Tropescilloscope: Mind Screw

A work looks weird due to its alleged symbolism. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Drill Sergeant Nasty Red Oni, Blue Oni Brother–Sister Incest Gory Discretion Shot Disney Death Cat Fight No Antagonist I Have Your Wife Genre Throwback Cool Guns Adorkable Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Rasputinian Death Break the Cutie Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Historical In-Joke Half the Man He Used to Be Male Gaze Those Two Guys Deliberately Monochrome Dirty Cop Taking You with Me Shell-Shocked Veteran Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Faux Affably Evil Slashed Throat Children Are Innocent Intrepid Reporter Adaptation Expansion Mexican Standoff Ambiguously Gay Dwindling Party Evil vs. Evil Our Vampires Are Different Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Film Noir Index Depraved Bisexual Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Naked People Are Funny Driven to Suicide From Bad to Worse Neck Lift Alliterative Name Cluster F-Bomb And I Must Scream Shut Up, Hannibal! Paper-Thin Disguise Dramatic Irony Nice Guy Spell My Name with an "S" Police are Useless Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Plot Hole Funny Foreigner The Dreaded Soundtrack Dissonance Mr. Fanservice Bound and Gagged Big Brother Instinct La Résistance Insane Troll Logic Defiant to the End Cassandra Truth Death by Adaptation Pet the Dog Protagonist Title Deus ex Machina Bullying a Dragon You Killed My Father Fainting Vomit Discretion Shot Fate Worse than Death Parental Substitute Say My Name Scare Chord Eyepatch of Power Have a Gay Old Time Guile Hero The Stoner Laser-Guided Karma Drowning My Sorrows Action Genre Those Wacky Nazis Dramedy Groin Attack Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Soft Glass Setting Update Pimped-Out Dress The Alcoholic Rewatch Bonus Improbable Aiming Skills Mad Scientist Anachronism Stew Cold-Blooded Torture Obviously Evil Bare Your Midriff Small Name, Big Ego "The Reason You Suck" Speech Henpecked Husband Spiteful Spit Break the Haughty Double-Meaning Title Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Get Out! Undying Loyalty Logo Joke Hypocrite He Knows Too Much Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Vacation Films Auto Erotica Dogged Nice Guy Maybe Ever After Villain Opening Scene Laughing Mad Damsel in Distress Killed Mid-Sentence Rule of Three Shower Scene Big Eater Fire-Forged Friends Names to Run Away from Really Fast Chewing the Scenery Creative Closing Credits Tagline Badass Normal The Quiet One Mooks Red Herring Batman Gambit Humiliation Conga The Remake What the Hell, Hero? The Sociopath Narrator Overprotective Dad Domestic Abuse Dressing as the Enemy Oh, Crap! Playing Gertrude Sole Survivor Fiery Redhead Wrong Genre Savvy NO INDOOR VOICE Adult Fear Italian Films Green-Eyed Monster The Lancer Market-Based Title Stuff Blowing Up Christmas Movies Index It Will Never Catch On Spiritual Successor Only Known by Their Nickname Funny Background Event Never Trust a Trailer Love at First Sight Deadpan Snarker Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Riddle for the Ages Action Girl Disney Villain Death Retired Badass All There in the Script Novelization Creepy Child Malevolent Masked Men N-Word Privileges The Vamp Insistent Terminology Belligerent Sexual Tension Sacrificial Lion Off-into-the-Distance Ending Kill It with Fire Whole Plot Reference The Chick Here We Go Again! Broken Pedestal Big Damn Heroes Artistic License – Military Ominous Latin Chanting Shown Their Work Big Bad Duumvirate The Alleged Car Australian Movies Black and Gray Morality Only Sane Man Manic Pixie Dream Girl Manchild Final Girl World of Ham Dark and Troubled Past Even Evil Has Standards Extreme Doormat Roaring Rampage of Revenge Fantasy Films Calling the Old Man Out Horror Films Crazy-Prepared Rule of Cool Big Bad The Load Beauty Is Never Tarnished Exactly What It Says on the Tin Revenge All Just a Dream Danny Peary Cult Movies List My God, What Have I Done? Empathic Environment Race Lift Together in Death Same Language Dub Music Stories No Name Given Stealth Hi/Bye Implacable Man Sports Stories No OSHA Compliance Kubrick Stare Central Theme Dying Moment of Awesome Nothing Is Scarier Storming the Castle You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Line-of-Sight Name Overly Long Gag 20 Minutes into the Future Heterosexual Life-Partners Beware the Nice Ones Older Than They Look Conspicuous CG Dark Reprise Ungrateful Bastard There Is No Kill Like Overkill Film Series Would Hurt a Child