Line #26 Main/PopCultureSymbology


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/squiddleterrors.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:From {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to a kids' animated show]]
3	->''Despite its corporate image, Disney still had a savvy, playful element among its employees, and their artists still amused themselves by inserting hidden symbolism in Disney products. Langdon would never forget one of his students bringing in a DVD of The Lion King and pausing the film to reveal a freeze‑frame in which the word SEX was clearly visible, spelled out by floating dust particles over Simba’s head. Although Langdon suspected this was more of a cartoonist’s sophomoric prank than any kind of enlightened allusion to pagan human sexuality, he had learned not to underestimate Disney’s grasp of symbolism. The Little Mermaid was a spellbinding tapestry of spiritual symbols so specifically goddess‑related that they could not be coincidence.''
4	-->-- '''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'''
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6	It is a common assumption that to find traces of ancient secrets, mysteries and conspiracies, you have to look at ancient objects. Nowadays nearly everyone is familiar with the concept of hidden symbolism in Egyptian pyramids, Renaissance paintings and medieval manuscripts, but no one would look at the latest comic issue or a Saturday morning cartoon... But what if everyone is wrong?
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8	This trope refers to storylines in which a modern trademark or a work of popular culture (especially a lighthearted/comical one, like a children's cartoon or a video game) is revealed to have hidden layers related to mysticism and/or conspiracies (it may be either real-life media or a ShowWithinAShow). For instance, imagine that one of the Scooby-Doo monsters symbolizes a real-life EldritchAbomination, and the episode dedicated to it shows an actual summoning ritual. Or imagine that the trading cards you used to collect as a child contain clues on finding the Holy Grail.
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10	This trope is especially common in postmodern fiction which tends to reject the boundaries between the "high" and the "low".
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12	See also ConspiracyPlacement, for when fictional conspiracies and secret societies can't help but leave clues to their existence in plain sight.
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14	----
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16	!!Examples:
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
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20	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
21	* ''Film/UnderTheSilverLake'' lives and breathes this trope: the protagonist, an amateur detective, attempts to solve a mystery by finding clues in pop music played backwards, video game magazines, and images on cereal boxes. Surprisingly, he succeeds in finding the answer... [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness or does he]]?
22	[[/folder]]
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24	[[folder:Literature]]
25	* The ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' trilogy contains lots of this. For instance, Bugs Bunny is revealed to be a symbol of Lovecraft's shoggoths, and "You Wascal Wabbit" was the password of Illuminati agents in Hollywood.
26	* ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' makes a mention of Grail symbolism hidden within Disney cartoons, from Snow White to the Little Mermaid.
27	* ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'', which is a savage deconstruction of conspiracy fiction, has the protagonists inventing a parody conspiracy theory that connects Templars, Rosicrucians, Freemasons, etc., as well as modern-day fiction and cartoons.
28	* Creator/VictorPelevin's novels almost entirely consist of this trope. For instance, ''Literature/GenerationP'' involves the goddess Ishtar whose corporeal form consists of the totality of advertising images.
29	* Creator/ThomasPynchon's novels also feature lots of this. For example, ''Literature/TheCryingOfLot49'' implied that the villainous character dressed in black from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blow_Out one of the early Porky Pig cartoons]] was a reference to a real-life secret organization called Trystero.
30	[[/folder]]
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32	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
33	* ''Series/EerieIndiana'': In the episode ''The Broken Record'', an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] blames his son's [[TheQuincyPunk decision to become a punk]] on Satanic Panic and this trope, with one record in specific (the one that provides the title, which was found by the kid shortly before changing attitudes) being the symbol of his hatred. At the climax of the episode, he plays it backwards in front of many fellow parents and even the sheriff to try and find some sort of [[SubliminalSeduction secret message that's "corrupting" his son]]. He finds one, all right: [[AccidentalPublicConfession a recording of his abusive tirades towards his son]].
34	* In ''Series/AmazingStories'', the episode ''Go To The Head Of The Class'' features a necromantic spell hidden on lyrics of Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' - in order to hear it, you need to play an LP of the song backwards.
35	[[/folder]]
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37	[[folder:Video Games]]
38	* In ''VideoGame/SonicEXE'', the entity manifesting itself as Sonic in-game is actually an EldritchAbomination that has a [[ReligionOfEvil dark cult of its own]], specializing in distributing the game copies.
39	[[/folder]]
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41	[[folder:Web Comics]]
42	* ''Webcomic/AwfulHospital'': More than once, the history and plans of the Parliament are shown in the form of eerie children's picture books, one of which is a twisted parody of ''Literature/TheVeryHungryCaterpillar''.
43	* ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'': The cute and adorable Squiddles franchise is an in-universe direct allegory or interpretation of the [[EldritchAbomination Horrorterrors from the Furthest Ring]].
44	[[/folder]]
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46	[[folder:Real Life]]
47	* Many {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s claim that this happens in real life:
48	** Proponents of the theory that [=Paul McCartney=] died in 1966 and was replaced by a double like to find hidden meaning in Music/TheBeatles' songs and images on album covers. In the most severe cases, in those issued ''before'' 1966.
49	[[/folder]]

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