usually recover, long-term drones separated from the collective will struggle to adapt.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E23IBorg I, Borg]]", the ''Enterprise'' rescues a Borg drone from a crashed ship. His first few interactions with the crew involve telling them that [[CatchPhrase they will be assimilated]], and he struggles to understand why people find this so distasteful. Even when he begins to develop an individual identity, it's all based on his life in the moment; he never indicates that he remembers who he was prior to being assimilated.[[note]]Although the [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E16QWho first appearance]] of the Borg implied that there were "home-grown" Borg, and later episodes establish that they assimilate children and even babies (whom they then stick in maturation chambers until they're old enough to be drones). It's possible that Hugh was either always a Borg or was assimilated at a young enough age not to have developed much of a personality yet.[[/note]]
** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E25S4E1Scorpion Season 4 premiere]], the ''Voyager'' crew encounters a Borg drone who had been human. She is not at all happy to be "liberated" from the collective. In subsequent episodes, she begins to accept herself as an individual, but she still retains elements of the Borg, as exemplified by her decision to continue using her Borg designation, Seven of Nine, rather than going back to her human name, Annika Hansen. The fact that she was assimilated as a young child and literally grew up Borg probably plays a role in this. It's later revealed that at one point, she and three other drones were cut off from the collective and their individuality began to surface, but while the others tried to reclaim their former selves, Seven was frightened by individuality, and assimilated them into a sort of mini-hive mind until they were eventually able to rejoin the collective.

* ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'': The titular Violet was a former WildChild turned ChildSoldier. Her first priority when she is able to write is to ask for her commander for orders. The first attempt to rehabilitate her fails due to her rejecting her foster family and desperate pleading for any orders from her beloved Major Gilbert that she is given a job to help her cope.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Daenerys has rendered many former slaves basically jobless when randomly crucifying a good portion of the slave masters of Meereen, and they have troubles adjusting. It's illustrated by an old man who used to be the slave teacher of his master's children. In order to be better accepted as their new ruler, Daenerys also has to comply with some local traditions the former slaves don't want to see gone such as the Great Games in fighting pits, which she intended to suppress as they were a symbol of the slave masters.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'': The qunari are a culture that puts heavy emphasis on everything in society fulfilling a purpose to its utmost. People born, trained or converted into this philosophy have absolutely no freedom or say in the matter. People who defect from the Qun are called Tal-Vashoth and are considered dangerous animals. This is mostly because their previous lives were so rigid that they [[CripplingOverspecialization never developed skills in any area other than the one they were assigned]]; an ex-qunari soldier knows how to fight ''[[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining and nothing else]]''.

-->'''Thog''': '''thog wonders how thog will cope with life outside jailhouse walls. prison changed thog.'''\\
'''Elan''': We were only in there for 40 minutes.\\
'''Thog''': '''prison changed thog quickly.'''

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'': Whenever Marlene, who was born in captivity, steps one foot outside the zoo walls she becomes a feral, mindless snarling beast that's incapable of reason.

Can be TruthInTelevision, though real life examples are often far more complex than how it's usually shown in fiction. See more on Wiki/TheOtherWiki [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_syndrome here]].

* Despite slavery being abolished in 1865, many slaves chose to stay on the plantations they worked on since they didn't know what life was like elsewhere.

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* ''Series/TheCryOfMann'': Jouglat preferred the warr, and openly regretted even coming back home; he found it too quiet and hated not having anything to do, and eventually decided to just pack his bags and leave again.

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