Gratuitous English Aluminum Christmas Trees Every Car Is a Pinto Running Gag Cat Scare Bad "Bad Acting" This Is Gonna Suck Ass Shove Downer Ending Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Loads and Loads of Characters Evil Brit Science Fiction Films Earn Your Happy Ending Reasonable Authority Figure Dissonant Serenity Stock Footage Suddenly SHOUTING! The '80s Smug Snake German Films The Smurfette Principle Not So Different Anti-Hero Stealth Pun Facial Horror Catapult Nightmare The Lost Lenore Title Drop Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Blood from the Mouth Bloody Hilarious What Happened to the Mouse? Captain Ersatz Tap on the Head I'm a Humanitarian Actor Allusion Hate Sink Spanner in the Works And the Adventure Continues Destination Defenestration Room Full of Crazy A God Am I Failed a Spot Check Dutch Angle The Smart Guy Properly Paranoid Race Against the Clock Amoral Attorney Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Vomit Indiscretion Shot Captain Obvious Black Comedy Foreshadowing Big-Bad Ensemble Continuity Nod I Did What I Had to Do Death Seeker Ghost Fiction Historical Villain Upgrade Bloodless Carnage Early Installment Weirdness Hooker with a Heart of Gold The Cameo For the Evulz Unwitting Instigator of Doom Blood Knight Hero Antagonist "Awesome McCool" Name The Musical Heroic BSoD Time Skip Darker and Edgier Jitter Cam War Is Hell As Long as It Sounds Foreign Wounded Gazelle Gambit Exact Words Big Fancy House Pragmatic Villainy Trailers Always Spoil Instant Death Bullet Adaptation Dye-Job Not So Stoic Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Genre Savvy Freudian Excuse Cloudcuckoolander Public Domain Feature Films Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Canon Foreigner Interrupted Suicide I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Improbable Weapon User Only One Name Artistic License – History Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Let's Get Dangerous! Shout-Out Car Fu Redshirt Army Fish out of Water Villain Ball Fantastic Racism Brick Joke Eye Scream Skewed Priorities The Great Depression Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Bait-and-Switch Flipping the Bird Immune to Bullets Big "NO!" Blatant Lies Karmic Death Television Movie Index Crucified Hero Shot timeperiod Cowboy Cop Red Shirt Demoted to Extra Rated M for Manly In the Back Body Horror Kick the Dog Madness Mantra Index of Film Westerns Flashback Character Development Naïve Newcomer Ms. Fanservice Unusual Euphemism Accidental Murder Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Adaptational Villainy Slasher Movie Fake Shemp Insult Backfire "Well Done, Son!" Guy Hollywood Darkness And Starring Truth in Television The Oner Eagleland Bilingual Bonus Sir Swears-a-Lot The Chessmaster Enemy Mine Beard of Evil Silence Is Golden Red Eyes, Take Warning As the Good Book Says... Gilligan Cut Cool Car Accidental Misnaming Gender Flip Papa Wolf Retcon Ironic Echo No-Sell Imagine Spot Informed Ability Blackmail Peek-a-Boo Corpse Punch-Clock Villain Only in It for the Money Made of Iron Martial Arts Movie Armor-Piercing Question Adapted Out Better to Die than Be Killed It's All About Me Bavarian Fire Drill Kids Are Cruel Male Frontal Nudity May–December Romance Red Right Hand Deconstruction Ripped from the Headlines Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Obfuscating Stupidity Brainless Beauty Offscreen Moment of Awesome Sexy Discretion Shot Badass Grandpa Humans Are Bastards Heroic Sacrifice Hair-Trigger Temper Monumental Damage Japanese Films Reality Ensues Neck Snap Made of Explodium The End... Or Is It? Idiot Ball O.O.C. Is Serious Business The Ditz Bar Brawl Disguised in Drag Ambiguous Disorder Daddy's Girl Reckless Gun Usage Coming-of-Age Story Determinator aka: The Determinator Dark Action Girl Mugging the Monster Evil Is Petty Face–Heel Turn Sequel Escalation Gorn Villain Protagonist Knife Nut Romantic False Lead Betty and Veronica Works Set in World War II Leave the Camera Running Does This Remind You of Anything? folderlabel Love Triangle It's Personal Real Life Writes the Plot French Films Fanservice Expository Hairstyle Change Action Prologue Pre-Mortem One-Liner Bolivian Army Ending All There in the Manual Double Entendre Curb-Stomp Battle Death of a Child Real Life Black Best Friend Sanity Slippage Closed Circle Biopic Bloodier and Gorier Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Random Events Plot Even Evil Has Loved Ones Chase Scene Fourth Date Marriage From Nobody to Nightmare My Beloved Smother Advertised Extra Psychopathic Manchild The