History Main / SymbolicMutilation

* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheep'': Ren tells the Albain brothers, leaders of a radical faction of the terrorists the White Fang, that the reason he doesn't have any [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus parts]] is because they were cut off. Even the most bloodthirsty of the White Fang look a little ill at that, and don't ask any more questions. The truth is that Ren isn't a Faunus at all, but he still manages to get leadership positions in both factions of the White Fang with no one the wiser.

** Anakin's incineration in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' corresponds with his final commitment to the Dark Side, so that his body is appears as mangled and ugly as his soul.
* During the climax of ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', [[spoiler:Hela slashes out Thor's right eye, leaving him half-blind just like their late father Odin. This not only symbolizes that Thor will have to rule the survivors of Asgard, like Odin before him, but also nods to the mythological Odin who plucked out his eye to gain Mimir's insight. Upon losing his eye Thor sees a vision of Odin, who gives him the insight necessary to reawaken his divine powers and fight back against Hela.]]

* Gloucester in ''Theatre/KingLear''. There are numerous references to eyes and him in the text. He can't see the truth about his sons [[CainAndAbel Edgar and Edmund]], due to [[BastardBastard Edmund]] though he is quite gullible. Eventually he gets his eyes torn out.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': A variation that becomes more meaningful minutes later. In "Dreamscaperers", [[TricksterGod Bill Cipher]] uses a laser to make a hole in [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Dipper]]'s dream body. Later, when Dipper finds a memory about Grunkle Stan apparently calling him a loser, Dipper loses motivation of stopping Bill Cipher from invading Stan's mind (he has a metaphorical hole on his heart). Turns out the whole memory, [[OnceMoreWithClarity one revisited by Dipper]], is Stan explaining [[ToughLove the reason for his treatment of Dipper]]: be stronger so he can fight agains't the world. Alongside it, Stan personally heals Dipper's hole (as in, refills his heart).

* In Ancient civilizations they used these punishments. You steal or hit your father and get your hand chopped of, kiss a married woman and you lose your lips. Basically the Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth punishment.

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* In ''Manga/ASilentVoice'', Shouko Nishimiya's right arm is in a sling after the events of chapter 43. Since she is deaf and normally uses sign language or notebooks to communicate and that is her writing hand, it makes her attempts to communicate more difficult and represents how she is being isolated from others.
* In ''Manga/VigilanteMyHeroAcademiaIllegals'', Stendhal gets confronted by Kouichi, who claimed to be the kind of guy who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. After Stendhal gets beaten by Knuckleduster, Stendhal ends up taking those words to heart and [[spoiler:lops off his own nose so he won't have anything to stick where it doesn't belong, cementing his transformation into Stain]].

* In ''Manga/KoeNoKatachi'', Shouko Nishimiya's right arm is in a sling after the events of chapter 43. Since she is deaf and normally uses sign language or notebooks to communicate and that is her writing hand, it makes her attempts to communicate more difficult and represents how she is being isolated from others.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': A variation that becomes more meaningful minutes later. In "Dreamscaperers", [[TricksterGod Bill Cipher]] uses a laser to make a hole in [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Dipper]]'s dream body. Later, when Dipper finds a memory about his great-aunt Stan apparently calling him a loser, Dipper loses motivation of stopping Bill Cipher from invading Stan's mind (he has a metaphorical hole on his heart). Turns out the whole memory, [[OnceMoreWithClarity one revisited by Dipper]], is Stan explaining [[ToughLove the reason for his treatment of Dipper]]: be stronger so he can fight agains't the world. Alongside it, Stan personally heals Dipper's hole (as in, refills his heart).

* ''Fanfic/TheVow'': The [[NobleWolf Wolf Boss Zhan]] follows [[ByronicHero Lord Shen]] out of loyalty, even helping without question in the panda massacre during which his [[EyeScream left eye is scarred]]. He afterwards helps Shen to prepare for the peacock's conquest of China. While firmly loyal to Shen, Zhan's really only half-blind because [[WeUsedToBeFriends Lady Lianne]] manages to instill in him doubts whatever or not Shen's conquest can change [[FantasticRacism the prejudices]] most people have about wolves and make [[AFatherToHisMen him]] consider the risks his pack will face against the imperial army. [[spoiler:Following Shen's act of sending Zhan and most of the pack away before his ultimate defeat, Zhan takes his pack to make a new live in the West, and while he learns of Shen's survival, he resigns his subordination.]]

