History Main / SlaveToPR

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* [[spoiler: Griffith]] from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is a prime example; as he rules over the FalseUtopia of Falconia, he keeps his impulses in check [[VillainWithGoodPublicity to prevent his subjects from realizing how screwed up their empire is]]. He only unleashes his true, monstrously sadistic personality when he is certain he can get away with it. In fact, the reason he crossed the MoralEventHorizon in the first place was because [[spoiler:Guts and Casca criticized his narcissistic personality, shed doubt on his impossible delusions of grandeur, and ultimately disillusioned the people he wanted the approval of most. He responded by raping and torturing them both while his demon army killed all the human witnesses.]] Up until that point, he constantly practiced MoralSociopathy so everyone would love him and his merry band of murderous mercenaries.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns:'' The mayor insists on having a private meeting to negotiate with the Mutant Leader because the polls show that the people think he should, even though he is clearly terrified and not much of a negotiator.

* This is a major theme of ''Series/TheBoys''. Superheroes in this world are forced to present themselves as the kind of heroes that come from a more typical superhero setting. But what really makes them villains to an even greater degree than what they get up to behind closed doors, is that they are willing to sacrifice innocent lives or even commit murder to maintain their reputations.

* In ''Film/MercenaryFighters'', an African nation wants to modernize by building a dam, but numerous local villages would be flooded out as a result. When the protagonist questions why they don't simply go ahead with their plan, the answer is "We can't! The press!" Instead, the government goes with the [[BlatantLies much more PR friendly route]] of ''[[WhatAnIdiot hiring mercenaries to massacre said villages]]'' before proceeding.
** Just to further confound things, they outright ''mow down'' a British journalist in the process. So much for "the press" being an issue.

** The importance of PR or "honor" to Aang is brought up again in the Season 3 episode "The Awakening" when [[spoiler:the world believing that he's dead and has failed in his mission AGAIN]] causes an onset of [[FanNickname Aangst]].

* ''Literature/Ramayana'' : After Rama becomes king, he is so obsessed with his subjects' approval that he has his wife Sita exiled because she was still suspected for adultery. It didn't matter that she had been kidnapped by Ravana (he didn't get to touch her), that she stepped through fire to proof her innocence and that she was pregnant with Rama's children, the scorn of one single man was more important.

* [[spoiler: Griffith]] from the anime ''{{Anime/Berserk}}'' is a prime example; as he rules over the FalseUtopia of Falconia, he keeps his impulses in check [[VillainWithGoodPublicity to prevent his subjects from realizing how screwed up their empire is]]. He only unleashes his true, monstrously sadistic personality when he is certain he can get away with it. In fact, the reason he crossed the MoralEventHorizon in the first place was because [[spoiler:Guts and Casca criticized his narcissistic personality, shed doubt on his impossible delusions of grandeur, and ultimately disillusioned the people he wanted the approval of most. He responded by raping and torturing them both while his demon army killed all the human witnesses.]] Up until that point, he constantly practiced MoralSociopathy so everyone would love him and his merry band of murderous mercenaries.

[[caption-width-right:250:Nothing gets in the way of a politician's smile before a camera.[[note]]The above is a Photoshop of Tom [=DeLay's=] actual mugshot, altered to make it clearer that it's a mugshot - the conviction was overturned in 2014 and he was cleared of all charges ([[TechnologyMarchesOn the placard went out of style in the '90s, since mugshots are now stored digitally and the name, date, and so on are now stored in the image's metadata]]).[[/note]]]]

* In the world of ''ComicBook/MadameMirage'', the technology that allowed people to become superheroes and supervillains was outlawed, as were the superheroes and supervillains themselves. Dutifully, the heroes all turned themselves in - and, in gratitude, were arrested and thrown in prison. The supervillains, of course, merely opened up legit {{front organisation}}s and carried on being evil.
* Another comic book example: In ''Comicbook/{{Miracleman}}'' #14, innocent young Johnny Bates, in order to stop the other boys at his group home from raping him, reluctantly says the word that transforms him into the mad Kid Miracleman. Having dispatched all of his assailants, Kid Miracleman is about to spare the life of the one nurse who had been [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe kind to him]]. He [[SubvertedTrope then]] says, "I'm sorry. They'd say I was going soft, wouldn't they?", and [[{{Squick}} punches off the top half of her head]].

