History Main / AssimilationAcademy

** In the B-plot of "Team Homer", Skinner institutes uniforms after Bart wears a snarky T-shirt, causing the children to become lifeless drones who even ''blink'' in unison. And then the rain comes...

* Season 10 of ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'': The school dance goes horribly wrong, what with the school bully bringing a knife into the building and threatening another student with it, and with the student government co-presidents being caught stripping in the drama room. Principal Simpson responds by imposing a school uniform and suspending almost all extracurriculars until further notice. Alli and Clare don't like this very much, and whine that [[DayOfTheJackboot Degrassi is transforming into some kind of fascist boot camp.]] At one point, Clare shrieks "Are we even going to be allowed to THINK at this new Degrassi?"

--->'''Superintendent Chalmers:''' [[CatchPhrase SKINNER!]] I hear that you've been encouraging a student's creativity!\\

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* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "The Straight and Narrow", the private academy actually uses MindControl on the all young men in it.

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* Season 10 of ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'': The school dance goes horribly wrong, what with the school bully bringing a knife into the building and threatening another student with it, and with the student government co-presidents being caught stripping in the drama room. Principal Simpson responds by imposing a school uniform and suspending almost all extracurriculars until further notice. Alli and Clare don't like this very much, and whine that [[{{DayOfTheJackboot}} Degrassi is transforming into some kind of fascist boot camp.]] At one point, Clare shrieks "Are we even going to be allowed to THINK at this new Degrassi?"

* The titular School of Webcomic/StrangeSchool certainly qualifies. Most especially when all its pupils are literal factory-made clones of each other.

[[quoteright:350:[[Music/TheWall https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/assimilation-academy_the-wall_672.jpg]]]]

-->''"He was a great poet, don’t forget that he was a great poet. Why do we feel love, admiration, delight? Because he was a great poet, a great poet. You ignorant dunderheads, get this firmly fixed in your heads and repeat after me: Juliusz Slowacki was a great poet, a great poet, we love Juliusz Slowacki and his poems delight us because he was a great poet -- and because his verses are of an immortal beauty which arouses our deepest admiration."''

* The schools in the Fire Nation in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' are highly structured and don't permit much by way of self-expression. Aang gets in trouble numerous times, especially for questioning Fire Nation propaganda he's being fed. Heck, Zuko ''himself'' is implied to have received this kind of education, and he’s shaken after he has seen the horrors his nation has wrought on others, ultimately having to accept everything he’s been taught and grew up on was a lie.

* The schools in the Fire Nation in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' are highly structured and don't permit much by way of self-expression. Aang gets in trouble numerous times, especially for questioning Fire Nation propaganda he's being fed.

* Creator/CSLewis felt that all schools were this way (considering his personal experience, that's hardly unreasonable), and it's reflected in his writing. In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', school is only referred to obliquely and used to punctuate how dreary the normal world is. Every school is pretty much portrayed as where childhood goes to die...in the rain.

* The theme of ''Film/SchoolOfRock''.
* The background setting of ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety''.

* Training for Stasi recruits in ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers''
* Rushmore Prep School from ''Film/{{Rushmore}}'' is this to the degree that the faculty and administration are oblivious to Max's precociousness due to his academic failure.

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* Any military Boot Camp. ''Ever''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since their purpose is to convert the heterogeneous mass of raw recruits into disciplined soldiers.
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* The first part of ''Literature/{{Ferdydurke}}'' is set in such a school. During the Polish lesson, the teacher recites nothing but a string of bland praises of the poet Słowacki, finally concluding that everyone loves Słowacki and his works since [[CircularReasoning he was a great poet]]. When one of the students complains that he doesn't actually like Słowacki at all, the teacher panics.

Please no Real Life examples here. [[labelnote:Alternative Solution]]Go to the Real Life folders of ''School Is For Losers'' and ''Tall Poppy Syndrome'' instead.[[/labelnote]]

* St. Olga's School for Reformed Princesses in ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' is eventually revealed to be this when it's finally shown.

* St. Olga's School for Reformed Princesses in ''WesternAnimation/StarVSTheForcesOfEvil'' is eventually revealed to be this when it's finally shown.

* In'ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin, notorious for being a brat who resists anything formal, sees his school as this, when in reality it is no different than a regular elementary school (the first-graders-learning-algebra gags are all in Calvin's head). Made very explicit in [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/02/07/ one strip where Calvin brings a snowflake for show and tell]].

