History Main / BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood

** In ''Imaginary Numbers'', a group of Johrlac kidnap Sarah and force her to [[spoiler:go through an EvolutionPowerUp into a "Johrlac Queen", who will use FormulaicMagic to teleport their whole species to a new dimension, destroying Earth (and [[MySkullRunnethOver her mind) in the process]]. Due to interference from Sarah's friends and family, she ends up [[spoiler:wiping the minds of almost every other Johrlac there, turning them into {{Empty Shell}}s with HorrorHunger]].

* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', instead of the death sentence murderers are punished with "the death of personality", undergoing a process that wipes away their memories and gives them a new personality that will encourage them to help the community they harmed, in essence "killing" them mentally but not physically. In the episode [[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E04PassingThroughGethsemane "Passing Through Gethsemane"]], Brother Edward discovers that he is actually a murderer who had this done to him, and his current personality is artificial.

* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Angel becomes the CEO of evil law firm Wolfram & Hart's L.A. branch in exchange for them altering reality to give his son Connor (who has snapped and gone AxeCrazy due to a lifelong supernatural TraumaCongaLine) a well-adjusted past with a normal family, and wipe everyone else's memories of him. Eventually Connor gets his old memories restored... but from his perspective the implanted memories remain and they're the ones that feel "real" to him. The real memories are more like a strange, unpleasant dream from Connor's perspective. Wesley also gets his memories restored and suddenly remembers the role he played in Connor's abduction as an infant and the subsequent fallout.

* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', the Nebari ruling body "The Establishment" could subtly modify a person's mind until they no longer had any negative impulses. Unfortunately, along with things like sadism, they considered having any individual desires to be negative qualities, and would happily modify anyone they deemed necessary (aka. most of the known galaxy).

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Arguably, this is what the resident TeenGenius [[spoiler:Five]] did by creating the memory-wiping code that reset the PsychoForHire ''Raza'' crew to [[BlankSlate Blank Slates]] while they were in stasis at the beginning of the series and gave them the opportunity to [[AmnesiacsAreInnocent become better people]] this time around. [[spoiler:She]] had only intended to wipe [[spoiler:Two and Four's]] memories of the fact that [[spoiler:Six was [[TheMole an undercover cop]], so they wouldn't murder him, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe since he had been kind to her]] and saved her from a dire fate when the crew first discovered they had a LittleStowaway]], but the code was rushed and ended up giving the whole crew IdentityAmnesia.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Arguably, this is what TeenGenius [[spoiler:Five]] did by creating the memory-wiping code that reset the PsychoForHire ''Raza'' crew to [[BlankSlate Blank Slates]] while they were in stasis at the beginning of the series and gave them the opportunity to [[AmnesiacsAreInnocent become better people]] this time around. [[spoiler:She]] had only intended to wipe [[spoiler:Two and Four's]] memories of the fact that [[spoiler:Six was [[TheMole an undercover cop]], so they wouldn't murder him, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe since he had been kind to her]] and saved her from a dire fate when the crew first discovered they had a LittleStowaway]], but the code was rushed and ended up giving the whole crew IdentityAmnesia.