* ComicBook/BlackCatHarveyComics is described as having become a superhero not for any kind of moralistic call to action or desire to pursue justice, but rather out of boredom from the restricted cage from her celebrity lifestyle.
* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] does indeed have a generous side. He once parted with a cache of gold to save his former lover from the poorhouse and gave up on a scheme to bilk the IRS when he realized it would bankrupt Duckburg. However, he can never, ''ever'' allow himself to be ''seen'' doing these things; if he parts with a prize, he employs ObfuscatingStupidity to make it seem like he lost it because of his own clumsiness or old age. He has an image as a cruel, greedy old miser to maintain.

* This ends up kick-starting the plot of ''Film/MysteryMen''. With his world lacking a CardboardPrison and all his villains either locked-up, executed or reformed, Captain Amazing has fallen out of favor with the public and his sponsors, driving him to release his arch-enemy from prison to have a supervillain fight for the publicity.

* ''Film/{{Stardust}}'': Captain Shakespeare works hard to maintain his reputation as a terribly fearsome pirate. When his CampGay secret finally comes out, his crew tells him they knew it all along.
** It should be noted that his fearsome act was more for his crew's benefit than his actual reputation. He wanted to be a high-class villain, showing mercy to Tristan while still doing a pirate's work, but his crew were more stereotypical and so maintained a rough-and-tumble attitude outside his quarters. His own name was for the pure personal enjoyment of hearing his crew cheer "Shakespeare! Shakespeare!", knowing they had no idea as to the writer the name alluded too, but enjoyed the passion that they put behind it.
* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', there's a scene where in order to tone down his sadistic cruelty, Schindler tries to sell Goeth on an {{ubermensch}} kind of idea that showing mercy is something the strong can do. As a result, Goeth spares a slave who had made a mistake. Then, he looks in the mirror and realizes he can't live with himself if he's not a murderous psychopath, and he goes back and kills the slave.
* In ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', the Dread Pirate Roberts is a carefully-maintained persona of wealth and cruelty, secretly played by a succession of men.

* Briefly touched upon in ''Film/{{Cinderella 2015}}'': the King and Duke want the people to be happy, and are well aware that a small kingdom like theirs is at a disadvantage compared to other nations. They agree to go along with Kit's idea of inviting commoners to the ball as a small PR boost, though they still encourage him to marry a princess.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': In-universe. Tributes must do several things during training and the actual game (impress the judges, achieve a high training score, make a good impression on Flickerman's show) in order to receive sponsorships and items to assist them. Katniss decides to play with the rules (via her training stunt where she shoots the apple out of a roast pig) and gets the highest Tribute ranking (11 out of 12) and more assistance during the game.
* In ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' this trope is thoroughly mocked by Colonel Kurtz and is cited as a reason for why America is losing the Vietnam War. He admires the Vietnamese enemy for they were willing to do cruel things in order to win, regardless of the perceived immorality of their actions. The Vietnamese were willing to do whatever it took to win, with no method being too cruel or unsightly to achieve victory -- the Americans, by contrast, let judgment based on fighting a war "morally" defeat them.
* In ''Film/VincentWantsToSea'', the main character Vincent's father is this (which makes sense, since he's a politician). Dr. Rose actually manages to get him to keep looking for Vincent, who's stolen her car to go to Italy, by threatening to report Vincent for car theft and then call the media - there's an election coming up, and the press would love to hear about the mentally ill criminal son of a candidate.
* ''Film/LongShot'': President Chambers only considers giving Charlotte his endorsement for her presidential run after she points out that supporting the first female President would be a positive step for his legacy. Charlotte herself gives a lot of consideration to public image.

