Tropescilloscope: Mind Screw

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

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