History Main / CiviliansAreIrrelevant

** Also played straight regarding Faunus civil rights efforts. Onscreen, there are very few examples of any organized efforts to fight for the rights of the Faunus aside from the White Fang and the Belladonnas. The White Fang support violent resistance, while the Belladonnas support peaceful protests and marches. However, after the [[spoiler;leaders of the White Fang (Sienna and Adam) are killed, we never see any more large-scale, organized efforts again -- not even in Atlas/Mantle, where Faunus discrimination is at its peak. We're told that the Belladonnas have absorbed many remnants of the White Fang and are presumably taking action elsewhere, but we're not shown it.

* StrawCivilian: Only those from the military are treated in a sympathetic light, anyone not them (including non-combatants) are apathetic at best, or ungrateful at worst.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':

* In a video about ''Franchise/TheHungerGames'' and fictional revolutions, Website/YouTube channel "Just Write" mentioned this trope (albeit not by name) as one of the common pratfalls of writing revolutions. Because stories by default focus on a {{Protagonist}} or small group of people, it's very difficult to write an interesting and nuanced collective revolution, whereas the people actually take intelligent and aggressive action to overthrow their oppressors. Most writers opt to limit the general populaces' role to generic riots or ineffectual protests to clear the way for the aforementioned protagonist to do all of the work. He thus praises the final ''Hunger Games'' book for having its revolution be a collective action, whereas protagonist Katniss's job is mostly symbolic or limited to things that only she can do.

A DepopulationBomb somehow never slows down the production of goods and services and the economy is never affected by a populace or environment being wiped out...or, in the rare event that it does, it's only mentioned in passing until the people in charge figure out alternative means. When attacks or disasters result in comparatively low casualties/damage or get undone via a ResetButton, then no one cares and [[StatusQuoIsGod nothing needs to change]]. You would think that even the ''threat'' of annihilation would traumatize the populace and have far-reaching consequences, but in fiction, the civilian population just forgets about the near-miss like it never happened. Failing to save people is used only in the context of how much it makes TheHero feel bad. Civilian decisions exist only to [[PowderKegCrowd inform the protagonists]] if their task [[StrawCivilians got easier or harder.]]

Simply put, this trope treats humanity as if it were one, amorphous blob -- that our species is only as strong or capable as our social elite. If our [[WorldsBestCharacter best and brightest]] aren't involved in an outcome, then ''no one'' is. When this trope is in play, [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed entire societies rise and fall]] and entire worlds (or universes) crumble while the common people are barely (if at all) involved or considered at all aside from throwaway lines like [[ConceptsAreCheap "Protecting the kingdom" or "Humanity's fate depends on us"]].

A DepopulationBomb somehow never slows down the production of goods and services and the economy is never affected by a populace or environment being wiped out...or, in the rare event that it does, it's only mentioned in passing. When attacks or disasters result in comparatively low casualties/damage or get undone via a ResetButton, then [[StatusQuoIsGod nothing needs to change]]. You would think that even the ''threat'' of annihilation would have far-reaching consequences, but in fiction, the civilian population just forgets about the near-miss like it never happened. Failing to save people is used only in the context of how much it makes TheHero feel bad. Civilian decisions exist only to [[PowderKegCrowd inform the protagonists if their task got easier or harder.]]

* StrawCivilian: Only those from the military or main characters are seen in a sympathetic light, anyone not them are apathetic at best, or ungrateful at worst.

* In a video about ''Franchise/TheHungerGames'' and fictional revolutions, Website/YouTube channel "Just Write" spoke mentioned this trope (albeit not by name) as one of the common pratfalls of writing revolutions. Because stories by default focus on a {{Protagonist}} or small group of people, it's very difficult to write an interesting and nuanced collective revolution, whereas the people actually take intelligent and aggressive action to overthrow their oppressors. Most writers opt to limit the general populaces' role to generic riots or ineffectual protests to clear the way for the aforementioned protagonist to do all of the work. He thus praises the final ''Hunger Games'' book for having its revolution be a collective action, whereas protagonist Katniss's job is mostly symbolic or limited to things that only she can do.

** ''Comicbook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'' {{deconstruct|ion}}s the idea of the "{{Superhero}} as World Police" trope. While the concept was arguably deconstructed first with the creation of ComicBook/TheIlluminati, this run on the title took the trope as far as it can go. In the wake of multiverse-destroying "incursions" that threaten their universe, the Illuminati decide to keep [[IgnoranceIsBliss the public unaware of it]]. What makes this special is that the MarvelUniverse isn't exactly unused to [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed an apocalypse every other week]], and this isn't the first time that the heroes have been so outclassed in power that they had no idea how to stop it. For this reason, members of The Illuminati get called out by ''everyone'' who finds out about it. ComicBook/BlueMarvel, in particular, tells Reed Richards and Black Panther that a plurality of voices and ideas from humanity would have been the right thing to do. Black Panther seems to have listened, as ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2015'' were formed specifically to deal with problems similar to what The Illuminati faced, but with input from civilian authorities.