* ''Literature/GirlsToTheRescue'': In "Save Wellington Woods", a class successfully preserves their local forest with a demonstration. Ultimately, they find out that Mr. Dubois, who wanted to raze the woods, intends to run for office and discontinued his building plans just to avoid the negative publicity ignoring the protest would have caused.
* Taken as standard behaviour in Terry Pratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}} series; where Whitemailing-"Threatening to reveal a mobster's anonymous donations to charity", is listed as an Anti-crime alongside "Proffering with embarrassment" and "Breaking and redecorating."
** Come to that, just about every other thing in the Literature/{{Discworld}} seems to be affected by this trope in some way or another - people's expectations and beliefs frequently affect, at the very least, the aspects of supernatural entities not affected by the morphic field attributed to [[AnthropomorphicPersonification being human-shaped]]: a mistake on the part of a very inept sculptor resulted in the Ephebian Goddess of Wisdom carrying around a penguin instead of an owl; an entire separate timespace exists so the Hogfather can deliver all his presents in a single night; and Death's domain has a black-on-black, skull-and-bones motif because, quite frankly, it's expected. Though he did add some wheatfields in the background after the events of ''Literature/ReaperMan'' to brighten the place up a bit.

* ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'': It's possible that this is the ''only'' thing restraining Randle P. [=McMurphy=]. He's perfectly willing to [[ConMan fleece you of your money]], but he wants you to like him while he does it. Being put into a BedlamHouse was one of the worst things that could have happened to him, since the respect the other inmates have for him is directly related to how much he rebels against the Head Nurse, and he'd rather be their hero than escape the brutal punishments that result from defiance.
* A very powerful recurrent theme in ''Literature/TheHungerGames.'' Katniss quickly becomes aware, before the Games begin, that if she makes herself into a memorable, likable persona, she'll be more likely to earn sponsors. The love story that she builds between herself and Peeta makes the ratings of the Games soar. This theme only gets stronger as the books go on: the fabricated [[spoiler: engagement, marriage, and expected child]] between her and Peeta is a dominating theme of ''Catching Fire,'' and it culminates in ''Mockingjay'' when [[spoiler:it is strongly implied that the rebels ''bomb a town square full of children'', in a hovercraft labeled as the Capitol, in order to convince everyone in the nation that the Capitol is evil.]] PR is possibly ''the'' most powerful weapon in ''The Hunger Games.''

* [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Good name in man and woman is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash. 'Tis something, nothing, 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he who filches from me my good name steals that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.]]

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Fudge refuses to acknowledge Voldemort's resurrection because he doesn't want to deal with the Wizarding World entering into hysteria. His solution is to make Harry and Dumbledore the scapegoats of a Smear Campaign. He even states that "He has to be seen doing something."

* In ''Literature/TheHenchmansSurvivalGuide'', most heroes and villains are bankrolled by the entertainment conglomerates, so their every action is in service of ensuring that their show continues to be funded. To a lesser degree, every citizen has a score based on their social media presence, which influences whether they can secure loans and employment.
* Brightlord Amaram in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' is widely considered across Alethkar to be the perfect model of an honorable, disciplined noble general. After Kaladin accuses him of a serious crime, Adolin believes him after pointing out that a) Kaladin stepped in during a duel to save Adolin's life, when Amaram stepped back and said that infighting would only cause chaos, and b) another man famed for his honor, Adolin's father, has a blemished record, making Amaram's pristine reputation suspiciously clean. Adolin concludes that Amaram isn't truly honorable, he just spends a lot of time cleaning up his reputation.
** The crime in question? [[spoiler:Kaladin was a commoner soldier in his army who saved Amaram's life by killing a Shardbearer. Anyone who kills a Shardbearer is allowed to claim their priceless Shardblade, no matter their origins. Amaram instead took the Shardblade, set up false witnesses, and killed everyone else involved except for Kaladin, whom he sold into slavery. Amaram's justification was that a Shardblade would be wasted on a commoner who didn't know how to use a sword]].