Mafia Dual Wielding Canadian Movies Rich Bitch One-Word Title The Power of Love I Need a Freaking Drink Darkest Hour Five-Man Band Corpsing B-Movie Sealed Evil in a Can True Companions Foil Fan Disservice Anachronic Order Extremely Short Timespan The Bully Superhero Creator Cameo Everyone Has Standards The Mole Awesome, but Impractical Author Avatar Parental Abandonment Recycled IN SPACE! Adaptation Name Change Chekhov's Gun Dumb Blonde Department of Redundancy Department Big Applesauce Heel Realization Frame-Up Mystery and Detective Films Air-Vent Passageway Jerkass Has a Point Animated Credits Opening Sassy Black Woman Four-Temperament Ensemble Dark Is Not Evil Redemption Equals Death Crazy Jealous Guy Horror Comedy Precision F-Strike Artistic License – Biology Composite Character Put on a Bus Plucky Comic Relief Leaning on the Fourth Wall Easily Forgiven Ax-Crazy Suspiciously Similar Substitute Apocalypse How Anti-Villain Twist Ending Not Using the "Z" Word Victoria's Secret Compartment Camp Gay Arch-Enemy Meaningful Name Age Lift Outrun the Fireball Mythology Gag Breaking the Fourth Wall Handicapped Badass Reality Is Unrealistic Contrived Coincidence Rape as Drama Be Careful What You Wish For Mr. Exposition Eureka Moment Not So Above It All Not What It Looks Like Serious Business Bunny-Ears Lawyer Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Demonic Possession Hope Spot Bowdlerise Ambiguous Ending The Un-Reveal Broken Bird Brutal Honesty An Axe to Grind Needs Wiki Magic Love Mind Screw Hero of Another Story The Ghost Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Non-Indicative Name Intergenerational Friendship Knight Templar Gone Horribly Right Antagonist Title Hell Is That Noise Animal Motifs Ship Tease She's Got Legs Zombie Stories Jump Scare Evil Laugh Almost Kiss Ascended Extra Greater-Scope Villain Artistic License – Gun Safety Too Dumb to Live Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome The Ace Death by Sex Stalker with a Crush Villain with Good Publicity Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Product Placement In Medias Res Homage Heel–Face Turn No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Match Cut Hong Kong Films Visual Pun Badass Longcoat Cain and Abel Hollywood Law The '70s Guns Akimbo Documentary Your Cheating Heart Eiffel Tower Effect Alpha Bitch Vitriolic Best Buds Asshole Victim Loophole Abuse Adaptational Heroism Becoming the Mask In Name Only Show Within a Show Serial Killer Fatal Family Photo Totally Radical Lock and Load Montage Deliberate Values Dissonance Boom, Headshot! Broken Aesop Drugs Are Bad Toplessness from the Back Determinator Dropped a Bridge on Him Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Unresolved Sexual Tension Epic Fail Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Award-Bait Song Call-Forward Manly Tears She Cleans Up Nicely Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Cool Shades Your Head A-Splode No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Fatal Flaw Jerkass Offscreen Teleportation Distracted by the Sexy Crapsack World The Starscream Translation Convention Worthy Opponent Evil Sounds Deep Black Comedy Rape Pretty Little Headshots Silent Movie Camera Abuse A.I. Is a Crapshoot Meaningful Background Event Film Noir Dramatic Gun Cock Jerk with a Heart of Gold One Steve Limit Yandere Comically Missing the Point You Have Failed Me The Reveal Take That! My Greatest Failure Took a Level in Jerkass Fingore Hypocritical Humor Adaptation Distillation Actually Pretty Funny Expy Retirony Not Even Bothering with the Accent Country Matters Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane The Atoner Heroes Want Redheads Anyone Can Die Bond Villain Stupidity Anguished Declaration of Love Costume Porn Bittersweet Ending Police Brutality Jerk Jock Spared by the Adaptation Abhorrent Admirer "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Artistic License – Geography All for Nothing How We Got Here More Dakka Beta Couple Wham Shot One-Man Army Missing Mom Leitmotif Babies Ever After BFG Sequel Hook Evil Counterpart The Casanova No Ending Woman in White An Arm and a Leg Pragmatic Adaptation Bring My Brown Pants Mercy Kill Very Loosely Based on a True Story Genre Shift Married to the Job The Stoic Cool Old Lady Improvised Weapon Sci-Fi Horror Sinister Minister The Dragon Despair Event Horizon Noodle Incident Villainous Breakdown Make It Look Like an Accident Corrupt Corporate Executive The Voiceless Didn't Think This Through Taking the Bullet Abusive Parents Parental Incest Only a Flesh Wound Daylight Horror The Film