History Main / EasilySwayedPopulation

A rather sad instance in Film/GalaxyQuest, as the alien race, the Thermians, that the television stars of the titular show help, are completely pacifistic, take everything at face value, and have no concept of fiction. They believe it is a form of deception and lying, which they do know, as they've seen in their encounters with an insectoid warlord who is bent on the genocide of the Thermians. Because of this, the Thermians believe that the crew of the fictional show are the real deal, and that the show itself is an "historical record" of their travels and explorations.

[Sarris forces Jason to tell Mathesar he's an actor on a TV show]

Jason Nesmith: I'm not a commander. There's no "National Space Exploration Administration." We don't have a ship.

Mathesar: [looking at TV screen] But there it is...

Jason Nesmith: [gesturing with his fingers] The ship is that big.

Mathesar: But inside, I see many rooms.

Jason Nesmith: You've seen plywood sets that look like the inside. Our beryllium sphere is... is wire with plaster around it. And our digital conveyor is... it's Christmas tree lights. It's a decoration. It's all fake. Just like me.

Mathesar: But why...?

Jason Nesmith: It's difficult to explain. On our planet, we, uh... we pretend to... to entertain. Mathesar, I am so sorry. God, I am so sorry.

May overlap with CloudCuckoolander and LawfulStupid. See also EasyEvangelism, GullibleLemmings, DemocracyIsFlawed and DemocracyIsBad.

'''Guy:''' [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Who does your hair? It's fabulous]]!

'''Crowd:''' Woohoo! We're easily swayed!

** Every time the Flim Flam Brothers attempt to con ponies out of their money, they easily attract large numbers of customers before the episode's protagonists expose their scheme. From selling AllNaturalSnakeOil in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E21LeapOfFaith Leap of Faith]]", to selling shoddily made "Holly the Hearth's Warming Dolls" in "[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyBestGiftEver Best Gift Ever]]", to running a for-profit ripoff of Twilight's School of Friendship (using coursework plagiarized from her school) in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E16FriendshipUniversity Friendship University]]", the ponies of Equestria serve as a textbook example of the saying "There's a sucker born every minute".

[[folder:Literature]]
* Much to the chagrin of the three Baudelaire protagonists in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', the average citizen of the Land of Districts is very easily fooled or manipulated by the villains of the stories in question, [[AdultsAreUseless forcing the children to have to solve the problems themselves.]] It's practically a [[OncePerEpisode Once Per Book]] occurrence.
** ArtisticLicenseLaw aside, not one person notices that Olaf's "Marvelous Marriage" play is a ploy to marry Violet and gain the Baudelaire inheritance, despite people pointing out the realistic props (namely the marriage certificate), and the fact that a justice of the peace is playing the wedding minister.
** At one point, the Baudelaires themselves do this to a mob in the Village of Fowl Devotees by explaining mob psychology to themselves (and the reader) and then strategically spacing themselves out in a crowd that wants Jacques (falsely believed to be "Count Omar") burned at the stake specifically so that they can steer the crowd toward demanding he be released. It almost works.
** PlayedWith in "The End" where Ishmael told the residents of the Island the exact opposite of everything about himself, and the islanders just believed him. However, the islanders are able to sniff out Count Olaf's disguise a mile away, noticing everything he does to cover up his real identity, just as the children have been desperately trying to get the adults to believe over the course of the series.
[[/folder]]

'''Guy:''' [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Who does your hair? It's fabulous]]!\\

'''Crowd:''' Woohoo! We're easily swayed!\\

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E17TheSummerSunSetback The Summer Sun Setback]]", the villains find that it takes very little -- mostly a few words to the right individuals -- to turn earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns against one another. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E24TheEndingOfTheEndPart1 The Ending of the End]]", they put this in action by spreading rumors in Equestria that each of the tribes is conspiring against the others. Within a few days, the ponies of Equestria -- who had been living in harmony and peace for over a millennium -- have been entirely swayed against each other, leading to widespread racial resentment and distrust boiling up seemingly overnight.

'''Guy:''' [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Who does your hair? It's fabulous]]!

'''Crowd:''' Woohoo! We're easily swayed!

* PlayedForDrama in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' as the people of Japan are so unwilling to think for themselves that they will believe anyone, even when those people confess their crimes. It isn't until the [[PhantomThief Phantom Thieves]] [[spoiler:steal the hearts of everyone in Japan]] in the final dungeon that things change.

