Line #48 Main/MindScrew


1	%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: %%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=3jtoz3d1
2	%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800
3
4	[[quoteright:350:[[Creator/ReneMagritte https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_transfixed.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheWalrusWasPaul Clearly, your train is leaving at approximately 12:44.]][[note]]''Time Transfixed'' by Rene Magritte[[/note]] ]]
6
7	%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
8
9	->''Everything you know is wrong\
10	Black is white, up is down, and short is long\
11	And everything you thought was just so important doesn't matter''
12	-->-- '''Music/WeirdAlYankovic''', "[[Music/BadHairDay Everything You Know Is Wrong]]"
13
14	[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Describe Mind Screw her]][[SelfDemonstratingArticle rrrrrrr𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓭.]]
15
16	The Mind Screw is something that relies so heavily on [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]] or [[QuirkyWork surrealism/absurdism]], or failed so extremely in an attempt at regular old coherency, that the immediate response afterwards is "What the heck was ''that''?!?!"
17
18	These works ''beg'' for fans to [[WildMassGuessing invent their own improbable theories]] about EpilepticTrees and such.
19
20	There are several criteria for a Mind Screw, and a Mind Screw will usually fit a few of them:
21
22	* The work looks weird due to [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]] or just general surrealism.
23	* The symbolism is used heavily and never explained.
24	* Things happen, but the work never explains how they are connected.
25	* Things happen without a cause, even in context. [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Especially in context.]]
26	* Several plot developments are obscured.
27	* There's a JigsawPuzzlePlot with several surprises. The story only makes sense when you have them all.
28	* TheReveal is vague, or contradicts the rest of the story.
29	* [[TheUnreveal The Reveal is left out]].
30	* The work is [[AnachronicOrder non-chronological]].
31	* A few random scenes [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment (such as vignettes or non-sequiturs) are added in, breaking up the narrative.]]
32	* The story has NoEnding.
33
34	While some fans can make arguments over what the symbolism means, and what everything represents, many mind screws will pad themselves with [[TheWalrusWasPaul meaningless sequences]] to make the audience work even harder. Arguments over which sequences are significant are common. [[TrollingCreator Don't expect the writer to be very helpful.]] And if the show has [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental materials]], don't expect them to be much help either. (If, by some miracle, they ''are'' helpful, you've got yourself a MindScrewdriver.) The more decipherable symbolism tends to focus on the perceptions people have of one another and [[ComingOfAge puberty]] and sex. Japanese and South Korean media often produce mind screws, particularly in the horror and psychological drama genres, because Asian audiences thrive on this type of oblique, enigmatic ambiguity. Creator/DavidLynch [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff is hugely popular in Japan for this reason]].
35
36	Note that the screwing is not the kind that involves romantic candlelight, long walks on the beach and the throes of passion. [[RuleThirtyFour Unless you're into that.]]
37
38	Not to be confused with MindRape, no matter how the audience feels, nor with the MindGameShip, nor MentalAffair, which is a ''literal'' mind screw, nor with the [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking literal screws in the mind of]] [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein's monster]].
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40	Distinct from an InJoke, which is designed to make sense to a portion of the audience.
41
42	When trying to get the creators to explain just ''what the heck is going on'', expect some form of ShrugOfGod or [[TheWalrusWasPaul worse.]]
43
44	Examples listed are works that are either intended to provoke this reaction or have provoked this reaction in a large spectrum of the audience, but one troper's Mind Screw is another troper's FridgeBrilliance.
45
46	{{Sub Trope}}s include GainaxEnding, DadaAd, AlienGeometries. TheEndingChangesEverything is an ending that does not rely on overt symbolism for its confusing nature, but has much the same effect on viewers. When this is funny, it's SurrealHumor. When frightening, it's SurrealHorror.
47
48	Compare with TrueArtIsIncomprehensible, DerangedAnimation and QuirkyWork.
49
50	Contrast with MindScrewdriver, where the Mind Screw elements get rationalized/explained.
51
52	----
53	!!Example Subpages:
54
55	[[index]]
56	* MindScrew/{{Advertising}}
57	* MindScrew/AnimeAndManga
58	* MindScrew/ComicBooks
59	* MindScrew/FanWorks
60	* [[MindScrew/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
61	* [[MindScrew/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
62	* MindScrew/{{Literature}}
63	* MindScrew/LiveActionTV
64	* MindScrew/{{Music}}
65	* MindScrew/{{Pinball}}
66	* MindScrew/{{Theatre}}
67	* MindScrew/VideoGames
68	* MindScrew/VisualNovels
69	* MindScrew/WebComics
70	* MindScrew/WebOriginal
71	* MindScrew/WesternAnimation
72	[[/index]]
73
74	!!Other examples:
75	%%[[foldercontrol]]
76
77	[[folder:Podcasts]]
78	* In ''Podcast/TheFallenGods'', Flint has a tough time wrapping his head around enchanting a dragon skull to make a helmet.
79	-->'''Flint:''' So you're gonna take the thing that's resistant to magic...and use magic on it...to raise its resistance to magic?
80	* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'': The series has its moments of mind screwing scattered about here and there, but its crowning achievement of Mind Screw is episode 67 "[Best Of?]". The episode is framed as a substitute host doing a Clip Show of regular host Cecil's past highlights while Cecil himself is on vacation. To start with, ''every clip'' takes place on or near Lee Marvin's 30th birthday regardless of the actual year, some of Cecil's broadcasts predate ''[[spoiler:radio itself]]'', a CosmicRetcon occurs mid-clip, the final clip is Cecil describing the death of [[spoiler:his predecessor Leonard Burton]], which is followed by the substitute host, [[spoiler:Cecil's predecessor Leonard Burton]], signing off. Finally, after the episode has finished and the credits and proverb have run their course, there's a lingering silence followed by the sound of a tape deck being opened. A sound that has wrapped up every previous clip up to that point.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	%%[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
84	%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Normality}}''. ''The Entire Thing''.
85	%%[[/folder]]

Context Main / MindScrew