History Main / GullibleLemmings

Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* Following Marvel's ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' (and even long before that), most of the US population is perfectly willing to acclaim psychotic murderers like ComicBook/NormanOsborn and Mac Gargan (a.k.a. the Scorpion) as heroes. Despite the fact Norman has been found guilty of being the Green Goblin and consequently is a known lunatic and mass murderer. They proved equally willing to demonize well-known heroes like Captain America and Iron Man pretty much on command. This is actually so bad that when The Avengers had a crossover with the JLA, the fact that the citizens of DC's Earth greeted the heroes with adulation made the Avengers think that the League had taken over the planet and ''forced'' people to cheer for them. Seriously, Marvel's civilians are such ungrateful dicks that ''CAPTAIN AMERICA'' can't even conceive being greeted with praise anymore. The earliest sign of this was how easily they turned against ComicBook/SpiderMan as part of Jonah Jameson's smear campaign. Nevermind how many times Spidey had saved New York from being obliterated and what the other papers reported, the Daily Bugles personal grudge convinced most people that Spider-Man was a menace.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, as often as the heroes outmatch Team Rocket, you can almost always expect them to fall hook, line and sinker for a booby trap or PaperThinDisguise beforehand. Played with for Meowth's FakeDefector stunts, since the heroes have become increasingly suspicious and prone to LampshadeHanging as they've continued. Even then though, they usually ''still'' work eventually.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': The citizens of the Fire Nation are portrayed as pretty much exactly the same as the citizens of the Earth Kingdom, with the main difference that they're completely dedicated to TheEmpire after swallowing about a hundred years' worth of propaganda and having information about various acts of war kept from them. While this could be attributed to any group of citizens during the rule of a power others would call tyrannical, this really gets shown for what it is when [[spoiler:the new Fire Lord, Zuko, takes power and instantly ends the war, at which point every Fire Nation citizen shown is completely behind him]]. Looks like they might just love their rulers too much.

Gullible Lemmings not only [[VillainWithGoodPublicity believe the villain]] but ''actively try to help them.'' They aren't {{Mooks}} or LesCollaborateurs, just regular citizens being what they think is a HeroicBystander. If the villain is persuasive enough, everyone in the village, town, city, country, or any other kind of community will support them.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Stiyl and Kanzaki [[spoiler: wipe their friend Index's memory yearly because the church told them she would die otherwise. The church was right, but only because they had put the curse on her themselves.]]

* The rival Idol Unit Jupiter in the anime version of ''[[Anime/TheIdolmaster THE iDOLM@STER]]''... at least until they found out their president's utter love for underhanded tactic, in which they've had enough and after too many times being ignored, they quit. In-game, [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen they decided to not use whatever tactics he promoted and fought fair and square.]]

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* ''Anime/SonicX'': Knuckles; on multiple occasions, Dr. Eggman has lied to him, claiming to want to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and despite having realized he had been duped before, he readily falls for the same trick again. It's even lampshaded in the episode "An Enemy in Need," where Amy outright asks Knuckles just how many more times he has to fall for Eggman's lies before he realizes that Eggman will ''never'' change.

* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': This was used as a humanizing move in the Hades arc. It's revealed that the [[{{Mooks}} Spectres]] in Hades' realm believe he is trying to bring about a UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans for all humanity... the "[[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Great Eclipse]]" being the means. Of course, Hades just has a vague and nebulous all-consuming contempt towards humanity and the living and wants all existence to be in an orderly dead state.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Stiyl and Kanzaki [[spoiler: wipe their friend Index's memory yearly because the church told them she would die otherwise. The church was right, but only because they had put the curse on her themselves.]]
* The rival Idol Unit Jupiter in the anime version of ''[[Anime/TheIdolmaster THE iDOLM@STER]]''... at least until they found out their president's utter love for underhanded tactic, in which they've had enough and after too many times being ignored, they quit. In-game, [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen they decided to not use whatever tactics he promoted and fought fair and square.]]