No real life examples please.

[[folder:Manga & Anime]]

[[folder:Manga and Anime]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': The citizens of Metro City latch on to the idea that Metro Man is, and always will be their savior. For him, though, this creates an existential crisis, in that he and Megamind were performing the same villain-hero performance moves over and over day-in and day-out, and it was getting extremely tiresome for him. So, [[spoiler: he fakes his own death]]. When Roxanne finds out [[spoiler:that he's still alive]], she's completely furious, [[spoiler: breaking not just his trophies, but his guitars and even a person-sized '''''speaker''''' over his head, claiming that he let the city down and cowardly deserted them, while Metro Man is completely unfazed, and has a completely drained and exasperated expression on his face that just says "You're just proving my point... Why are you doing this?"]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'': A group of followers latch onto the idea that an ordinary man named Brian is their messiah (when around the time the film takes place, it should be Jesus.) No amount of convincing makes them change their opinion otherwise, which frustrates the title character to no end.

** ''Film/Batman1989'': After killing dozens of people with poisoned beauty products, all it takes for Joker to fix his image is to throw money out to Gothamites during a parade. And he still tries to kill them all again with Smylex gas in the balloons.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E23ATasteOfArmageddon A Taste Of Armageddon]]", [[ForeverWar a war has been raging between two planets, Vendikar and Eminiar VII, for 500 years]]. The only odd part? [[AMillionIsAStatistic The war is computerized. No missiles, no bombs, no ground infantry/army/ invasion. The "attacks" are recorded within the computer, and probable deaths are counted.]] The treaty between the two planets stipulates that those "affected" must report to disintegration chambers within 24 hours, and even one miscount means that either side will begin attacking with real weapons. (The alternative being that the culture and infrastructure survives with the computerized war.) What makes this especially stupid is that seemingly every single individual on the planet "has a deep sense of duty" (implied for the other planet too) and will walk straight into euthanization without question, or others will allow their friends, family, and colleagues to do the same. It's only after [[CuttingTheKnot Kirk destroys the computers on Eminiar VII]] and explains that [[WarIsHell war is]] ''[[WarIsHell supposed to be]]'' [[WarIsHell Hell]] that they finally put an end to it.

* ''Series/TheOrville'', [[Recap/TheOrvilleS1E07MajorityRule Majority Rule]]: The Orville visits a planet where two anthropologists have gone missing. They are found lobotomized, in unwitting bliss from brain damage from the punishment of the justice system. Punishment for offenders, decisions on social discrimination, as well as decisions in normal society, are doled out according to public opinion/absolute democracy (upvotes and downvotes), similar to modern social media, which is the only thing that is keeping this society alive, and no one has questioned the problems inherent within. After John [=LaMarr=] is recorded performing a dirty dancing act on a statue of a well-known and celebrated historical public figure, he is ostracized by the entire planet and forced to be taken on an apology tour, where it seems, even to their own people, no amount of apology or attempts to be friendly have any effect in changing the angry negative opinions of the population, with some attempts even being twisted into interpretations of attack.
* ''Series/DoctorWho:'' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex The God Complex]]: Gibbis, one of the characters trapped in the hologram ship in the episode, is from the planet Tivoli, a planet with a cowardly population (even looking somewhat like rats) that seems to like being conquered. The name of their anthem is "Glory to <Insert Name Here>", and they let any invading force do as they wished. One invading leader, the Fisher King, and his population, was defeated by another, the Arcateenians, who had come to liberate the Tivolians. However, the Tivolians actually got angry at them removing the Fisher King from power, who was oppressing them. The Arcateenians got so frustrated that they decided to enslave the Tivolians as well.

[[folder: Video Games]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Frostpunk}}'', during the main Scenario (''A New Home''), the population New London falls into despair after learning of the collapse and destruction of Winterhome, regardless of how well the city was doing prior to discovering Winterhome's fate. Some citizens get the idea to head back to London - by now completely fallen to the winter apocalypse - and it is your job to stop more people from getting on board with the suicide mission of the "Londoners", while limiting the damage they cause to New London in their efforts to spread the word and prepare for their journey. In your own efforts to counteract this, [[spoiler:you can end up taking advantage of the easily-swayed population yourself, establishing yourself as an absolute dictator or the purported voice of God, who inspires unquestioning loyalty from the general population while suppressing and executing any dissenting voices.]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

** In "Marge Vs. The Monorail", a civil forum is held by Springfield townsfolk concerned with inept management and ballooning taxes. A pitchman, Lyle Lanley, takes the floor and hawks a solution to their problems: a monorail. After a catchy tune, everyone present is convinced that a monorail will usher in a golden age for Springfield. Everyone except Marge Simpson, that is.