* The use of the eponymous ark in the ''Series/StargateSG1'' movie ''Film/StargateTheArkOfTruth'' to convince the Ori's followers of the error of their ways could be viewed this way. While it is justified in that A) the Ori are dead anyway, and B) the Ori's followers are on the verge of overrunning the Milky Way, it's still brainwashing. Even Daniel, who found the Ark and figure out how to activate it in the first place, isn't happy that they had to use it since it does mess with free will in a disturbing way. Even the fact that the Ark can ''only'' make people believe things that are actually true does not make it any less disturbing to them, and actually making use of the Ark is a desperate last resort.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Arguably, this is what TeenGenius [[spoiler:Five]] did by creating the memory-wiping code that reset the PsychoForHire ''Raza'' crew to blank slates while they were in stasis at the beginning of the series and gave them the opportunity to become better people this time around. [[spoiler:She]] had only intended to wipe [[spoiler:Two and Four's]] memories of the fact that [[spoiler:Six was [[TheMole an undercover cop]], so they wouldn't murder him, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe since he had been kind to her]] and saved her from a dire fate when the crew first discovered they had a LittleStowaway]], but the code was rushed and ended up giving the whole crew IdentityAmnesia.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': Arguably, this is what TeenGenius [[spoiler:Five]] did by creating the memory-wiping code that reset the PsychoForHire ''Raza'' crew to blank slates while they were in stasis at the beginning of the series and gave them the opportunity to become better people this time around. [[spoiler:She]] had only intended to wipe [[spoiler:Two and Four's]] memories of the fact that [[spoiler:Six was an undercover cop, so they wouldn't murder him, since he had been kind to her]], but the code was rushed and ended up giving everyone IdentityAmnesia.

** The Doctor does this to the entire human race in "The Day of the Moon" to free them from [[BigBad the Silence]], who have been using post-hypnotic suggestion to secretly manipulate humanity for millennia. The Doctor responds by tricking one into uttering the phrase "[[HoistByHisOwnPetard You should kill us all on sight]]" whilst being recorded, which he splices into the Moon Landing broadcast, turning every single human being for the rest of time into their ([[ManchurianAgent unknowing]]) assassins.

* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Angel becomes the CEO of evil law firm Wolfram & Hart's L.A. branch in exchange for them altering reality to give his son Connor a well-adjusted past with a normal family, and wipe everyone else's memories. Eventually Connor gets his old memories restored... but from his perspective the implanted memories remain and they're the ones that feel "real" to him. The real memories are more like a strange dream from Connor's perspective. Wesley also gets his memories restored and suddenly remembers the role he played in Connor's abduction as an infant and the subsequent fallout.

** [[spoiler:The Vorlons]] were revealed to have done this on a genetic level to most of the younger races, albeit indirectly: [[spoiler: they didn't implant specific moral rules, but they ''did'' program them to see Vorlons as angelic beings that should be revered and trusted implicitly. As Vorlons' moral code turns out to consist largely of "Do as your elders/betters say", this qualifies as a "greater good" from their Vorlons-know-better perspective.]]

* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', instead of the death sentence murderers are punished with "the death of personality", undergoing a process that wipes away their memories and gives them a new personality that will encourage them to help the community they harmed, in essence "killing" them mentally but not physically. In the episode "Passing Through Gethsemane", Brother Edward discovers that he is actually a murderer who had this done to him, and his current personality is artificial.

* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', instead of the death sentence murderers are punished with "the death of personality", undergoing a process that wipes away their memories and gives them a new personality that will encourage them to help the community they harmed, in essence "killing" them mentally but not physically. In the episode "Passing Through Gethsemane", a character discovers that he is actually a murderer who had this done to him, and his current personality is artificial.

*** But then [[spoiler: when the brainwashed murderer is killed for revenge over one of his crimes, the killer is given the same treatment and goes on with his life, untroubled by any guilt. Much to the horror of the station commander. The head monk comments how hard forgiveness is.]]
** [[spoiler: The Vorlons]] were revealed to have done this on a genetic level to most of the younger races, albeit indirectly: [[spoiler: they didn't implant specific moral rules, but they ''did'' program them to see Vorlons as angelic beings that should be revered and trusted implicitly. As Vorlons' moral code turns out to consist largely of "Do as your elders/betters say", this qualifies as a "greater good" from their Vorlons-know-better perspective.]]

* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': The protagonists figure out a way to turn Wraith (AlwaysChaoticEvil aliens who suck the life force out of humans) into amnesiac humans. Once they try this with their first subject, Michael, they convince him that he's always been a member of their expedition to see if they really can make good people out of Wraiths. Michael gets suspicious, finds out what happened, escapes, isn't accepted among other Wraith, tries to team up with Atlantis, gets turned human and brainwashed AGAIN, and completely snaps and decides to wipe out both Wraith and Humans.

