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10[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Vanitas_Symbolism_591.JPG]]
11[[caption-width-right:320:[-''Vanitas'' by Pieter Claesz\
12So ''why'' would anyone put a candle about to go out, a skull, a withering flower, a watch, a cracked nut, and a letter[[note]]reflecting that life is short and art is long[[/note]] on a table together?-] ]]
13%%
14->''"He went back until he was ninety to see a ''hat''? Why didn't he just go back to the store and buy a new one?"\
15Mother's eyes hardened. "The story isn't about the hat, Jimmy."\
16"Sure, it is. The hat, the hat, that's all you talked about. Every other word was 'hat.'"''
17-->-- ''The Man in the Ceiling'' by Jules Feiffer
18
19Essentially, this is when something would normally stretch WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief, but it is so central to the themes or premise of the story that it is allowed so that it can be used as a symbol.
20
21A NaturalSpotlight is often this.
22
23This rule is also related to the AnthropicPrinciple. What AnthropicPrinciple is for the existence of a work, Rule of Symbolism is for the ''core meaning'' of a work.
24
25'''A SuperTrope to:'''
26[[index]]
27* CrucialCross
28* CrucifiedHeroShot
29* PurpleIsPowerful
30* SymbolicDistance
31* SymbolicSereneSubmersion
32* SymbolMotifClothing
33* SymbolicWeaponDiscarding
34* WorldOfSymbolism
35[[/index]]
36
37Compare DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.
38
39Contrast FauxSymbolism (when something only appears symbolic), WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic, EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory (when people see symbolism in everything, including meanings the author never intended). See also StockMonsterSymbolism and compare MagiBabble ('It doesn't have to make sense as long as it sounds mystical'). PsychosexualHorror often relies on sexual symbolism for the horror genre.
40
41----
42!!Works with their own subpages:
43* RuleOfSymbolism/{{Film}}
44** RuleOfSymbolism/AlfredHitchcock
45** ''RuleOfSymbolism/BladeRunner''
46** ''RuleOfSymbolism/{{Frankenstein}}'' film series and related films
47** ''RuleOfSymbolism/TheGodfather''
48** ''RuleOfSymbolism/StarWars''
49** ''[[RuleOfSymbolism/LandOfOz The Wizard of Oz]]''
50** RuleOfSymbolism/WoodyAllen
51* Literature
52** ''[[RuleOfSymbolism/BladeRunner Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]''
53** ''RuleOfSymbolism/{{Frankenstein}}''
54** ''RuleOfSymbolism/LandOfOz''
55* Live-Action TV
56** ''RuleOfSymbolism/InterviewWithTheVampire2022''
57----
58!!Individual examples:
59[[foldercontrol]]
60
61[[folder:Advertising]]
62* In ''Advertising/TheMythOfOrpheusAndEurydice'', Orpheus and Eurydice's wedding outfits both have snake patterns, foreshadowing the latter's death by snakebite.
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
66* This trope is almost entirely responsible for anime HairColors and PersonalityBloodTypes.
67* The Survey Corps in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' have wings on their crest, representing freedom. Fitting, considering they are the division that spends the most time outside the Walls and scouting the world for humanity. And thus we explain the anime's second opening theme by Linked Horizon.
68* The Oddities in ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' seem very strange and the ways they're dealt with will seem very odd until you realize one simple fact: The supernatural aspect to the story isn't actually important and, according to some characters, ''may not even be real.'' The Oddities are instead typically representative of poor mental health or social issues. Several older characters try to subtly point this out to Koyomi, but he typically can't or won't understand this.
69** The first anime arc has a high school girl, Hitagi Senjogahara, who only weighs 1/6 of what she should because of a magic crab that stole her weight. This gets explained by a long string of kanji puns and homonyms that are rather obtuse even in context until you realize everything about the moon, crabs and weight basically doesn't matter. The real point is that Senjogahara is denying her past and repressing her feelings of grief and betrayal. It isn't until she confronts them that she can actually start to heal for real. Killing the crab technically would have returned her weight to her, but they were never the things that mattered.
70** Koyomi's little sister turns out to be [[spoiler:a phoenix that hops bodies into a fetus at conception, is born and lives out its life entirely unaware of its true nature, at which point it then reincarnates into the next body and repeats the cycle.]] Set aside all the weirdness here: What matters is that this is an extensive metaphor for [[spoiler:adoption]]. Even if the person who explained this was telling the truth, ''it's none of her business.'' The only people who have a right to say anything about it are Koyomi, Tsukihi and their family. And as far as Koyomi is concerned, she's his little sister and nothing else, no matter what anyone says to the contrary.
71** Hanekawa spawns several Oddities that represent her repressed stress and emotions. You can't be hurt if you refuse to feel strongly about things. Koyomi, however, treats them as though they are literal monsters and that just destroying them would make the problem go away. He refuses to acknowledge that she has these kinds of negative emotions because he puts her on a pedestal and expects perfection from her. But she's human like everyone else, so trying to live up to his impossible expectations is exhausting and unhealthy. Just killing the monster and continuing on as if nothing was wrong would eventually lead to a third or fourth dangerous monster, meaning she needs to actually address the serious problems in her life if she wants to get better.
72* ''Anime/CasshernSins'' gives us Casshern's flesh and Luna's blood, both set up as a twisted version of the Eucharist.
73* Magic in ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' practically requires this trope to work, since magic relies on "idols" which use symbolism in order to draw power from the original. It's more obvious with the Roman Catholic Church's magic, especially that of God's Right Seat, in which each member represents an archangel of Christianity and has a unique power which draws from God.
74* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
75** Light is sometimes seen with red eyes, usually a trait of those who make the trade for the Shinigami Eyes ([[DeadlyUpgrade which enables them to know a person's name instantly upon sight, at the cost of half of their lifespan]]). Light never makes the trade, but it is clear that this is to show his loss of humanity, and how far he has fallen in [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans his quest to create a "new world"]].
76** In the anime, Light dies while lying in the middle of a staircase, neither too up nor down, alone. It's a symbolism to the last rule of Death Note: upon death, its users won't go to heaven or hell, but [[CessationOfExistence nothingness]].
77* For ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the cover for Chapter 200 shows is a double spread, with characters on the right side looking sad while the characters on the left page looking peaceful and happy. [[spoiler:This foreshadows the chapter having all these characters on the left dying.]]
78* ''Manga/DescendantsOfDarkness'' sure loves its Cherry Blossoms of Death, whose short lifespan is apparently [[WeAreAsMayflies reflective of humanity]], to a {{shinigami}}.
79%%* ''Anime/ErgoProxy''... maybe.
80* Beyond all the sexually suggestive imagery in ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', there's sweet flavors being regarded as childish, while sour, spicy and bitter flavors are adult. Naota being a kid trying to act like an adult is accentuated by him hating sour and spicy things, while Amarao being an adult who likes sweets is shorthand for him being a {{Manchild}}.
81* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'''s Truth loves putting in symbolism whenever punishes alchemists for their hubris in human transmuation.
82** Ed and Al tried to bring back their mother. Ed was the oldest sibling and thought he could stand on his own, so Truth took his leg. Al wanted to feel his mother's warmth again, so Truth made sure he could never feel ''anything''. Later, Ed tried to bring back his brother, his 'right-hand man', and lost his literal right hand.
83** Izumi Curtis wanted to bring back her child, so Truth took her womb, making her unable to give life again.
84** While forced through the gate, Roy Mustang was a man of great vision and has his eyesight taken by Truth. But Pride suffers a greater fate as the one who caused the transmutation.
85** Father, having lampshaded Truth's poetic justice, suffers the fate of losing the freedom he cherished by being consumed by the 'god' that he was created from and was attempting to asborb.
86
87* Kamina's V-shaped shades in ''Anime/GurrenLagann'' are somewhat ridiculous, especially in light of the fact that he originally started wearing them while living underground. However, they symbolize the facade of bravado he often wears to inspire others (and himself), and when not wearing them he is quieter and less confident but also more sincere. In particular, the shades fall off before both his brief HeroicBSOD and his heart to heart talks with Simon. [[spoiler:When Kamina comes to help him escape the LotusEaterMachine, the shades are nowhere to be seen.]]
88* ''Manga/{{Innocent}}'' goes into abstract imaginery for analogies very often, from walking skeletons and surreal art, to people growing giant and smashing buildings, to Marie Antoinette using Website/{{Twitter}}.
89* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'':
90** In ''Manga/BattleTendency'', [[spoiler:Caesar Zeppeli]] is crushed by a Crucifix-shaped roof tile while nearly succumbing to their wounds. Which is strange given the fight that lead to their death did not cause any building damage that would've caused a roof tile to fall.
91** In ''Manga/GoldenWind'' [[spoiler:Narancia]]'s death precedes his [[FightingSpirit Stand]] flying into the air for an extended period of time before disintegrating with Fugo noticing, symbolic of their relationship with eachother. That Stand does not have enough range to have been seen by Fugo who was at the other side of Italy. In addition, Giorno is the character that keeps the group in good spirits and preserves both their and [[spoiler:Abbachio]]'s corpse with vines using his Stand so they do not decay before their funeral. Although vines would do absolutely nothing to prevent a corpse from decaying and may actually accelerate the process.
92* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'':
93** As Mahito comes closer to "[[SoulPower discovering the true shape of his soul]]", his soul is depicted as a chrysalis preparing to open.
94** [[spoiler:When Yuji deals a decisive blow to Mahito and the latter realizes he's about to be killed, [[DirtyCoward he attempts]] to [[SCrewThisImOuttaHere flee]]. The scene is compared to an injured rabbit fleeing from a pack of wolves in a snowstorm.]]
95* ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'' has the butterflies. The manga is about growing up and/or leaving behind the past to become something new.
96* The actual plot of ''Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine'' is largely absolute nonsense, but in ways that communicate the story's feminist themes in satisfying ways. It doesn't make much sense in terms of logic or drugs for the primary antagonist to turn out to be an experimented-upon child who has aged to death while bedridden in a gothic castle, with a plan hinging on a cult surrounding a hallucinogenic drug which makes people appear to have owl heads; but the fact that she can only exist by vicariously watching ShamelessFanserviceGirl Fujiko Mine is a {{Deconstruction}} of the MaleGaze.
97* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' goes to great lengths to parallel the European witch hunts, most obviously by having Gundam-pilots be nicknamed Witches.
98** In the prologue, the Mobile Suit Development Council creates an auditing organization called Cathedra to end the creation of Gundams. A Cathedra is the seat of a bishop, and it's headed by TheFundamentalist Delling Rembran who describes it as "the hammer of witches", a title often given to the ''Literature/MalleusMaleficarum'', which revitalized witch hunts in the popular consciousness.
99** The Beguir line of Gundams have cross-shaped shields, visors, and angelic wings. They are also equiped with Antidote systems that shut down Gundams, giving the impression of crusaders or paladins cleansing the wicked.
100** Dominicus, the military arm of Cathedra (which make extensive use of Beguirs), are at one point called the Witch Hunters.
101** In episode 7, the titular witch is put on a trial with no chance of defending herself for being a witch. In other words, a witch trial.
102** Episode 14 reveals that the reason Aerial doesn't cause the negative effects usually caused by piloting gundams is that [[spoiler:it contains the soul of Ericht Samaya, BigBad Prospera Mercury's first child. In other words, Prospera gave up her ''firstborn'']].
103* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is infamous for this... although what's actually symbolic and what's just window dressing is under considerable debate. WordOfGod states that not even the producers are sure what's intended to be symbolic and what isn't. The only thing that Anno is sure of, is that the crosses are only there because they looked badass.
104* ''Manga/OnePiece''
105** It has a ton of things mostly justifiable by the symbolism involved. One example that stands out is the Rumbar Pirates' last song together: the entire crew getting up and singing while all suffering fatal arrow wounds then dying one by one is patently absurd, but it works because it drives home the sense of loss that the scene calls for.
106** Blackbeard is named Marshall D. ''Teach''. Whitebeard is named ''Edward'' Newgate. By killing Whitebeard and stealing his Devil Fruit, Marshall has truly become Blackbeard.
107* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' relies on this to clue viewers in to [[spoiler:Stoutland's rapid decline and eventual death]]. There are far less leaves on the tree near its home as there were a few episodes ago, and when [[spoiler:Litten realizes its mentor's offscreen death]] its couch bed suddenly breaks followed by a sudden downpour. After [[spoiler:Litten]] comes to terms with the event, its face is seen in the clouds...and a rainbow above its underpass home, possibly symbolizing the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets) rainbow bridge.]]
108* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Theories full of this.]] Especially in the sequel Rebellion movie, which is justified given as [[spoiler:it takes place almost entirely within a witch barrier, which is an EldritchLocation that is entirely made of the mental state of a magical girl at the time of their demise.]]
109* The ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' series and ''especially'' the movie run on this, containing such outrageous examples as constantly moving, modernist-esque buildings, surreal video sequences, and its main character turning into a car for a final, dramatic chase sequence -- the whole movie is intended to be just one big symbolic story about maturation and adolescence.
110* The final battle against Asura in the anime version of ''Manga/SoulEater'' is entirely this, which irritated many fans due to the rest of the series not being like this at all. [[spoiler:To make a long story short... the entire team pull out all of their most powerful attacks against the kishin without doing any damage at all, until Maka and Soul are all alone. Maka pulls progressively more desperate techniques, including willing herself to fall asleep and fight him while sleeping so that she won't feel afraid. In the end, however, Maka gives him a speech about bravery and then destroys him with one punch. The symbolism comes into play when you remember that Asura is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of fear and paranoia -- more power won't make you feel less afraid, and you can't sleep to escape because you'll eventually wake up; the only way to defeat fear is to be brave.]]
111* ''Manga/YourLieInApril'' has its main heroine, [[KindheartedCatLover Kaori Miyazono]] have a black cat as her AnimalMotifs as well as her symbolism. [[spoiler:Later in the story it turns out not to be good symbolism for her.]] In Episode 20, Kousei and Watari visit Kaori [[spoiler:only to see her health take a sharp turn for the worse]]. Later, a traumatized Kousei on his way home sees the black cat that Kaori usually played with [[spoiler:fatally run over by a car, symbolizing Kaori's ultimate death two episodes later]]. Another black cat appears at the railroad tracks in the final scene of Episode 22 and disappears behind a passing commuter train [[spoiler: symbolizing the loss of Kaori]].