A DepopulationBomb somehow never slows down the production of goods and services and the economy is never affected by a populace or environment being wiped out...or, in the rare event that it does, it's only mentioned in passing. When attacks or disasters result in comparatively low casualties/damage or get undone via a ResetButton, then [[StatusQuoIsGod nothing needs to change]] and instead of being terrified by the near-miss, the civilian population just forgets about it like it never happened. Failing to save people is used only in the context of how much it makes TheHero feel bad. Civilian decisions exist only to [[PowderKegCrowd inform the protagonists if their task got easier or harder.]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Particularly in Part 3, anyone who accompanies the heroes and is not a Stand user or [[InfantImmortality a child]] is likely to die to the hands of the VillainOfTheWeek. In most cases, they have nothing to do with the conflict except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or worse, coming to the aid of the heroes. Though it makes sense for the heroes to be more concerned with defeating the villains, as stopping to help the victims will likely get them immediately targeted, after it's over, they have a tendency to simply move on and forget anything ever happened. Part 4's Josuke Higashikata is notable for being an aversion; as a NiceGuy, his fighting style involves taking every effort to avoid any collateral damage to anybody, even if he harms himself in the process.

* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': The question of how exactly the victims of Thanos' snap will be brought back to life is left as an Avengers-only matter and they're essentially seen running Earth with no mention of civilian government backlash or input at all. Even though bringing back trillions of people all over the universe ([[spoiler:and specifically not reverting time to back to when they were all wiped out five years ago]]) would have enormous consequences for every society, the decision making doesn't extend beyond less than a dozen superheroes. Afterward, the only notable side effects are some increased homelessness and logistical confusion [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over people's ages]] with hardly any civilian response to what happened (the [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome next Marvel movie]] addressed some of this, albeit not particularly deeply).

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* RuleOfEmpathy: If the story focuses on a military conflict, and the protagonists are either soldiers or leaders in the conflict, the only characters that are depicted as suffering or dying are eones whom the protagonists are invested in.

[[quoteright:375:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hero_abuse.JPG]]

* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': The question of how exactly the victims of Thanos' snap will be brought back to life is left as an Avengers-only matter and they're essentially seen running Earth with no mention of civilian government backlash or input at all. Even though bringing back trillions of people all over the universe ([[spoiler:and specifically not reverting time to back to when they were all wiped out five years ago]]) would have enormous consequences for every society, the decision making doesn't extend beyond less than a dozen superheroes. Afterward, the only notable side effects are some increased homelessness and logistical confusion [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over people's ages]] with hardly any civilian response to what happened.

* ''Videogame/MegaManX'': Despite our robotic heroes trying to quell the robot rebellion known as "Mavericks" to protect humanity at large, the only human we see is Dr. Cain -- and even he disappears in the fourth game onward. The game also never explores about the human perspective of the war, especially considering one of the themes involved (and carried to {{MegaManZero}}) is how humanity respects reploids (the robots) less and less. This persists until ''Zero 4'' where we finally see a group of humans who have vocal opinions about reploids and their "petty wars".

[[folder:Videogames]]

* ''Videogame/MegaManX'': Despite our robotic heroes trying to quell the robot rebellion known as "Mavericks" to protect humanity at large, the only human we see is Dr. Cain - and even he disappears in the fourth game onward. The game also never explores about the human perspective of the war, especially considering one of the themes involved (and carried to {{MegaManZero}}) is how humanity respects reploids (the robots) less and less. This persists until ''Zero 4'' where we finally see a group of humans who have vocal opinions about reploids and their "petty wars".

** ''Comicbook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'' {{Deconstruct|ion}}s the idea of the "{{Superhero}} as World Police" trope. While the concept was arguably deconstructed first with the creation of ComicBook/TheIlluminati, this run on the title took the trope as far as it can go. In the wake of multiverse-destroying "incursions" that threaten their universe, The Illuminati decide to keep [[IgnoranceIsBliss the public unaware of it]]. What makes this special is that the MarvelUniverse isn't exactly unused to [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed an apocalypse every other week]], and this isn't the first time that the heroes have been so outclassed in power that they had no idea how to stop it. For this reason, members of The Illuminati get called out by ''everyone'' who finds out about it. ComicBook/BlueMarvel, in particular, tells Reed Richards and Black Panther that a plurality of voices and ideas from humanity would have been the right thing to do. Black Panther seems to have listened, as ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2015'' were formed specifically to deal with problems similar to what The Illuminati faced, but with input from civilian authorities.

