Line #95 Main/BigBrotherIsEmployingYou


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Brazil}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brazil_ministry_of_information_retrieval.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Just another day at the office.]]
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10
11	->''"You are not allowed to have conspiracy theories when you're in the employ of the conspiracy."''
12	-->-- ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''
13
14	[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Hello]], [[YouAreNumberSix worker drone number 54234]]. I have been asked to inform you that you are the perfect viewpoint into our [[CardCarryingVillain insanely oppressive]] dystopian society, because you ''are'' our dystopian society. Or at least a cog in the machine powering it.
15
16	Don't think that makes you important though. Get the least bit uppity with us, and [[WeHaveReserves we can]] and [[ResignationsNotAccepted will easily replace you]]. And don't think anyone would care to remember you if that happened; we have already taken the liberty of [[UnPerson erasing you from the few publicly available databases]]. Now, now, don't look so upset, it just came with the job. Granted, it is a bit hard knowing exactly what you are signing up for, when you are eager to get out there and take your boot to the face of the numerous enemies of our glorious state, or if you are volunteered at gunpoint.
17
18	As you can imagine, all of this can easily make you a morally ambiguous character in a very "delicate" position, which means you are very likely to be the main character of a work of fiction about this society. Because we don't want that, you will be terminated [[ExactTimeToFailure 23 and a half]] seconds after your HeelRealization.
19
20	[[VerbalIrony Have a nice day.]]
21
22	See RageWithinTheMachine. Compare GovernmentProcedural.
23
24	----
25	!!Examples:
26
27	[[foldercontrol]]
28
29	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
30	* Edward Elric (and his brother Al, in practice), as well as Roy Mustang and his staff, all work for the oppressive Amestrian military in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. After his experience in the genocide of Ishbal, Roy began plotting a coup to overturn Amestris’ fascist government, while Ed only joined so he could (mis)use the resources afforded to state alchemists for his personal research.
31	* ''Manga/PumpkinScissors'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' and similarly features a squad of heroes within a [[ArmiesAreEvil corrupt army]].
32	* Some might say that Section 9 serves a similar purpose in the ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' universe, given how they're more or less the 'net police/swat for Japan.
33	* Both Yomiko and the Paper Sisters in the ''Anime/ReadOrDie'' franchise start off this way.
34	* Claire and the other Claymores in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}''.
35	* Re-l and Vincent in ''Anime/ErgoProxy''.
36	* While Kirihara of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' is very much good, her bosses [[TheManBehindTheMan certainly aren't]], and several episodes indicate she has at least some awareness of this.
37	** And on one of the other sides of the MeleeATrois of government conspiracies and SpyVersusSpy and suchlike, we have [[AntiHero Hei]], working for TheSyndicate. Hell, in the BreatherEpisode before the GrandFinale of the first season, they both get disgusted with their bosses and, thanks to a convenient accident, end up [[ShipTease hanging out together]], which included a lengthy discussion of what it's like to feel like your employers are just using you as a pawn.
38	* [[{{Deuteragonist}} Suzaku Kururugi]] from ''Anime/CodeGeass'', who thinks it's better to work for [[TheEmpire the Britannian Empire]] to [[InternalReformist reform it instead of fighting against it]].
39	* The protagonists of ''Anime/PsychoPass'' are the law enforcement arm for a government that [[PrecrimeArrest arrests people based on their judged psychological criminal tendency]] (instead of actual crimes) and [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou has scanners and cameras everywhere]].
40	* Downplayed with Yuri Briar in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'', who is a member of the SecretPolice. He's not the main character, though he does get ADayInTheLimelight a few times.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Audio Adaptation]]
44	* The main character of the rather disturbing ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho054TheNaturalHistoryOfFear The Natural History of Fear]]" is the Editor. He... edits people.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Fan Works]]
48	* The main cast of the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic ''Fanfic/GildedGreen'' is made of the Dai Li. (And later, [[spoiler:Xiaofan.]])
49	* In the ''VideoGame/MetalGear''[=/=]''Literature/GenerationKill'' crossover series ''Fanfic/PatriotsVerse'', this is at first subverted with Fick's political career, which never had a chance of getting off the ground in the Patriots-controlled United States, but later played straight when Fick settles for a business job at [=ArmsTech=] Security, a front-company for much of the assets the Patriots used.
50	* The main characters of the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''[=/=]''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''[=/=]''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense.'' MegaCrossover fic ''Fanfic/ReflectionsLostOnADarkRoad'' are on the inside of one such organisation.
