Line #76 Main/FreedomFromChoice


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6	->''Do not be a clockwork orange,\
7	Freedom has a lovely voice.\
8	Here is good, and there is evil,\
9	Look on both, then make your choice.\
10	Sweet in juice and hue and aroma,\
11	Let's not be changed to fruit machines.\
12	Choice is free but seldom easy,\
13	That's what human freedom means.''
14	-->-- ''Literature/AClockworkOrange''
15
16	In our modern society, people are supposed to have "freedom of choice" and be happy about it. Ironically, however, this sometimes make people feel anxious, uncertain and trapped in being forced to make choices. This makes them resent the constant choice-making, sometimes even giving it up if given an excuse: RealLife can feel like a QuicksandBox. May or may not lead the character to become PropertyOfLove, or even enjoy HappinessInSlavery, finding someone else to run their life for them. Similarly, some persons too much used to have restriction might be NotUsedToFreedom.
17
18	This desire can be stirred by an overly LongList.
19
20	Note that this is about resenting having to make choices ''at all'': Resenting a SadisticChoice is not this trope. However, exposure to such choices might lead a character to this trope as he develops a longing for a simpler and less painful life.
21
22	While freedom from choice is morally neutral, a character who takes the desire for freedom from choice too far might [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become destructive]] as he goes off the deep end pondering ([[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans and justifying]]) TheEvilsOfFreeWill. The AssimilationPlot is related, as the characters touting it sometimes presents it as the ultimate escape from having to choose. When one character makes a choice for another in one particular incident only, it's MakingTheChoiceForYou.
23
24	Compare and Contrast with TheDitherer where the character not wanting to make decisions is not out of preference but rather cause they're straight up ''unable to''. If this is more isolated to a certain situation(s) rather than being a general aspect them, you have DesperatelyNeedsOrders.
25
26	----
27	!!Examples:
28
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
32	* ''Literature/BeingAbleToEditSkillsInAnotherWorldIGainedOpWaifus'' has a slave harem that's perfectly happy to have their "husband" make all the decisions. When they were free agents, their lives were crap. With him in charge, they're happy and basically live in luxury.
33	* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', Denji crosses the DespairEventHorizon after [[spoiler:being forced to MercyKill his BestFriend Aki]], and when Makima promises him anything he wants, he requests this. This backfires ''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor immediately and horribly]]'', as the person he just entrusted to run his life for him [[spoiler:[[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse turns out to be the Control Devil/Horseman of Conquest]]]]. Later on while [[ItMakesSenseInContext on a date with]] [[spoiler:the Horseman of War]], she tells Denji to shut up and let her do the thinking for them, to which he [[TraumaButton angrily retorts]] that [[KnightInSourArmor he's resolved to think for himself]].
34	* In ''Manga/DearS'', [[spoiler:the titular characters are slaves who are genetically engineered to have an aversion to making decisions for themselves]]. However, [[spoiler:because of Ren's character development and her unrealized connection to all other [=DearS=], this slowly ends by the end of the series]].
35	* Motoko Kusanagi from ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is an interesting case. Between the events of ''2nd Gig'' and ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety'', she leaves Section 9 to pursue her own goals and find a sense of purpose. She had the entire infinity of the internet to explore and do whatever she desired but felt restricted by it. By the end of ''Solid State Society'', she decides that it would be best for her to be purposefully confined to the limitations of society because it gives her more freedom to pursue her own goals.
36	* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' illustrates this with a pencil-drawing of Shinji floating aimlessly in white space. Then someone "draws" him a floor and shows how, with that restriction, he is actually freer.
37	* In ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'', choice (specifically represented by the [[GenderBender gender choice]] but encapsulating other things as well) is the source of most of the main characters' internal conflict throughout the story -- that not related to the HopelessWar, at least. The ''availability'' of choice is a good thing, but actually ''engaging'' in either/or decision-making erases other possibilities and hence, paradoxically, stunts potential, particularly spiritual potential. Characters sometimes attempt to go the traditional Freedom from Choice route and submit to military, political, or social marching orders, but the only actual freedom lies in a particular kind of simultaneously static and "wavering" mindset.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Comedy]]
41	* Henny Youngman told a joke along these lines.
