History Main / DemotedMemories

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
* Late in the film ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', Cole starts to believe he really is just an escaped schizophrenic and not a time-traveler.
* This ended up being one of the main plot devices in ''Film/TheFinalCut''. The film opens with Alan's memory of him causing Louis to fall to his death when they were both kids, but when going through the memories of Charles Bannister, he finds a man who looks like Louis. Cue Alan's frantic search for the truth about his memories.
* Happens in ''Film/{{Hook}}'': Peter Pan grew up in the real world and refuses to believe that he used to be Peter Pan, even when Captain Hook leaves him a note. Justified in that his adventures were actually recorded in the form of the Peter Pan mythos we know so he could more easily write it off as something he just picked up or read about.
* In the movie ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'', Jane and Michael, now grown up, talk about how they used to pretend their nanny took them on magic adventures. But it was only their imaginations... right?

[[folder: Video Games]]

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashedII'': The [[spoiler:Dark Apprentice]] clone of Galen Marek manages to separate the original man's memories from his own and suppress the emotions associated with them.

* The Creator/PhilipKDick story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (heavily changed for the 1990 movie adaptation ''Film/TotalRecall1990''.) The protagonist's vivid fantasies of being a secret agent on Mars lead him to request that FakeMemories of the same be implanted by a company that does this as a sort of virtual vacation. Except that the fantasy turns out to have been actual memories due to an incomplete mind wipe. [[spoiler:Then the company tries layering over the now returned memories with an even more grandiose childhood fantasy he had about saving the world from an alien invasion with compassion. Turns out ''that'' really happened too.]]

!!Examples

* In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', when the league defeats and captures the White Martians, they consider sending them to the Phantom Zone, but Martian Manhunter instead decides to use this punishment. The White Martians are soon given mind-wipes and mental blocks that remove all memory of who they really are and given the lives of normal humans. Manhunter's dialog suggests that this was a common punishment on Mars for particularly heinous crimes.

[[folder:Film]]

* Late in the film ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', Cole starts to believe he really is just an escaped schizophrenic and not a time-traveler.

* The Creator/PhilipKDick story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (heavily changed for the 1990 movie adaptation ''Film/TotalRecall1990''.) The protagonist's vivid fantasies of being a secret agent on Mars lead him to request that FakeMemories of the same be implanted by a company that does this as a sort of virtual vacation. Except that the fantasy turns out to have been actual memories due to an incomplete mind wipe. [[spoiler: Then the company tries layering over the now returned memories with an even more grandiose childhood fantasy he had about saving the world from an alien invasion with compassion. Turns out ''that'' really happened too.]]
%%* This seems to be happening to Kinbote at various points in ''Literature/PaleFire'', though it really picks up near the end. %%add context

* In ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'', the unicorn-turned-human "Lady Amalthea" starts to believe that her memories of being a unicorn are just RecurringDreams as [[HumanityEnsues her humanity becomes more real]].

* Variant: Toward the end of ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'', [[spoiler:Echo]] seems to prefer retaining her composite identity to the possibility of regaining the memories of [[spoiler:Caroline Farrell]] despite that being the original memory and personality set.

* VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashedII: The [[spoiler: Dark Apprentice]] clone of Galen Marek manages to separate the original man's memories from his own and suppress the emotions associated with them.
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': If the player takes Heather Poe on as TheRenfield and later sends her away to live a normal life, it [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim breaks her heart]], but a Malkavian PC can use their [[PowerBornOfMadness Dementation]] power to convince her that her supernatural experiences were AllJustADream. It's a bit of VideoGameCaringPotential since it lets her remember the PC happily rather than be haunted by her knowledge of the {{Masquerade}}.

This is frequently a side effect of AmnesiacDissonance. Compare ThatManIsDead, where someone remembers their past but has moved on to a new life and wants nothing more to do with the old one.

* This seems to be happening to Kinbote at various points in ''Literature/PaleFire'', though it really picks up near the end.
* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', Susan gradually develops a refusal to believe in her own life. In [[Literature/TheLastBattle the last book]], she refuses to believe that any of her adventures ever happened. This saves her life, which is not a good thing in [[HeavenSeeker this kind of setting]]: she's left behind on Earth while everyone else go to heaven to be [[PalsWithJesus Pals With Aslan]]. Her disbelief is a very drastic step, considering she spent at least a decade as queen of Narnia. After leaving Earth the first time, she practically grew up in Narnia. While an immigrant, it is her home as much as England is. So, why does she disbelieve her memories? Well, there are two ways to interpret the situation:
** The narrative solution: ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' is very much an AuthorTract against the faithless and people who abuse religion to further their own ends. Susan is the StrawLoser for the "people who have abandoned their faith" category. This impression is reinforced by how no other characters try to understand her. Instead, they simply dismiss her as a shallow idiot who has taken a [[FaceHeelTurn Face Bimbo Turn]].
** The psychological solution, considering the FridgeHorror of the series (and thus, an AlternateCharacterInterpretation): for a character in Susan's position, it's quite realistic to be so emotionally traumatized that she tries to flee from her memories and pretend none of it ever happened. In the second book, she and her siblings got dropped into another world and drafted to be ChildSoldiers. After surviving the war she became queen, spending the rest of her youth as royalty of her new home country. Then as an adult, she's suddenly cast out of her new home and reverted to childhood. When she get sucked into Narnia again (quite painfully, and as always without her consent), it is a land ravaged by brutal oppression. She is again forced to become a {{Child Soldier|s}}, suffering through the horrors of war. When the dust has finally settled and she has done her part, she is again cast out - and this time informed that she will never be allowed to come home again.
** In fact it's much simpler than that; Susan is social-minded and trying to fit in with her crowd, pushing memories of childhood wonder aside are part of that. According to Lewis, his point was that we are free to turn away from Grace. He further said that Susan might well return to Narnia someday, in her own time and her own way. Susan has ''not'' been 'cast out'. It is ''she'' who has cast Aslan and Narnia out of her life but she retains the option of inviting them back in. 'Once a Queen in Narnia, always a Queen'. The choice is entirely her own.

