History Main / MemoryWipeExploitation

* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Garland knows that Bikke is planning to hold a meeting with the other Dark Warriors, as they are unhappy with Garland's leadership. Garland not only supports the idea - he even offers to cater them lunch. Just after serving lunch, Drizz'l approaches Garland and asks why Garland is being so supportive of Bikke's efforts to overthrow him. Garland has two reasons: the first is that [[SkewedPriorities he wanted a chance to try out a new taco recipe he found]]. The second is that he views the plot as a non-issue, because Bikke is grossly incompetent, Vilbert is a poser, and Drizz'l has been a broken shell of a Dark Elf ever since Fighter beat him and took his swords. When Drizz'l points out the possibility that Garland might be overconfident, Garland reveals his secret third reason: he put amnesia peppers in the tacos, meaning he can freely mock the attempts to depose him. In an hour, everyone will have forgotten the entire affair anyway.

* In ''VideoGame/GetEven'', a scientist named Robert "Red" Ramsey takes advantage of Cole Black's memory loss by ''helping'' him investigate the kidnapping of a girl named Grace. [[spoiler:Prior to his memory loss, he knows about the kidnapping and was involved in it before things changed.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs'': In a PetTheDog moment at the end of the first episode, Phil (the perpetually grumpy manager of the MenInBlack-esque organization) takes the time to assure Miko's parents that her crazy story about a monster coming out of the TV was actually true. Once they apologize for doubting her and express how proud they are, she tells him he can go ahead and erase their memories. He also gives them positive, condensed version which they are allowed to remember.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', the {{Magitek}} supercomputer HEX is developing more and more sentience and more and more of a SnarkKnight sense of humour. In ''Fanfic/TheManyWorldsInterpretation'', HEX is part of an exoplanetary survey team sent to make contact with intelligences on Roundworld, based at a place of learning called [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Caltech]]. When it becomes necessary to explain to the local representatives why they have been visited from another planet, HEX opts to explain in full ''why'' people like Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter are vital to the survival of the human race. His strategy is to explain in absolutely full detail, leaving nothing out, and then to wipe Leonard's memory of all the detail.[[note]]leaving only a gut imperative that they Caltech gang ''must'' devote themselves to the problem of creating viable space colony ships to get humanity off a dooomed planet[[/note]]. Leonard Hofstadter, as HEX anticipates, absolutely ''insists'' on a BrainBleach at the end. This is after hearing that Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah-Fowler will work out the sex thing and in fact go in to have a large family. HEX has told him so. In possibly un-necessary detail.

* In the ''Webcomic/NiceKaachanAu'' series of fan comics by [=CharlotteSketches=], the normally belligerent and arrogant Bakugo gets his memories temporarily wiped by a villain's Quirk, leaving him naive, sweet, and goofy. His classmates pounce upon the opportunity to be able to make friends with him, even though Midoriya is understandably concerned about Bakugo's rage when he gets his memories back. [[spoiler:Bakugo himself is horrified at the "real" him once Mineta shows footage of him from the Sports Festival and feels used and hurt by his classmates' manipulation of his condition.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'': [[spoiler:Phineas's love interest, Isabella, kisses him just seconds before their memories are erased.]]

* This is used in ''Film/PurpleStorm'' where the Hong Kong Police Force's Anti-Terrorist Force is trying to interrogate Todd Nguyen, a [[FarEastAsianTerrorists Cambodian terrorist of Chinese heritage]] after the ATF realizes that he's got amnesia. Despite objections from psychologist Shirley Kwan due to moral and ethical reasons, ATF officer Ma Li takes advantage of Todd's memory loss by telling him that's been too deep with the terrorists from Cambodia as a long-term operation from the HKPF. This works in the long run since the amnesiac Todd is able to stop the terrorist plot to use a WMD weapon named Ricin-X.

* Happens several times in ''Film/{{Memento}}''. Leonard has no short-term memory, so he can only hold onto events for a few minutes at a time, then he has no idea that they happened. The landlord tricks Leonard into playing rent multiple times, Natalie [[LampshadeHanging tells him to his face]] that she's doing it, leaving him desperately (and unsuccessfully) searching for a pen to write that down before it fades.

* At the end of ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'', after Alan and Sarah finish the titular board game and everything returns to normal (read: the timeline shifts back to when they first started the game), Sarah kisses Alan, saying that she wants to do it before they forget everything that happened when they played the game.

* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'' season one episode "Out of Time," Barry reveals his secret identity to Iris and they share their first kiss. Afterward, to save Central City from a tsunami, Barry runs back and forth across the coastline to create a barrier, but he runs so fast that he travels back in time to the day before, erasing Iris' memory of the event.
* In the GrandFinale of ''Series/FullHouse'', Michelle suffers TraumaInducedAmnesia. Her cousins Nicky and Alex manipulate her into thinking she let them keep a Rigby the Rhino doll before the accident. After regaining her memories, Michelle catches Nicky and Alex with the doll and makes them give it back to her.

* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Window of Opportunity" Jack and Teal'c are caught in a GroundhogDayLoop and eventually decide to take advantage of the lack of consequences. Ranging from using the stargate as a driving range to Jack violating the fraternization rules with Carter.

* This is taken to a policy level as part of the twist in the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode [[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteBear White Bear.]] Every day, Victoria Skillane wakes up with no memories and is chased through the streets by maniacal mask-wearers who will only commit horrific acts of violence and seemingly "ordinary" civilians filming on their cell phones who will never attempt to stop them, no matter what happens. [[spoiler: It's revealed that this is Victoria's punishment for assisting in the abduction, torture, and murder of a little girl and that every night her memory is wiped after she is forced to remember. This is specifically so that the "amusement park" visitors can engage in the exact same torture, knowing that Victoria has no idea why any of this is happening and is experiencing the same terror as her victim.]]
* Invoked in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' when Gwen gives her boyfriend a dose of an amnesia-inducing sedative right before she reveals to him that she's been having an affair with one of her colleagues at her new job. She tries to get him to forgive her as the sedative takes hold, but he passes out before she gets him to say it.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', Minmax's party is about to undertake a dungeon, only to realize that they've tried and failed 1,982,770 times already and the failed attempts have been wiped from their memories. Forgath makes a comment about how nothing they do will matter because they'll probably fail again and they'll forget this attempt like all the others... [[http://goblinscomic.com/02152011/ Minmax promptly kisses him, thinking it's funny.]]

* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Garland knows that Bikke is planning to hold a meeting with the other Dark Warriors, as they are unhappy with Garland's leadership. Garland not only supports the idea - he even offers to cater them lunch. Just after serving lunch, Drizz'l approaches Garland and asks why Garland is being so supportive of Bikke's efforts to overthrow him. Garland has two reasons: the first is that [[SkewedPriorities he wanted a chance to try out a new taco recipe he found.]] The second is that he views the plot as a non-issue, because Bikke is grossly incompetent, Vilbert is a poser, and Drizz'l has been a broken shell of a Dark Elf ever since Fighter beat him and took his swords. When Drizz'l points out the possibility that Garland might be overconfident, Garland reveals his secret third reason: he put amnesia peppers in the tacos, meaning he can freely mock the attempts to depose him. In an hour, everyone will have forgotten the entire affair anyway.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': "My Big Fat Spy Wedding" has Jimmy confront seemingly reformed criminal, Beautiful Gorgeous, after her groom, Jet Fusion, attacks Sheen when the latter says "I have the ring." Beautiful quickly overpowers Jimmy, confesses her EvilPlan, then uses Jimmy's own Hypno-beam to erase the last 30 minutes of his memory. If Carl and Sheen hadn't witnessed everything, Beautiful actually would have gotten away with her plan.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'': Carl and Major Monogram are prepping to wipe the group's memories, with their permission, so Perry won't be forced to move away. Isabella takes the opportunity to pull Phineas in for a kiss, then tells Carl to fire before Phineas can interject.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', Principal Prickly ends up with the mind of a kid after being hypnotized, T.J. and the gang uses this as an opportunity to manipulate him into mischief, even making announcements about the lunch menu on the school PA system.

* ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs'': In a PetTheDog moment at the end of the first episode, Phil (the perpetually grumpy manager of the MenInBlack-esque organization) takes the time to assure Miko's parents that her crazy story about a monster coming out of the TV was actually true. Once they apologize for doubting her and express how proud they are, she tells him he can go ahead and erase their memories. He also gives them positive, condensed version which they are allowed to remember.
* ''WesternAnimation/RealityTrip'': Danny's ghost powers are revealed to his family. Before he rewrites reality to make them forget, he takes the time to have a conversation with them where they assure him they're proud and don't hate him (despite formerly believing ghosts were evil).

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', knowing that SPHINX was gonna wipe the last few moments of Hank and Dean's memories, [[{{Jerkass}} Dr. Venture]] with sadistic glee reveals to his sons [[CloningBlues that they're clones]] and the identity of their MissingMom [[TheUnreveal (Off-screen of course)]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'': Carl and Major Monogram are prepping to wipe the group's memories, with their permission, so Perry won't be forced to move away. Isabella asks for a moment and pulls Phineas in for a kiss, then tells Carl to fire before Phineas can interject.

* In the ''[[https://charlotten-art.tumblr.com/post/182663049838/nice-kacchan-au-pages-1-10-next Nice Ka-chan]]'' series of fan comics by [=CharlotteSketches=], the normally belligerent and arrogant Bakugo gets his memories temporarily wiped by a villain's Quirk, leaving him naive, sweet, and goofy. His classmates pounce upon the opportunity to be able to make friends with him, even though Midoriya is understandably concerned about Bakugo's rage when he gets his memories back. [[spoiler:Bakugo himself is horrified at the "real" him once Mineta shows footage of him from the Sports Festival and feels used and hurt by his classmates' manipulation of his condition.]]