42	-->''A man walked into a drugstore and asked for a package of cigarettes. The following conversation took place.\
43	"Do you want king-size or regular?"\
44	"King-size."\
45	"Filter-tip or plain?"\
46	"Filter-tip."\
47	"Mentholated or unmentholated?"\
48	"Mentholated."\
49	"Crush-proof box or soft pack?"\
50	"Soft pack."\
51	"Cash or charge?"\
52	"Forget it, I just kicked the habit."''
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Comic Books]]
56	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Some interpretations of Two-Face play with this: is surrendering to the judgments of the toss of a coin simply a way for Harvey Dent to escape the moral consequences of balancing his two sides?
57	* In ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'', there is a passing reference to a "Freedom from Information Act", presumably intended as a satirical slap on the recent activities of the UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush administration.
58	* In ''ComicBook/EightBillionGenies'', some people suffer from "wishlock", where they are unable to make a wish because thinking about making a wish causes paralysis from the other wishes they ''don't'' make.
59	* In ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', this is one of the reasons the Anti-Life Equation is so effective. When several characters such as ComicBook/GreenArrow and [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Red Robin]] are freed of it, they admit that Anti-Life was "easy" and that some of it did ring true for them.
60	* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': One storyline has a pro-democracy group want to end the reign of the judges. Dredd is just about the only member of Justice Department to want it to go ahead, citing the massive riots that would occur if repressed. The movement goes ahead, instructions on how to vote from home are broadcast, the vote is carried out... and the ApatheticCitizens of Mega-City One don't disappoint, voting to keep the judges by a landslide, Judge Dredd citing the trope as the reason.
61	* A two-part storyline from issues #42-43 of the ''ComicBook/InvaderZimOni'' comics features the Plim, a species that have spent so long having everything in their society handled by automated systems that they lack any sort of initiative. As such, they hate the thought of deciding anything on their own to the point of it making them scared and uncomfortable, so they just do whatever they're told.
62	* ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': After Torquemada has come BackFromTheDead as a result of time travel, he finds that Termight has become a peaceful, freedom-loving society in his absence instead of the tyrannical, dystopian nightmare that it was under his rule. This trope comes into play when Torquemada tries to convince his former followers to reinstate him as Grand Master. His friendlier successor Mazarin tries to rebuff him but finds that his minions have all sided with Torquemada.
63	* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Once cited by Spiral as an excuse for her own HappinessInSlavery to the sadistic and abusive Mojo.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
67	* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he wants to buy there are countless meaningless options. The particular focus of his rant is potato chips. "What if I want less fat ''and'' less salt? What distinguishes 'Lite' from these others?" And don't even ask about the peanut butter.
68	* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Cathy}}'' strip, Cathy tries to order a quick cup of coffee, only to have the barista rattle off a remarkably LongList of all the coffee drinks they offer and all the optional seasonings and so on. Cathy has a meltdown and the barista tells the manager it was caused by "coffee overload." The manager suggests that Cathy might like a soothing cup of tea instead and begins to list all of the different teas they offer.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Fan Works]]
72	* In ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'', much of the appeal of infestation to Mr. Tidwell is that he just lost his wife and alone struggles trying to manage his emotions and his life. As soon as Illim shows remorse, Mr. Tidwell forgives him completely and their relationship becomes codependent.
73	* “[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14090706/1/Different-manor Different manor]]” makes this the main reason Harry submits to Daphne Greengrass, as he's become tired and frustrated at the stress of his responsibilities as the "Boy-Who-Lived" and finds that he prefers submitting to Daphne and letting her make the important decisions.
74	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}: Ghost in the Shell''. Bonnie tells Tom that she's having a hard time deciding what kind of jam to buy, now that she no longer has a PuppeteerParasite to choose for her.
75	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13698500/3/No-Good-Deed No Good Deed]]'', Snape (being under house arrest) sends Harry grocery shopping. One of the items on the list is Greek yogurt. Faced with three different kinds of several brands and no idea which one Snape would want, he decides to buy one of each.
76	* In ''Fanfic/NukumeDori'', this is one of the more interesting parts of [[Manga/TokyoBabylon Subaru and Seishirou]]'s budding relationship dynamic. Seishirou is regularly shown as being the one who chooses many of their activities, including where they go on their 'dates' down to deciding what Subaru eats and drinks by ordering for him when they go out. Interestingly enough, the only time when this chafes on Subaru is when he and Seishirou are fighting over whether or not he should [[spoiler:save Matsumoto's life]]. Subaru seems to draw a firm distinction in his mind between Seishirou taking care of him as part of their relationship, and the Sakurazukamori using this as a tool to be condescending and belittle his choices.
77	* In ''Fanfic/{{Webwork}}'', it's speculated in-universe that this is at least part of why Jumper is such a SycophanticServant; by being an obedient minion, she's spared the difficulty of having to make decisions for herself.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
81	* ''Film/NineAndAHalfWeeks'' presents an erotic variation on Freedom from Choice: a career-woman who is successful and forceful in her professional life forfeits her sexual freedom to a man, and their relationship pushes the boundaries between what is "SafeSaneAndConsensual" and what is abusive.
82	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
83	** Loki talks a lot about this in ''Film/TheAvengers2012''. He's going to [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill make humanity free from freedom]]. He is called a power-hungry crazy man for it every time, including by unarmed civilians, one of whom is a German [[ANaziByAnyOtherName old enough to remember someone touting the same philosophy]].
84	** This is also the motivation behind HYDRA in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' -- namely, that people "cannot be trusted with their own freedom". Perhaps appropriately, HYDRA is an offshoot of the old Nazi party.
85	* In ''Film/MixedNuts'', Philip tries calling a newspaper:
86	-->''"Thank you for calling the Los Angeles Times. If you would like to order a subscription, please press 1. If your newspaper did not arrive this morning, press 2. To place a classified ad, press 3. To speak to the editorial desk, city desk, national desk, international desk, sports desk, metro, view, or calendar sections, press the first three letters of the desk you desire, followed by the star key in the case of the first three or the pound key in the case of the latter five."''
87	* In ''Film/MoscowOnTheHudson'', Vladimir -- a Russian emigrant to the United States -- freaks out when he looks for coffee in a grocery store and is confronted with innumerable different brands. In the Soviet Union, there was precisely one medium-quality brand of everything.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Literature]]
91	* In the book ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Brit-Think-Ameri-Think-Transatlantic-Survival-Revised/dp/0142001341 Brit-Think/Ameri-Think]]'', there's a cartoon comparing and contrasting Americans and British buying ice cream. The American is at a Baskin-Robbins type shop with a thousand flavors to choose from; the Brit is given the option "Vanilla or chocolate?" His reply: "You choose."
92	* ''Literature/TheBooksOfEmber'' have a bit of this, although it's shown that the lot-drawing doesn't actually matter (it's touted as a sort of sacred infallible system, but people can swap their drawings).
93	* In ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'', the Grand Inquisitor advocates this when speaking with UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, saying that he should have stripped people of free will, making them all righteous, thus everyone would get to heaven. See the Religion example below.
94	* "The Dice Man" by Luke Rhinehart (pen name of George Cockroft) tells of a lapsed Buddhist psychiatrist who begins living his entire life based on random choices generated by throwing dice, this circumventing this phenomenon.
95	* Alvin Toffler's nonfiction book ''Future Shock'' predicts that in the future, everything will be customizable, leading to "overchoice".
96	* One of the {{neologism}}s defined in Douglas Coupland's ''Generation X'' is "Option Paralysis: The tendency, when given unlimited choices, to make none."
97	* This trope figures heavily in ''Literature/TheGiver''. In particular, both jobs and spouses are assigned by the government.
98	* The Kindar in the ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy'' have their professions decided for them at the age of thirteen.
99	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale''. Under the rule of the [[TheTheocracy theocratic]] Republic of Gilead, [[NoWomansLand women have had all their power completely stripped in every meaningful way]]. Some women adjust well to their new lives and seem to truly believe that they're better off. Those who were not convinced that this trope was a good thing had it put to them another way; before they had "freedom to" do a lot of things, but now they have "freedom from" a lot of the problems that came with it, and the woman saying this said, quite sincerely, not to undervalue "freedom from". However, it didn't particularly matter if they accepted this or not, since they had no rights and no power anymore.
100	* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' book ''Arrows of the Queen'', 13-year-old Talia is offered her 'choice' in an ArrangedMarriage -- a younger man's first wife or an older man's underwife. One of her own father's underwives tells her that the second option is nice because she'll never have to make a decision.
101	* ''Literature/TheLicaniusTrilogy'' features Augurs, powerful wizards who can see the future. Their visions always come to pass and are made public, both to warn others and to free them from choice.
102	* ''The Paradox of Choice'' by Barry Schwartz is about how too many choices are paralyzing society.
103	* In ''[=SeinLanguage=]'', Creator/JerrySeinfeld writes about going to the drug store for cold medicine, seeing an entire wall of cold medicines, and having absolutely no idea which one to buy.
104	-->''Well, this one is quick-acting, but this is long-lasting... which is more important, the present or the future?''
105	* In the later ''Slave World'' novels, some of the enslaved protagonists are stranded in their old world -- thus, they are free. However, they want to go back to HappinessInSlavery, and this is one of the main reasons why.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
109	* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': In one sketch, a government minister responsible for a broadcasting deregulation bill arrives at a restaurant. The waiter pretends to be mortified that someone who put so much emphasis on variety has only been given one ordinary set of cutlery, takes it away, and comes back with a huge number of plastic coffee stirrers which he pours on the table, screaming that they might all be rubbish, but at least he's got plenty of ''choices''.
110	* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' is set during a time when, among other things, [[SuffrageAndPoliticalLiberation women's right to vote]] was being discussed. This trope is {{invoked\|Trope}} by many of the men campaigning against it, claiming that they're trying to "protect" women from the burden of making a choice. One such man believes that he's proven his point by asking his completely uneducated housemaid and a BrainlessBeauty concubine their opinion of the League of Nations. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Nucky clearly disapproves]] of the jeering KickTheDog humiliation of the former, calls the latter a "bad example" of women's potential, and [[EqualOpportunityEvil seems to support the change]], possibly due to his close relationship with the Women's Temperance League providing him with many examples of strong, politically savvy women. One of several reasons why Margaret attracts Nucky's attention is that she is able to politely yet eloquently shoot down two men who gently (and extremely patronizingly) try to explain this trope to her, pointing out that some supposedly inferior countries (like her native Ireland) already have votes for women, and showing that she's absolutely capable of making an informed choice.
111	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E6TheAgeOfSteel The Age of Steel]]", the Doctor -- upon noticing that the human race has been enslaved ''yet again'' -- muses, "I think you like it. Easy life."
112	* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': This is Stan's Russian cousin's problem with America: freedom of thought only leads to confusion, but if there's only one road, nobody gets lost. She comes around after reading Vanna White's autobiography. It's a hell of a book.
113	* ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'': As with the book, "freedom from" is extolled by [[FemaleMisogynist Aunt Lydia]] to the Handmaids over "freedom to" in the "days of anarchy" before [[NoWomansLand Gilead]].
114	* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'': This is a suggested reason why Richard stays with Hyacinth; he's fundamentally lazy person who ''wants'' someone else to run his life for him.
115	* In the ''Series/TheMandalorian'' episode "[[Recap/TheMandalorianS2E7Chapter15TheBeliever The Believer]]", an [[TheEmpire Imperial officer]] named Valin Hess voices approval of a belief similar to this. Hess says that while everyone says that they want freedom, what they really want is order, with the clear implication that people will ultimately gladly sacrifice freedom for order, stability, and predictability. Furthermore, he believes that the terrorist campaign which [[TheRemnant the Imperial Remnant]] is waging will destabilize the New Republic to an extent that people will welcome the Empire and the order it promises back.
116	* ''Series/{{Rome}}'' has Pompey, after losing his power and his fortune, philosophizing on how easy life is for slaves, to be free of the burden of choice and responsibility.
117	* ''Series/ShamelessUK'' has this in series 4 when Frank is in the pub, trying to decide between his current lover Sheila and his technically-still-wife Monica, because they both want him to decide which of them he wants to be with. He can't decide between them, so he elects to choose ''not to choose'. [[spoiler:In the end, he chooses Sheila, but when she finds out that he's still legally married to Monica, which she didn't know before, she leaves him anyway, so Frank goes to Monica instead, implying that he had dumped Sheila and that Monica was the first choice.]]
118	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': The [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] tend to default to subservience and are confused by the concept of free will, since they were designed to be obedient soldiers in TheArmiesOfHeaven. [[HaveYouSeenMyGod God abandoned them]], but Michael picked up the slack for millennia. Then after the archangels are locked up or killed, Heaven falls into chaos. In season 13, Lucifer suggests that the few remaining angels make him Viceroy of Heaven since they need a leader. [[spoiler:They quickly oblige.]]
119	-->'''Castiel:''' You are free now, all of you! God gave you free will!\
120	'''Angel:''' But what does he want us to do with it?
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Music]]
124	* Music/{{Devo}}'s song "Freedom of Choice" from ''Music/FreedomOfChoice'' is about this, with examples like a dog not being able to decide between two bones and starving to death. The refrain changes to the trope name at the end.
125	* "Counting Bodies Like Sheep" by Music/APerfectCircle invokes this in its lyrics: "free from pain and truth and choice/and other poison devils"
126	* Music/{{U2}}'s "New York" (from the album ''Music/AllThatYouCantLeaveBehind'') includes this lyric:
127	-->''"In New York freedom looks like / Too many choices"''
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Newspapers]]
131	* Creator/DaveBarry has a column or two on the subject: "For problems concerning Extra-pulpy Vitamin-enhanced orange juice in 32oz size, [[ForInconveniencePressOne press one]]. For problems concerning Extra-pulpy Vitamin-enhanced orange juice in 64oz size, press two. For problems..."
132	* Creator/CharlieBrooker did a [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/05/charlie-brooker-cultural-diet rant]] about this in ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers The Guardian]]'', and how he wants a 'cultural diet' because he has too many films to watch.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Philosophy]]
136	* The paradox of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buridan%27s_ass Buridan's Ass]], which posits that an ass presented with two equally available sources of food and water would die because it lacks a reason to select one rather than the other (real donkeys choose it at random).
137	* In Creator/JeanPaulSartre's interpretation of UsefulNotes/{{Existentialism}}, he states that humans are "condemned to be free" -- meaning that we are forced to make choices without knowing the "rules" of life or having a way to work out how to make the best choice. The real sticking point is that there's one choice we're ''never'' allowed to make: to ''not'' choose.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Religion]]
141	* In UsefulNotes/{{Mormon\|ism}} theology, this is a large part of what got {{Satan}} kicked out of heaven. The purpose of mortality is to come to Earth in order to make choices for ourselves, with the risk that we might make wrong choices and not return to live with God. Satan and his followers were kicked out because Satan's plan was to remove free will and force everyone to make the right choices. This would mean, in theory, that everyone would be able to return to God. All he wanted in return was to be placed above God. Then they started a war when they didn't get their way.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Video Games]]
145	* During one of the Truth-sessions of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', you can hear how one of the modern descendants of the Knights Templar describes how they will provide mankind freedom from democracy and choice, and all base and material desires for good measure.
146	* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
147	** This is the central principle of the Qun. It's remarkably popular with other races, mostly because the various human, dwarven, and elven societies tend to be corrupt, prejudiced, and unequal enough that meaningful choice is an illusion for most citizens anyway, and at least the Qunari will offer you genuine respect regardless of your allotted role. As stated by "Ketojan" and canto 4 of the Qun, the Qunari believe that the ''only'' choice that matters is that of one's existence. The Qun believe people are who they were born to be, that if the self is suffering it will only bring suffering to the world. If so, they have the choice to [[HeroicSuicide reject their existence]] if they so wish. Hawke is understandably perplexed how anyone who desires to continue living, could ''not'' question a philosophy that would cause them to kill themselves simply for falling outside of its bounds by accident.
148	--->'''Tallis:''' Is a sparrow buffeted by the wind free to choose where she flies?
149	** Several mages enjoy being under Templar rule. Finn, for example, says that he hated being outside and is only convinced to leave the tower because of his interest in [[spoiler:the eluvian]].
150	* According to Tabitha in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the Super Mutants long for this situation, given that her main selling point for "Utobitha" is to not have to think for yourself. Granted, these are ''VideoGame/Fallout3''-style Super Mutants she's talking about, who [[DumbMuscle aren't too good at that sort of thing]]. The more intelligent ''[[VideoGame/Fallout1 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/Fallout2 2]]''-style Super Mutants live in places with a bit more freedom.
151	* ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
152	** At the end, the characters discover that [[spoiler:the collective unconscious of Tokyo is a giant prison which represents the restrictive nature of society. The inmates are those who, in the real world, have [[ApatheticCitizens given up on free will]] and just follow what society tells them to do. The inmates think the alternative of making your own decisions is worse; indeed, they entered the prison willingly]].
153	** The ''Royal'' UpdatedRerelease has [[spoiler:Dr. Maruki [[DeityOfHumanOrigin gaining the power of the false god Yaldabaoth]], deciding that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, and deciding that he'd make everyone happy by removing all struggle and making people's life decisions for them. In the NonstandardGameOver for failing to complete his Palace in time, he comes to the conclusion that Joker never confronted him because the stress of having to make a decision was too much for him, and "fixes" it by [[FateWorseThanDeath essentially removing his will to live and causing him to spend all of his time sleeping]]]].
154	* During the first Autobot mission in ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'', Megatron announces via hologram that the Decepticons will release the citizens of Iacon from the burdens of freedom and choice, citing that his will is the only guidance they shall need.
155	* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'''s climactic story quest, "The New War", [[spoiler:the Sentients [[TheBadGuyWins overrun the Origin System]] and install Ballas as the ruler of the empire-slash-cult of Narmer, enforced through [[MindControlDevice mind-controlling Narmer Veils]]. At the beginning of his VillainousBreakdown, as he [[ControlFreak rages over the existence of the few people still able to oppose him]] despite now ruling a system-spanning empire, Ballas furiously claims that the people of the system "''wanted'' to kneel" as they sought the comfort of being told what to think.]]
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Web Video]]
159	* PlayedForDrama in ''WebAnimation/StarterSquad'', where various Pokémon under [[spoiler:the [[GeneralRipper Caterpie leader]]]] only accept their tyrannical rule so that they won't have to make their own decisions in life. This also helps [[spoiler:Squirtle]] recognize that another Pokémon claiming to act on the gods' behalf is doing the exact same thing, pushing responsibility for the lives he'd taken up until that point to a higher power under the justification of following orders.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Western Animation]]
163	* This is among the things which [[MadBomber Mad Stan]] rants about in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''.
164	-->'''Mad Stan:''' Look around, Batman! Society's crumbling! And do you know why?\
165	'''Batman:''' Too many overdue books?\
166	'''Mad Stan:''' Information overload, man! As a society, we're drowning in a quagmire of vid-clips, e-mail, and sound bites! We can't absorb it all! There's only one sane solution: ''blow it up!''
167	* Referenced by Mr. O'Neill in ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' in the episode "[[Recap/DariaS2E13 Write Where It Hurts]]", in which he tries to help Daria with a story assignment that she's having trouble with by restricting her to a particular topic. It doesn't work any better than all the other tricks she tries throughout the episode, though.
168	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS2E15TheProblemWithPopplers The Problem with Popplers]]", Lrr is about to [[ToServeMan eat Leela]] as a public spectacle. His exchange with the waiter goes as such:
169	-->'''Waiter:''' That comes with soup or salad.\
170	'''Lrr:''' Uh, salad.\
171	'''Waiter:''' Ranch or vinaigrette?\
172	'''Lrr:''' ''[growling]'' Vinaigrette...\
173	'''Waiter:''' Balsamic or raspberry?\
174	'''Lrr:''' ''[[[DisproportionateRetribution pulls out directed-energy weapon and vaporizes waiter]]]''
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Real Life]]
178	* Among art and design circles, a customer stating that the artist has "Total Artistic Freedom" for a project is often seen as being synonymous with "I have no idea what I want, so cook something up yourself". Since such customers also tend to be quite unpleasable, artists can be understandably wary of not being given stricter guidelines.
179	* In general, when designing any open-ended project, just putting in guidelines, even though there are still no rules, makes there seem like there is structure. Compare the classroom version of this "Submit an art portfolio of your choice of paintings by the end of semester" versus "Submit an art portfolio of at least 15 paintings by the end of semester. Choose at least three mediums (water-color, oil pastel, and colored pencil for instance)." If a painter wants to do more than 15 paintings, sure. If they want to do just one painting of each medium and the rest are all water-color, the teacher doesn't actually care. But the artist has now been given enough of a direction, that they can actually make the decision.
180	** One study compared the artistic merit of three groups: the control group wasn't given any directions, the second group was told "be creative," and the third group was told something like "for example, tear or fold the stickers to make a collage." The instruction to "be creative" with no constraints was no more effective than the control group, while the group that had an actual guideline to work with/against wound up being significantly more creative. Similarly, it's harder to face a blank page with absolute freedom than to write for a prompt (hence the popularity of prompts and fic exchanges) -- the constraints turn out to be liberating.
181	* Depending on the lecturer, a term paper for a university class may not be limited by a topic or question. Some students prefer these, as it gives them a chance to show their knowledge at an area they know. Others bemoan the likelihood that their preferred topic or question will not match the lecturer's standards and make it more likely for them to fail.
182	* This is a common cause of the "Quarterlife Crisis": young people out of high school or college can feel overwhelmed or depressed by the amount of major life choices they face.
183	* A common way for authoritarian rulers and totalitarian dictators to justify their rule regardless of whether the general populace would like it or not.
184	* Perhaps not surprisingly, this was a part of the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis']] ideology. They replaced freedom of choice with the ''Führerprinzip'' (leader principle), i.e. obedience to higher authority, with the Fuhrer's word being above all law (this was partly an outgrowth of Germany unifying with Prussia at its center, with Prussia's strong military culture seeping into the rest of the country, especially through education). It was thus felt that if people were obeying orders, nothing they did could be wrong. Therefore when Nazi war criminals [[JustFollowingOrders used this defense at Nuremberg]] it was not entirely self-serving or cognitive dissonance -- they ''really believed that.''
185	* According to Wikipedia's article on "Freedom of Choice", a social experiment determined that there's kind of a "sweet spot" when it comes to freedom and the ability to make choices. While in general, the ability to make choices (and to make choices that lead to more choices) is considered a good thing, having an abundance of choice requires both a thorough understanding of the choices and potential consequences and the ability to cope with consequences. As the number of pairwise comparisons the brain has to make increases quadratically with each additional option available (with only three options the brain has to make three comparisons, a fourth ups it to six, a fifth requires ten, and so on), people who lack either of those may find themselves happier within ''this'' trope, where decisions are made ''for'' them as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overchoice overchoice]] seeps in. There is an experiment involved a supermarket issuing coupons for jam. The same supermarket, the same price, the same days of the week; the only difference was the number of different flavors of jam for sale on the shelf -- one week had 3 flavors, another week had 24. Total sales of jam were significantly lower the week there were 24 flavors on the shelf because trying to determine the best choice out of 24 options was much more mentally tiresome for shoppers than picking the best out of 3 options, and those shoppers just ended up not buying any jam at all.
186	* Some of the supporters of [[StayInTheKitchen traditional gender roles and expectations]] (in particular, certain religious leaders), say that women are "oppressed" because they are (supposedly) overwhelmed with all the choices they have, or are unsatisfied with life because they picked options other than what's (supposedly) "[[AppealToNature natural]]".
187	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bqMY82xzWo This video]], a lecture given by Professor Renata Salecl (illustrated/animated by an unnamed artist) describing [[NotUsedToFreedom how daunting freedom can be]] for people who were raised in a state that used to make most of their decisions for them or provided them very few choices (she grew up in UsefulNotes/{{Yugoslavia}}).
188	* Dependent Personality Disorder is the psychological term for the disorder in which a person feels they need this, even for small decisions.
189	[[/folder]]

Context Main / FreedomFromChoice