112* Many of the [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands New Cards As The Plot Demands]] in the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise are set up to allow actions in the game to reflect something outside of it. For example, in ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', Kurosaki uses a combo that puts a mark on Dennis' Performage Trapeze Magician, which would force Dennis to reveal his hand [[spoiler:(and the Polymerization he was holding, which would out him as an agent of Academia)]] when he was destroyed. This makes Trapeze Magician a representative of Dennis' [[spoiler:false persona]], and his ensuring destruction would force Dennis to 'show his hand' in both a figurative and literal sense.
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Arts]]
116* ''Art/AllegoryOfTheFourSeasons'':
117** The four subjects are {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of the seasons, this can be noted by the iconography that surrounds them.
118*** Spring has a crown of roses on the top of her head, which comes from the fact it's spring when flowers blossom and all life resumes activity.
119*** Autumn and Spring kissing represents the union of day and night at the equinox. Seeing Spring is holding a lute, it also means that music is born from love.
120*** Summer's hair is decorated with wheat stalks, a crop often associated with the season. Furthermore, she's grasping a small mirror, which indicates that she's the symbol of the origin of love.
121** Winter is the oldest of the four, representing how the season sets the end of the year. He is also bundled in furs as if shielding himself from the cold. He's also kind of isolated from the others, denoting that he wants little to do with love in his old age.
122*** The fruit and vegetables laid out on the table are all representative autumnal harvests: turnips, black and green grapes, a pumpkin, pears, apples, figs, a pomegranate, and even a cup of squash. This signifies that the four seasons are in Autumn's domain.
123*** The way the seasons are arranged is [[https://www.wga.hu/html_m/m/manfredi/4seasons.html commonly interpreted]] as an allegory of the phases of love instead of the progression of the year.
124* ''Art/TheBirthOfVenusBotticelli'':
125** Most of the imagery in the {{painting|s}} revolves around Venus being a LoveGoddess. Very evident is that she's naked and standing in a very feminine, sensual ContrappostoPose -- this is the erotic side of love. Moreover, the seashell below is an object commonly used to symbolize female genitalia. On a more romantic side, one of the minor deities is about to robe her in a pink dress, a color associated with love. Finally, there are some pink roses being blown along with Venus by Zephyr.
126** The flower motifs are also meant to evoke Florence, the city where Botticelli was born. The city's ruler, Lorenzo il Magnifico, has too his name alluded to by means of the laurel trees and wreath.
127* ''Art/DawnBouguereau'': The lily is a flower most associated with devotion and purity, Ancient Greek culture in particular associating it with rebirth and motherhood. Dawn is the time that represents the start of a new day, implying that the AllegoricalCharacter is the youngest of the four. This can also be connected to the white of the fabric she is dressed in, white representing both purity and youth in women.
128* Creator/AlexandreCabanel's ''Art/TheFallenAngel'':
129** The technicolor region in [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]'s wings indicates the richness of his negative emotions -- the hurt from God favoring humans and the rage at himself for having failed and at God for having expelled him from Heaven.
130** It's curious how Lucifer's wings darken from the outside instead of from the inside. This means that the corruption didn't come from his divine nature, which is perfect because God created it. Instead, it comes from his jealousy toward humans and resentment against God for favoring them when he, Lucifer, has served God so loyally for so long.
131** Lucifer is the only angel who is naked. Other than serving to distinguish him from the divine angels, it's also because of the [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty idealist aesthetic]] Academic painters like Cabanel favored. In other words, Lucifer is portrayed under an ideal of perfection -- perfect beauty with smooth textures and a naked body to exalt him and his raw emotions. Only Lucifer, the subject of the painting, gets this treatment; the other angels are poorly detailed and wearing clothes.
132** Lucifer's nudity has a double meaning. In Christian art, nakedness is a sign that the character should be shamed for their behavior or actions which, in this case, are Lucifer's utter rejection of God. This explains why the non-fallen angels are clothed.
133* ''Art/TheFightingTemeraire'': All of the painting's elements evoke an end-of-an-era feeling.
134** The sunset is a symbol of finality about a journey full of hardships and even harder work but with its fair share of victories.
135** A wooden warship being towed to a scrapyard, its parts to be cannibalized, represents how technology advances. Even if the ''Temeraire'' is glorious, she's no match for steamships.
136** The ocean is remarkably calm. That, combined with the gentle, yellow lighting creates a tranquil atmosphere, of melancholy and resignation.
137* ''Art/{{Guernica}}'': While WordOfGod denies any intentional symbolism, artistic scholars have still tried their best to make sense of it anyway.
138** The Cubist chaotic bramble of the various character's anatomy is meant as an artistic act of protest against the war.
139** The collapsed buildings represent the destructive rewards of war itself.
140** The light bulb in the painting represents the sun.
141** The broken sword near the bottom of the painting symbolizes the defeat of the people at the hand of their tormentors.
142** The bull and horse are both animals that have strong cultural ties to Spain and have been used in various other of Picasso's pieces. With both of them in the piece, they have often been read as two different aspects of Spain itself in conflict with each other; the bull representing Fascism, the horse representing the people of Guernica, and the war their rampage.
143* Creator/FridaKahlo's {{paintings}} tend to involve a lot of symbolism, especially the ones when herself and her feelings in them (i.e ''[[https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/art-between-wars/latin-american-modernism1/a/kahlo-the-two-fridas-las-dos-fridas Las Dos Fridas]]'' being an example, symbolizing her feelings during a divorce from her husband Diego Rivera ).
144* ''Art/TheLadyOfShalottWaterhouse'':
145** The Lady is seen loosening the chain that ties the boat to shore, symbolizing that she was bound her to her curse and tower.
146** [[DyingCandle The last lighted candle]], the single fallen leaf on her dress, and the crucifix all mean she's close to death.
147* ''Art/LibertyLeadingThePeople'': Both rich and poor are seen charging behind Liberty, suggesting that it is a struggle that crosses class lines. The young boy beside her symbolizes youth.
148* ''Art/MarriageALaMode'': Look at any detail in any one of the six paintings and it probably symbolises something about either the characters, their situation, or Hogarth's personal beliefs. Just to give a few examples:
149** Hogarth routinely used overturned furniture to symbolise disagreement or disharmony, and three paintings in the series feature examples of this. In "The Tête à Tête", a chair lies on its back to emphasise the newlyweds' lack of interest in each other or in their finances (a steward leaves with an expression of disgust and a stack of bills, only one of which has been paid). In "The Bagnio", a table has been knocked over during the duel that has left the Earl mortally wounded and Silvertongue fleeing for his life. And in "The Lady's Death", one of the chairs at the table has fallen over backwards in the aftermath of the Countess' suicide.
150** In "The Tête à Tête", there are two candlesticks below a {{sculpture|s}} of a Gorgon's face twisted around each other, but the candles are unlit, while the two dogs in the lower left are chained together and look thoroughly miserable. Below the candles and above the dogs we see the Viscount and the alderman's daughter, with nary a flicker of affection or passion between them.
151** The art gallery on the old Earl's walls in "The Marriage Settlement" is a parade of {{foreshadowing}} of disaster, every one depicting Biblical or mythological violence. Among them are [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel David killing Goliath]], [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Cain killing Abel]], St. Lawrence's martyrdom, St. Sebastian's martyrdom, [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Massacre of the Innocents]], Judith's decapitation of Holofernes, Prometheus being attacked by a vulture, and [[Literature/BookOfExodus the Red Sea engulfing the Pharaoh's armies]].
152** "The Toilette" features paintings of Lot and his daughters, Jupiter and Io, and the abduction of Ganymede -- all stories about seduction of a rather sordid sort -- while a chuckling African page boy holding a statue of Actaeon points to its horns, a symbol of cuckoldry; meanwhile, Silvertongue lives up to his name as the Countess hangs on his every word.
153* * ''Art/MediciChapels'': :
154** The "Allegories" sculptures are {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of a concept tied to the Medicis' beliefs in Alchemy and the cyclic nature of time --"Dawn" is the beginning (birth), "Day" is the peak of life (youth and adulthood), "Dusk" is life's decline (old age), and "Night" is a life's end (death).
155** Flanking the mandatory Christian [[{{sculptures}} statue]] of Saint Mary and baby Jesus, there are the Medicis' patron saints. Having been real people, Cosmas and Damian aren't allegories of a concept in the traditional sense. However, they were martyr healers who believed in much the same things as the Medicis. As such, they represent how the Medicis' pseudo-scientific beliefs don't contradict their religious ones.
156* ''Art/{{Olympia}}'': The model wears nothing but a black ribbon around her neck, a gold bracelet on her wrist, Louis XV slippers on her feet, and a silk flower in her hair --all symbols of wealth and sensuality. The composition includes a black cat, symbolizing heightened sexuality and prostitution --a characteristically Baudelarian symbol.
157* ''Art/ThePersistenceOfMemory'': The floppy clocks are suggested to mean something in the context of the title, be it the fluid nature of our dreams, the instability of our memories, or something else.
158* ''Art/ThePlanetVenus'':
159** The design of the drapery billowing in the wind is designed to look similar to clouds.
160** LoveGoddess Venus is named after a planet, one that happens to shine the brightest on Earth's night skies. It's only second to the moon in that regard, so that's why the goddess is being accompanied by the moon.
161* ''Art/{{The Rape of Proserpina|Rubens}}'': Venus and Cupid -- both gods of different forms of love and sexuality -- seem to be on opposing sides of this conflict, with Minerva (goddess of war and wisdom) and Ceres (goddess of motherhood and Proserpina's own mother) trying to separate them. This would imply that the painting is symbolic of LoveAtFirstSight, a passionate and spontaneous form of love opposed by those with prudence and who's love for the querents is familial in nature.
162* Art/SistineChapel: In the context of "The Last Judgement", it's unclear how those entering Heaven managed to get a hand on Jesus's cross, though that makes it easy to remember who died for whose sins.
163* ''Art/TheTemptationOfStAnthonyRops'': The titular temptation manifests in the form of a voluptuous naked woman who seems to act as a symbolic replacement for God. She is tied to the cross in the same manner as Jesus, her expression one of elation instead of the idea of agony being a redemptive tool. Behind the cross, we see an Obviously Evil demon in red carrying Jesus -- who's position implies him to be an effigy of the real deal that was originally on that cross. The inscription INRI (initials for "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews") is replaced by the word EROS, the name of the Greek God of desire and sexual pleasure. This all implies that the temptation is replacing his piety for God with the pleasures of the sin of {{Lust}}, St. Anthony's horror in this vision being him attempting forgo the sins of the flesh in favor of his piety.
164* ''Art/{{Vanitas}}'' {{paintings}}, about the transitory nature of life, are usually still lives of the most incongruous objects, all chosen to reflect some aspect of it.
165* ''Art/{{Venus and Cupid|Lotto}}'' by Creator/LorenzoLotto was created to be a wedding gift in the later Renaissance, so much of the picture is symbolic of this.
166** The garland of myrtle is a symbol of marriage.
167** The roses, the seashell, and the rose petals are all yanic symbols used to represent Venus' femininity.
168** The ivy represents eternal love.
169** Cupid is portrayed in ''puer mingēns''; a {{Putto}} urinating through a crown of laurels of myrtle suspended on a blue ribbon with an incense burner onto Venus herself (who is portrayed as a bride). In this circumstance, [[ExcrementStatement the act]] is portrayed as a symbolic act of male fertility.
170** The fact that Venus [[BreakingTheFourthWall looks directly at the viewer]] was meant to act as the goddess of love giving her approval to the wedded couple.
171* ''Art/WitchesSabbath1798'':
172** The goat extends his left rather than right hoof towards the child, while the quarter moon faces out of the canvas at the top left corner. Both of these are [[ASinisterClue sinister clues]] that indicate wrongness.
173** In the middle high ground, a number of bats can be seen flying overhead, their flocking motion echoing the curve of the crescent moon. Moon is associated with madness, suggesting that one has to be utterly (and increasingly) insane to worship Satan.
174** The child being offered to Satan is so starved, he's practically a skeleton. This is a symbol of death but is also a twist on what proper offerings are. One gives only the best to God but, since this is Satan, the opposite is true -- you give him the worst.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Comic Books]]
178* ''ComicBook/AmazingFantasticIncredible'': The various artists who left Creator/{{Marvel}} are shown doing so in ways that homage characters they worked on: Creator/SteveDitko fades from the public eye and gradually becomes ComicBook/{{Invisible|Woman}}, while Creator/JackKirby is transported via [[ComicBook/NewGods Boom Tube]] into the offices of the [[Creator/DCComics Distinguished Competition]].
179* ''ComicBook/BatmanWhiteKnight'': During his meeting with the GCPD, the cured Joker breaks free of his cuffs, and the following panel where he rests his arms on the table in front of him as he tears down Batman and the police force piece by piece makes it clear that Jack Napier has the upper hand whereas the GCPD no longer has any power over him.
180* ''ComicBook/DarkNightATrueBatmanStory'', an autobiography about a horrible mugging and a series of bad relationships Creator/PaulDini experienced and his recovery from them, sees various Franchise/{{Batman}} characters represent aspects to his reaction to them with Bruce Wayne himself as TheSpock, either berating Dini for not thinking of ways to defend him or telling him to go back to work; ComicBook/TheJoker as mocking him and encouraging procrastination; ComicBook/TwoFace as the physical and mental scars the mugging left him; ComicBook/PoisonIvy acting as his failed relationships; ComicBook/TheScarecrow as, of course, the fears about life and his trauma; ComicBook/ThePenguin as Dini's alcoholism; ComicBook/TheRiddler as Dini questioning himself and making excuses for him not to go back to work; Clayface as the possibility of a repeat of the mugging; and ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, Dini and Creator/BruceTimm's biggest contribution to the ''Batman'' mythology, as his motivation and creativity.
181* ''ComicBook/MisterMiracle2017'' follows a very strict format of nine identically-sized panels per page for the entire series, [[DecompressedComic with much of the story's pacing needing to fit in with its visual rhythm]]. Not only does it call attention to when [[PaintingTheMedium something about the format changes]], it illustrates the series' main psychological conflict regarding Scott Free/Mister Miracle -- super-EscapeArtist extraordinaire -- being trapped in something he can't escape: his own life. There are also a few [[SplashPanel splash pages]] divided among the grid-shaped arrangement, helping to further illustrate the image of being stuck in a cage.