* After defeating the Improbability Drive in ''VideoGame/ImprobableIsland'' and being [[BalefulPolymorph permanently changed by the resulting explosion of Improbability]], the Watcher suggests that the best way to handle this would be to alter your memories so that you had always been that way. When you agree, she takes the opportunity to let down her facade as TheDreaded and [[spoiler:admit that you were always her favorite contestant, and kiss you]], admitting that she's only doing this because you won't remember it anyway.

* ''Film/TotalRecall1990'': Quaid has spent the entire film with (possibly) false memories, and in constant conflict with Richter. When he's finally caught, he's about to have his previous memories restored, and return to being Richter's ally.
-->'''Richter:''' Excuse me, Doctor. Is he gonna remember any of this?\\
'''Doctor:''' Not a thing.\\
'''Richter:''' Oh really? ''[punches Quaid in the face]''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'': ''My Big Fat Spy Wedding'' has Jimmy confront seemingly reformed criminal, Beautiful Gorgeous, after her groom, Jet Fusion, attacks Sheen when the latter says "I have the ring". Beautiful quickly overpowers Jimmy, confesses her EvilPlan, then uses Jimmy's own Hypno Ray to erase the last 30 minutes of his memory. If Carl and Sheen hadn't witnessed everything, Beautiful actually would have gotten away with her plan.

* At the end of {{Jumanji}}, after Alan and Sarah finish the titular board game and everything returns to normal (read: the timeline shifts back to when they first started the game), Sarah kisses Alan, saying that she wants to do it before they forget everything that happened when they played the game.

See also CriminalAmnesiac when the amnesiac character gets manipulated into being the villain and AmnesiacVillainJoinsTheHeroes for when a villain loses their memory and thinks they were a hero.

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}''
** In a first season episode the three sisters have cast a spell on themselves where anyone whom they question will answer truthfully. Prue takes advantage of this to be honest with her FriendOnTheForce boyfriend Andy -- she tells him the truth about her family's powers and their fight against evil and asks him if she could still have a relationship with him under those circumstances. He answers "No", and then immediately forgets the conversation when the spells wears off. [[WhatTheHellHero He calls her out in a later episode]] for making a final decision based on how he reacted with only a few minutes to process it.
** In a fifth season episode, Paige casts the same spell on her boyfriend at the time to find out how he would react to dating a witch. He was fine with that part, but then revealed that he has a wife and two children. Paige then had to figure out how to keep him contained for the next twenty-four hours so he wouldn't out her as a witch.

* ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'': While watching over a conked-out Davan, [[https://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01282003.shtml Kim's fetish for completely passive partners takes over and she rapes him]], figuring he won't remember. When Davan finds out from Faye (who caught Kim in the act), he doesn't hold a grudge, and it even leads to a CallBack [[https://www.somethingpositive.net/sp09202006.shtml during a later]] SexyDiscretionShot:

* PlayedForDrama in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', a famous football player, Lincoln Haver, is accused of killing his common-law husband is manipulated into confessing to the murder, which he does, leading to a conviction. It's later discovered Lincoln was diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephlity[[note]]a brain condition caused by contact sports that results in memory loss [[/note]] and didn't remember what happened; the truth is revealed when [[spoiler:his agent Gary]] makes a comment contradicting his earlier statement that he had no idea Lincoln was gay, making it pretty clear he had something to hide.

* PlayedForDrama in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', a famous football player, Lincoln Haver, is accused of killing his common-law husband is manipulated into confessing to the murder, which he does. It's later discovered Lincoln was diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephlity[[note]]a brain condition caused by contact sports that results in memory loss [[/note]], as a result, Lincoln is initially convicted of murder before being released after [[spoiler: his agent Gary]] witnesses Lincoln making out with the VictimOfTheWeek and is arrested for the murder.

* The "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Homer, hoping to forget the memories of an odd day that led to his family apparently hating him, ordering a drink called the "Forget-Me-Shot" and asking Lenny, Carl and Moe to make BrutallyHonest comments towards him that he won't remember. Lenny says that blue pants make him look fat, [[HoYay Carl admitting that he finds his small hands attractive]] and Moe proudly proclaiming that he's spat in every one of his drinks (including the drink he serves him to wipe his memory.)

* The "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Homer, hoping to forget the memories of an odd day that led to his family apparently hating him, ordering a drink called the "Forget-Me-Shot" and asking Lenny, Carl and Moe to make BrutallyHonest comments towards him that he won't remember. This leads to some pretty mean-spirited and disturbing admissions including Lenny saying that blue pants make him look fat, [[HoYay Carl admitting that he finds his small hands attractive]] and Moe proudly proclaiming that he's spat in every one of his drinks (including the drink he serves him to wipe his memory.)

** In a fifth season episode, Paige casts the same spell on her boyfriend at the time to find out how he would react to dating a witch. He was fine with that part, but then revealed that [[YourCheatingHeart he has a wife and two children]]. Paige then had to figure out how to keep him contained for the next twenty-four hours so he wouldn't out her as a witch.