* In the "That Was Yesterday" arc of ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'', the team is given one week to prepare for a mass extinction event that will kill every other human on the planet. Not only do they refuse to warn any actual superheroes about the threat, they don't even bother to give a heads-up to their few civilian friends, instead choosing to spend their last week searching for a way to TakeAThirdOption.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/{{Game Of Thrones}}'' tries to avert this by showing some events from the perspective of lower born characters and not only the highborns, and integrates the reaction of the people heavily into seasons three to five by often bringing up the way Margaery Tyrell and the Sparrow are beloved by the smallfolk compared to the selfish Cersei. However, as the show becomes more action-focused and centralized in later seasons, smallfolk characters become few and far between, and after Cersei [[spoiler:kills off many of the people loved by the general populace in a giant explosion that also destroys a major centre for religious faith at the end of season 6]], smallfolk reaction is rendered completely irrelevant as despite all the warnings from previous seasons we never once get any indication that the smallfolk of King's Landing are unhappy about this and the one reaction we DO get (from Hot Pie) verges on ApatheticCitizens.
* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}''. This attitude not only creates even more needless victims of the incident were the situation treated with the necessary seriousness, but ultimately drove the population of the USSR against the government and contributed to the fall of the Soviet regime.
* Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration - the ship has familes on board, even schools for he children, at the same time it's Starfleet's ''flagship''. During several episodes, the ship is in harms way and little is mentioned about the families on board. During Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds - Riker as acting Captain decides to ram a [[BigBad Borg cube]] taking the crew and their familes down with the enemy.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* One of the criticisms levied at the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels is that we're told about how awful the titular "wars" are, but see no signs of it otherwise. In the original trilogy, we're shown the Empire brutally murdering Jawas, Luke's aunt and uncle, and any others who come in contact with R2-D2 and C-3PO. In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', we're told about the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo, and that "people are dying", but never see any of it.
* In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', the question of how exactly the victims of Thanos' Snap will be brought back to life is left as an Avengers-only matter and they're essentially seen running Earth with no mention of civilian government backlash or input at all. Even though bringing back trillions of people all over the universe ([[spoiler:and specifically not reverting time to back to when they were all wiped out five years ago]]) would have enormous consequences for every society, the decision making doesn't extend beyond less than a dozen superheroes. Afterward, the only notable side effects are some increased homelessness and logistical confusion [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over people's ages]] with hardly any civilian response to what happened.
* In ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'', scientists learn that global catastrophes were coming in the titular year, so the world goverments turn to the richest 1% to secretly fund the construction of giant arks to ensure mankind's survival. The rich were promised seats onboard, with a conscious decision to avoid telling the public for fear of causing a panic and possibly dooming or sabotaging the construction of the arks.
[[/folder]]

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in The ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. The story focuses on [[TheMagicComesBack TheMagicComingBack]] and re-founding the legendary [[MagicKnight Knights Radiant]] to save the world from [[GodOfEvil Odium]]; however, they can't do it without the cooperation of the rest of the world, who have very good reasons not to trust them. Dalinar's efforts to avert the apocalypse are hobbled by the fact that his fellow [[WarriorPrince Warrior Princes]] have alienated most of his own nation's citizens, that his country is infamous for having waged brutal wars of conquest, and that few people trust him not to be the ruthless BloodKnight that [[HeelFaceTurn he used to be.]]

* ZigZaggedTrope in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' game series. In ''Videogame/{{Resident Evil 4}}'', we learn that when word got out about what the Umbrella Corporation were doing, their stocks plummeted and the public basically picked them apart at the seams. Further, new government divisions were created to specifically handle new threats in "bio-terrorism". However, by the time of ''Videogame/{{Resident Evil 5}}'' and ''Videogame/{{Resident Evil 6}}'', we see that this at best only delayed most of the problems at hand. In fact, now cities (or massive parts of them) get destroyed regularly with new outbreaks.
* In the ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' series:

[[/folder]]

** In one arc, the Authority discovers that some experiments the government did caused a dimensional distortion and the end of the world is one week away... and what they do is [[DoNotAdjustThisScreen broadcast a world-wide message]] in which they threaten to hurt or kill any superheroes that try to fix this and order the governments to do so, because this is ''their'' shit they need to clean up. [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome We never find out how they did it, but the fact is that they did]].

** ''Comicbook/JonathanHickmansAvengers'' {{Deconstruct|ion}}s the idea of the "{{Superhero}} as World Police" trope. While the concept was arguably deconstructed first with the creation of Comicbook/TheIlluminati, this run on the title took the trope as far as it can go. In the wake of multiverse-destroying "incursions" that threaten their universe, The Illuminati decide to keep [[IgnoranceIsBliss the public unaware of it]]. What makes this special is that the MarvelUniverse isn't exactly unused to [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed an apocalypse every other week]], and this isn't the first time that the heroes have been so outclassed in power that they had no idea how to stop it. For this reason, members of The Illuminati get called out by ''everyone'' who finds out about it. ComicBook/BlueMarvel, in particular, tells Reed Richards and Black Panther that a plurality of voices and ideas from humanity would have been the right thing to do. Black Panther seems to have listened, as ''Comicbook/TheUltimates2015'' were formed specifically to deal with problems similar to what The Illuminati faced, but with input from civilian authorities.

'''(Note: Not sure if this should have examples or not, but if so, here goes:)'''