182* The climax of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''Comicbook/NewXMen'' features a BadFuture that's essentially a sci-fi take on The Literature/BookOfRevelation. Just to drive the point home, the BigBad is the [[GrandTheftMe body-snatching]] microorganism Sublime, who spends the story possessing Dr. Hank [=McCoy=] -- literally making Sublime [[TheAntichrist "The Beast"]]. It's never explained ''how'', exactly, [[GreatOffscreenWar Sublime managed to take over the world in Beast's body]] -- and it strains WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief a bit, considering Beast's limited powers, and the fact that Sublime earlier failed to conquer the world when he possessed two of the most powerful mutants on Earth -- but the inconsistencies are excused because they fit with the Revelation-inspired imagery.
183* In ''ComicBook/RiseOfTheThirdArmy'', the Green Lantern Corps lampshade this in the titular army, created by the Guardians to eradicate TheEvilsOfFreeWill: They have no mouth, so they can not object to orders. They have no eyelids, so they can only watch and receive orders. Their brain is exposed, so the Guardian always knows their thoughts. They have no hearts, so they feel no emotion.
184* ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen2019'': While Jimmy's businesslike older brother Julian is chewing him out, he shoves him, causing Jimmy to fall on Julian's table and wreck the model of the city he keeps there. It underlines his statement about his younger brother being a WalkingDisasterArea.
185* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersCombinerWars'': When Optimus Prime opens his chest to unveil the Matrix, it shines out through his chest panels and looks like a cross. At this point the Matrix was basically empty and incapable of shining (which was later retconned), and the Transformer mythology had changed to make it resemble Christianity less in this continuity; but the message of Optimus being a Messiah-like figure and the Matrix as a holy object come across easily.
186* A lot of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', but especially Rorschach's mask. It's impossible, even with today's technology, but it's such a great symbol of a variety of things (ranging from Rorschach's disconnect from his real identity to his black and white viewpoint) as well as looking so [[RuleOfCool cool]] that it fails to mess with the reader's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.
187[[/folder]]
188
189[[folder:Fan Works]]
190* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/33823474/ Apex Predator]]'' has a few of these;
191** At one point, Apolline Delacour essentially pledges her loyalty to her daughter Fleur as part of an old Veela ritual of submission. Apolline's thoughts note that in practical terms the act means nothing, but symbollically it affirms that all participants recognise that Fleur has "authority" over Harry's fate even as he becomes part of the Veela clan.
192** Later on, Fleur fits Harry with an enchanted cock ring that prevents him from achieving release with any woman not "encoded" into its spellwork. Coupled with Fleur adding some extra details to the ring, such as her family crest and faint traces of flowers, she considers the moment when she places the ring on Harry as her "officially" claiming his manhood as her own.
193* In ''Fanfic/ArcVedProtagonists'', right when Yuya gets what Yugi is saying about something having vanished, doesn't mean it is gone for good, during "Coming Right Back", the next card he draws is Monster Reborn.
194* In ''[[Fanfic/AManLikeNoOther Avengers of Panem]]'', Katniss being entrusted with Captain America's old shield, repainted gold and black with a Mockingjay rather than a star in the centre, represents how she has become the new symbol for her country just as Rogers represented America back in his day.
195* In ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars'', Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee's use of certain lightsabers is intended to reflect their personal character development. After Anakin [[spoiler:takes the lightsaber of a manifestation of Darth Vader]], he declares that he intends to work on cleansing this new lightsaber as he works to purge himself of the darkness that led to his fall in that other timeline. As for Barriss, after she has undergone various character development through her [[{{Polyamory}} relationship with Peter Parker and Ahsoka Tano]], she decides to work on forging a new lightsaber to reflect her personal growth as a result of this relationship, as well as [[MetaphoricalMarriage giving her original lightsaber to Ahsoka and declaring that it is essentially her "proposing" to her two lovers]].
196* ''Fanfic/AvengersOfTheRing'';
197** Discussed in ''Methteilien'' when [[spoiler:President Ellis declares that the Sokovia Accords are now revoked, as he considers it more important for the world to see the Avengers reunited as a symbol of hope]].
198** While it was an unintended example, WordOfGod has noted a certain symbolism in the number of Avengers involved in key plots; ''Avengers of the Ring'' saw three Avengers visit Middle-Earth (Captain America, the Hulk and Thor), ''Return of the Avengers'' had seven (the original six plus Sif), and in ''Methteilien'', [[spoiler:sees a group of nine- Rogers, Stark, Thor, Natasha, Scott, Gandalf, Galadriel, Legolas and Aragorn- assemble in secret to make plans for dealing with Thanos]].
199** As a more literal example, while preparing for the final battle, [[spoiler:Legolas and Gimli allow Wanda to wear the White Gems that were once a gift from Erebor to Thranduril, reflecting how Wanda is an ally to both Elves and Dwarves]].
200* In the ''[[Series/Charmed1998 Charmed]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8098004/1/Charmed-Alternate Charmed Alternate]]'', Paige's powers are activated at the time as Prue, Piper and Phoebe's as she and Piper became friends shortly after Grams' death and she was in the house when Phoebe cast the spell, Paige gaining [[BarrierWarrior the power to generate a forcefield]] as a 'new' power since the three foretold powers are already present. When the Halliwells first vocally affirm that they all consider Paige their sister even before knowing of their biological relationship, the Triquetra on the cover of the Book of Shadows changes to include an extra circle surrounding the three points, which Piper concludes is intended to represent Paige just as the Triquetra itself represents the Power of Three.
201* In ''Fanfic/TheConfectionaryChronicles'', when Slytherin Hermione- who has spent years as essentially the high priestess of Loki (''Series/{{Supernatural}}'')- engages in a duel with Draco Malfoy, Loki's children later note the symbolism of her summoning a black mamba to attack Malfoy, as a muggle-born attacking a pure-blood with the symbol of Slytherin is a clear display of which of them 'deserves' to be in this house.
202* ''Fanfic/ContactAtKobol'':
203** Several Colonials take this as a sign when Earth is asked to bring its 'world animal' and 'world bird' with them; the owl chosen to represent Earth eats all twelve of the signature birds of the other colonies when it's put in a cage with them (the Colonies' world birds all being songbirds rather than predators), and the wolves chosen as Earth's world animal are slaughtered as a symbolic early stage of the war.
204** After Aquaria is 'accidentally' destroyed by a Tau'ri weapon, some argue that the continued existence of a statue of Hermes on the planet shows that the Colonials must keep fighting as the Lords of Kobol will help them survive, but Sharon Valerii (still unaware of her Cylon status) offers the observation that it could also be a reflection of the fate that will await them if they don’t stop fighting.
205* ''Fanfic/DidIMakeTheMostOfLovingYou'':
206** It is explained that twelve individuals retained their memories of the future to guide it onto a better path, with each time traveller symbolically representing one of the twelve Lords of Kobol (Cavil can be seen as representing the thirteenth tribe of Cylons);
207*** Zeus=William Adama as the fleet's benevolent yet powerful leader.
208*** Hera=Laura Roslin as the fleet's female ruler, who can be ruthless when the situation calls for it.
209*** Poseidon=Saul Tigh, the loyal brother to Zeus.
210*** Demeter=[[spoiler:Caprica Six]].
211*** Athena=Sharon "Boomer" Valerii.
212*** Apollo=Kara Thrace, who dominated the skies and lived a life ruled by destiny.
213*** Artemis=[[spoiler:Lee Adama]].
214*** Ares=Doctor Cottle, the soldier who has seen more war than any of the others.
215*** Aphrodite=[[spoiler:Gaius Baltar]].
216*** Hephaestus=[[spoiler:Leoben]].
217*** Hermes=[[spoiler:Billy Keikeya]], the loyal messenger of the gods.
218*** Dionysus=[[spoiler:Tom Zarek]], who sought to liberate his people from their perceived oppression.
219** There is a deeper symbolism in the new prophecies of Pythia; rather than the original prophecy of the Dying Leader, in this timeline the scrolls tell of two leaders who will lead the Caravan of Heaven to a new home [[spoiler:and will have a daughter to represent the new life humanity will find at the end of their path, despite Roslin being post-menopause when the Cylons attack]].
220* In ''Fanfic/TheEditWarForAshsFreedomToNotBeBetrayed'', when Ash arrives at a major Tournament after spending a few months training on an isolated island, he is wearing five gold rings with fragments from five elemental stones: Water Stone, Moon Stone, Dawn Stone, Leaf Stone and Fire Stone. Each one represents one of his five lovers (Misty due to her favoured type, May due to Skitty, Dawn due to her name, Iris's preference for living wild, and Serena's Starter type).
221* In ''Fanfic/FrozenTurtles: Into the Unknown'', when the Turtles and their allies join the Arendelle royal family in visiting Northuldra, each turtle [[spoiler:forms a bond with one of the four elemental spirits, and later experience a vision from the Fifth Spirit explaining why each spirit bonded with each turtle. According to these visions, Donatello stays grounded despite his intellect, Raphael channels his fiery anger to protect, Michaelangelo tries to help others heal emotionally, and Leonardo lets himself learn from his mistakes and move forward with them]].
222* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4175909/1/Furious-Angels Furious Angels]]'', when Harry first snaps Malfoy's wand after defeating him in a brief duel, Professor Dumbledore notes that this is the equivalent of Harry stating that he feels Malfoy isn't worthy to possess magic.
223* ''Fanfic/GlassMarionetteNaruto'': When [[spoiler:Shimura Danzo]] is finally taken down, they attempt a TakingYouWithMe that [[MonumentalDamage destroys part of the Hokage Rock]]. Specifically, a large chunk of the Sandaime's face is destroyed. Which is fitting, given how he had ignored the threat posed by [[spoiler:Shimura]] for so long, turning a blind eye towards their [[AmbitionIsEvil naked ambition]] and treachery. In other words, the Sandaime symbolically "loses face" for his inaction.
224* ''Fanfic/GreySkiesUniverse'': With the AmericaIsStillAColony setting, it's mentioned in passing in ''Grey Skies Over London'' that America's voice finally died on the day UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was hanged, rendering him mute. Given how NationsAsPeople work in Hetalia...
225-->Arthur [England] called it coincidence. Matthew [Canada] [[LampshadeHanging was not so sure]].
226* Utilised in ''Series/The100'' fic “[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12758747/1/Healer-on-the-ground Healer on the Ground]]”, where Clarke exposes her ability to heal others and heal injuries when acting to defend Lexa from an assassination attempt, Lexa has to protect Clarke by suggesting that ‘the Healing Nymph’ has been sent to protect the Commander. This idea of Clarke being a gift from the Spirits is also used when Clarke turns down an offer to participate in an execution of an assassin, Lexa allowing Clarke to save face with the rest of the Coalition by claiming that the Nymph’s powers also required her to make an oath to harm no other being.
227* The more isolated Isabela becomes from her family in ''Fanfic/HowFarDoTheseRootsGoDown'', the more stairs get added in her room.
228* ''Fanfic/ISeeWhatYouDoBehindClosedDoorsMiraculousLadybug'': Adrien/Chat Noir repeatedly refuses to listen to Ladybug, dismissing her repeatedly rejecting his advances as "PlayingHardToGet" and ignoring all evidence that she doesn't ''want'' a romantic relationship with him. Following the battle with Retropedaler Rue, Adrien suffers a temporary case of tinnitus -- conveniently preventing him from overhearing Ladybug as she decides [[spoiler:she needs to erase his Miraculous-related memories]]. While he is still fully capable of observing her movements, body language, and other cues, with the ringing in his ears soon dying down, he ignores all evidence that she has drawn a conclusion that's unfavorable for him, underscoring how one of his {{Fatal Flaw}}s is how he firmly believes things ''have'' to go the way he wants.
229* In ''Fanfic/IceFury'', the relationship between Toothless and Wintergale can be seen to represent the new alliance between Berk and Arendelle, considering that the two dragons are each the only known living Furies -- regarded by many as the most intelligent species of dragon -- and also belong to the rulers of both kingdoms, even if Hiccup and Elsa do not have that kind of relationship themselves.
230* ''Fanfic/LadyBugOut'': During a sparring match, Kagami [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech berates Adrien]] for how he refuses to pay attention to the greater consequences of his actions. To drive this home, she maneuvers and drives him all the way out of the gymnasium into the library [[FailedASpotCheck without him noticing]]. He only realizes what's happened when he backs right into a bookcase with nowhere else to go.
231* ''[[Fanfic/OrDidItEatTheLittleGirl let's go out with a bang!]]'':
232** Spending time in Team Danganronpa's VR simulators stunts the physical growth of the participants, making it harder to judge how old they are. This reflects the emotional and psychological toll the mutual killing games have taken upon them, as well as how Team DR refuses to let them move on with their lives.
233** Kaede's experiences during V3 damaged her ability to speak. While she still serves as TheHeart of Season 53's class, her condition underscores how she needs others to ''cooperate'' with her; they all learned sign language in order to communicate with her, and no amount of signing ''or'' speaking makes any difference when nobody's paying attention. During her PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure with Miu, the inventor grabs her wrists, underscoring her refusal to listen.
234** In [[EarnYourHappyEnding the best]] of [[MultipleEndings the five endings]], [[spoiler:Himiko]] is shot in the foot. This represents how their {{Fatal Flaw}}s actually prove beneficial, as their indecision and hesitance helps buy time for their EurekaMoment, as well as how [[spoiler:The Director and Team DR]] effectively hobbled themselves by trying to [[spoiler:manufacture a big, Dramatic Moment to revitalize interest in the series]].
235* ''Fanfic/LieInReverse'': Shadows are used to convey older Sasuke's villainous streak, so they pool around him whenever he's acting as TheCorrupter or planning evil schemes. For example, when he's trying to convince his younger self that Konoha deserves to burn in hell (and that's why they are invading it tomorrow), there's little to no light in the room.
236* ''Fanfic/TheMountainAndTheWolf'':
237** Each of the Wolf's targets corresponds with an aspect of the Chaos Gods: Clegane for Khorne (War), Ramsay for Slaanesh (Sadism), Baelish for Tzeentch (Treachery), the Night King for Nurgle (Decay), and Euron for Chaos Undivided (Nihilism).
238** This also goes for some of the people he recruits/kidnap: Varys for Tzeentch, Qyburn for Nurgle and Jaime and/or Cersei for Slaanesh.
239* In ''Fanfic/PokemonShadowOfTime'', during Ash's first full public appearance in the Rotan court, he is officially hailed as the second coming of Sir Aaron when it's revealed that he has a Lucario and a Pidgeot, both of which are part of Rota's crest.
240* In ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfSeven'', Hermione determines that the horcrux in Harry can be destroyed if Harry forms a spiritual bond to seven witches. When analysed from a certain perspective, each member of the subsequent 'harem' -- Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Demelza Robbins, Susan Bones, Katie Bell, and Fleur Delacour -- is in some way symbolically 'connected' to one of Voldemort's horcruxes;
241** Diary=Ginny. Her previous connection with it is brought up fairly often, most notably when [[spoiler:Bill accuses Harry of manipulating her the same way the Diary had; Ginny fires back that, having actually been controlled by dark magic, she's in a position to know what she and Harry are doing is anything but.]] Harry forms his first bond with Ginny; the Diary was the first horcrux to be destroyed.
242** Diadem=Hermione. Both representing intellect. [[spoiler:The Diadem is found in this story when Luna [[StatingTheSimpleSolution simply asks the Room if it can help them find a horcrux.]] Hermione and Luna are very yin-yang, both brilliant in opposite ways (Hermione being logical and methodical, Luna being, well, [[CloudCuckoolander Luna]]). The Diadem is destroyed by Ginny with a basilisk fang, and Ginny has expressed. . . penetrative interest in Hermione. Harry forms his second bond with Hermione, the Diadem is the second horcrux to be destroyed by Harry's actions in this story]].
243** Ring=Luna. Both seem innocuous but both hold hidden power, the Ring having a lethal curse and the Resurrection Stone, Luna being a shining example of TheCuckoolanderWasRight and BewareTheSillyOnes. The ring was basically dealt with before Harry was even told about the horcruxes, and Luna was such an obvious choice for the ritual that Harry, Hermione and Ginny approached her as soon as they had confirmed their new plan. [[spoiler:The Ring and Stone were held by Dumbledore, reflecting Luna's outsider status, in general and within the harem. While the other girls like Luna well enough, they don't quite ''get'' her. Luna is also the harem member with the least time acting as the POV character]].
244** Locket=Demelza. The Locket is kept safe under a potion that makes you relive your worst memories, Demelza submerges herself in the fantasy world of her romance novels. The Locket, when worn, exaggerates the wearer's worst qualities and defends itself by preying on its attacker's greatest fears; Demelza is TheHeart who brings out the best in the people around her. The Locket was stolen from Voldemort's hiding place by Regulus Black who told Kreacher to destroy it, [[spoiler:Demelza was "stolen" from Harry by Voldemort as bait in a trap to destroy Harry. Harry escaped Voldemort's trap and rescued Demelza, though her parents died in the process, Kreacher failed to destroy the Locket and suffered greatly for it. The Locket was finally destroyed by Bill and Dumbledore, who then turned their attention to "destroying" the harem.]]
245** Cup=Susan. Both connected to Hufflepuff. The Cup is safely locked in the Lestrange vault at Gringott's, while Susan is the most sexually guarded and repressed of the girls. The Lestrange vault is filled with treasures useless to anyone not hunting a horcrux, Susan is alone in a house filled with treasures she doesn't care about or are painful reminders for her. A Gringott's vault like the Lestrange's is supposed to be impenetrable; Hermione is investigating how to ward a place (such as Susan's home) to make it safe from Voldemort.
246** Nagini=Katie. Nagini is the only living horcrux Voldemort made (so far as he knows), Katie is the most independent and free-spirited of the girls. Voldemort uses Nagini as an AttackAnimal bodyguard and to frighten his Death Eaters into submission, Katie is very protective and nurturing towards Harry and inspiring the others with her TeamMom tendencies.
247** Harry=Fleur. Harry is the horcrux Voldemort never meant to make, Fleur was brought up a few times but never considered for the ritual because of her engagement to Bill. Harry became a horcrux through a unique set of circumstances and an act of true love, Fleur became embroiled in the goings-on through a series of coincidences. Voldemort made Harry a horcrux by accident, [[spoiler:Harry and Fleur have an "[[PregnancyScare accident]]" of their own their first time together]].
248* In ''Fanfic/TheProdigalDaughter'', after Marla Gilmore is abducted and tortured by Section 31 operatives posing as her crewmates on the ''Equinox'', she is eventually rescued by ''Voyager''. When she is given a chance to confront the fake Ransom, Marla demands his captain’s pips as her way of honouring the original Ransom’s memory.
249* In ''Fanfic/RobbReturns'', [[spoiler:when Robert uses Stormbreaker in a practice fight against Jaime Lannister, the latter's sword rapidly rusts from the inside, even while the surface remains untouched and perfectly polished]].
250* ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'':
251** In "Copycat", Adrien notices that the new statue honoring Paris' heroes depicts Scarlet Lady leaping over Chat Noir. From a lower angle, however, it looks as though she's simply standing upon Chat Noir's back, reflecting what their relationship is ''really'' like -- how Scarlet Lady is TheLoad who keeps StealingTheCredit for all of Chat Noir's hard work.
252** At the end of "Reflekta", Chloé opts out of the class photo retake because she already got her "perfect" photo with Adrien (read: she got clingy and he was trying to shove her aside), representing her self-centered delusions and the growing divide between her and her peers. Sabrina, on the other hand, is invited to join in the retake by Alix, representing her growing independence from Chloé and her eventual friendship with the girl.
253* ''Fanfic/SeventhEndmostVision'' combines this with ColorMotif. Throughout the story, pink has a recurring motif of horror, compared explicitly to blood seeping through a bandage; a video of [[spoiler:the meeting with Hojo that set Lucrecia on her new path]] shows her dropping a cup of wine onto some fallen lab papers, staining them pink. [[spoiler:It symbolizes Lucrecia making the decision to live without guilt, as Hojo asks.]]
254* ''Fanfic/AThingOfVikings'':
255** Hiccup's loss against Roald at ''hnefatafl'' was because he prioritized protecting his pawns at the expense of the king, reflecting his attitude towards his tribe and people under his command.
256** It is noted that dragon attacks in China are interpreted as symbolic of the emperor losing their heaven's mandate of their right to rule.
257** Upon seeing a juggler struggle with juggling several balls and failing, Mac Bethad draws an explicit comparison to himself and hopes he doesn't fail either.
258** Henry's army (which massacred many Jews) is defeated ''in the exact same way'' as the Egyptian Army pursuing the fleeing Jews were in the Literature/BookOfExodus, washed away by a river.
259** After [[spoiler:King Henry's surprise attack on him]], Stoick reflects attributes of several Norse gods: [[spoiler:he's missing a hand like Tyr, missing an eye like Odin, and slept for nine days while pierced with a spear]].
260* ''Fanfic/TemporalAnomaly'': Before Sougo entering her life, Zero never truly considered the other Intoners her sisters, but seeing them as merely aspects of herself brought to life [[spoiler: by the Flower after it resurrects her.]] However, right before the wedding ceremony, Zero requests that Sougo marks her forehead with the letter "N", standing in for "nulla", which the Romans used to express the number 0 instead of having a numeral like other numbers. Due to the other Intoners having similar numeral markings on their foreheads, this signals Zero accepting them fully as her sisters and family.
261* In ''Fanfic/WhatItTakes'', when Oliver, Laurel and Constantine enter Sara's soul to help the resurrection, the representations of the League of Assassins stand down and kneel to the arrivals rather than fighting them, speculated to represent Sara mastering her darkness after she refused to kill Thea even when given the opportunity.
262* In ''The Wisdom Seeker''- sequel to ''Fanfic/TheSecretKeeper''- symbolism features heavily in a recurring prophetic dream Bella has, which includes her needing to swim through a river of blood to get to her future daughter, Rosalie trapped by chains with clocks on them displaying the very minute Rosalie's heart stopped beating, and a little boy just beyond Bella's daughter that Edward (after seeing the dream) becomes certain will be Emmett and Rosalie's son, further back from Renesmee because he'll be born later.
263* Throughout ''Fanfic/YourMoveInstigatorDrawYourWeaponAndHoldYourTongue'', the deaths of [[spoiler:Neji, Ami, and all the other child soldiers conscripted by Konoha]] all happen offscreen, symbolizing how many of the residents in Konoha are desperately trying to ignore the high human cost of the ongoing war. Conversely, Team 14's continued survival makes it harder for those around them to turn a blind eye to their existence as ChildSoldiers.
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Literature]]
267* This describes the cornerstone works for genres such as TheatreOfTheAbsurd (Creator/SamuelBeckett, Creator/EugeneIonesco) and literary {{Surrealism}} (Creator/FranzKafka). Works like ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'', ''Theatre/TheBaldSoprano'', and ''Literature/TheMetamorphosis'' are unrealistic and only make sense on a symbolic level.
268* ''Literature/TwentySixSixtySix'': General Entrescu spends a lot of time discussing heroism, history, and religion. He also has access to Count Dracula's castle. [[spoiler:He’s eventually crucified by his own men.]]
269%% * The FracturedFairyTale short stories in Angela Carter's ''Literature/TheBloodyChamber and Other Stories''. Everything in them. Almost none of them make any sense at face value.
270* ''Literature/CallMeByYourName'': In the books, as he embarks on a passionate sexual affair with Elio, Oliver falls in platonic love with a little girl named Vimini, who represents the dying of childhood innocence by literally dying. Vimini was AdaptedOut for the film, most likely to avoid unfortunate implications. In the book, it is clear that Oliver has no sexual attraction to the little girl but in visual media it might not have been quite so clear.
271* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'' relies on this a ''lot.'' The events and reveals near the end of the book rely heavily on the fact that they are extensions of the premise.
272* Creator/JoseMariaEguren: In "Lied I", the dawn is described as the saddest light shining on a dying elm tree, unknown faces in the mist, and pain hidden by the pink sky.
273* The Greek poet and [[UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature Literature Nobel Prize winner]] Odysseas Elytis once attended a celebration in his honor, where samples of his work were read and then had their meaning analyzed in detail by distinguished scholars. When his turn came to speak and thank everybody, he put his tongue in his cheek and gave special credit to the scholars for finding more depth to his {{poetry}} than even he had thought of.
274* Creator/JohnGreen has this to say about ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'''s final sentence ([[spoiler:"I do"]]), which he sees as marital symbolism.
275-->"Shakespeare's comedies end in marriage and his tragedies end in death, and I was rather fond of the idea that [[spoiler:my book could end (symbolically, at least) in both]]."
276* Creator/ThomasPynchon's ''Literature/GravitysRainbow'' is so rife with symbolism integrated magnificently into the story (even much of the {{squick}} is symbolic!) that there's plenty of symbolism to be seen ''even when it might not be there at all''!
277* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'': Harry [[spoiler:is trapped by [[TheDragon Professor Quirrel]], but Quirrel is unable to kill Harry because [[ThePowerOfLove the love from Harry's mother, who sacrificed herself to save him]] had a lasting effect on him that prevented a loveless, heartless person like Quirrel from being able to touch him.]] Normally, this could be seen as a flawed DeusExMachina ending, but the symbolism of Lily Potter's love, and the moral message that it brings to readers, makes this more than acceptable. It helps that it's not simply dropped, and remains a major plot element throughout the series. In fact, we later find out that [[spoiler:there are at least ''six'' different factors involved that had never been combined before.]]
278** Same with [[spoiler:Harry pulling Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat]] in the second book, to demonstrate that a person's choices are what ultimately determines what kind of person they are. Again, this plot point isn't dropped; two other people achieve this feat later in the series, showing that this is just something that can happen, but in both cases the scenario is symbolic.
279** In the fourth book, WordOfGod has confirmed that the challenges of the Triwizard Tournament were chosen to represent the four classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, with the Maze representing Earth, the lake Water, and the dragons Air and Fire (there would have been two different tasks for each element, but it was decided that combining them both with the dragons was more straightforward).
280* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss, once she decides to rebel, invokes this trope, turning her every action into a symbol meant to add fuel to the rebellion.
281* In one of his books, ''I Have Landed'', Stephen Jay Gould discussed how many critics thought there was a symbolic meaning to the references to butterflies in Creator/VladimirNabokov's novels.
282* ''Literature/InACrookedLittleHouse'': During lunch, Casey ends up thinking about how the cafeteria's salad (which looks nice and tossed on the surface, but only has old lettuce underneath) serves as a metaphor for Huntington Prep as a whole (as it looks like a nice private school on the surface, but it's filled to the brim with elitist assholes).
283* During a flashback to his college years, Stuttering Bill Denbrough, one of the heroes of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{It}}'' lampshades this trope by asking the professor (and students) in his creative writing class, "Why does everything have to have hidden meaning? Can't you guys just let a story be a story?" When the Professor sarcastically asked the exasperated Denbrough if he thought people like Shakespeare and Hemmingway were "just writing stories", Denbrough replies, "Yeah, pretty much." The professor suggests Denbrough "has a lot to learn".
284* ''Literature/TheKingsAvatar'':
285** Excellent Era's logo is a leaf with a spear and three stars, symbolizing Ye Xiu's three consecutive championship reign and his avatar of One Autumn Leaf (who uses a spear as his weapon).
286** Happy's logo is that of a phoenix, representing [[spoiler: Ye Xiu's return to the professional scene.]]
287* William Golding had a plane evacuating children from England crash in the Pacific rather than the Atlantic Ocean in ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' specifically so that he could contrast his setting with that of another book, which also featured an island in the Pacific.
288* ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' is ''loaded'' with this. Why does Piggy's hair remain short and neat while the other boys sport shaggy, unkempt hair? Because he is the symbolic embodiment of reason and intelligence.
289* ''Literature/NightOfTheAssholes'': [[spoiler: In the ending, Todd and Barbara have escaped from the assholes in the wilderness. Both are naked, having escaped by their love-making and are content now that they have a break from the assholes with a means of keeping them away. Right after Todd helps himself to [[ForbiddenFruit an apple from a nearby tree]], he flips the bird and shouts at the assholes, only for an asshole to appear and destroy their chances at living HappilyEverAfter]].
290* ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' has Chief Bromden's role as narrator and the specifics of his hallucinations. Bromden's hallucinations (his belief in everyone receiving mechanical implants, his MindControlConspiracy theory "The Combine," etc.) guide the book's symbolism.