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' Harry, Ron, and Hermione come to Hogwarts and find out that Hogwarts has turned into an Assimilation Academy significantly worse than the one Umbridge tried to set up under Death Eater tutelage. Students there are actually taught the Dark Arts, encouraged (or coerced) into torturing younger students (and tortured if they refuse), and are fed anti-Muggle propaganda. Played up in the movie where students are even made to march in step.

* Hogwarts becomes this twice in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. It's not particularly successful in book five under [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Umbridge's regime]], but that's certainly the Ministry of Magic's intent. Several students get tortured for either claiming Voldemort has returned (which he had) or for pulling pranks on Umbridge. Things go right again by the end of that book, but in book seven Harry, Ron, and Hermione come to Hogwarts to find out that Hogwarts has turned into an Assimilation Academy even worse than the one Umbridge tried to set up. Students there are actually taught the Dark Arts, encouraged (or coerced) into torturing younger students (and tortured if they refuse), and are fed anti-Muggle propaganda. Played up in the movie where students are even made to march in step.

* The first part of ''Literature/{{Ferdydurke}}'' is set in such a school. During the Polish lesson, the teacher recites nothing but a string of bland praise about the poet Słowacki, finally concluding that everyone love Słowacki and his works since he was a great poet. When one of the students complains that he doesn't actually like Słowacki at all, the teacher panics.
-->''"He was a great poet, don’t forget that he was a great poet. Why do we feel love, admiration, delight? Because he was a great poet, a great poet. You ignorant dunderheads, get this firmly fixed in your heads and repeat after me: Jonas Slowacki was a great poet, a great poet, we love Jonas Slowacki and his poems delight us because he was a great poet -- and because his verses are of an immortal beauty which arouses our deepest admiration."''

Assimilation Academy will often feature school uniforms, a good shorthand for students' lost individuality. Expect it to be run by a controlling DeanBitterman along with a SadistTeacher or two. It will be ruled by an iron fist, and any student who dares question authority will be punished harshly.

* Exaggerated in ''Anime/KillLaKill'' with Honnouji Academy, which is literally used by student council president Satsuki as a private army. The One-Star Students are pretty much FacelessMooks. However, [[MightMakesRight stronger students are allowed to do as they like]], so long as they are still loyal to Satsuki.

* The Massachusetts Academy, run by erstwhile Hellfire Club White Queen Emma Frost, in contrast to Xavier's school in ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics.

* A common theme on ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. Calvin, notorious for being a brat who resists anything formal, sees his school as this, when in reality it is no different than a regular elementary school (the first-graders-learning-algebra gags are all in Calvin's head). Made very explicit in [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/02/07/ one strip where Calvin brings a snowflake for show and tell]].

* Hogwarts becomes this twice in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. It's not particularly successful in book five under [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Umbridge's regime]], but that's certainly the Ministry of Magic's intent. Several students get tortured for either claiming Voldemort has returned (which he had) or by pulling pranks on Umbridge. Things go right again by the end of that book, but in book seven Harry, Ron, and Hermione come to Hogwarts to find out that Hogwarts has turned into an Assimilation Academy even worse than the one Umbridge tried to set up. Students there are actually taught the Dark Arts, encouraged (or coerced) into torturing younger students (and tortured if they refuse), and are fed anti-Muggle propaganda. Played up in the movie where students are even made to march in step.
* The first book in ''Literature/TheDemonHeadmaster'' series. It helps that the title character has actual mind-control powers that work on almost the entire student body - only a handful are immune.
* The second ''Literature/AlexRider'' book, ''Point Blanc'', sees Alex going undercover at a last-resort reform school for the wild sons of influential people. He's disturbed by how well it works: the other boys share mannerisms like some kind of HiveMind, and his only friend there goes from planning his escape to a model pupil in the span of a night. [[spoiler: Turns out they really are clones of each other - adolescent clones of the villain given MagicPlasticSurgery.]]

Please no Real Life examples here. [[labelnote:Alternative Solution]]Go to the Real Life folders of ''School Is For Losers'' and ''Tall Puppy Syndrome'' instead.[[/labelnote]]

* The academy in ''VideoGame/Detention''. The game is set during Taiwan's "White Terror" period during the 1960's, where anti-communist fervor ran high, especially in the schools. Propaganda is seen throughout the school spouting the militant ideology and students are rewarded for ratting their fellow students out.

As many people who didn't enjoy schooling may tell you, formal schooling crushes gentle spirits, destroys creativity and enforces conformity above all. This is often reflected in fictional accounts of schooling. TallPoppySyndrome is often used here.

Please no Real Life examples here[[labelnote:Alternative]]Go to the Real Life folders of 'School Is For Losers' and 'Tall Puppy Syndrome' instead[[/labelnote]].