* In ''Series/OurMissBrooks'', Mr. Conklin shows himself to be desperate to maintain a good ''public'' image on a number of occasions. For example, in "Madison Country Club", he's desperate to one-up his rival Jason Brill. In "The Cafeteria Strike", Mr. Conklin's desperate to prevent the school's board food being exposed in the newspaper. Yes, Mr. Conklin is desperate to maintain a good front for the public. However, ''he never seems to care about the reputation he has amongst Madison's students and faculty''.

-->'''Al''': I have sinned! ''crying'' I have consorted with my wife! ''people booing and leaving''
* In an episode of ''Series/HannahMontana'', Hannah appears multiple times on a morning TalkShow (a paper-thin parody of LiveWithRegisAndKathieLee) to be interviewed, and her every answer to a question leads to her fanbase slavishly imitating her, much to her embarrassment and annoyance. This leads Hannah to finally explain to the kids on the talk show that they [[BeYourself don't have to do anything or not do anything Hannah does just because she does or doesn't do it]].
* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' the Minbari are so much this that one can stop a civil war with ritual suicide.
* This gets invoked several times in ''[[Series/LoisAndClark Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman]]''. The episode "Sex, Lies and Videotape" involves the villain trying to bring Superman down by... accusing him of sleeping with a married woman. Another episode, "Whine Whine Whine", involves Superman being sued for slightly injuring a man whose life he saved. With other people thinking this is a swell idea, Superman is stuck with hiring the only honest (if not particularly successful) lawyer in town, because his image and personal feelings prohibit him being represented by a slimeball.

* In ''Series/TheWire'', the Baltimore Police Department are slaves to crime statistics, arrest rates and public opinion of their efficiency and the political power games involved in maintaining their image makes it near-impossible to do any meaningful investigation. Ineffectual investigation methods, charging major criminals with minor crimes, relegating prodigious detectives to meaningless posts, ignoring connections between drug dealers and politicians are all used to maintain the illusion of effectiveness. Similarly, the Drug Kingpins themselves are shown to be equally hamstrung by their need to be feared by competitors. Marlo Stanfield in particular seeks nothing more than to have a name that's known and feared in the streets of Baltimore, to the point of going ballistic for the one and only time in the series as soon as he hears it's being challenged.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': A very common trope for this show. The protagonists work for the Department of the Navy and although they are primarily concerned with the proper functioning of the military justice system, the overall PR and public opinion ramifications are never far away from their minds or actions. The news media, congressional people or other groups often play up various incidents. PR considerations are often hinted at by superiors (usually the SECNAV) and are often talked about behind closed doors (to avoid the appearance of unlawful command influence).
** The PilotMovie features an exchange between the CNO, Admiral Drake, and the JAG, Rear Admiral Brovo, where it's made clear that the mere appearance of things (the ongoing Seahawk murder investigation and an upcoming Navy strike mission) are more important to consider than the actual facts.
* Exploiting this trope is how the titular character of USA Network's ''Series/{{Rush 2014}}'' makes his living as a doctor. His clients are primarily celebrities who for various PR reasons cannot go to the hospital and Dr. Rush makes house calls and is extremely discreet. A movie producer does not want the tabloids to know that he broke his penis while having sex so he offers Rush $40,000 to treat him. A star baseball player likes to beat up his girlfriends so Rush is called in to treat their injuries. When Rush finally has enough at the end of the pilot and beats the {{jerkass}} baseball player with a bat, the victim claims to have fallen down the stairs rather than let the cops and the public know what really happened.
* ''Series/BlueBloods'':
** As NYPD Commissioner, Frank Reagan does have to deal with this. Or more specifically, his Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Garrett Moore is. Garrett often has to give Frank advice that is sometimes frustrating, but in the end this is exactly why Frank trusts him so much: He's loyal, but he's not a yes-man, and will often remind Frank of how certain statements or actions will look to the general public outside the bubble of Frank's office.
** One episode in season 4 involves an actor shadowing Danny in preparation for a role in a movie. When said actor gets himself stabbed in a fight, he doesn't want the public finding out so Danny has to drive him to a secret clinic rather than call an ambulance for him.
* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' features Galvanax the BigBad. As a previous battleworld champion, he's all about going after the rangers, but his advisers point out if he gets knocked down even once he could lose his fanbase and followers. As such, he keeps sending out proxies until the right time.