291* In ''Literature/ThePaleKing'', The IRS seal depicts the mythical hero Bellerophon slaying the Chimera, which represents those who are stuck doing the difficult and unpopular work.
292* In ''Literature/APrayerForOwenMeany'', Owen Meany himself seems to base his actions on this principle; for instance, he repeatedly uses the loss of limbs in symbolic gestures.
293* The book ''The Rules of Survival'' deals with a teenage boy and his younger sisters living with their abusive mother. The cover? A picture of a bowl of broken glass with a spoon sticking out of it.
294* The weird... meteor... giant "A"... THING that appears in the sky about midway, through. ''Literature/TheScarletLetter''.
295* Invoked in a ''Literature/SecretHistories'' novel when an ordinary butterfly is on auction for a staggering sum because it was captured under ''just'' the right circumstances to make it a perfect symbol of chaos theory, potentially giving its owner power over the very concept of the ButterflyOfDoom... and then the field [[TimeStandsStill suspending it in time]] is broken, and an ordinary butterfly carries on its way.
296* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': The Incredible Deadly Viper offering the Baudelaires an apple to cure the medusoid mycelium in ''The End''.
297* In Toni Morrison's ''Literature/SongOfSolomon'' during one important conversation, a white peacock randomly walks through, despite the conversation taking place in an ordinary suburban neighborhood. No mentioned is ever made of how it got there and it has no plot relevance, but it was probably supposed to be symbolic of ''something''.
298* In the novelization of ''Literature/StarWarsRevengeOfTheSith'', after he begins his seduction of Anakin in earnest, Darth Sidious is treated more like a walking shadow than a living being. Likewise, during their duel Yoda is portrayed as an "avatar of light" set against the shadow -- until he realizes that he is incapable of winning.
299* The Toni Morrison novel ''Sula'' has the Deweys -- three unrelated boys who are all given the same name and treated as interchangeable, subsequently becoming [[SingleMindedTwins Single Minded Triplets]] who are somehow all child-sized after a decade or so. The bizarre, unlikely biology at work here is that they represent the larger social effects of stereotyping.
300* Each of the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' novels has a cover that, while symbolic, doesn't really tell you what the book is about.
301** The first novel has an apple, which WordOfGod says can represent both the "Forbidden Fruit" of Bella and Edward's relationship or the conflict that it causes, a la the Apple of Discord in Myth/ClassicalMythology.
302** ''New Moon'' has a tulip with one petal falling. The artist says that the petal represents the drop of blood that Bella loses at the beginning, which kicks off the plot. Fans sometimes see it as representing her loss of Edward or the tears that she shed in his absence.
303** ''Eclipse'' has a red thread that is almost but not entirely frayed in two, representing Bella's desire but inability to break free from her human life.
304** ''Breaking Dawn'' has a chess set with a queen in the foreground and a pawn behind it, meant to represent how Bella goes from the weakest [[InformedAttribute to the strongest]] person in the conflict.
305** ''Life and Death'' and ''Midnight Sun'' hearken back to the first book in different ways. The former has a green apple to fit the "same story, [[GenderFlip but different]]" angle, while the latter has a pomegranate, trading in the Biblical symbolism for Myth/ClassicalMythology's Hades and Persephone.
306* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has symbolism from almost every mythological source around, and somehow integrates it into the story ''all the time'' without sounding pretentious.
307** The series could easily be accused of FauxSymbolism, since it tends to throw in names from dozens of mythologies without always drawing meaningful parallels to the myths. However, due to the nature of the series's cosmology, even the meaningless symbolism has meaning, since it ties into the theme of how myths are misremembered and misinterpreted as they fade over time.
308* ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' (second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''):
309** InUniverse, the red eyes of the Voidbringers are seen as a ''very'' bad sign.
310** SymbolicWings occur out-of universe, since the image doesn't exist in Alethi culture. [[spoiler:Kaladin's ascension to a full Knight Radiant is coupled with frost behind him forming into the shape of wings briefly]]. In Universe, the 'wings' are most likely the glyphs that make up the oath he just swore, but since birds are exceptionally rare in this world, wings don't have any special symbolism attached to them.
311* ''Literature/TheYellowBag'':
312** The bag, where Raquel stores her wishes, is described as being very heavy thanks to all the things she has to carry in it. It's literally causing a weight on her life.
313** [[spoiler:The story ends with Raquel turning her wish of being a boy (along with the wish of being an adult) into kites, referencing the fact that flying kites is seen as a boys' activity in Brazil]].
314[[/folder]]
315
316[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
317* A lot of the criticism leveled at ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' came from the tendency of the writers to draw thematic and symbolic parallels to real-world events, even when it didn't make sense for the world of the show. Many saw the show as a 9/11 allegory, even though the damage the Cylons inflicted on the humans was incalculably greater than that of the terrorist attacks on America. The absurdity of a room full of reporters questioning the president was pointed out many times -- it was meant to resemble the real-world political situation, but a population of less than fifty thousand could not possibly need that many competing news organizations. The abortion storyline was meant to challenge the audience's ideas about real-world abortion, but the fact that the fleet would have a very hard time supporting a bunch of helpless infants clearly made Roslin's decision unfeasible.
318* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', the [[spoiler:plane crash]] at the end of Season 2 and [[spoiler:Gus' death and last moments of life]] at the end of Season 4 are somewhat out of place in an otherwise subtle and highly realistic show, but the symbolic point they make, especially of the former, are very important to the series.
319%%** Also, most of the ColdOpen scenes in general, specially in Seasons 2 and 5.
320* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
321** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E14Innocence Innocence]]", where Buffy loses her virginity, she dresses as a VirginInAWhiteDress and red sheets are on the bed where she sleeps with Angel. Whenever Buffy takes a new lover in Season 4, red sheets are shown in a CallBack. In Season 6, she begins her DestructiveRomance [[spoiler:with Spike]] in a [[DestructoNookie building which collapses around them as they have sex for the first time]].
322** At the start of Season 3, in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E1Anne Anne]]", Buffy leads the trapped young people forced to work for a demon in an extradimensional factory in a revolt, she does so armed first with a hammer, then gets attacked by a demon guard with a sickle like weapon. She ends up DualWielding a hammer and a sickle -- a long-standing Communist symbol, of the workers uniting and rising up against those exploiting them.
323** Buffy starts Season 6 by clawing her way out of her grave into the night, beginning a year-long HeroicBSOD. She ends the season climbing out of another grave into the light, having rediscovered the value of living.
324** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E2BargainingPart2 Bargaining Part 2]]", Buffy returns from the dead in time to see the sweet innocent Buffybot permanently destroyed when it's ripped apart by demons, showing Buffy's loss of innocence and the need to build herself anew.
325* In the Columbo episode "[[Recap/ColumboS03E08 A Friend Indeed]]", Mark Halperin gets this when he's already in the midst of his EstablishingCharacterMoment of being in a club, gambling with a pretty girl draped over him rather than being at home with his wife. The symbolism comes from him sitting beside his reflection in a mirror during his conversation with his friend, Hugh, hinting that he's two faced and duplicitous. Sure enough, he is.
326* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
327** [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor "The Time of the Doctor"]]: What happens just as the 11th Doctor [[spoiler:is given a new set of regenerations and effectively begins the regeneration into the 12th Doctor?]] [[spoiler:The clock strikes twelve.]]
328** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E6DemonsOfThePunjab "Demons of the Punjab"]] is set at the time of the Partition of India, and features a young couple, Muslim Umbreen and Hindu Prem, about to get married. The new border is drawn so Umbreen's house is in Pakistan and Prem's house is in India, and they get married across the border.
329%%* In the first ''Series/{{Fantaghiro}}'' miniseries we have ''everything''. Even the pets and the clothes.
330* ''Series/FirstKill'':
331** In the middle of rutting with Cal in the pantry, Juliette accidentally knocks down a couple of jars of cherries — [[TheirFirstTime she's in the middle of]] [[{{Pun}} losing her cherry!]]
332** After [[spoiler:Theo]] is turned into a vampire, he's restrained by [[spoiler:Apollo wrapping a silver chain around his arm, burning him so his hunter's tattoo is bisected]].
333* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
334** The only time we see Lord Renly Baratheon garbed in something other than House Baratheon black in Season 1 is at the Tourney of the Hand. He covers himself with a green brocade cloak (green is one of the colours of House Tyrell) when he watches his boyfriend Ser Loras Tyrell joust to subtly display his affection and support for the man he loves. Renly is essentially copying the Westerosi wedding practice of the bride being draped in a cloak featuring the colours of her husband's sigil, so his richly decorative green cape is a symbol of his commitment to Loras.
335** At the dinner table in "Valar Dohaeris", Margaery Tyrell and her brother Loras are seated next to each other, while Queen Cersei and her son King Joffrey are positioned at the opposite ends. To maintain symmetry, the Tyrell siblings would normally have been placed across from each other. Not surprisingly, Margaery and Loras are a harmonious BrotherSisterTeam, whereas Cersei and Joffrey exchange veiled insults against each other.
336** Loras is the only Tyrell in the first three seasons who sports [[http://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/q71/s720x720/1911884_487967611308295_1658416650_n.jpg green-and-gold attire]]. In "Kissed by Fire," he is sparring with various Tyrell squires, so being adorned in his house's true colours represents his honesty as a knight (as opposed to being a pawn -- albeit one with a deceptive mask -- in his family's political machinations) in this scene.
337** More so than any other House, the Tyrells are frequently seen in a lush, garden environment. It's a visual reminder to the audience of the Reach's fertile lands and its culture of romanticism, the family's floral theme, their cautious nature (gardens require careful maintenance), their preoccupation with beauty, and their preference for peace.
338** Margaery and Ellaria Sand's choice of wardrobe tends to be very modern for the setting, and it often display their chest and back. They're the only two prominent, non-prostitute female characters in Westeros who typically expose a fair amount of skin. Dorne (where Ellaria is from) and Highgarden (Margaery's home city) are the two most liberal regions on the continent, so the avant-garde/risqué cuts of their outfits signify their respective culture's relatively progressive attitudes.
339** Joffrey hates flowers because he considers them to be effeminate, yet [[http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Game-of-Thrones-season-4-Joffrey.jpg the new crown he has fashioned for his wedding features several entwined rose buds]]. This represents his bride Margaery's strong influence on him, as her house's sigil is a rose.
340** [[http://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10299027_512029318902124_9028561676609086223_n.jpg The pink rose patterns on Loras' sleeves and Prince Oberyn Martell's wrap around belt]] at the Purple Wedding are ''identical''. Only the fabric's background colour is different, and in Oberyn's case, it's actually green, one of the House Tyrell colours that is missing from Loras' outfit. This subtly hints at the two characters' attraction towards each other and their similarities. (Oberyn serves as a {{Foil}} to Loras). It's not a coincidence that the [[http://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1/1779792_475626825875707_360090309_n.jpg five-petal floral design on Oberyn's necklace]] is a simplified version of the [[http://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1509739_491142770990779_519150616_n.jpg embossed/enameled five-petal flowers on Loras' armour]].
341** Margaery, Loras and their grandmother Lady Olenna Tyrell's mourning attire in Season 4 is actually dark grey and dark green instead of black (with the exception of Margaery's shawl), which signifies that their "grief" over [[spoiler:Joffrey's passing]] is insincere. Lord Mace Tyrell doesn't even bother to put on dark clothing.
342** The first four seasons end with a scene relating to a symbol of fire or ice, alternating between the two each season. They also seems to have a bi-seasonal switch between a Supernatural ending and a Mundane ending.
343*** Season 1: Daenerys' dragons hatch (fire), (supernatural).
344*** Season 2: The White Walkers attack the Fist of the First Men (ice), (supernatural).
345*** Season 3: Daenerys Targaryen (of a family strongly associated with fire) frees the slaves of Yunkai, a city that is located in a desert (fire), (mundane).
346*** Season 4: Arya Stark (of a family strongly associated with ice) sails (on water, aka ice) away from Westeros. (ice), (mundane).
347** In "Winter Is Coming", the Starks find a stag and a direwolf MutualKill. This is seen as a disturbing omen in-universe. The direwolf also has six pups which map directly onto the Stark children (including HeroicBastard Jon Snow, who gets an albino that was separated). Theon is also quick to accept the idea of killing the pups, which foreshadows his future.
348** Tywin Lannister is introduced in "You Win Or You Die" butchering a stag (the sigil of House Baratheon) while his army assembles for what will become the War of the Five Kings. A DeletedScene from Season 3 also shows Tywin catching fish (the sigil of House Tully).
349** In the midst of a melee, it is NonActionGuy MagnificentBastard Littlefinger who holds a knife to Ned's throat to underscore his backstabbing.
350** Sandor "The Hound" Clegane wears a snarling dog helmet and is Joffrey's human RightHandAttackDog until he gets tired of being kicked and bites back. He also develops a MoralityPet relationship with both Stark girls that culminates in him being mortally wounded protecting Arya from a perceived threat.
351** Just before the arrows start flying, Roose Bolton shows Catelyn Stark what he has "up his sleeve".
352** The house sigil of House Baratheon of King's Landing is a quartering (the process of combining sigils; specifically, two sigils are ''impaled'' -- i.e. given equal space) of the Baratheon Stag and the Lannister Lion -- and yet the tail of the Lion hovers menacingly above the Stag's own field -- subtly emphasizing that it is really House Lannister calling the shots behind them.
353** The three heads on House Targaryen's dragon sigil symbolize Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives.
354* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'':
355** In "The Heirs of the Dragon", scenes of the violent tourney are intercut with Queen Aemma's horrible childbirth. This underscores Aemma's statement earlier about how a woman's battlefield is in the birthing bed.
356** In "Second of His Name", a hunt King Viserys conducts with his retinue fails to capture the elusive [[TheMarvelousDeer White Stag]] despite repeated attempts, and Viserys ends up killing an ordinary stag in frustration. Meanwhile, his daughter Rhaenyra encounters the White Stag ''by accident'' and chooses to let it go. The White Stag symbolizes kingship in Westerosi legends, and the fact that it appears to Rhaenyra on its own implies that she is considered the rightful monarch compared to her father.
357** As Viserys slowly succumbs to his illness while the Hightowers plot to usurp the throne, [[FisherKing the environment of King's Landing grows darker and more desolate by each passing year]]. In "The Lord of the Tides", Rhaenyra, who spent the last six years away from the capital, comments that she "hardly recognizes" the Red Keep. If you pay attention, there's been a remodeling of the castle's architecture, with Faith of the Seven motifs now adorning places when they had none previously (the Valyrian-descended Targaryens being traditionally nonreligious).