51	* In the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''[=/=]''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheRoadToCydonia'', a character will, on occasion, muse on the unpleasant implications of what X-COM is doing, and its abuse of ordinary people's rights. Then they'll decide the end justifies the means and carry on with whatever distasteful task they were going to do.
52	* The Stallions in Black in Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
56	* In ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers'', the main character is a [[SecretPolice Stasi agent]], keeping the people of East Germany under surveillance.
57	* In ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', John Preston is the top Grammaton Cleric, responsible for tracking down and bringing to justice "sense offenders," the opponents of the Tetragrammaton Council, the government of Libria.
58	* In Creator/TerryGilliam's ''Film/{{Brazil}}'', Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) works for the Ministry of Information. God help him when he gets unavoidably tangled in the toils of Information ''Retrieval''... It's strongly implied that everyone works for ''central services'' i.e. the state.
59	* Charlton Heston's character in ''Film/SoylentGreen'' was a police detective, so he technically worked for the oppressive state that was feeding poor people to poor people.
60	* The cast of ''Film/SilentRunning'' all worked for the government that ordered them to destroy the last preserved ecosystems.
61	%%* John Anderton in ''Film/MinorityReport''
62	%%* Inspector Finch in ''Film/VForVendetta''
63	* Logan from ''Film/LogansRun'', before he starts running. Big Brother in this case is the city's mainframe computer, which implements population controls.
64	* A rare positive example are the titular ''Film/MenInBlack'', who run the vast government conspiracy keeping people in the dark about alien life on planet Earth, with all the lying, violence, and mind-wiping presented as ultimately justified.
65	* ''Film/EagleEye'' the two protagonists are forcefully recruited by a [[spoiler:renegade A.I.]] to help it [[spoiler:kill the President, and replace him with the Secretary of Defense]].
66	* In contrast to the earlier two ''Film/{{Cube}}'' movies where the protagonists were implied to be under covert surveillance by whoever controls the Cube, the two main characters in ''Film/CubeZero'' actually ''are'' the Orwellian observers of the Cube's occupants and perform its day-to-day operations. At the same time they also have people to answer to and are inferred to be under constant surveillance themselves, as their masters throw the technicians into the Cube if they become too much of a nuisance. [[spoiler:This is because the technicians are actually another level of the Cube experiment -- observing the observers and such.]]
67	* Finn in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' starts out as a Stormtrooper for the fascist [[TheRemnant First Order]] but does a HeelFaceTurn after his first combat assignment.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Literature]]
71	* Many of the characters in ''Literature/TheOrphanMastersSon'', a novel set in North Korea, including the protagonist (an intelligence agent), as well as a government torturer who narrates most of the novel, and the female lead, an actress who works in the state-run film industry.
72	* Winston Smith in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' works for the Ministry of Truth, where he alters the past and turns lies into objective truth. The book invented the term "Big Brother" and is thus the TropeNamer.
73	* Played with in ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'': Bernard Marx works for the government like everyone else... except for the Savage, who [[DecoyProtagonist becomes the protagonist for the second half of the book]].
74	* ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'': The protagonist starts out as a book burner for the government.
75	* Richard Decker in ''Literature/DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep'' and the movie it (loosely) became, ''Film/BladeRunner.''
76	* In fact, lots of Creator/PhilipKDick books and stories can work for this one. ''The Penultimate Truth'' (maybe, depending on how you interpret the crazy, drugged-out second half), ''Literature/TheMinorityReport'' and ''We Can Remember It For You Wholesale'' which became the movie ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' and the [[Film/TotalRecall2012 2012 remake]].
77	* The ''Literature/WarchildSeries'' by Karin Lowachee. While Captain Azarcon isn't the narrator in any of the books, he can undoubtedly be considered the protagonist. And he's a captain of a large space carrier for a government which invaded an alien lunar colony, started a war, and then re-started the war out of prejudice and bigotry when he tried to end it. Needless to say, he [[spoiler:stops working for the government by the end of the second book.]]
78	* Arguably, most of the characters in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} tie-in novels, from ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' to ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}'' to Gaunt of ''Literature/GauntsGhosts''.
79	* D-503 in ''Literature/{{We}}'' is the chief engineer of the One State's first starship, the ''Integral''. As such, later on [[spoiler: he is recruited into the rebellious MEPHI to give them an opportunity to capture the ship]].
80	* Jonas in ''Literature/TheGiver'' is being trained to take a role in perpetuating the dystopia they all live in.
