History Main / WorldOfSymbolism

* Parodied in ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}''. A man walks the Path of Vengeance, which includes tasks such a physically grappling with Hope and being handed a small basket full of Justice, until he meets the Allegory for Allegory itself.

* ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' makes no sense whatsoever on a literal level. Just to begin with, there's the fact that the main character physically turns into their split personalities. Think it's just ThroughTheEyesOfMadness? If said split personalities die, they turn into their own severed head in a paper bag which can then be retrieved by a different personality. Even more obviously metaphorical is the fact that [[spoiler:two of the main characters, who represent the West and the East and their conflicts, are immortal, because of the futility of war]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}''. While the story obviously resembles TheHerosJourney, you may feel free to interpret it whatever you want, as no words are heard at all here, even when you communicate with a companion. The backstory is told through confluences and glyphs. The only voices you hear in the game come from [[SentientPhlebotinum cloth creatures]] and [[LostSuperweapon machines]], and still no words.

* A favorite technique of Creator/CharlieKaufman, especially in movies he both writes ''and'' directs. Film/SynecdocheNewYork and Film/ImThinkingOfEndingThings are this in spades, with worlds that seem to entirely operate on the logic of the allegories they represent. Somewhat justified in the case of the latter as [[spoiler:the film takes place inside the memories of a man slowly dying from hypothermia reminiscing on what he could have done in life, but that framing device [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext still doesn't explain a lot.]]]]

* ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' is ''[[UpToEleven all about this trope]]''. [[NoPlotNoProblem There's no real plot or dialogue,]] just the journey of a little girl in her MentalWorld. [[spoiler: Though it ''does'' have an ending, in which she [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]]]].

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' operates more on a metaphorical level than on a literal one, to the extent that the physical reality can be said to be an extension of metaphors. Rather appropriate for a series centering around the AnthropomorphicPersonification of dreams.

* Many of the episodes of ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' occur on a purely symbolic level as well, mixed in with more straightforward science fiction and fantasy stories. For instance, in "I am the Night, Color Me Black", why hasn't the Sun risen and why is darkness spreading all over the world? Because [[spoiler:all the hatred in the world has blotted out the light]].

** ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' can also be quite surreal, especially in the case of the Child Broiler, which is treated like a real place by the characters despite how a factory where children are sent to be "broiled" is so bizarre that no sane government in real life would allow to exist. However, it can also be seen as a metaphor for how unwanted children are forgotten, or how children are crushed by society into becoming generic nobodies.

** ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' can also be quite surreal, especially in the case of the Child Broiler, which is clearly something that no sane government in real life would allow to exist but can be seen as a metaphor for how unwanted children suffer and are crushed by society into becoming generic nobodies.

* ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'': Many of the bizarre supernatural events that take place in the story but never get explained can best be interpreted as being symbolic of something. Some of these include a town trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop, a factory where the only worker goes through RapidAging which seems to exist only to build and launch the worker's coffin, a restaurant that seems to exist in multiple places at once, and an unmoving GhostShip that swallows anyone who gets too close but gets destroyed and leaves no trace behind. An oracle claims that the thistle men are a manifestation of the desire to believe that evil people are not human. The epilogue strongly implies that the BigBad [[spoiler:Thistle]] is some form of AnthropomorphicPersobification.

* ''Film/{{Gozu}}'': Starts out looking like a typical {{Yakuza}} film but slowly turns to SurealHorror on a level comparable to a David Lynch film as the protagonist encounters increasingly bizarre and seemingly random characters and events. It makes more sense if you realize that a lot of it is references to Japanese and Greek mythology. The consensus is that it is all a metaphor for the main character coming to terms with his homosexuality or something like that.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' abandons it entirely in order to provide concrete answers to every question the series raised.

** ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi''; in this case, there's a lot of allegories for Japan's view on lesbians versus how they're portrayed in works from the YuriGenre. In an interview, Ikuhara has implicitly compared lesbians to bears, in that they're portrayed as cutesy innocents in (Japanese) fiction but viewed with distrust in real life.

* Anime series directed by Creator/KunihikoIkuhara are often set in this kind of world, and keeping this trope in mind is often the key to understanding his works. Much of the surreal imagery has a deeper meaning (if it isn't something he decided to add of a whim) and isn't meant to be taken literally.
** ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' relies on Jungian archetypes to explain immortal power struggles, surreal landscapes and a bewildering tournament set in an ostensibly modern, ordinary world. It also uses fairy tale archetypes and motifs to examine and deconstruct gender roles, especially ones that are prevalent in [[ShoujoDemographic shoujo]] series. If you've ever found yourself lying awake at night wondering how the heck human girls can inexplicably lay eggs or turn into cars, this might not be the anime for you.

** ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' can also be quite surreal, especially in the case of the Child Broiler, which is clearly something that no sane government in real life would allow to exist but can be seen as a metaphor for how unwanted children suffer and are crushed by society into becoming generic nobodies.

%%* BlueChairs
* ForAChange goes out of its way to avoid describing much of anything with concrete detail. Symbolic interpretations are therefore ''easier to make'' than literal ones.
* {{Metamorphoses}}, mostly, but it has a sort of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' thing going on, such that the symbolic explanation is the same as the literal one.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Apparently WesternAnimation/TwelveOunceMouse fits this trope.

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* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' involves anthropomorphic embodiments of nations living lives that reflect major events in each one's history, initially focusing on UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 but eventually moving both forward and backward through history. There are some vague attempts every now and then to flesh out the setting into a more literal, realistic context, but ironically, they only make things ''more'' confusing.

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[[folder: Interactive Fiction/Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* Anime series directed by Creator/KunihikoIkuhara are often set in this kind of world, and keeping this trope in mind is often the best way of understanding his works. Much of the surreal imagery has a deeper meaning (if it isn't something he decided to add of a whim) and isn't meant to be taken literally.

** ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' can also be quite surreal, especially in the case of the Child Broiler, which is clearly something that no sane government in real life would allow to exist but is still a metaphor for how unwanted children suffer and are crushed by society into becoming generic nobodies.

** ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' runs on this sort of logic, relying on Jungian archetypes alone to explain immortal power struggles, surreal landscapes and a bewildering tournament set in an ostensibly modern, ordinary world. If you've ever found yourself lying awake at night wondering how the heck human girls can inexplicably lay eggs or turn into cars, this might not be the anime for you.

** ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' can also be quite surreal, especially in the case of the Child Broiler, which is clearly something that no sane government in real life would allow to exist but is still a metaphor for how unwanted children suffer.

* Anime series directed by Creator/KunihikoIkuhara are often set in this kind of world, and keeping this trope in mind is often the best way of understanding his works. Much of the surreal imagery has a deeper meaning (if it isn't something he decided to add of a whim) and isn't meant to be taken at face value.

* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' runs on this sort of logic, relying on Jungian archetypes alone to explain immortal power struggles, surreal landscapes and a bewildering tournament set in an ostensibly modern, ordinary world. If you've ever found yourself lying awake at night wondering how the heck human girls can inexplicably lay eggs or turn into cars, this might not be the anime for you.
%%* ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum''
* ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi''. In this case, there's a lot of allegories for Japan's view on lesbians versus how they're portrayed in works from the YuriGenre. WordOfGod implicitly compares lesbians to bears, in that they're portrayed as cutesy innocents in (Japanese) fiction but viewed with distrust in real life.