358** Aemma Arryn, in her attempt to conceive a male heir for Viserys, is saddled with five stillbirths and/or babies who died in infancy, with her only healthy child being a girl. Rhaenyra's birthing life, on the other hand, is a complete opposite; she conceives five healthy boys and one stillborn girl.
359* In ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', Agito's world has cross-shaped energy blasts and an Unknown that looks suspiciously like a nun. [[Series/KamenRiderAgito Agito's original series]] had lots of symbolism itself, so it's appropriate.
360* ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}'':
361** The character Harold in the children's book ''Literature/HaroldAndThePurpleCrayon'' that Gabrielle Xavier reads to her infant son David is emblematic of the type of person that David becomes when he's older. At its core, the story is about a boy who loses touch with reality because he's preoccupied with the imaginary world that he creates with his purple crayon. Harold is totally lost within his own mind, just like the mentally ill David is.
362** Harold symbolizes Charles Xavier as well, whose actor is Creator/HarryLloyd (Harry is the diminutive of Harold). Gabrielle's narration "Harold was over his head" is heard when Charles puts on the Cerebro helmet for the first time, and it foreshadows that Charles is in over his head when he finds Farouk. In the book, Harold "made a very small forest, with just one tree in it," and Charles creates the exact same thing in the astral plane when Farouk introduces him to it.
363* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': In the opening credits, the grains of sand vibrating and shifting to music is a visual representation of Cymatics and echo the Ainulindalë's song of creation.
364* ''Series/MyWorldAndWelcomeToIt'': The episode "Seal in the Bedroom" concerns John's managing editor and family members not understanding the humor behind his surreal cartoon, featuring a seal looming over a married couple's bed. However, John's writer colleague Phil Jensen gets why it works -- the seal is a symbol of the man's mother. The rest of the episode plays up this connection when John's mother arrives for a visit, showing the older woman doing things reminiscent of a seal's behavior (such as clapping her hands together in the manner of a seal or making barking noises like the animal).
365%%* ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' is nothing ''but'' this Trope.
366* The final episode of ''Series/{{Revenge}}'' has a black hoodie clad Emily readying herself to kill her rival, Victoria, wearing a white dress, the former representing [[DarkIsNotEvil anger and resolve, albeit hiding a decent moral code]], and the latter [[LightIsNotGood acceptance masking impure intentions]].
367* ''Series/{{Sadakatsiz}}'':
368** The show's poster has Doctor Asya and her adulterous husband Volkan in a [[BackToBackPoster back-to-back pose]]. This is meant to represent that he went behind Asya's back when he cheated and that they are no longer on the same side. The fact he's turning his head to glance smugly at her also conveys that he's not really remorseful of his feat and that he keeps chasing her. By contrast, Asya is looking forward, meaning that she's done with him and absolutely livid. Furthermore, her ring hand is held up and there's blood coming from her ring. The blood is evidently the broken marriage vows.
369** White roses are a prominent {{motif}} throughout the series, acting as a shorthand for Asya and Volkan's decaying relationship. A complimentary meaning for them, especially in a Muslim country such as Turkey, is that they are the flowers of Heaven.
370*** Asya and Volkan share their first kiss in a white rose garden, so she plants a couple of bushes in her garden to remind her of her love story. Both in the opening sequence and pre-divorce shots (and flashbacks), Asya is seen lovingly tending to them. Volkan's absence in those shots represents how he's no longer partaking in that sincere love and happy life. Asya is the only one in Heaven because she doesn't know her husband is having an extramarital affair.
371*** After the divorce, Asya's rose garden gets uprooted by an angry, jealous Derin (her husband's mistress and new wife) at Volkan's welcome-back party. Although the last nail in the coffin in Asya and Volkan's relationship was put two years ago, the fact that it's Derin doing so has two meanings. First, that she and Volkan have come back only to stir trouble for Asya, and second, that it's not Volkan doing it because he's still in "love" with Asya.
372*** Whenever Volkan is trying to win Asya back, he gifts her a bouquet of white roses. Most of the time, Asya is quick to throw the bouquet in the trash can. If she, for some reason decides to put it in a jar, Volkan's actions anger or disappoint her soon enough that she still ends up disposing of the thing.
373*** During the time Volkan is courting Derin, he also gifts her white rose bouquets as a show of romanticism. Until Derin finds Volkan gave the same flowers to Asya, that is. That he is this cheap reflects his personality very well -- he has no problem being double-faced and blatantly lying to people's faces. It's also a hint that he doesn't really see Derin as her own person, he only went to her to feel young, not because he stopped loving his ex-wife. Not that he truly values either woman.
374%%* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', being a show on the teenage years of Franchise/{{Superman}}, has a large amount of these.
375* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had a few of these. One of the most significant in the later seasons was the baseball Captain Benjamin Sisko kept on his desk in his office; when the Federation was driven from Deep Space 9 in the final episode of the fifth season, Sisko left his baseball behind to inform his long-time rival Gul Dukat that he would be coming back to the station, while at the end of the sixth season, when Sisko took a leave of absence to grieve [[spoiler:the death of his friend Jadzia Dax]], Major Kira observed that the baseball being taken from his desk proved that Sisko wasn't sure if he was coming back. At the conclusion of the series, [[spoiler:when Sisko had become one of the Bajoran Prophets, the baseball remained on his desk as a sign that he may return to his human state at some point]].
376* The "Two Cathedrals" episode of ''Series/TheWestWing'' features a tropical storm arriving at Washington D.C in the middle of May. Much is made of how impossible this is; a tropical storm is a specific kind of weather event, the season for tropical storms begins in June and ends in November, and an event of this nature hasn't been recorded in a century. Furthermore, this all happens to be taking place at a point where President Bartlet is at his lowest point, having to deal with not only the revelation of his MS diagnosis to the public (and his guilt at keeping it a secret), but also the death of his beloved secretary and mentor, and he's consequently a bit guilt-ridden, anxious and angry, culminating in an epic SmiteMeOhMightySmiter moment at the National Cathedral. Of course, this is all build up to give us the sight of Bartlet, the most powerful man in the world, eventually having a RedemptionInTheRain moment as a tropical storm, a freak event he cannot control, washes over him.
377* In ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', when Justin and Harper find Alex who is painting in an artists alley she's painted her first initial surrounded by a circle. That symbol also happens to be the universal symbol for anarchy. Symbolic much?
378[[/folder]]
379
380[[folder:Music]]
381* Music/FrancoDeVita: The lyrics of "Quién lo iba a saber" (Who Would Have Known). The external connotation appears to be that it's a typical love song about Franco looking for a partner in so many places, only to find her in the most unexpected of them all. However, many people who listened to this song feel that it's more accurately themed around Franco looking for ''God''. It's agreed that the two potential themes are entirely indistinguishable for the song's lyrics.
382* Music/OliviaRodrigo: In one of her live performances of "all-american bitch", Olivia is seen adding a neverending stream of sugar cubes to a tea cup she later uses to make a toast with. It's a visual representation of the song's CentralTheme--the fact girls and women are expected to act so sugary sweet that it's sickening. Not only because it implies they have to repress their emotions to an unhealthy degree but also because they still get flak for it.
383* Music/TearsForFears:
384** Roland Orzabal wears a skeletal fish brooch on ''Music/TheSeedsOfLove'' artwork, and it's a visual metaphor that Curt Smith's importance in the band is waning (water is the element of the latter's [[WesternZodiac zodiac sign]] Cancer) because Orzabal purposely set out to minimize Smith's contribution on the album. After Smith split from the group, Orzabal later released the song "Fish Out of Water" as an [[TheDissTrack insult]] to his ex-bandmate, which includes the verse "[...] you will be food for killer whales", which is his way of expressing that Curt is now "dead" to him.
385** The cover of the "Break It Down Again" single is a picture of Orzabal holding a bunch of wilted sunflowers. The previous album ''The Seeds of Love'' and two of its singles feature sunflowers as a FlowerMotif, so the wilted sunflowers signify the end of his friendship and musical partnership with Smith.
386** In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUp-ujO979U The Tipping Point]]" music video, a vase with red roses represents Orzabal's wife Caroline (who was also Smith's ChildhoodFriend), while the table sliding beneath it symbolizes that she's approaching the end of her life. When the vase falls off the table's edge, it means that she has reached the tipping point between life and death. The vase and the roses are later seen scattered on the floor, which conveys that she has died. Caroline passed away in 2017 from [[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/oct/08/tears-for-fears-reunion-interview liver cirrhosis,]] and the song is a memorial to her.
387** Wild horses are an emblem for individual freedom in the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iemvnxDjrBY No Small Thing]]" music video, whereas their domesticated counterparts are an emblem for collective responsibility.
388* Music/{{Zucchero}}: The lyrics of the song "Fiore di Maggio" (Flower of May) describe a seagull who was born in a sunny landscape next to a festive town, and at one point slowly descends from the bright skies to pose over a rock where a beautiful spring flower grew (the titular flower), seemingly blessing the happiness of a young human couple. Due to how the seagull and its flight is described, it seems more like Zucchero's song is dedicated to the Holy Spirit instead of the flower the bird poses next to, even though the Holy Spirit is typically portrayed as a pigeon.
389[[/folder]]
390
391[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
392* ''Literature/TheBible'': The book of Revelation/The Apocalypse of St. John was primarily an indictment against Rome, and wouldn't have made it past the Roman censors had its author(s) not hidden their message under a heap of symbolic language. ("The seven heads are seven hills").
393[[/folder]]
394
395
396[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
397* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has a lot of this, mostly because it internally posits magic that works according to symbolic principles. Most monsters and phenomena, several organizational principles, and the [[EldritchLocation Supernal Realms]] operate according to symbolic logic. There's even a {{Sourcebook}} filled with plot hooks referencing TarotMotifs (such as a man who overcame his addictions and became a stable, fulfilled and productive family man and community paragon who makes a metal sculpture of a ''T. rex'' that can come to life and will serve whoever defeats it, representing Strength).
398* [[Literature/MasqueradeCycle Mercadia]] from ''Tabletopgame/MagicTheGathering'' is topsy-turvy compared to most of ''Magic'''s settings: humans are subservient to [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent intelligent goblins]], who are usually very dumb. So naturally, Mercadia City is located atop an inverted mountain.
399[[/folder]]
400
401[[folder:Theater]]
402* The overbearing Winter versus Summer in ''Celebration'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Theatre/TheFantasticks''.
403* In Creator/JohnMilton's ''Theatre/{{Comus}}'', the spirit makes a point that the dull herb that can break magic has a golden flower "[[{{Heaven}} in another country]]".
404* ''Theatre/DukeBluebeardsCastle'' is heavy on symbols, the most obvious being the doors behind which lay facets of Bluebeard's past and personality. The motif of light is another obvious one, as Judith "sheds light" on who Bluebeard is as she brightens his castle.
405* There were a few instances in Jez Butterworth's play ''Jerusalem'' which stretched the audience's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief but had symbolism instead. For example, when Johnny ("Rooster") [[spoiler:beats the bongo drum heavily in the last scene to "summon giants", after a few moments, the audience then hears three loud stomps in a similar style to footsteps, then on the last stomp the stage blacks out instantly, ending the play. It's unlikely there were actually giants in context to the rest of the play, so it can be interpreted more easily as a metaphor (which carries symbolism) rather than a literal event.]]
406* ''Theatre/TheRoseTattoo'' has roses and rose-flavored things everywhere, starting with the names of Rosario delle Rose, the original owner of the tattoo, and his daughter Rosa.
407[[/folder]]
408
409[[folder:Video Games]]
410* Corpses show up in crucifixion poses all over ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock|1}}'', but a half dozen show up in the lobby of Andrew Ryan's office. Appropriate, since the player spends the game listening to the audio logs of how Ryan goes from AntiVillain to ItsAllAboutMe through a series of characters with a desire to stop Ryan, only to find all their corpses mounted to columns.
411* What ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' is seemingly about is a man called Tim trying to rescue a princess from an evil monster. What Braid is ''really'' about, and who or what Tim, the Princess and the Monster represent is a topic that is heavily debated, with ideas ranging from the game being about [[spoiler:one man's slip from sanity, the relationships between men and women in general, a man trying to fix a crumbling relationship, a man learning that some mistakes cannot be reversed, a man stalking an innocent women etc]]. It's kinda {{Mind Screw}}y, you see. The most accepted theory is that Tim is [[spoiler:a scientist on the Manhattan Project]] and the Princess is [[spoiler:the Atom Bomb]] but even that is contested. However, what the game is actually about is entirely up to you, as WordOfGod refuses to elaborate.
412* ''VideoGame/{{Cryostasis}}'' might be the single greatest example of this in video games, much of the plot is symbologically told through a fairy tale. The monsters quickly turn from Ice Zombies to weird abstract demons, and God help you if you attempt to make any non-symbolic sense of the ending, hell, God help you if you attempt to make sense of anything after you enter the Prison.
413* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'': When [[BigBad The Witness]] and [[TheDragon Emperor Calus]] first interact in ''Lightfall'', the former tells Calus that "you have everything you wanted" while looking at a chalice the latter had just created. The scene immediately prior had Calus griping in disappointment when one of the Witness' soldiers ignored Calus' toast, emphasizing that Calus' will always want more than what he has and that his service to the Witness is detrimental to himself.
414* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'':
415** [[spoiler:Believing Trish to be dead, Dante leaves behind the Perfect Amulet on her chest and the Sparda near her body while giving symbolism for each item; the Perfect Amulet represents his mother Eva, while the Sparda sword represents his father, the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda whom the sword is named after.]]
416--->'''Dante:''' This was my mother's. Now I'm giving it to you.\
417'''Dante:''' My father's also here now. Rest... in Peace."
418** According to a motion artist's words in the ''3142 Graphic Arts'' artbook, Mundus's [[ClippedWingAngel crumbling second form]] is meant to show how pitiful he is by that point in the finale.
419* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'':
420** Joyce describes the world of Elysium as a 'patchwork globe', which is also a pretty good description of a disco ball.
421** Many symbolic details are slipped into character portraits:
422*** Kim Kitsuragi, a patient and professional ByTheBookCop who is the game's voice of reason and [[TheNotLoveInterest Harry's most important emotional connection in the game]], has a portrait that highlights his head with a white circle, e.g. a halo. Jean's portrait, the Detective's former partner who gave up on him as a result of his [[AddledAddict unrepentant alcoholism]], is framed with a black square, the exact opposite of a halo.
