Tropescilloscope: Rule of Symbolism

Themes or imagery inserted for symbolic value. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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