81	* Chip, in ''Literature/ThisPerfectDay'', works in a genetics lab identifying gene samples as part of the evil supercomputer's plan to genetically-engineer the human race into identical, interchangeable sameness. His grandfather, Papa Jan, actually helped BUILD the evil supercomputer, but later regretted it.
82	* The protagonist of the Creator/RobertAHeinlein novella ''Literature/IfThisGoesOn'' is one of the guards at the HQ of the CorruptChurch that rules a dystopian future America.
83	* The government of Earth goes through some Dystopic stages in ''Literature/TheForeverWar'', and the main characters are soldiers.
84	* In a way, Miles Vorkosigan and his friends, from ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. While it's definitely reformed significantly and he is continuing that process, Barrayar was TheEvilEmpire a generation ago and is still viewed that way by many people.
85	* ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' makes efforts to change the MegaCorp-run CrapsaccharineWorld England in which she lives, but still works for its government.
86	* In ''The Other Side of the Island'' by Allegra Goodman, the world is run by a sort of PeaceAndLoveIncorporated, called Earth Mother. Honor's mother ends up working for them when she decides to rebel against the government.
87	* The eponymous Jen from ''Literature/JenniferGovernment'' works for the government, but that's not the dystopian power in the novel. Meanwhile, beta protagonists Hack Nike and Billy Betchel (later Billy NRA) work for the dystopian corporate clusters, Hack for Nike (the main antagonist in the novel) while Billy is the muscle.
88	* ''Tracer'' by Stuart Jackson, set in a [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 1999 Britain]] controlled by a neo-fascist government as a result of the AIDS crisis. The protagonist is a policeman whose job is to track down AIDS carriers.
89	* ''Blind Faith'' by Creator/BenElton features, as its hero, Trafford, who works for [=NatDat=], the National Data Bank, which knows everything about everyone. Almost everyone works for [=NatDat=] in one way or another.
90	* Everyone in ''Literature/{{Matched}}'' works for the government, because everything is controlled by the government.
91	* The protagonist of ''Literature/{{Fatherland}}'', Xavier March, is an officer in the ''Kriminalpolizei'' who holds the SS rank of Sturmbannführer.
92	* Gary, Martha, and Charlemagne from ''Literature/ClocksThatDontTick'' are all employed by the Bosses. They're not very happy about it.
93	* Most of the cast of ''Literature/DeathStar'', which ranges from soldiers to a bartender to a political prisoner. Some were enlisted to work on the Death Star, some were conscripted. At a few points characters complain that they [[ResignationsNotAccepted can't leave or resign]] and any difference they might attempt to make would be trivial and get them executed. Still, they find themselves happy and complacent working on the titular structure - for a time. As the events of ''Film/ANewHope'' happen around them everyone who's not a named canonical character from the film finds themselves sickened by TheEmpire's cruelty, and the destruction of Alderaan [[DefectorFromDecadence tips them all over the edge]]. For most of them it becomes a powerful moral imperative to do ''something'' so that at minimum they aren't contributing to such evil anymore. [[spoiler: Working together, thanks to the HeroicSacrifice of several of them and a certain amount of luck, some of them manage to depart in a shuttle, and largely decide to join the Rebellion sight unseen.]]
94	* In ''Literature/Coda2013'', after being captured and arrested for starting an underground band, Anthem is given the best musical equipment the Corp has... to produce music that will control everyone.
95	* ''Literature/TheTraitorBaruCormorant'': After the prologue, the title character becomes Imperial Accountant of the recently annexed country of Aurdwynn, meaning her job is to extract its wealth and resources to profit the Empire. And also to use economic methods to keep the famously rebellious populace in line; partway through the book she discovers a scheme where counterfeit money is being used to fund a rebellion, and deliberately sets off an inflationary crisis to render that money worthless, crushing the rebellion without loosing a single arrow (and causing widespread misery for everyone else, but [[IDidWhatIHadToDo it was the only way]]).
96	* The Lambsbridge Gang from ''Literature/{{Twig}}'' are a group of [[TykeBomb child spies and assassins]] who were created by and work for the amoral Radham Academy, which itself serves [[TheEmpire the Crown]]. Their job is to quietly locate and eliminate escaped experiments, criminals, and independent scholars who threaten the Academy's monopoly on scientific knowledge.
97	* In ''Literature/TheHouseInTheCeruleanSea'', Linus works for DICOMY, the Department in Charge of Magical Youths. While it's technically [[DepartmentOfChildDisservices social services for magical children]], and Linus himself cares very much about the wellbeing of children in his caseload, it becomes apparent that DICOMY and its sister organizations focusing on adult magical people is focused on [[CrapsackWorld controlling the magical population]] as well as their employees: Linus and his colleagues are observed at all times, and people inside and outside of the organization seem to fear the Extremely Upper Management.
98	* Shades of this are in ''Literature/LeiaPrincessOfAlderaan''. As Leia comes of age she takes after her father Bail and joins a junior division of the Senate that works out advisements on policy and recommends things to more powerful people. Thanks to being raised on a powerful, independent Core World by moral parents, and having been Bail's intern for two years, she's aware that TheEmpire is evil. Initially though, she believes it's possible to moderate the Emperor's influence and change it from within, and is gradually radicalized as she learns more and tries to get involved in the nascent Rebel Alliance. Even at the start of the book she's well aware that dire consequences result if she or the people around her dare to criticize the Emperor or any Imperial officials openly or to anyone who might report them.
99
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
103	* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Zack Allan joins the Nightwatch, an [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany SA-type]] organisation for the fascists who are plotting to take over the Earth government, because he needs the money. He eventually has a HeelRealisation at the point when the coup starts, and betrays the group.
104	* Stanley Tweedle of ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' is a lowly Class 4 Security Guard whose own selfishness in the past actually helped build a foothold [[NiceJobBreakingItHero for the nightmarish theocracy he works for.]]
105	* ''{{Series/Colony}}'': Jennifer monitors the Bowman's house using hidden cameras as part of her job with Homeland Security, while "Panopticon" (itself a surveillance term) reveals hundreds of more people doing the same thing. [[spoiler: The end reveals that she is ''also'' being watched.]]
106	* Kiera Cameron, ''{{Series/Continuum}}'''s lead character, is a dedicated agent of the CPS, the peacekeeping force ensuring that that the corporate dystopia that is 2077 Vancouver continues operating according to the Corporate Congress' whims.
107	* The entire core cast of ''Series/LaFemmeNikita'' consists of this type of character: every character works for Section One, a secret spy agency with global reach that recruits its personnel by faking their deaths, kidnapping them, and forcing them to work at gunpoint.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Music]]
111	* ''{{Music/Hawkwind}}'''s long paean to the existential angst of being one of thousands of identical units. ''Spirit of the Age'':-
112	--> I am a clone, I am not alone,
113	--> Every fibre of my flesh and blood is identical to others;
114	--> Everything I say and do
115	--> Is in the same tone//
116	--> As my test-tube brother's voice;
117	--> There is no choice between us,
118	--> If you had ever seen us, then you'd rejoice in your uniqueness,
119	--> And consider every weakness something special of your own!
120	--> Being a clone, I have no flaws to identify...
121	* "Clampdown" by Music/TheClash:
122	-->You grow up and you calm down
123	-->You're working for the clampdown
124	-->You start wearing the blue and brown
125	-->You're working for the clampdown
126	-->So you got someone to boss around
127	-->It makes you feel big now
128	-->You drift until you brutalize
129	-->You made your first kill now
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
133	* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}''. In most of the official products your PlayerCharacter is a Troubleshooter who works for Friend Computer, the paranoid, repressive dictator of Alpha Complex.
134	* ''TabletopGame/SLAIndustries''. The PC's are Operatives who work for some branch of the eponymous company, which is the brutal, corrupt government of the Worlds of Progress.
135	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. To serve the Imperium is to be a servant of the ''the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable.'' It says so right on the box.
136	** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' is this in a much more specific and direct way: the player characters are acolytes of the Inquisition, the StateSec of said cruel and bloody regime, with a mandate to keep that cruel and bloody regime functional at any cost. That their actions in doing so will tend toward the ''lesser'' of many evils says all you need to know about [[CrapsackWorld the setting]].
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Video Games]]
140	* ''VideoGame/BlackCloset'' spins this with a school instead of a government, casting you as the leader of the AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil tasked with keeping order in a prestigious girls' academy.
141	* Though set in real-world Britain, this is the basic premise of ''VideoGame/Floor13'', in which you play the head of a secret black-ops agency to protect the reputation of the Prime Minister and his party. You're a wholly deniable and expendable asset if you slip up.
142	* The premise of ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'' is that you're a citizen of the fictional Soviet satellite of Arstotzka, working as a checkpoint inspector.