423*** Alcoholic and drug-addled characters like Idiot Doom Spiral and The Pigs have portraits that disintegrate into sloppy brush strokes.
424*** The truck drivers in the gridlock have portraits that all face directly forward on a white background, looking like driver's licence photos.
425*** Evrart's portrait has a red background (for socialism), but flecked with gold (the colour of Ultraliberalism) to emphasise his drive for wealth.
426*** Cuno, a furious but troubled youth, is drawn in the same pose as Half-Light, the skill representing both your temper and your anxiety.
427*** The face of the Hanged Man's portrait is seen at the same angle as the Detective's face in his portrait, and both of their backgrounds incorporate the same shades of blue and yellow (in the Detective's portrait, the yellow is from abstract stripes; in the Hanged Man's portrait, the yellow is from the cable around his neck). The two don't really look alike, but it adds resonance to the multiple scenes where the Detective appears to relate to the corpse.
428*** In ''The Final Cut'', the special portrait for completing the Fascist VisionQuest shows the Detective in front of the flag of the Suzerain, but his body is smaller, and the white stripes on the flag somehow cross over in front of his arms and shoulders as if the flag is a cage trapping him.
429** The protagonist of the game associates his [[LostLenore lost loved one]], a middle-class woman, with apricot-scented chewing gum. In the setting, apricots were the fruit product which generated horrific colonialist violence (similar to the role bananas played in our world); the symbolism seems to be a reference to the displaced suffering that makes the supposed middle-class happiness she represented to him possible. Similarly, he conflates her with saint/war criminal Dolores Dei, who was known for her beauty, kindness and improvements she made to the world's living standards, as well as the ruthless conquests she did in order to fund and expand these.
430** The [[CompanionCube Horrific Necktie]] is obsessed with EroticAsphyxiation and constantly tries to convince the protagonist to use it to choke himself, insisting he'll like it. This appears to be a symbol of the way the protagonist's [[LifeOfTheParty disco hedonism]] is a coping mechanism to deal with his [[DrivenToSuicide suicidality]], [[DeathSeeker partying with at least a vague hope it will kill him]]. The protagonist also idolises a Revachol disco star of yesteryear called Guillaume la Million and [[CelebrityResemblance cultivated his appearance and mannerisms based on his]] -- Guillaume died in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident just as [[CondemnedByHistory disco was beginning to die]], which the narration notes is a 'metaphor for Revachol in the 30s'.
431** An endgame sidequest involves playing a sound generated by the unstoppable entropic force that will come to devour the world. You can use this sound to improve a piece of rave music -- using sidechain compression, a production technique that makes the sound feel like it's being 'pushed' into the background by the beats. This is symbolism for how the young people use dance music to [[AntiNihilist hold off the void]].
432** Amber is used as a frequent metaphor for the inability to let go of the past. Guillaume la Million, the detective's disco icon, is described as having 'an amber mane', and the Paledriver keeps a photograph of Gabriel Buenguerro, a Mesque movie star whose career was peaking 50 years ago, in an amber frame ("why do you need plastic when you could make the world out of amber?"). The Sorry Cop-themed die the Novelty Dicemaker can make for the Detective is amber with a fossilised insect inside, which she says is 'perfect for those unable to let go of the past', and narration compares the Detective's badge photograph, which shows him [[IWasQuiteALooker as a handsome man in his mid-30s instead of the sodden wreck he is now]], to 'a fly trapped in amber'. In ''The Final Cut'''s Fascist VisionQuest, Conceptualisation thinks the Detective's new PerpetualFrowner FrozenFace is "the face of a millipede trapped in amber", and the Detective can also tell [[spoiler: Dolores Dei]] about how she needs to come into the past with him and live trapped in amber forever, which she says she already is. Since amber's ability to trap the past is limited to insects, it is significant that the climax of the story revolves around an insect that is notably free of any trapping at all.
433* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln's head missing from his memorial, which was taken over by slavers. The head is in the possession of a group of escaped slaves who want to take it back to the memorial and use it as their headquarters. If you talk to the slavers, they'll explain that they defaced the statue to [[UnPerson erase Lincoln from known history]]. It's hard to incite a slave rebellion if your fellow slaves think that nobody has ever successfully abolished slavery.
434* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has [[TheConspiracy the Institute's]] [[SigilSpam main symbol]] looks like a stylized [[Creator/LeonardoDaVinci Vitruvian Man]], which seems befitting for their {{Mad Scientist}} origins. What's not often pointed out is that it's also reminiscent of a [[ArtificialHumans Synth]] during construction. Additionally, it also bears a not-insignificant resemblance to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel a breaking wheel]].
435* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' the name of our very ''TheAce'' is a symbol: Zack (of course short for Zachery...) means "Memory", ...
436* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Necron, is one of the biggest cases of GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere in the industry, but fans of the game justify his appearance with this. The main theme of the game is that everyone and everything wants to live, and even the BigBad Kuja is only trying to kill everyone because his own life has been robbed from him by his father, Garland. Necron is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of death, and shows up in the end to give the heroes a chance to literally defeat Death itself.
437* In ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2'', this is how fans think of the [[spoiler:Ruling Ending: Even if you end the Console Wars by having one Super Console that plays everything, piracy will always continue to exist. With only one super console, the industry will stall without competition. And the gaming world will not improve without competition, will fall apart sooner or later.]]
438* The Ancient Cistern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has a deep symbolic relation with Eastern folklore, subtly referencing the events of the story ''The Spider's Thread''. To a lesser extent, there is also a religious allegory in the process to enter that dungeon (Link must cure Faron by delivering sacred water to her).
439* The boy that Shepard sees killed at the start of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' and repeatedly dreams about is outright stated to be the symbol that this time Shepard can't save everyone. [[spoiler: The appearance of the boy as a visual representation of the Catalyst symbolizes that Shepard can end the war but ''still'' can't save everyone: either the friendly AIs like [=EDI=] and (possibly) the geth, Shepard, or Shepard's physical body and humanity, have to be sacrificed]].
440* Creator/{{Molleindustria}}'s ''[=McDonald=]'s Videogame'', a rather brutal TakeThat aimed at the company accusing them of being ethically compromised, has a title screen consisting of a typical meal... with ketchup spilling underneath the tray as if it was blood.
441* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' -- the whole game from Raiden's capture onward, but with special emphasis on the "She ''is'' Lady Luck!" scene. Creator/HideoKojima has stated that the scene where the miraculous bullet strikes Snake's handcuffs and allows him to break out of them, but Raiden remains struggling as Snake dives into the sea, is the most blatantly symbolic scene in the game. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''' ending probably falls under this trope as well, since it revolves around (implausibly) killing off the older generation to make way for the new generation, the game's main theme.
442* ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'' abounds with symbolism related to the Garden of Eden, from the setting itself (which is a kind of Eden-gone-sideways) to the main villain's plot (he stole his leader's crown -- the only thing in The Neverhood he wasn't allowed to have -- and therefore corrupted it). There's even the fact that [[spoiler:said villain, Klogg, is actually the protagonist's older brother.]] If this sounds [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]], though, don't worry -- despite the symbolic story, the game itself is mostly just [[QuirkyWork randomness, slapstick, and cool claymation]].
443* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', one of the most bizarrely positive endings is the [[spoiler:post-nuclear holocaust one. Humanity manages to rebuild a benevolent civilisation from the ashes that has forgotten all about the Nazis and the horrors of their victory after the Second World War. Astronauts walk on the Moon once again untold centuries after their first steps, and up there they find a bleached white flag (the Nazi flag that was [[BookEnds placed there at the start of the game]]); not knowing who put it there, the white flag gets unceremoniously torn down and replaced by the flag of the new world order. It truly is a sign that humanity is moving on from the horrors of the past. And just as a white flag is a symbol of surrender, this shows the old world surrendering to the new one forever.]]
444* ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}''. Is it [[spoiler:a straight AfterTheEnd story? Is it a deconstruction of blank-slate protagonists with a goal to defeat everything? Is it the story of a man fleeing from his abusive, clingy girlfriend? Is it a look at single-minded obsession, perhaps even obsessive-compulsive disorder? Or is it, as the LP claimed, all about a male stereotype systematically destroying femininity and what he perceives as negative male stereotypes?]] Worse still, the author refuses to comment on it, preferring to [[TrollingCreator go on about his boat]].
445* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' -- TheMole reveals himself and captures the heroes, and then sets them up on ''crosses'' while he flaunts his victory. Seems [[FauxSymbolism to come from nowhere]] at first, but when you consider the ending [[spoiler:in which the protagonist sacrifices his life to save mankind from a being that arose because of the collective sins of man...]]
446* The powerful shadows in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' represent sides of the characters' inner selves that they would prefer to keep concealed so naturally, when you finally see them, the symbolism just slaps you around with a fresh tuna. A caged bird? A gigantic over-muscled *thing* with flowers for a head? A half-man half-woman robot thing? Yeah.
447* This tends to be the only strong defense for ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'''s ending. [[spoiler:John Marston's death makes the entire game essentially a ShootTheShaggyDog story and leaves the player to play as a character who is widely considered to be TheScrappy, but the symbolism of a large number of government agents shooting down one of the last aging gunslingers ties into the game's theme so well, it works.]]
448* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'':
449** [[spoiler:Kieran]], the first of the Van der Linde gang to die once they reach Saint Denis, is tortured, murdered, and sent back to them like the martyrdom of Denis of Paris himself: with his own severed head cupped in his hands. Considering the inventive cruelty and likely Catholic upbringing of Colm O'Driscoll, this was completely intentional on his part.
450** Occurs toward the end of Chapter 6 [[spoiler:with the final two choices: [[FriendOrIdolDecision "Go with John" or "Go for the loot"]]. If you choose "Go with John", you'll get a bit of a boost to your [[KarmaMeter Honor Meter]] and you'll fight off the Pinkertons [[DeathMountain while climbing up toward the mountaintop]] in Grizzlies East where a [[FisticuffsBoss fistfight with Micah Bell]] awaits (all of which symbolizes {{Heaven}} itself). On the other hand, if you choose "Go for the loot", you'll suffer a bit of an Honor loss,[[note]]which is no big deal if your Honor meter is high enough to warrant another good ending in that choice[[/note]] and you'll fight your way back down to the camp in Beaver Hollow [[TrashTheSet that is being engulfed by flames as a result of the Pinkteron attack]], where a [[BattleAmongstTheFlames knife fight with]] Micah awaits after you take the money from the chest (thus symbolizing {{Hell}} itself).]]
451** Also, the weather will change based on how much honor Arthur has. [[spoiler:If he has high honor, the sky will be clear during the events of both endings, allowing Arthur to stare at the sunlight before he passes away. If he has low honor, both endings take place during a heavy thunderstorm, which prevents any sunlight from shining through when the morning breaks.]]
452** [[spoiler:The Wapiti Indians' involvement in the main story concludes with the death of Eagle Flies, much to his father Rains Fall's grief. During the credits the latter is seen on a mountaintop observing an eagle flying away from him, on the verge of tears.]]
453* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'': At the end of Leon's campaign, when Simmons is [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice on the monument in the Quad Tower, his blood floods the floor of the courtyard and ends up forming the Umbrella Corporation logo, symbolizing that Simmons [[HeWhoFightsMonsters was just as bad as Umbrella]].]]
454* The old RTS 7th Legion has much symbolism related to the Apocalypse.
455* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'': One of many -- is when, near the beginning of the game, James stumbles across a bloody corpse that looks exactly like him slouched in an armchair, in front of a TV blaring static; a splatter of blood is also present on the TV, implying suicide. This would later be [[spoiler:some pretty ''huge'' (and tragic) foreshadowing, when James watches a tape near the end of the game that reveals he murdered his wife, Mary. Fittingly, one of the several endings available includes poor James drowning himself.]] In addition, Freud would have had a field day with Team Silent -- don't even mention how Pyramid Head essentially looks like a walking penis.
456* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Joshua's air attack stance looks like a crucifixion pose, and he attacks with beams and spears of light surrounded by glowing cherubs and angelic wings. Also, his name is derived from the same name from which the name of Jesus comes. At the end of the game, it turns out [[spoiler:he is the Composer, which is essentially the god of the UG, and that he has decided to destroy Shibuya because the people have faltered, a la God in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Megumi refers to him, the pronouns are always capitalized; a tradition usually associated with the Abrahamic God]].
457* ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' takes place in a DreamLand. Being [[MindScrew more dream-like than usual]], the game is composed entirely of this and RuleOfScary.
458[[/folder]]
459
460[[folder:Web Animation]]
461%%* The web series ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'' is loaded with this.
462* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Done twice in "Seeing Stars":
463** When Loona tracks down Octavia and tries to light up her cigarette, she struggles to get her lighter to work. When talking to Octavia, Loona reassures her that her father loves and cares about her, even when he makes mistakes. When Loona realizes she's also talking about her own adoptive father, the lighter finally works.
464** Octavia is frustrated with her father for forgetting to take her to see a meteor shower due to being preoccupied with his divorce, and her own efforts end in vain when the night sky is covered in smog. After Loona reassures her that her father loves her, the smog briefly parts to show the full moon and some stars.
465* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
466** Being that the series is a {{Machinima}} and filmed in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', the first five seasons -- ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheBloodGulchChronicles The Blood Gulch Chronicles]]'' -- have EndlessDaytime whenever the story's events are taking place in [[BleakBorderBase Blood Gulch]] ([[LampshadeHanging much to the confusion]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall of multiple characters]]). The ''only'' time we see it get darker in Blood Gulch as if the sun's about to set? When ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles'' are about to end [[spoiler:on a SuddenDownerEnding]].
467** ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy The Chorus Trilogy]]'' has a few.
468*** When [[spoiler:[[ConsummateProfessional Locus]]]] performs their HeelFaceTurn in the penultimate episode of Season 13, they and the Reds and Blues are all positioned around [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Felix]]]] in a near-identical replica to how [[spoiler:Locus' "trial" in the Jungle Temple looked during "Locus of Control"]].
469*** [[invoked]] According to WordOfGod, the [[spoiler:Reds and Blues using Hargrove's trophies from Project Freelancer against him in the Season 13 finale is meant to represent them taking back their history from Charon and them reclaiming "what is rightfully their's".]]