* This is shown to be a pervasive problem in ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'' among Soviet officials, as the party cultivates such culture. Admitting any fault is political (and, possibly, [[YouHaveFailedMe actual]]) suicide. Passing the buck is the normal way of doing things. This leads to numerous problems for the main characters, who are trying to stop a major disaster from getting even worse. In one case, Moscow spends months negotiating with West Germany for a robot that can withstand the official radiation level at Chernobyl (2000 roentgen). In fact, the real level is six times that amount, and the robot shuts down within ''seconds'', as no amount of shielding can protect the circuitry of anything more complicated than a light switch from such amounts of radiation. Scherbina loses it and curses out top party officials on a phone line he knows is being monitored by the KGB. As revealed during the trial, the two officials in charge of the power plant are only about promotions, so falsifying test results and avoiding looking bad are their top priorities. The same applies to Dyatlov, who browbeats his subordinates into causing the dangerous situation, also hoping for a promotion. Finally, Legasov accuses the entire Soviet state of this, revealing that a flaw had been discovered in RBMK reactor design that would result in FailsafeFailure if SCRAM was ever initiated during a runaway reaction, only to be suppressed by the government as it would make them look bad.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Hong Kong'' "Kindly" Cheng, a mob boss in the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Yellow Lotus Triad]], takes the concept of "face" very seriously, "face" being essentially her reputation among the other bosses in the Yellow Lotus and her community. When two of her best shadowrunners get gunned down in the introductory mission, this loss of skilled personnel means a loss of face and as such she ends up supporting the PlayerCharacter and [[TheLancer Duncan]] as replacements because your goal involves finding out who hired their assassins. Your first mission for her involves bringing a rebellious minion back under her heel, because to Kindly having minions who break away from your operation is a loss of face.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Legate Lanius and his superiors have spent decades crafting the image of him as [[TheDreaded a terrifying, unstoppable monster]], granting him [[MemeticBadass incredible power through sheer reputation]]. This, however, means that he can't ''ever'' allow that reputation to be weakened in any way whatsoever; he must ''always'' act like [[TheBrute a powerful beast]] and he must ''always'' win the battles he personally takes part in, otherwise his mythic image would collapse, and his army with it. You can exploit this in the climax, [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath convincing him to retreat]] by convincing him that he might lose the battle for Hoover Dam, and that [[PragmaticVillainy it's too big of a risk for too little reward]].
-->'''Ulysses''': His strength lies in his title - and it is his weakness. He will not fight a losing battle and destroy what he represents. Put the idea of loss in him. Convince him the Bear will not be the twentieth tribe beneath his heel, it will make him pause like nothing on earth.

* Virtually every big villain in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' does this: Xykon seems, for the most part, to care about style almost as much as he does power, but the biggest of all is Tarquin, whose SmugSnake affectation means his schemes really ''have'' to be drawn in part by public relations.
* The Nightmare Knight of ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' is a NobleDemon who ''needs'' to be feared, since [[spoiler:he draws his power from fear and needs said power to keep his "children" the Disaster Masters alive]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Florence Ambrose is part of UpliftedAnimal organic artificial intelligence species known as Bowman's Wolves. Due to its artificiality and the fact they're supposed to be proof of concept for the uplifting process, the race's numbers are ''extremely'' limited - as in, currently, there's a grand total of ''14'' Bowman's Wolves, 11 females and 3 male (one of which isn't interested in cooperating in any capacity in helping increase their numbers unless provided with enough money he'll never have to work a day in his life, another of whom is in a strictly monogamous relationship with one of the females, and one who's MarriedToTheJob). Florence desperately wants her species to continue, but that's contingent on demonstrating the executives at Ecosystems Unlimited, the MegaCorp that made them, that they're not only ''not'' liabilities, but that they ''are'' valuable assets. So her every action is intended to demonstrate that she, and Bowman's Wolves by extension, are friendly, helpful and stable.