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':

** Amusingly, in the manga, the BigBad has a rant about how everyone listed above brought it on themselves for their hubris in attempting human transmutation, and [[SkewedPriorities Ed yells at him]] because [[spoiler:Mustang]] ''didn't even try it'' and only ended up in that situation because the bad guys basically threw him bodily through the GateOfTruth.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick,'' [[spoiler:[[DragonWithAnAgenda Redcloak]]]] losing his eye could be seen as an ''ironic'' mutilation, because now he looks like [[spoiler:his dead brother [[DefectorFromDecadence Right-Eye]]]], who opposed the very actions that brought this mutilation about. Or, played straighter: he lost an eye for being ''blinded'' to said character's advice.

* One could say that the constant loss of hands and limbs in ''Franchise/StarWars'' represents the loss of control in a situation. From Anakin's hand being cut off by Count Dooku to Luke losing his hand to Vader, it shows the moment when the person who thought they were strong enough to face anything sees that they are really quite powerless.
* In ''Film/{{Hugo}},'' the main antagonist, Station Inspector Gustav, wears a leg brace due to an injury in World War I, which tends to freeze up on him at inconvenient moments. The specific injury isn't very symbolic, but it ties into the theme of people and things being "broken" in various ways, and Hugo's desire to "fix" them. [[spoiler:At the end, Hugo making him a better brace symbolizes Gustav [[TookALevelInKindness Taking a Level in Kindness]]]].
* Here's a fun game: watch ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and count how many times people say the word "face" in reference to Harvey Dent, before his accident.

** For most of the story, [[spoiler:Lord Shen]] is [[FragileSpeedster a swift warrior]] who [[{{Determinator}} cannot be dissuaded from finding a way against the odds]] and is falsely labelled as a [[spoiler:sickly albino]] by his enemies. By the time of the epilogue, his survival has [[DenterIron left him with bone injuries]] that can never fully heal and limit his fighting prowess. Having to live with this without being able to change that wounds his pride, along with the fact that he's forced to live the rest of his life as the secret prisoner of [[spoiler:his own wife]].

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* ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' has [[TheAdjectivalMan Unfinished Men]] -- [[Golem golems]] that are missing something, like a finger or a conscience.

A character is mutilated in an explicitly symbolic way. They might not see the truth until they are [[EyeScream blinded]]. A grasping or avaricious character might lose a hand, a vain character may be disfigured, a character who refuses to act may be paralyzed, and one who fails to speak out against injustice might lose their tongue.

-->''[[http://norse-mythology.org/tales/why-odin-is-one-eyed/ The fact that Odin specifically sacrificed an eye is surely significant]]. In all ages, the eye has been �seen� as a poetic symbol for perception in general � consider the astonishing number of expressions, both in everyday usage and in the works of the great canonical poets, that use vision as a metaphor for perceiving and understanding something. Given that Odin�s eye was sacrificed in order to obtain an enhanced perception, it seems highly likely that his pledge of an eye symbolizes trading one mode of perception for another.''

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* One could say that the constant loss of hands and limbs in ''Franchise/StarWars'' represents the loss of control in a situation. From Anakin's hand being cut off by Count Dooku to Luke losing his hand to Vader, it shows the moment when the person who thought they were strong enough to face anything sees that they are really quite powerless.

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-->''[[http://norse-mythology.org/tales/why-odin-is-one-eyed/ The fact that Odin specifically sacrificed an eye is surely significant]]. In all ages, the eye has been “seen” as a poetic symbol for perception in general – consider the astonishing number of expressions, both in everyday usage and in the works of the great canonical poets, that use vision as a metaphor for perceiving and understanding something. Given that Odin’s eye was sacrificed in order to obtain an enhanced perception, it seems highly likely that his pledge of an eye symbolizes trading one mode of perception for another.''

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* In Ancient civilizations they used these punishments. You steal or hit your father and get your hand chopped of, kiss a married woman and you lose your lips. Basically the Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth punishment.

* {{Invoked}} on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer.'' In one episode, Dawn becomes depressed to discover that she's not a Potential, so Xander gives her a pep talk, saying that he feels like being the TokenNormal has allowed him to "see" things that the others don't. Apparently [[TheDragon Caleb]] learned about this conversation from his nigh-[[TheOmniscient omniscient]] boss, because later in the season: