http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3_preset2_-_brainwash.jpg
[[caption-width:400:[[TwoPlusTwoMakesFive 2 plus 2 is... five.]]]]

->"My sole purpose in life is to bring pleasure to my companions!"
-->-'''Our Man Flint'''

One, some or all of the main characters have been {{brainwashed}} into happily slaving away for someone else and have to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia get their memories back]] to escape, usually assisted by someone who remembers who they were (ThePowerOfLove often playing a part).

In {{anime}}, Brainwashed characters are often fairly obvious, as they have MindControlEyes. Some versions also have a non-zombie ZombieGait.

The most fun, ''delayed'' variety of brainwashing is the innocuous ManchurianAgent. If they are attacking people, it's a case of BrainwashedAndCrazy. And look out for that one character in a million who's NotBrainwashed. Compare with [[BodySnatcher Body Snatching]]. Occasionally done via [[TVNeverLies television]].

Naturally, there is PowerPerversionPotential to be [[http://archive.salon.com/sex/feature/2000/10/04/mind_control/print.html found]] ([[NotSafeForWork NSFW!]]) in this. See also KissMeIAmVirtual. Can serve as FetishFuel. Often done to the WeakWilled.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* Ryuutauros from ''[[KamenRider Kamen Rider Den-O]]'' has the ability to brainwash entire crowds at the click of his host's fingers and influence them to dance with him (whether or not they can hear the music is never touched on)
* The titular cybernetics-enhanced characters of ''GunslingerGirl'' get brainwashed to make them function as cold-blooded assassins. Since they are still basically young girls though, this leads to all kinds of problems, especially since the brainwashing focuses their feelings on their guardians.
* ''CodeGeass,'' also known as Mind Control: The Animated Series.
** Of course it is. It's the main character's power and (kinda) the premise of the whole show.
* In ''[[WolfsRain Wolf's Rain]]'' [[spoiler:Hige is brainwashed by remote control via his collar, as part of a plot by Lady Jagara to find the wolf who will open Paradise.]]
* Misao in the ''PrettySammy'' series gets temporarily brainwashed when she is forcibly transformed into Pixy Misa.
* In MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=], [[spoiler:[[HollywoodCyborg Ginga Nakajima]] is brainwashed by Jail Scaglietti. Subaru eventually snaps her out of it by hitting her with a WaveMotionGun at point blank.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]

* Any number of villains in Chris Claremont-penned comics are given to possessing folks, "body and soul", turning them into willing slaves/pets that will turn on their friends without a second thought. Look for MindControlEyes, as well as SpikesOfVillainy.
* Baron Ironblood from ''[[GIJoe Action Force]]'' brainwashed his minions and henchmen into his service. His second in command, the Black Major, was formerly a member of Action Force until being captured in an operation specifically targeting him.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Art ]]

* About 95% of [[http://rosvo.deviantart.com/ this guy's]] output.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''TheManchurianCandidate''
* ''Volunteers'' has John Candy's character get brainwashed in the middle.
** It happened to him in ''Going Berserk'' as well.
* AClockworkOrange has the protagonist strapped down and forced to watch violent scenes while a drug that induces nausea is pumped into him to make him feel repulsion for violence. And sex. And [[{{LudwigVanBeethoven}} Beethoven's]] music.
* ''J-Men Forever'' (1979). The evil Lightning Bug plans to brainwash the Earth people with rock & roll broadcasts, but is successfully countered by schmaltzy music from the Military Underground Sugared Airwaves Command ([[FunWithAcronyms M.U.S.A.C.]]). So the Bug decides to use hashish instead, and only the combined forces of the J-Men (a team of [[GagDub redubbed]] superheroes from Republic FilmSerial clips) can stop him!
* As indicated by the page quote, one of the crimes that the Galaxy organization commits in the spy-spoof ''Our Man Flint'' is turning women into brainwashed "Pleasure Units".
* ''TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'' (2004). The evil Skeleton, and HumanAliens Kro-Bar and Lattis, both try to mind-control housewife Betty at the same time.
-->'''Skeleton''': ''Bring the meteor to the Skeleton.''
-->'''Kro-Bar''': ''Bring the meteor to Kro-Bar and Lattis.''
-->'''Betty''': "I must make a skeleton meteor using a crowbar covered in lettuce..."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The Mule, an interstellar warlord in IsaacAsimov's ''{{Foundation}} trilogy'' had the telepathic ability to turn anyone, even his greatest enemies, into devoted followers willing to die for him. The Second Foundation, which possesses a similar ability, later turn it against him and transform him into a pacifist.
* ''TheManchurianCandidate'' by Richard Condon.
* In ''TheDemonHeadmaster'' by Gillian Cross, the Headmaster has brainwashed almost everybody in the school along with their parents, and brainy new girl Dinah is powerless to resist even though she knows what he's doing. Her foster brothers, however, are among the tiny minority of pupils on whom the Headmaster's powers don't work, so they can help Dinah foil the Headmaster's plan to brainwash the whole country via TV.
* In the ''[[TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal]]'' novel, Lecter [[spoiler:brainwashes Clarice Starling with drugs and hypnosis to turn her into a surrogate of his dead sister Misha. There's sex involved, so this has [[BrotherSisterIncest its own additional issues]].]] This wasn't carried over to the movie adaptation.
* ''Into The Thinking Kingdoms'', part of the ''Journey of the Catechist'' series has a kingdom with thought-reading birds, allowing people to find people thinking wrong, and brainwash them. It is implied that they have done this successfully to most of the kingdom, although it all comes crashing down when they try it on the main characters.
* Much like ''A Clockwork Orange'', Crime College in ''DocSavage'' and Psychosurgery in ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' are the common ways of dealing with criminals in their setting. A variation might be Execution in the ''LordDarcy'' stories, which punishes practitioners of BlackMagic by permanently stripping them of their [[SuperpowerfulGenetics Ability]].
* ''HarryPotter'' has the Imperius Curse.
* ''TheWheelOfTime'' has Compulsion.
* And of course, arguably the most famous example, was Winston's ordeal in ''[[NineteenEightyFour 1984]].'' [[spoiler: He loved Big Brother.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'', "Divide and Conquer" and "Beneath the Surface"
** In ''StargateAtlantis'', the "heroes" brainwash the "villains". These are given in quotes because after seeing the relevant episodes (yes, they do it more than once), [[MoralDissonance there's no way you will see them as heroes]].
*** And of course, [[KickTheDog they betray their brainwashed villain]].
**** [[MoralEventHorizon Several times]].
*** [[WhatTheHellHero Which bites them in the ass.]]
** The Wraith also have the power of suggestion, not showcased much.
* ''{{Farscape}}'', "Thank God It's Friday... Again" (among several others)
* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "This Side of Paradise"
* ''StarTrekVoyager'', "Workforce"
* ''{{Angel}}'', the Jasmine arc.
* ''BigWolfOnCampus'' episode "Manchurian Werewolf".
* In ''{{V}}'', the Visitors have a brainwashing method called conversion, but humans are so resistant to it that it is only considered worth the bother for a few vital individual humans have to control.
* Used on many, many people in many, many ways on ''DoctorWho'', and inherited by ''TheSarahJaneAdventures''.
* In a series 2 episode of ''TheMightyBoosh'', "The Call of the Yeti," the main characters narrowly escape being brainwashed and raped by yeti.
* The vampires in ''{{True Blood}}'' have an ability to "glamour" people into doing things they would not ordinarily do.
* The enemies attempt this on Sydney in ''{{Alias}}'', but it only fails because [[spoiler: her own father had spent her childhood hardening her against this very possibility. Screwed up family indeed.]]
*What, no mention of [[{{Firefly}} River Tam?]]
**In that case she was rescued before they finished by the [[ThickerThanWater Power of Brotherhood]].
*In a recent {{NCIS}} there was a North Korean assassin named Kai who had in her childhood been to an institution remarkably like The Academy in {{Firefly}} and was seeking revenge.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* In the DungeonsAndDragons 4th edition version of ''Draconomicon'', there's a sample mini-adventure in which a green dragon has pulled this on a handful of hapless Eladrin. Yes, even with their boosted Will defence.
* In one of the ''{{Witchcraft}}'' gameplay examples they have on the Eden Studios website, the bumbling villain uses a psionic effect to do a kind of Jedi Mind Trick on an NPC, forcing her to do one sentence's worth of activities ("You love me and want nothing more than to follow me out of this bar.") so he can sacrifice her for evil purposes. However, what happens is that the PC breaks the effect, making her believe that he tried to hypnotize her, rather than [[WeirdnessCensor use mind control]], and so the lady proceeds to [[GroinAttack kick him in the balls]], then smash his face in with a pool ball.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In the old Safari Software game, ''Traffic Department 2192'', the foul-mouthed, gung-ho ActionGirl protagonist, Lt. Velasquez, is kidnapped by her hated foe, the Vulture Cult Army, and brainwashed into serving them. Not only does she perform outstandingly in the field, she's also a lot more disciplined than the [[CowboyCop loose cannon]] she seemed to be when she was still with the good guys. Naturally, she eventually overcomes the brainwashing and returns to the TD... where her boss is less disturbed by her being brainwashed, and more worried by the fact that she's even-tempered, obedient, and disciplined...
* ''FinalFantasyIV'' loves this trope, pulling it once with TheLancer/Mr. FaceHeelTurn Kain Highwind falling subject to it twice, and then ''again'' with [[spoiler: supposed BigBad Golbez actually being a puppet of the real BigBad Zemus.]]
* ''{{World of Warcraft}}'' features "Mind Control" as a standard Priest spell, allowing control of opposing characters and some monsters for a short period of time. MindControl and MoreThanMindControl scenarios also feature prominently in the canon.
* One ''{{BioShock}}'' [[ApocalypticLog audio diary]] reveal that Andrew Ryan had the plasmids modified to gain control over Rapture' population. Pheromones are also used to ensure that the [[CreepyChild Little Sisters]] stay close to the Big Daddies. There's also [[spoiler:"Would you kindly?"]]
* The ''SuperRobotWars'' games uses this exceptionally liberally; If a particular protagonist is one of their original creations, the odds are fairly high that they've been brainwashed at least once, in at least one of the many different timelines. One BigBad of a faction even makes it part of their standard operating procedure. Okay. More than one...(One faction's plot is to Brainwash/Clone the ENTIRE CAST!)
* In {{Mother}} 3, Porky, with the help of [[JerkAss Fassad]], use [[TVNeverLies "Happy Boxes"]] to woo the previously low-tech and peaceful citizens of Tazmily Village into a materialistic lifestyle. Toward the end, most of the villagers move to New Pork City, except the Main party and their companions.
* This becomes one of the Overlord's powers in {{Overlord}}, in which using it on civilians will cause them to flock to the Overlord and either attack the nearest enemy when in battle or just help create resources if in a town.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Oasis was the brainwashing victim of Dr. Steve, though since his death she's gone into BrainwashedAndCrazy territory. (Or maybe not. It's still not at all clear who or what Oasis actually is.) Sam also developed the ability to [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=030417 control people's mind]], though even that's not enough to make girls think he's cool.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* What happened to Cavalier and Skybolt in the WhateleyUniverse. It took nearly a hundred stories before we found out what really did happen to them, and it's worse than we thought.
** How the hell did [[WhateleyUniverse Whateley Fans]] let this page go on without mentioning what Hekate did to Cavalier and Skybolt. You want {{Mindrape}}? Well, that's it taken to its logical extreme. The worst part may be that everyone thought it was the Don who did it with {{Telepathy}}, while other thought he just used it to figure out what they wanted and tempt them over to the {{Darkside}}. However, when they broke free, shit hit the fans for all parties involves. Hekate's now in hiding after she tried to pull the same shit on Fey (AKA, incarnation of one of the Nine God Damn Queens of the FAERIE. I mean the highly capricious, easily insulted, extremely powerful [[TheFairFolk Fair Folk]] sort) and now is running from a three-fold curse, Don had a lamp shoved up his ass (literally) and the two victims in question are in the psych ward.
** If you aren't a Whateley fan, then to explain: [[spoiler:Hekate cast a SERIOUSLY dark magic binding spell, which forced them to obey all her commands, while still conscious. She tricked them into entering a 'Fool's Circle'. After that, Hekate and Don raped Cavalier and Skybolt many, many times. The two victims, once escaping, got very, very angry.]]
* Soyburger Patricia in the LeagueOfIntergalacticCosmicChampions

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''KidsNextDoor'', "Operation: [=CAMP=]"
** A [[MyLittlePanzer brainwashing toy]] called the Boyfriend Helmet appears twice. [[DoubleStandard Oddly]], when Lizzie uses it on Nigel, he just tells her, "Don't ever use one of those things on me again, Lizzie!" and continues to date her for six seasons, but when [[StudentCouncilPresident Jimmy]] (who apparently [[AffectionateParody thinks he's Darth Vader]]) later uses it on Lizzie, he's thrown in KND prison. [[DoubleStandard Fair?]]
* Not quite the same, but many devices in the ''{{Transformers}}'' multiverse are able to temporarily "overwrite" the personality and faction programming of one side with that of the other.
** Of particular note, on ''BeastWars'' Megatron gene-washes Rhinox into a Predacon, but he becomes so evil Megatron is forced to change him back. Perhaps ironically, he does this when Rhinox is monologuing on the machine that changed him in the first place.
* Used on Jet in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', but none too effectively; with appropriate urging, he is able to break through it and lead the heroes back to where he got brainwashed... [[XanatosGambit playing right into the villain's hands]], not long after which he shifts into BrainwashedAndCrazy mode. (Leads to a puzzling scene early on when, trying to clear up Jet's odd behavior, the characters - without a hint of precedent at any point in the series - somehow jump, correctly, straight to "Jet's been brainwashed.")
* KimPossible falls victim to it at least three times and it's used at least a few more.
* In ''{{WordGirl}}'', this is the [[RoguesGallery recurring villain]] Mr Big's gimmick.
* [[MonsterClown Freakshow]] does this to [[DannyPhantom Danny]] in ''Control Freaks'' to make him a part of his ghostly group who steals goods for him. Naturally he's freed by the ThePowerOfFriendship through a CatchAFallingStar moment.


[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

*The term in English is derived from the Chinese 洗脑 "clean/wash the brain", used to describe the combination of torture and propaganda-barrage used on Un.N.-aligned troops, mostly U.S. Americans, during the Korean War in order to extract false confessions for use in broader propaganda. The actual efficacy of any form of brain washing, from torture to subtle persuasion to drugs to hypnotism, is highly disputed. It is generally held that such techniques can be very good at extracting compliance from the victim, but true ideological turn-about ''à la'' the books and film ''1984'' or ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is not to be expected----in the few cases where this seems to have happened, it has generally been linked to the prisoner's captors treating her better than her own nominal side (see: Japanese P.W.'s during the Second World War).

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