* Shego of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', a FallenHero, is very much a CardCarryingVillain. In one episode, Kim threatened to expose her heroic past in order to coerce her into an EnemyMine, and Drakken infuriated her by suggesting that she was too "soft" to betray her brothers.
** In another episode, Shego was [[MirrorMoralityMachine temporarily turned good]]. After wistfully looking at [[PhotoBoothMontage pictures of her and Kim]] from their brief friendship, she heard Drakken coming and [[BurnBabyBurn destroys the pictures]] before he can see them.
* The WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Franchise/{{Batman}} clash over this issue in the episode when the American government won't believe someone hijacked their KillSat. Green Lantern at first suggests they let them think what they want to think and continue doing their job ("We're not here to be liked."), but Wonder Woman convinces them they need the people to have faith in them and turn themselves in until their [[ClearMyName names have been legally cleared]]. They ask Batman, the original AntiHero, to join them, but he unhesitatingly rejects such a plan and instead works to find the real culprit. As it turns out, it appears that having both options working in tandem was the best thing to do; the League gained credibility that they were being responsible, while Batman, who had a reputation as a loose-cannon anyway, was able to convince Amanda Waller of the truth.
** A lot of the Cadmus arc was about this. To begin with, one of the reasons Cadmus exists in the first place is because of the negative PR superheroes gained when, firstly, Comicbook/{{Superman}} was [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] by [[BigBad Darkseid]], and secondly when [[spoiler:Justice Leaguer Hawkgirl was revealed to be TheMole for an alien invasion]]. Later on, after discovering Lex Luthor is behind the GovernmentConspiracy, the Question attempts to kill Luthor, knowing his public image as a "crackpot" will keep the League from being seen as part of the murder.

** The importance of PR or "honor" to Aang is brought up again in the season 3 episode "The Awakening" when [[spoiler:the world believing that he's dead and has failed in his mission AGAIN]] causes an onset of [[FanNickname Aangst]].
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': Mojo Jojo threatens to drop TheProfessor into a LavaPit unless Blossom vows to serve him (and KneelBeforeZod).
-->'''Blossom''': How do you know I won't lie?
-->'''Mojo Jojo''': Because you're Blossom.
-->'''Blossom''': Shoot.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'''s L. Thompson Lincoln, aka Tombstone, aka The Big Man, is the crime lord of New York, but he has [[VillainWithGoodPublicity charitable public image to maintain.]] To the point where when he and the other two potential criminal rulers of the city (one being the former Big Man, Silvio Manfredi and the other being ''Dr. Octopus'') had a meeting and a quick agreement to stop fighting just long enough to kill Spidey, [[spoiler:he turned against them and saved the wall-crawler]] because he couldn't be seen consorting with those two. [[spoiler:Of course, the moment they were out of sight...]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Pretty throws a big fancy party and plans to invite everyone in [[CrapsaccharineWorld Smileyland]], but since everyone else thinks Kaeloo is lame, Pretty decides not to invite her. When Kaeloo shows up anyway, Pretty yells insults at her so the other party guests, mainly Stumpy, Olaf and Quack Quack, will hear, but privately apologizes to Kaeloo and seems to genuinely regret having to do this to uphold her reputation.

->''"No, you need me. You wouldn't be much of a hero without a villain. And you love being the hero, don't you? The cheering children, the swooning women. You love it so much it's made you my most reliable accomplice. … You could have crushed me anytime you wanted. And it wasn't the law or the will of the people that stopped you. It was your '''ego'''. Being a hero is too important to you."''

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Mendo Shuutaro is so dedicated to appearing suave and sophisticated to women that this can override his fear of the dark and enclosed spaces; As long as there are girls around, Mendo will keep his cool. The minute they stop looking, his composure breaks. Ataru tests this by having Lum and Shinobu look away and back during an excursion into a cave. He's rather stunned at how quickly Mendo shifts from Bishonen to crybaby depending on where the girls are looking.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': In two simultaneous SwordOverHead scenes in the same building, Hell Kaiser and Edo admit that even though they would like to show their enemies mercy, as self-appointed {{antihero}}es, they can't, and deliver the fatal blows.