[[/folder]]

May overlap with CloudCuckoolander and LawfulStupid. See also EasyEvangelism, DemocracyIsFlawed and DemocracyIsBad.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGeneration1'': In "Megatron's Master Plan", the people of Central City go from loving the Autobots enough to hold a parade for them to utterly despising them after the Decepticons provide faked video footage which claims that the Autobots are the evil ones, and used a device to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash the Decepticons into doing evil deeds]]. The humans buy this incredibly flimsy premise so completely that they force the Autobots to leave Earth, and embrace the Decepticons as their new heroes.

** In "Whacking Day" a performance from Creator/BarryWhite and some anecdotes from Bart are enough to get the citizens to abandon the titular holiday, booing Mayor Quimby when he tries to boost his image by showing off the snakes he allegedly whacked. Quimby then calls the crowd "a bunch of fickle mushheads," [[NotHelpingYourCase an assessment to which they agree.]]

** [[Recap/StarTrekS1E23ATasteOfArmageddon The Original Series: A Taste Of Armageddon]]: A war has been raging between two planets for 500 years. The only odd part? The war is computerized. No missiles, no bombs, no ground infantry/army/ invasion. The "attacks" are recorded within the computer, and probable deaths are counted. The treaty between the two planets stipulates that those "affected" must report to disintegration chambers within 24 hours, and even one miscount means that either side will begin attacking with real weapons. (The alternative being that the culture and infrastructure survives with the computerized war.) What makes this especially stupid is that seemingly every single individual on the planet "has a deep sense of duty" (implied for the other planet too) and will walk straight into euthanization without question, or others will allow their friends, family, and colleagues to do the same.
---->'''Spock:''' Yeoman Tamura, you stay here and prevent this young lady from immolating herself. Knock her down and sit on her if necessary.
** [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E14TheStoryteller Deep Space Nine: The Storyteller]]: A village on Bajor was in such disarray that the people needed a storyteller to uplift their spirits, and to bring forth the idea that their village is strong in-unity, to fight a mythical energy being known as the "Dal'Rok". The problem is, the way that this is done is all a performance farce: The Dal'Rok is no more than a puppet; a collection of energy that has no sentience or sapience, and is controlled by a Bajoran orb fragment in a bracelet. The "strength" that comes from the villagers to fight off the Dal'Rok is no more than lights from an energy emitter.

** In one episode, A mob of MoralGuardians surround Springfield's best cathouse: the Maison Derriere (House of Ass). But before the mob can begin their arson, the madame makes a plea in the form of a song, reminding the menfolk of the fun they'd had putting trains in tunnels there. By the end of the song, the cathouse is declared a town landmark by everyone. Except Marge Simpson, of course, as she'd gone off to rent a bulldozer.
** In another, A civil forum is held by Springfield townsfolk concerned with inept management and ballooning taxes. A pitchman gets the floor, and hawks a solution to their problems: a monorail. After a catchy tune, everyone present is convinced that a monorail will usher in a golden age for Springfield. Everyone except Marge Simpson, that is.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': The citizens of Metro City latch on to the idea that Metro Man is, and always will be their savior. For him, though, this creates an existential crisis, in that he and Megamind were performing the same villain-hero performance moves over and over day-in and day-out, and it was getting extremely tiresome for him. So, [[spoiler: he fakes his own death]]. When Roxanne finds out [[spoiler:that he's still alive]], she's completely furious, [[spoiler: breaking not just his trophies, but his guitars and even a person-sized '''''speaker''''' over his head, claiming that he let the city down and cowardly deserted them, while Metro Man is completely unfazed, and has a completely drained and exasperated expression on his face that just says "You're just proving my point... Why are you doing this?"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': Because Belle spurned Gaston's advances, Gaston does a dick move by rousing the townsfolk to commit Belle's [[AbsentMindedProfessor nutty inventor]] father to the loony bin. Later, when the Beast has taken Belle's father as a hostage, Gaston rallies the townsfolk to rescue him: the very same guy they were agog to put in a prison for cuckoos.