of the Book Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Military and Warfare Films You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Large Ham Dirty Coward Hidden Depths Tempting Fate Star-Crossed Lovers The '60s Attempted Rape Suspiciously Specific Denial Dirty Old Man Man on Fire Fun with Acronyms "Shaggy Dog" Story Evil Is Hammy Russian Films Obstructive Bureaucrat Nice Hat Important Haircut Bald of Evil Token Minority Gainax Ending Psycho for Hire Cruel and Unusual Death Evil Plan Sadistic Choice I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Never Found the Body Card-Carrying Villain Karma Houdini Annoying Younger Sibling Bi the Way Affectionate Parody Video Credits Decoy Protagonist Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Kill 'em All Scary Black Man Meet Cute Artistic License – Physics Villain Song Getting Crap Past the Radar Unusually Uninteresting Sight Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Celebrity Paradox Honor Before Reason Self-Deprecation Pay Evil unto Evil Moment Killer Kick the Son of a Bitch As You Know Punny Name Badass Bookworm Re-Cut Scenery Gorn Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Reality Has No Subtitles Shipper on Deck Motor Mouth Casting Gag Mighty Whitey Wham Line Action Survivor Defrosting Ice Queen Romantic Comedy Based on a True Story Did Not Get the Girl The Bad Guy Wins Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Covers Always Lie Screw the Rules, I Have Money! All Men Are Perverts An Aesop Thriller Smoking Is Cool MacGuffin Word of God Death Glare The Place Once More, with Clarity! Animal Title Index Manipulative Bastard Disappeared Dad Left the Background Music On The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Took a Level in Badass Woman Scorned Vampire Fiction The Stinger Wicked Cultured Aside Glance Poor Communication Kills Not Quite Dead Slap-Slap-Kiss Grievous Bottley Harm Lampshade Hanging Mama Bear Alas, Poor Villain Scenery Porn Unreliable Narrator Would Hit a Girl The Dog Bites Back Drives Like Crazy Morality Pet Arc Words Bottomless Magazines Fat Bastard Adults Are Useless '80s Hair Author Appeal Agony of the Feet It Can Think He Who Fights Monsters The Faceless Credits Gag No Celebrities Were Harmed Eldritch Abomination What You Are in the Dark Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Pretty in Mink The '50s The Hero Dies Well-Intentioned Extremist Freeze-Frame Bonus Stepford Smiler Book-Ends Catch-Phrase Chekhov's Skill Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Pyrrhic Victory Throwing Your Sword Always Works British Films Affably Evil Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Unspoken Plan Guarantee A Minor Kidroduction Butt-Monkey Famous Last Words The Big Guy Irony The Brute Adaptational Badass Curse Cut Short Mistaken for Gay Men Are the Expendable Gender Rousing Speech Badass in a Nice Suit Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Off with His Head! Developing Doomed Characters Shoot the Shaggy Dog Does Not Like Shoes Death by Irony Deal with the Devil A Father to His Men Up to Eleven Grey and Gray Morality Call-Back Take a Third Option Faking the Dead Disproportionate Retribution Black Dude Dies First Light Is Not Good Historical-Domain Character Amusing Injuries Last-Name Basis Framing Device Our Zombies Are Different Rule of Funny Stylistic Suck Evil Cannot Comprehend Good For Want of a Nail The '90s The Hero Artistic License – Law Hoist by His Own Petard Dies Wide Open Tranquil Fury Shirtless Scene Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Really Gets Around Femme Fatale Major Injury Underreaction Parental Neglect Bury Your Gays Happily Married Slasher Smile Refuge in Audacity Bland-Name Product Cool Old Guy Adaptational Attractiveness Mood Whiplash Authority Equals Asskicking Mundane Made Awesome Badass Boast Never My Fault Chiaroscuro Foregone Conclusion Bond One-Liner Back from the Dead Diabolus ex Machina Epic Movie Evil-Detecting Dog Early-Bird Cameo After the End Wretched Hive The Cavalry Straight Gay Meaningful Echo Berserk Button Those Two Bad Guys Historical Hero Upgrade Bad Boss Politically Incorrect Villain Rule of Symbolism Friend to All Children Combat Pragmatist Psychological Thriller A Date with Rosie Palms Gold Digger Good Is Not Nice Arranged Marriage As Himself Super Strength Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Fanservice Extra Establishing Character Moment The X of Y Due to the Dead Training Montage Chekhov's Gunman Posthumous Character Lighter and Softer Dull Surprise Face Death with Dignity All Girls Want Bad Boys