* ''Fanfic/OfState'': Despite being a brutal conqueror and TheDreaded to anyone who truly knows him, the people of Uttland believe that Drago Bludvist is a "liberator" and refuse to believe anyone who claims otherwise.
* Most of Marinette's classmates are depicted this way in ''FanFic/BurningBridgesBuildingConfidence''. [[BitchInSheepsClothing Lila]] turns them against their 'Everyday Ladybug' by claiming that she's [[WoundedGazelleGambit been secretly bullying her]] -- and when [[NewTransferStudent her cousin Cole]] refuses to be cowed and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls them out]], uses that to incite them against ''her'' as well. Under her direction, their behavior gets increasingly worse, as they [[TheScapegoat blame both girls]] for everything going wrong with their class... including Alya getting into trouble for outright ''assaulting'' them.

[[folder:Films]]
* In ''{{Film/Rampage 2009}}'', Bill sees working-class Americans (lower and middle class, the latter he says is rapidly diminishing) as nothing more than cattle being lied to and milked for money by the rich, the heavily biased media and the politicians while also being slaughtered by foreign terrorists (i.e. September 11th, 2001 attacks) and homegrown criminals (monthly mass shootings especially in schools). Bill complains that American consumers buy gas from Saudi Arabia which has funded al-Qaeda to commit the 9/11 attacks.

* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', the citizens of Sterling City fall right in line to support the New Rangers -- Cloak in disguise, with a single true Ranger mind-controlled. [[spoiler:When two other true Rangers show up, they are denounced as Cloak operatives and fakes.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': The citizens of the Old Republic/Empire/New Republic/Galactic Alliance ''will'' turn on the Jedi to help a villain at the drop of a hat.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', Sam Vimes reflects that the problem with democracy, the ''big'' problem, is that every citizen of Ankh-Morpork would get a vote. Even Nobby Nobbs. And Nobby's vote would have the same value as Sam's. Sam saw the flaw in democracy straight away.
* ''Literature/InTheYear2050AmericasReligiousCivilWar'' posits a history where shifting demographics lead to a radical Islamic group capturing Congress and the Presidency in one election cycle, then setting up to dismantle everything American. Also, they called themselves the Green Party, so the majority of voters thought they were running on environmental issues.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]

[[/folder]]

* The BigBad of ''VideoGame/Persona5'' firmly believes this. [[spoiler:Because the people of Tokyo firmly believe that societal harmony is the only ideal worth holding, Yaldabaoth concludes that [[HumansAreMorons humanity as a whole is too stupid to lead itself]]. He even refers to them as such, saying that they would rather accept an easy road to destruction and ruin than a difficult one to salvation and reform.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': The citizens of the Fire Nation are portrayed as pretty much exactly the same as the citizens of the Earth Kingdom, with the main difference that they're completely dedicated to TheEmpire after swallowing about a hundred years' worth of propaganda and having information about various acts of war kept from them. While this could be attributed to any group of citizens during the rule of a power others would call tyrannical, this really gets shown for what it is when [[spoiler:the new Fire Lord, Zuko, takes power and instantly ends the war, at which point every Fire Nation citizen shown is completely behind him]]. Looks like they might just love their rulers too much.
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': Used to an expert degree in the series finale. Superman finally knocks over Darkseid, tells the citizens of Apokolips that they're free... and to his dismay, they help the fallen despot to his feet and take him off to recuperate. ''"I am many things, Kal-El... but here, I am '''God'''."'' This example borders on straight-up ReligionOfEvil. The people of Apokolips are pretty much brainwashed slaves that worship their cruel and tyrannical God ''for being cruel and tyrannical''.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': No matter how [[BlatantLies paper-thin]] her lies are, [[TheSociopath Lila]] more often than not has the entire class (sans Marinette and Adrien) eating out of her hand.