* Being about a group of people in a city of corporate superheroism, none of the heroes in ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' can escape the insistence of their sponsors and director on the importance of creating a spectacle and raising ratings. Karina is expected to be the 'sexy' MsFanservice to the detriment of her esteem and crime-fighting ability, Kotetsu is openly mocked for being an idealistic DestructiveSaviour, and Ivan's ShrinkingViolet personality doesn't go well with the theatrics of [=HeroTV=]. Barnaby comes across as very media-friendly, although the reasons why turn out to be suspect.

* Amai Mask from ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' is this, maintaining a [[HundredPercentAdorationRating perfect image]] with the public and brutally criticizing the other heroes who so much as mess up a little. Initially, it seems like this is just because he is a vain, shallow pretty boy; but later it is revealed that [[spoiler:he is doing this entirely out of pragmatic reasons; the Hero Association depends on donors and sponsors to keep running. Having heroes raise doubts in the public eye through their behaviour could have far-reaching consequences.]] This is seemingly [[spoiler:proved right, as once some of the corruption and misanthropic behaviour of some of the heroes is revealed, it severely weakens the Hero Association.]]
* [[spoiler: Griffith]] from the anime ''{{Anime/Berserk}}'' is a prime example; as he rules over the FalseUtopia of Falconia, he keeps his impulses in check [[VillainWithGoodPublicity to prevent his subjects from realizing how screwed up their empire is]]. He only unleashes his true, monstrously sadistic personality when he is certain he can get away with it. In fact, the reason he crossed the MoralEventHorizon in the first place was because [[spoiler:Guts and Casca criticized his narcissistic personality, shed doubt on his impossible delusions of grandeur, and ultimately disillusioned the people he wanted the approval of most. He responded by raping and torturing them both while his demon army killed all the human witnesses.]] Up until that point, he constantly practiced MoralSociopathy so everyone would love him and his merry band of murderous mercenaries.

* In ''Series/TheWire'', the Baltimore Police Department are slaves to crime statistics, arrest rates and public opinion of their efficiency and the political power games involved in maintaining their image makes it near-impossible to do any meaningful investigation. Ineffectual investigation methods, charging major criminals with minor crimes, relegating prodigious detectives to meaningless posts, ignoring connections between drug dealers and politicians are all used to maintain the illusion of effectiveness. Similarly, the Drug Kingpins themselves are shown to be equally hamstrung by their need to be feared by competitors. Marlo Stanfield in particular seeks nothing more than to have a name that's known and feared in the streets of Baltimore, to the point of going ballistic as soon as he hears it's being challenged; he's [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse "offered"]] a way out into a rich and peaceful outside the Game so long as he never returns to the streets, he backslides in less than a day.

* In ''Series/TheWire'', the Baltimore Police Department are slaves to crime statistics, arrest rates and public opinion of their efficiency and the political power games involved in maintaining their image makes it near-impossible to do any meaningful investigation. Ineffectual investigation methods, charging major criminals with minor crimes, relegating prodigious detectives to meaningless posts, ignoring connections between drug dealers and politicians are all used to maintain the illusion of effectiveness. Similarly, the Drug Kingpins themselves are shown to be equally hamstrung by their need to be feared by competitors.

Most {{Villains}} and {{Heroes}} catch onto their roles quickly -- one wants to TakeOverTheWorld, one wants to save it; one wants to KillAllHumans, one wants to protect them. But for all their differences, once they choose a side, they have the same problem: they're a slave to Public Relations.

* Politics, dating, sports... Even in real life, a good reputation is really important. However, we don't want examples; [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment it would only be asking for trouble]], [[SkewedPriorities and more importantly]], we don't want this section to be larger than the rest of the wiki.

* Gaming fans of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and ''StarWars'' refer to this as [[LawfulStupidChaoticStupid "Lawful Stupid" and "Chaotic Stupid"]] when one's alignment rules ''force'' them to do something obviously detrimental. This often depends on one's interpretation of the various behavior codes.

