"Everything you know is wrong. Black is white, up is down and short is long."
"
And everything you thought was just so important doesn't matter."
The
Mind Screw is basically something that relies so heavily on
symbolism or
surrealism/absurdism, or maybe just failed so extremely in an attempt at regular old coherency, that the immediate response afterwards is "What the heck was
that?!?!"
These works practically
beg for fans to
invent their own improbable theories about
Epileptic Trees and such.
There are several criteria for a
Mind Screw, and a
Mind Screw will usually fit a few of them:
- The work looks weird due to symbolism or just general surrealism.
- The symbolism is used heavily and never explained.
- Things happen, but the work never explains how they are connected.
- The Reveal is left out.
- Things happen without a cause, even in context. Especially in context.
- Several plot developments are obscured.
- The work is non-chronological.
- A few random scenes (such as vignettes or non-sequiturs) are added in, breaking up the narrative.
- The story has No Ending.
- The Reveal is vague, or contradicts the rest of the story.
- There are several surprises, and the story only makes sense when you have them all.
While some fans can make arguments over what the symbolism means, and what everything represents, many mind screws will pad themselves with
meaningless sequences to make the audience work even harder. Arguments over which sequences are significant are common.
Don't expect the writer to be very helpful. And if the show has
supplemental materials, don't expect them to be much help either. (If, by some miracle, they
are helpful, you've got yourself a
Mind Screwdriver.) The more decipherable symbolism tends to focus on the perceptions people have of one another. And
puberty. And
sex. Japanese and South Korean creators live, eat, and breathe this trope, particularly in the horror and psychological drama genres; and Asian audiences seem to thrive on this type of oblique, enigmatic ambiguity.
David Lynch is hugely popular in Japan for this reason.
Note that the screwing is not the kind that involves romantic candlelight, long walks on the beach and the throes of passion.
Unless you're into that.
Not to be confused with
Mind Rape, no matter how the audience feels, nor with the
Mind Game Ship, nor
Mental Affair, which is a
literal mind screw.
Distinct from an
In-Joke, which is designed to make sense to a portion of the audience.
When trying to get the creators to explain just
what the heck is going on, expect some form of
Shrug of God or
worse.
Examples listed are works that are either intended to provoke this reaction or have provoked this reaction in a large spectrum of the audience, but one troper's
Mind Screw is another troper's
Fridge Brilliance.
Sub Tropes include
Gainax Ending,
Dada Ad,
Alien Geometries.
The Ending Changes Everything is an ending that does not rely on overt symbolism for its confusing nature, but has much the same effect on viewers. When this is funny, it's
Surreal Humor. When frightening, it's
Surreal Horror.
Compare with
True Art Is Incomprehensible,
What Do You Mean, It Wasn't Made on Drugs?.
Contrast with
Mind Screwdriver, where the
Mind Screw elements get rationalized/explained.
Examples are sorted in the following subpages:
