History Main / PretendToBeBrainwashed

* In an overlap with PretendWereDead, because they're {{Technically Living Zombie}}s, in ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy]]'' Jonathan escapes Imhotep's mind-controlled horde by shambling slowly alongside them chanting "Imhotep" until they've passed him by.

* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Roll and [[spoiler:Bass]] do this when Splash Woman tries to brainwash them. Roll does it to catch her off-guard, while [[spoiler:Bass]] hides that he ''can'' resist her powers until it's too late for her to do anything about it.

* In ''{{VideoGame/Uncharted}} 3'', Nate's ally Charlie Cutter is placed under the influence of a mind control drug by [[TheDragon Desmond Talbot]], which wears off after a short period of time. When Nate and friends run across Talbot again, a MexicanStandoff ensues and Charlie fakes still being under the drug's influence to get the drop on Talbot and his men. However, this backfires when Nate's group thinks he's ''actually'' still brainwashed, and they drop their guns to surrender because of it.

[[AC:Franchises]]
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': In ''The Truce at Bakura'', Luke manages to use the Force to free Dev from the brain-washing the Ssi-Ruuk had done to him, but he's still surrounded by them so he has to pretend he's still under their influence, forcing himself not to show any signs of nervousness, as a brainwashed person would not.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' adventure ''The Blue Lotus'', Tintin is injected with a liquid that will make him mad. Lo and behold, Tintin starts acting like a madman. The man who injected Tintin lets Tintin out of his grounds. Tintin gets away and then reveals to Snowy (who had seen Tintin acting like a madman) that he was only pretending and was in fact sane, but doesn't know why he hasn't gone mad as he was definitely injected with something. The reader then learns that the madness serum got switched with coloured water, and that was what Tintin got injected with.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits''. In the revival episode "Straight and Narrow", a young man attending a boarding school realizes that the other students are brainwashed by a chip inserted in their heads. He and one other student are immune to the mind control chip because of a drug they take for stomach ulcers. The protagonist has to pretend to comply with the demands of the institution to blend in until he can attempt escape.

Of course, during all this, it's important for the character to sufficiently act being mind controlled. Any act out of the ordinary will immediately out the character and put him/her in grave danger. In cases where the second type of MindControlDevice is involved, the character must find a way to obtain and wear one that isn't working or a replica of it.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman''. ComicBook/JimmyOlsen and Perry White's sister Kate had been captured by the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]], who gave Kate drugged tea so that she believes him when he puts paper chains on her and says they're magic iron chains. Jimmy never drank the tea, but he pretended to be brainwashed until he had an opportunity to escape (or Superman showed up).

* In an overlap with PretendWereDead, because they're {{Technically Living Zombie}}s, in ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy]]'' Jonathan escapes Imhotep's mind-controlled horde by shambling slowly alongside them until they've passed him by.

For whatever reason, a character is able to avoid being {{Brainwashed}} or {{Mind Control}}led, whether it be PsychicBlockDefense, DisabilityImmunity, or not being in a situation to be affected. However, instead of immediately making his/her escape or retaliating, he/she merely bides his/her time for an opportune moment to act. Maybe there are too many other people who are hypnotized in the vicinity that would outnumber him/her should he/she act suspiciously or there's a chance where he/she can undo the mind control while continuing the charade.

* In ''PokemonSpecial'', Dia notes the Galactic mooks with their HiveMind don't even notice him marching with them after he [[MuggedForDisguise knocks out a stray one]] and [[DressingAsTheEnemy steals his uniform.]] His cover only gets blown after he stops a moment to plan his next move...thus showing that he isn't a brainless mook like the rest of them.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' adventure ''The Blue Lotus'', Tintin is injected with a liquid that will make him mad. Lo and behold, Tintin starts acting like a madman. The man who injected Tintin lets Tintin out of his grounds. Tintin gets away and then reveals to Snowy (who had seen Tintin acting like a madman) that he was only pretending and was in fact sane, but doesn't know why he hasn't gone mad as he was definately injected with something. The reader then learns that the madness serum got switched with coloured water, and that was what Tintin got injected with.
* In ''Comicbook/TheFantasticFour'' #s 347-349, Reed Richards is brainwashed by a Skrull infiltrator pretending to be Sue, but he's only pretending in order to rescue the other three, who are being held in stasis. Skrull!Sue contacts Hulk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine & Spider-Man to become the "New" Fantastic Four, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain who end up rescuing the originals]].

-->'''Zarkov''': But do you know why it really failed? [snip] As I was going under I started to recite Shakespeare, the Talmud, the formulas of Einstein, anything I could remember, even a song from the Beatles. It armored me, girl. They couldn't wipe those things away. You can't beat the human spirit.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman''. JimmyOlsen and Perry White's sister Kate had been captured by the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]], who gave Kate drugged tea so that she believes him when he puts paper chains on her and says they're magic iron chains. Jimmy never drank the tea, but he pretended to be brainwashed until he had an opportunity to escape (or Superman showed up).

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits''. In "Straight and Narrow", a young man attending a boarding school realizes that the other students are brainwashed by a chip inserted in their heads. He and one other student are immune to the mind control chip because of a drug they take for stomach ulcers. The protagonist has to pretend to comply with the demands of the institution to blend in until he can attempt escape.

* One episode of ''Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' has Duke Igthorn use a special flute to put all of Duwnin into a trance. He also accidentally entrances most of the Gummi Bears when he plays the flute again near their lair. However, Grammi avoids the effects due to being temporarily deafened in an accident. She tries to rescue them, but then has to pretend being under the flute's influence after she's captured.

* In the second ''{{Futurama}}'' movie "The Beast with a Billion Backs", Leela pretends to be attached to the Tentacle to infiltrate a worship sermon honoring it. Her "tentacle" turns out to be a rubber hose.

* In ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', everyone uses a drug called Prozium designed to block out emotions so that there will be [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans no more violent conflict]]. Refusal to administer it is punishable by death. The hero stops taking the drug at some point but in order to maintain his cover, he has to act emotionless from then on. [Spoiler:The BigBad is doing the same]

->'''Dale Arden''': So that's why they let us escape. Klytus thought he'd wiped out your memory.
->'''Zarkov''': But do you know why it really failed? [snip] As I was going under I started to recite Shakespeare, the Talmud, the formulas of Einstein, anything I could remember, even a song from the Beatles. It armored me, girl. They couldn't wipe those things away. You can't beat the human spirit.

* An episode of ''Series/Dollhouse'' has five Actives wake up without the base programming. When they meet other Actives and see what they're like, they try to act like the others; one fails and has programming restored, but the other four are able to fake it long enough to make a getaway. [[spoiler:As it turns out, [=DeWitt=] and the others were aware that the Actives weren't normal, and had deliberately caused the event in hopes of fixing their glitchiness. All four are recovered and returned to Active duty by the end of the episode.]]

* In ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', everyone uses a drug called Prozium designed to block out emotions so that there will be [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans no more violent conflict]]. Refusal to administer it is punishable by death. The hero stops taking the drug at some point but in order to maintain his cover, he has to act emotionless from then on.