143	* The premise of ''VideoGame/{{Beholder}}'' is that you are government-installed landlord of a small building in a totalitarian state.
144	* In ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', JC Denton begins the game working for the puppet organization of the Secret Masters.
145	** Additionally, depending on which ending the player gets, he may [[spoiler:become one of the Secret Masters of the conspiracy that takes over from the one he destroyed or install himself as one half of the possibly benevolent post-human big brother]].
146	* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[MagnificentBastard the Illusive Man]] brings Commander Shepard back from death and equips him/her with everything s/he needs to help him defeat the lackeys of [[EldritchAbomination the Reapers]], who want to destroy all organic life in the galaxy. Once the Collectors are defeated [[spoiler:he wants you to not destroy their technology, but to salvage it to make mankind stronger than any other species. But that's pretty much the same thing every other slaves of the Reapers have believed to be doing.]]
147	* Happens on occasion in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''.
148	** Cecil of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' starts out as pretty much TheDragon until he realizes that his king is being more evil than usual (too late for many towns, unfortunately).
149	** Terra and Celes start out ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' as generals for TheEmpire, though the former was brainwashed.
150	*** Terra wasn't ever actually named as a general, though it's clear she was fairly high-ranking in the Empire due to her [[spoiler:half-Esper]] status. However, the fact that she had a Slave Crown placed on her makes it fairly evident that she can't have been ''that'' high-ranking.
151	** Zack spends most of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' working for [[MegaCorp Shinra]].
152	** Midway through ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Lightning realizes that [[spoiler:Cocoon was not built as a safe home for the humans, but for the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Fal'Cie]], who run absolutely everything on the world. The human population is completely unnecessary and purely decorative, and the people really just well pampered pets.]]
153	* ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' is about a rebellion of Martian miners oppressed by the corrupt MegaCorp Ultor Mining.
154	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': The protagonist, Gordon Freeman, is revealed at the end to have been little more than a pawn of the mysterious G-Man, who appears to be engineering most of the plot as part of an inscrutable cosmic scheme. Freeman is not ([[HeroicMime as far as we know]]) a willing participant, but the G-Man has the apparent ability to manipulate time and space in such a way as to effectively {{railroad\|ing}} him into doing what he wants. In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'', the G-Man's control of Freeman is, at least temporarily, interrupted by the Vortigaunts.
155	* ''{{VideoGame/XCOM}}'' has you playing as the top-secret transnational GovernmentConspiracy attempting to cover up an alien invasion, with secret labs full of [[JustThinkOfThePotential captured technology and space monsters]], and squads of heavily armed commandos and psychic [[TheMenInBlack MIBs]] delivered around the world via BlackHelicopter… [[WithThisHerring Or at least that's what you]] ''[[PerpetualPoverty aspire]]'' [[HopelessWar to]].
156	* In ''VideoGame/NotTheRobots'', Solar Group spies on its own employees and keeps logs on those that seem to be dissatisfied with their job.
157	* In ''VideoGame/{{Orwell}}'', you play as an investigator for the titular Orwell programme, a massive, secretive surveillance system that gives users near-complete access to an individual's private data (such as their call logs, emails, bank accounts, health records and text messages). [[spoiler: At the end of the game, you can either do exactly what you're told and keep the system in use, or you can reveal its existence to the world and get it shut down. However, both endings imply that Orwell continues to be used regardless.]]
158	* In ''VideoGame/{{Manhunter}}'' you are press-ganged as a "manhunter". Your task is finding humans who commit crimes against Orbs — the aliens that conquered Earth.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Web Original]]
162	* Fatebane in ''Literature/AssociatedSpace'' is a government agent of the Terran Associated States.
163	* ''WebAnimation/CivilProtection'': The protagonists are PunchClockVillains for a Dystopian police force ruled by transdimensional alien invaders.
164	* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' did an episode of ''WebVideo/AfterHours'' where this was considered a reason to select [[ComicBook/LexLuthor Lex Corp]] or a similar EvilInc if you had to be a henchman and could choose your overlord. You might as well get stock options and a retirement account. Others rejected the idea; henchmen die too young to ever cash in your 401k, after all.
165	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': The Reds, the Blues, the Freelancers [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Doc]] are working for Project Freelancer, at least until ''Reconstruction'' where the Project and its Director are brought down by some of them.
166	%%* Website/SCPFoundation personnel could be considered this, depending on how dystopian the Foundation is in your canon. Way too general
167	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BigBrotherIsEmployingYou