470*** The DarkReprise of "Contact" -- "Contact Redux" -- which plays during Season 13's end credits is almost identical lyrically to the original song, but has one noticeable change: "Contact" has the line ''"One of us won't be forgotten"'', while "Contact Redux" has the corresponding line of ''"One of us'' '''''will''''' ''be forgotten"''. [[spoiler:This can be seen as an allusion to that Wash being kidnapped by Locus and the Feds became Tucker's primary drive to be a competent leader throughout the first half of Season 12 (Wash wasn't forgotten), and now Epsilon has deliberately erased his own memories so as to give the Reds and Blues a fighting chance in the finale (Epsilon has now forgotten himself).]]
471[[/folder]]
472
473[[folder:Webcomics]]
474* ''Webcomic/AlienbyComics'':
475** Riri sometimes uses imagery associated with Christianity as they were raised evangelical. "Self-Creation" (featured above in CreationMyth) is a story about Riri being remade as non-binary by a feminine creator deity.
476** Riri depicts their sense of hope as a basset hound (based on the family pet Gully, whom Riri describes as being "hopeful for treats, pats and attention of any kind") in [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFlVrgp-UV/ "Unleashed Hope"]].
477** In [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUqrrHP3wn/ "Balancing Act"]], Riri as an unsteady acrobat represents their struggle to stop buying feminine underwear that doesn't fit their body type.
478** [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CmhJTz0p3ZX/ "Made for Winter"]] is about how Riri views Vixen's plight in ''WesternAnimation/TheYearWithoutASantaClaus'' as a metaphor for how trans people thrive in environments they feel safe in.
479* ''Webcomic/DICETheCubeThatChangesEverything'': As X is making a HumansAreInsects speech, he's holding an ant between his fingers. Then Suksoon beats his Mars King robot and the ant bites X's finger and escapes.
480* ''Webcomic/EnnuiGo'': During the latter half of volume 8, after [[spoiler:she's forced to break up with Max and attend a private magic school]], Calixta is often depicted wearing a pair of amethyst bracelets similar to the jewelry worn by her parents, symbolizing how she's being shackled by her parents' plans for her future. During the climax, when her mother grabs her by said bracelets and tries one last time to get her to follow their plans, Calixta pulls out of them while affirming her love for Max and dreams of becoming a wrestler, showing that she's finally breaking the metaphorical chains and rebelling against them.
481* ''Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}}'''s big long ''VideoGame/Persona4'' comic uses this, in context of when the Shadow of a character appears, but only got this on Yukiko and Kanji's.
482-->'''''IT'S SYMBOOOOOLLIIIIICC!!!'''''\
483'''''IT'S STILL SYMBOOOOOLLIIIIICC!!!''''' [[DontExplainTheJoke (You know, because he's gay. Do you get it?)]]
484* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND''
485** InUniverse: when the characters are watching one of the last scenes of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the white flowers in a field turn red in a dramatic moment. Decoy Octopus questions the reason for such a phenomenon, only to be told it doesn't matter.
486** The forms taken by [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot's minds]]; Liquid's mind appears as a really tall building [[FreudWasRight that looks like a human phallus]] as a representation of his InferioritySuperiorityComplex, while Ocelot's mind appears as a [[TheMaze giant labyrinth]] due to him being a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder who is always [[TheChessmester scheming]].
487* ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': In Rain's final dream about her biological father, [[spoiler:she visualizes [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} Liriel]] giving her his ribbon. While Liriel is drawn with breasts, his hair is undone and he stands behind Rain as if to protect her, obscuring his chest and giving himself a more masculine presentation. This all signifies Rain accepting Liriel as her true, spiritual father, and acknowledging and accepting his identity as a transgender man]].
488* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': In-universe. [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2015-07-07 A new human embassy]] has gardens with sands, pebbles, and polymer chips from every single human world, moon, or habitat.
489-->'''Commodore Tagon:''' That seems like a lot of work for a little symbolism.\
490'''General Bala-Amin:''' It all arrived in the same crate. There's an entire industry built around these embassy franchise kits.
491[[/folder]]
492
493[[folder:Web Original]]
494* Each season of the French Canadian post-apocalyptic Webseries ''Temps Mort'' could be compared to a period of the prehistoric era.
495** The first is the pre-sapiens era where everybody was on is own.
496** The second the time when humans was nomad.
497** The third the beginning of sedentarism
498** The finale being a clear reference to the myth of Moise, symbolise the dawn of civilisation.
499[[/folder]]
500
501[[folder:Western Animation]]
502* During "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBeach The Beach]]" episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Zuko]] takes his family's portrait and tosses into the fire without a second thought during the campfire scene. It's a powerful representation of how disillusioned he is with pretending his family isn't dysfunctional. Interestingly enough, [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Azula]] doesn't stop him from doing it either.
503* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': In the third season finale "[[Recap/BigCityGreensS3E20 Long Goodbye]]" as the Greens are stuck in a conundrum over whether to stay in Smalton or move back to Big City with Gramma, the moon above them is half-lit, representing their indecisiveness.
504* Takanuva's reanimation at the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bionicle}}: Mask of Light'' is one of the biggest {{ass pull}}s in the story, but the creators wanted to [[{{Anvilicious}} very blatantly]] make it clear that three of the main characters each represented one of the story's three virtues: Hahli stood for Unity for uniting the villagers, Jaller represented Duty for doing his work without question, and Takua/Takanuva was all about Destiny, accepting his fate and becoming the hero Takanuva who defeated the BigBad. In order to drive the symbolism home, he ends up being reduced to his mask, but is immediately brought back to life by Turaga Vakama loudly proclaiming which virtue each of them represented, placing Jaller, Hahli and the mask onto a UDD symbol engraved into the floor. It's never explained how this brought Takanuva back, nor why he lost his body in the first place.
505* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': For most of "[[Recap/DuckTales2017S1E22TheLastCrashOfTheSunchaser The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!]]", the titular airplane is stuck on a precarious peak. Its stability matches the main characters' moods -- when tensions between them flare up, it becomes unbalanced, and when the tensions calm down, it re-balances. The PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure-inducing blow-up at the end is what finally causes it to fall off the peak and crash.
506* ''WesternAnimation/TheEpicTalesOfCaptainUnderpants'' uses InTheHood as a form of symbolism with the character [[PunnyName Bo Hweemuth]]. When he is introduced as a frightening mystery student, he wears a hood and is often cast in darkness (particularly his eyes), representing the fear the student body has of him. However, when his true nature as an artistically-talented MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, the hood comes down and he is seen more in the light ([[TheUnreveal his eyes are still concealed by his]] bangs), representing his new status as a local legend. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hood_symbolism.png Here's a neat little visual guide to it.]]
507* ''WesternAnimation/IHeartArlo'': In the climax of "[[Recap/IHeartArloS1E19TheUncondemning The Uncondemning]]", Edmée is forced to activate a self-destruct mechanism and destroy her swamp shack where she raised Arlo, which frees the gang from the Bog Lady's grasp and kills her in return. While Arlo is upset at the loss of his childhood home, the shack destruction officially marks the end of his CharacterDevelopment from the PilotMovie when he learns to appreciate his birth home in New York City and has moved on from the swamp once and for all, and even though he doesn't live there anymore, and won't be able to now that the shack is destroyed, Edmée helps him realize he can never leave something behind him at all, as where he was originally from will always be part of where he is going.
508* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
509** At the end of the fourth and final season, ''Balance'', [[spoiler:the ten-thousand year old reincarnated soul of a magic being that is able to bend all four elements clasps hands with a non-bending individual that is nevertheless an inventor and industrialist, walking together into the unknown future.]]
510** When [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAvatarKorra Korra]] and [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]] are plunged into the Spirit World, Korra has a vision mirroring that of the one in "Beginnings", with two versions of herself facing each other -- purple on the left and blue on the right. In this case, Korra is the one in blue, while the one in purple morphs into Kuvira. This is both a clever shout out to spiritual traditions of the "left hand path" and "right hand path", and also quite suggestive of the fact that Korra finally overcame all her fetters and flaws, and is now a truly fulfilled Avatar.
511* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' when Daffy releases a swarm of rats into the neighborhood on Columbus Day.
512-->'''Daffy:''' What? The rats represented the ''Nina'', the ''Pinta'' and the ''Santa Maria''. If they didn't get it, that's their problem.
513* ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventuresWithSuperman'': Martha Kent looks over Clark's newly fashioned costume in "[[Recap/MyAdventuresWithSupermanS1E01AdventuresOfANormalMan Adventures of a Normal Man]]" and muses that it's good, but it needs "something more", before adding the traditional belt and shorts herself. With the DCEU's shortless Superman suit being a topic of ambivalence for some time among fans, it effectively serves as the show itself saying it doesn't mind seeming a little corny if it's in service of [[RevisitingTheRoots a more classical take on the character]].
514* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E2EscapingExpulsion Escaping Expulsion]]" as Amity is standing up to her overly abusive mother Odalia, she destroys the necklace used to receive telepathic messages from her, which represents that she's no longer under her control and can [[GrewASpine do whatever she wants now.]]
515* Lampshaded by [[NoNameGiven Young Man]] in the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever''.
516--> "I wish that these cats and hot dogs weren't symbolic of anything, and this was all just a big anime [[MindScrew mind-]][[SoundEffectBleep EFF!]]"
517* On ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'', each of the main child characters represent an important factor of science. Sydney represents the power of imagination, since she's imaginative, loves science-fiction, and thinks creatively in situations. Sean represents science facts. He's all about the facts and likes to do things the old-fashioned way. Mindy represents curiosity. She's always asking questions that lead to the episodes' plots. And Jet himself is an amalgamation of all of those elements.
518* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
519** In "The Secret Box" during [=SpongeBob=]'s heist to get the secret box from Patrick, he trips on his shoelaces and hits the wall, causing a picture of himself and Patrick to bounce off his head and split in half, with him on one half and Patrick on the other. This serves as a literal FiveSecondForeshadowing toward the moments following when Patrick wakes up, specifically the distrust [=SpongeBob=] is giving Patrick and the imminent end to their friendship.
520** In "Good Neighbors" when Squidward has an angry frenzy, he destroys the fezzes [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick were wearing for their Good Neighbor Lodge. This serves as a symbolization of their spirits being crushed metaphorically and the first sign of them realizing they did nothing to prove to Squidward they were good neighbors and ruined his Sunday.
521* In the Creator/AdultSwim ShortFilm series WesternAnimation/ShopAPopOpera, each shopper the protagonist encounters happens to be shaped exactly like the item he's looking for, and what negative effects ''could'' happen in reality.
522** The old lady is shaped like a carton of milk, and is hooked up to a life-support tank, referencing that she's close to "expiring". The protagonist gets a fresh carton, symbolizing his ability to still make new choices before his "expiration date".
523** The artisinal man looks alot like a fancy bag of bread, and isn't actually buying the artisinal bread the protagonist found for himself; he's giving it to his dog, referencing how artisinal folk would rather let their monetary gains speak for themselves. The protagonist instead takes a bag of plain white bread, symbolizing that he doesn't need companies to cater to fancy desires and is ok with cheap plain bread.
524** The employee looks like a roll of paper towels, and he gets weirdly moody about a ''simple broken jar of glass,'' similar to an overreaction over something similarly small. The protagonist instead gets a reusable washrag, symbolizing while he will accept that messes can't ever go away, he can use the rag to avoid making bigger messes.
525** The nervous mans head looks alot like a bowl of oatmeal, and [[ObsessivelyOrganized has made his entire life a daily routine to the point he can't hold a conversation without missing something]]. Instead of the 100-pack oatmeal he considered, the protagonist gets a 3-pack of mystery oatmeal, allowing him to have a looser schedule and the chance to experience new things with the flavours.
526** Arlene, the coffee-themed shopper looks alot like a mug of steaming coffee, and actively will not stop talking until the occasional coffee withdrawal, only perking back up with another sip, [[MustHaveCaffeine essentaily being addicted]]. The protagonist avoids this fate by getting a pack of decaf, which lets him enjoy coffee without having to worry about addiction.
527** When it comes to cheese, the protagonist doesn't actually get any. [[spoiler:He postpones the cheese and runs straight back to the yogurt sample stand, now knowing what he wants. For bonus points, his hair [[{{Foreshadowing}} is shaped alot like a typical yogurt sample itself.]]]]
528* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] in the episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS14E2TheTaleOfScrotieMcBoogerballs The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs]]" of WesternAnimation/SouthPark. When Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny wrote a extremely NauseaFuel novel just for fun, it ends up being published and became a success. Later, they find readers of the novel interpreting the absurdly disgusting scenes as symbolisms for political issues, while they actually don't had any meaning beyond just being disgusting.
529* In the ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' episode "[[Recap/WanderOverYonderS2E15MyFairHatey My Fair Hatey]]", after Lord Dominator shoots down Lord Hater's advances she goes into a VillainSong where she reveals her true motivation: [[spoiler: she has no interest in conquest and is just destroying planets outright ForTheEvulz.]] During her song she's seen sucking resources out of the [[HeartSymbol heart-shaped planet]] Lemoria from "The Date", gleefully watching it shrivel up as she simultaneously crushes Lord Hater's hopes that Dominator would want to [[UnholyMatrimony rule the galaxy by his side]] and Wander's hopes that LoveRedeems.
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532[[folder:Real Life]]
533* Blanket statement: most works that attempt to justify a DeusExMachina as evidence of fate intervening in somebody's favor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it is usually an attempt to use this trope.
534* As much as crucifixion has been used for symbolism through the years, the symbolism of the most famous crucifixion was that the punishment was given to slaves, pirates, and enemies of the state.
535** The crucifixion (as opposed to other methods of execution) was seen by the Roman Empire as ''too harsh a punishment'' for ''actual'' Roman citizens. Thus, it was used ''only'' for slaves (who were citizens of other nations brought to Rome as captives) and pirates (citizens of NO nation) within Roman borders; it was used for non-citizens in Roman-held territories, like the most recognized case. Incidentally, the cruelest punishment for Roman citizens was not considered to be execution, but ''exile'', either to Roman territories away from the centre of power, or (gads!) outside Roman borders altogether, for those particularly heinous offenders. However, exile ''was'' much more SeriousBusiness in those days, when travel wasn't as quick and safe and most civilizations weren't as welcoming of new additions to their populace.
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