* ''Series/Supergirl2015'': Lena Luthor perceives that one way or another everyone she's loved or trusted has betrayed her, so as of Season 5 she searches for relics and technology that enable her to manipulate people's minds by forcibly removing their ability to hurt others.

* Happens to the Slayers, the Branaghs and Renfield in the final episode of Season 2 of ''Series/YoungDracula'' courtesy of Vlad (though the latter two were accidents; it was the Slayers that were the target). The WhatTheHellHero occurs four years later in Season 3's "The Return" when Vlad finds out that the hypnosis he did [[spoiler:ended up causing the death of Eric Van Helsing, who didn't remember that vampires were real or how to defend himself from them. The shock of Eric's death caused Lucy and Jonno to regain their memories]].

* Happens to the Slayers, the Branaghs and Renfield in the final episode of Season 2 of ''Series/YoungDracula'' courtesy of Vlad (though the latter two were accidents; it was the Slayers that were the target). The WhatTheHellHero occurs four years later in Season 3's "The Return" when Vlad finds out that the hypnosis he did [[spoiler:ended up causing the death of Eric Van Helsing, who didn't remember that vampires were real or how to defend himself from them]].

* Happens to the Slayers, the Branaghs and Renfield in the final episode of Season 2 of ''Series/YoungDracula'' courtesy of Vlad (though the latter two were accidents; it was the Slayers that were the target). The WhatTheHellHero occurs four years later in Season 3's The Return when Vlad finds out that the hypnosis he did [[spoiler: ended up killing Eric Van Helsing]].

** A third episode involves the crew having to do this to one of their own, the Doctor[[note]]who is a holographic AI entity[[/note]], after he ends up developing a severely impeding obsession with a past decision over treatment of two critically wounded crewmembers who had an equal chance of survival with his care, but he only had time to treat one. In essence, his decision processing could handle greater-than/less-than, but not equal-to values. He repeatedly demands the blocked memories be restored when he figures out there's blocked memories, and then repeatedly has a nervous breakdown, and the crew repeatedly has to re-block the memory. [[FridgeLogic Just don't ask why they never thought about the limits of having only ONE doctor for the whole ship (especially in combat situations) when they could have set up MULTIPLE holographic bodies for the Doctor to control simultaneously in such situations. Well, maybe the multitasking would have slowed him down.]]

* ''Series/Stargirl2020'': The Injustice Society's plan turns out to involve this. People will be brainwashed to create a better America without homophobia and racism, which fights climate change. And it only affects adults, not children, since Icicle believes that ChildrenAreInnocent. The heroes are briefly taken aback and wonder if this is something they ''should'' be opposing, but then they learn that 25% of the population will have too strong a reaction to the reprogramming and die, which settles that.

* ''Series/Stargirl2020'': The Injustice Society's plan turns out to involve this. People will be brainwashed to create a better America without homophobia and racism, which fights climate change. And it only affects adults, not children. The heroes are briefly taken aback and wonder if this is something they ''should'' be opposing, but then they learn that 25% of the population will have too strong a reaction to the reprogramming and die, which settles that.

* ''Series/Stargirl2020'': The ISA's plan turns out to involve this. People will be brainwashed to create a better America without homophobia and racism, which fights climate change. And it only affects adults, not children. The heroes are briefly taken aback and wonder if this is something they ''should'' be opposing, but then they learn that 25% of the population will have too strong a reaction to the reprogramming and die, which settles that.

* ''Series/Stargirl2020'': The ISA's plan turns out to involve this. People will be brainwashed to create a better America without homophobia and racism, which fights climate change.