* It turns out [[PhysicalGoddess Princess Celestia]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' absolutely ''hates'' having to attend boring social events like the Grand Galloping Gala year after year[[note]] Granted, its mostly due to the fact that before she can even attend the festivities herself: she has to shake hooves with and welcome every ''single'' '''guest''': most of whom are [[ProfessionalButtKisser hob-nobbing]] [[UpperClassTwit Unicorn Nobility]] that she already deals with nearly every other day in court[[/note]], but she does so since her subjects expect their ruler to attend. In general, nothing brings her more stress than having to constantly [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask maintain the air of a calm, confident ruler before her subjects]]. The Season 7 episode "A Royal Problem" partly deals with her envy over [[TheSacredDarkness her younger sister]] having the "easier" job of [[DreamWalker monitoring dreams]], confused why Luna would ever want to have her position.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Florence Ambrose is part of UpliftedAnimal organic artificial intelligence species known as Bowman's Wolves. Due to its artificiality and the fact they're supposed to be proof of concept for the uplifting process, the race's numbers are ''extremely'' limited - as in, currently, there's a grand total of ''14'' Bowman's Wolves, 11 females and 3 male (one of which isn't interested in cooperating in any capacity in helping increase their numbers unless provided with enough money he'll never have to work a day in his life). Florence desperately wants her species to continue, but that's contingent on demonstrating the executives at Ecosystems Unlimited, the MegaCorp that made them, that they're not only ''not'' liabilities, but that they ''are'' valuable assets. So her every action is intended to demonstrate that she, and Bowman's Wolves by extension, are friendly, helpful and stable.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Florence Ambrose is part of UpliftedAnimal organic artificial intelligence species known as Bowman's Wolves. Due to its artificiality and the fact they're supposed to be proof of concept, the race's numbers are ''extremely'' limited - as in, currently, there's a grand total of ''14'' Bowman's Wolves, 11 females and 3 male (one of which isn't interested in cooperating in any capacity in helping increase their numbers unless provided with enough money he'll never have to work a day in his life). Florence desperately wants her species to continue, but that's contingent on demonstrating the executives at Ecosystems Unlimited, the MegaCorp that made them, that they're not only ''not'' liabilities, but that they ''are'' valuable assets. So her every action is intended to demonstrate that she, and Bowman's Wolves by extension, are friendly, helpful and stable.

** The Whole Cake Island arc also explores this with the Four Emperors. What hadn't really been touched upon in the story until this arc is that being an Emperor is as much about projectign an image of power and invicibility as it is about ''actually being'' invicible. Much like the World Government, the Emperors rely on their reputation to keep their respective empires in the New World, but whereas the World Government presents itself as competent and just, the Emperors present themselves as powerful and feared. They do this by killing or (usually forcibly) recruiting any that challenge them. [[spoiler:It is because of this that the Big Mom Pirates so desperately chase after the Straw Hats in the latter half of the arc instead of just cutting their losses they managed to escape them the first time. It was already bad enough that they publicly screwed up the Charlotte Family's plan to murder the Vinsmokes, and then got closer to killing Big Mom than anyone had been in decades, but if they were to ''escape'' without facing suitable retribution, it would almost irreversibly damage the name of Big Mom and open up the crew and their territories to attacks from the other Emperors, the Marines (who notoriously refuse to challenge ''any'' Emperor seriously unless it's on their terms) or anyone with a bit of power. It's why they muster all the forces they can just to capture Luffy at Cacao Island and then actually barge onto Kaido' territory in the next arc -- as embarrassing as it is to send so many against one man and his tiiny crew, him escaping retribution would be ''worse''. And when they finally do escape almost unscathed after a lot of damage done, the main reason they don't take a giant hit to their reputation is that the whole mess was so outrageous (and the Emperor's reputation so carefully preserved up to that point) it instead massively improved Luffy's own, to the point he's thought to be in the same bracket as the Emperors now (much to Big Mom's displeasure)]].