* Used frequently in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', where the heroes could turn the villains docile and friendly with magic or pleasant dreams. In most cases this was a temporary effect so they would be docile enough to hand them back the dreamstone, though in at least one case it was intended to be permanent, with the entire Urpney army and the Argorribles remaining subordinate to them until Sgt. Blob and Urpgor broke them out of it.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', the alternate universe KnightTemplar Justice League, the Justice Lords, brainwashed dangerous villains like ComicBook/TheJoker. Or rather, Superman ''[[FateWorseThanDeath lobotomized]]'' them with his heat vision. (When Doomsday -- freaking ''Doomsday'' shows up, this makes for a CurbStompBattle with the Justice Lord Superman. Instead of [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman fistfighting to their mutual destruction]], brain-fry ensues and it's a done deal. Of course, [[spoiler: He got better a couple seasons later, and when the prime Superman is desperate enough to use his darker version's tactic, Doomsday, via his AdaptiveAbility, is now immune]].) Amusingly, when we get to see the alternate Arkham Asylum and the various lobotomized supervillains, The Ventriloquist has no lobotomy scars, but [[DemonicDummy Mr. Scarface]] ''does''. [[note]] It makes perfect sense in the context of Batman's rogues gallery, since the ventriloquist has Multiple Personality Disorder and believed Mr. Scarface was alive. So he just needed to ''believe'' Mr. Scarface was lobotomized.[[/note]]
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'', Coop and the gang land on a planet to ask directions, only to discover that all the worker robots inhabiting it are in fact prisoners of a facility that seemingly removes their free will to make them their slaves. Like usual, Coop demolishes everything, and after getting the directions from the newly awaken robots and leaves, we see the robots he just "freed" destroying all traces of life on this planet very violently, with the "evil overlord" being in fact the prison warden who had transformed killer robots into docile sheep to rehabilitate them, the episode ending with one robot saying he'll repay Coop by destroying Earth.
* Though not seen, in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Twilight mentions "reformation spells". If they couldn't convince a character to turn good the old fashioned way, Twilight had every intent of using it. [[spoiler:As the character in question is an unrepentant, [[RealityWarper Reality-Warping]] MadGod, her extreme attitude [[GodzillaThreshold is understandable]], though it's not without some FridgeHorror when you sit down and think about it.]]

* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'': [[spoiler:After Ford Cruller defeated and captured Maligula/Lucrecia Mux, he was still in love with her and couldn't bring himself to kill her, even though she had already accidentally killed so many. So he went down to the Astralathe and used it to alter her psyche and make her think she was Marona Aquato, which was her dead sister that she accidentally killed. Then he used the Astralathe on her nephew Augustus Aquato so that he'd believe Lucrecia was his mother. After this, Ford used the Astralathe to split his mind apart to make himself forget so that he didn't have to remember the guilt of brainwashing his former girlfriend and her nephew.]]

** Also seen ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'' on the Hyperclan (White Martians) after the Justice League stop their invasion of Earth, as the ComicBook/MartianManhunter and ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} telepathically brainwashed all of them into thinking they're regular humans. This later causes more problems, for example when one of them thinks he's Bruce Wayne.

* The use of the eponymous ark in the ''Series/StargateSG1'' movie ''Film/TheArkOfTruth'' to convince the Ori's followers of the error of their ways could be viewed this way. While it is justified in that A) the Ori are dead anyway, and B) the Ori's followers are on the verge of overrunning the Milky Way, it's still brainwashing. Even Daniel, who found the Ark and figure out how to activate it in the first place, isn't happy that they had to use it since it does mess with free will in a disturbing way. Even the fact that the Ark can ''only'' make people believe things that are actually true does not make it any less disturbing to them, and actually making use of the Ark is a desperate last resort.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern''

* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s {{Elseworlds}} counterpart in ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'' did this, to disturbing effect. The Batman imitators mopping the floor still in their costumes were particularly creepy; of course, [[spoiler:President]] Superman has a lot of reason to hate Batman in this story. Unfortunately, the comic {{Time Skip}}s over the stage at which Superman decided to start cyberlobotomizing his enemies so as to maintain control without having to kill anybody. We never see the decision making that developed into this, and by the time we see it it's treated as normal -- a good drama call, but frustrating.