* In ''VideoGame/ViceProjectDoom'', this starts to crop up a lot as the plot progresses.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode "Labyrinth", Clark wakes up in a mental hospital. He has vivid memories of being a superhero with superpowers who has saved countless lives. However, the staff keeps insisting that he's been institutionalized with a severe schizophrenic break and that all the things he thinks he remembers are just his own mind's attempts to make him feel safe and special. His attempts to escape are thwarted as none of the powers he thinks he should have are working and kryptonite has no effect on him. Dr. Hudson, his physician, tells Clark he will feel better if he accepts treatment. Clark slowly starts to believe the staff except there is one patient, John, who insists that Clark is actually being controlled by Dr. Hudson, who in reality, is a phantom zone escapee who is looking to take over Clark's body and power. John insists that Clark cannot accept treatment because it will allow Hudson to take control and that the only way for Clark to regain control of his own body is to kill Dr. Hudson. Clark has to decide if John is telling the truth and Clark really has superpowers and needs to kill his psychiatrist or if Hudson is telling the truth and Clark needs to be treated for a schizophrenic break.

* This ended up being the one of the main plot devices in ''Film/TheFinalCut''. The film opens with Alan's memory of him causing Louis to fall to his death when they were both kids, but when going through the memories of Charles Bannister, he finds a man who looks like Louis. Cue Alan's frantic search for the truth about his memories.

* The Creator/PhilipKDick story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (heavily changed for the 1990 movie adaptation ''Film/TotalRecall1990''.) The protagonist's vivid fantasies of being a secret agent on Mars lead him to request that FakeMemories of same be implanted by a company that does this as a sort of virtual vacation. Except that the fantasy turns out to have been actual memories due to an incomplete mind wipe. [[spoiler: Then the company tries layering over the now returned memories with an even more grandiose childhood fantasy he had about saving the world from alien invasion with compassion. Turns out ''that'' really happened too.]]

** In fact it's much simpler than that; Susan is social minded and trying to fit in with her crowd, pushing memories of childhood wonder aside are part of that. According to Lewis his point was that we are free to turn away from Grace. He further said that Susan might well return to Narnia someday, in her own time and her own way. Susan has ''not'' been 'cast out'. It is ''she'' who has cast Aslan and Narnia out of her life but she retains the option of inviting them back in. 'Once a Queen in Narnia, always a Queen'. The choice is entirely her own.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode Labyrinth, Clark wakes up in a mental hospital. He has vivid memories of being a superhero with super powers who has saved countless lives. However, the staff keeps insisting that he's been institutionalized with a severe schizophrenic break and that all the things he thinks he remembers are just his own mind's attempts to make him feel safe and special. His attempts to escape are thwarted as none of the powers he thinks he should have are working and kryptonite has not affect on him. Dr. Hudson, his physician, tells Clark he will feel better if he accepts treatment. Clark slowly starts to believe the staff except there is one patient, John, who insists that Clark is actually being controlled by Dr. Hudson, who in reality, is a phantom zone escapee who is looking to take over Clark's body and power. John insists that Clark cannot accept treatment because it will allow Hudson to take control and that the only way for Clark to regain control of his own body is to kill Dr. Hudson. Clark has to decide if John is telling the truth and Clark really has super powers and needs to kill his psychiatrist or if Hudson is telling the truth and Clark needs to be treated for a schizophrenic break.

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': If the player takes Heather Poe on as TheRenfield and later sends her away to live a normal life, it [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim breaks her heart]], but a Malkavian PC can use their [[PowerBornOfMadness Dementation]] power to convince her that her supernatural experiences were AllJustADream. It's a bit of VideoGameCaringPotential, since it lets her remember the PC happily rather than be haunted by her knowledge of the {{Masquerade}}.

This is frequently a side effect of AmnesiacDissonance. Compare ThatManIsDead, where someone remembers their past but wants nothing more to do with it.

This is frequently a side effect of AmnesiacDissonance.

Alice used to be something great, or at least be a part of something great. For example a queen or a wizard, or a friend of either. She still remembers it, but she no longer believes in it. Instead she has demoted her memories to the role of something lesser. She keeps telling herself that it was AllJustADream, FakeMemories, insanity, overactive imagination, whatever...

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[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', this is the fate the demon of the episode "Normal Again" had in store for Buffy: she would be tricked into killing all her friends and then spend the rest of her life telling herself that they never existed and that she was never the slayer. That all her memories of Sunnydale was made up in her own head while she was a psychotic living in a mental institution.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode Labyrinth, Clark wakes up in a mental hospital. He has vivid memories of being a superhero with super powers who has saved countless lives. However, the staff keep insisting that he's been institutionalized with a severe schizophrenic break and that all the things he thinks he remembers are just his own mind's attempts to make him feel safe and special. His attempts to escape are thwarted as none of the powers he thinks he should have are working and kryptonite has not affect on him. Dr. Hudson, his physician, tells Clark he will feel better if he accepts treatment. Clark slowly starts to believe the staff except there is one patient, John, who insists that Clark is actually being controlled by Dr. Hudson, who in reality, is a phantom zone escapee who is looking to take over Clark's body and power. John insists that Clark cannot accept treatment because it will allow Hudson to take control and that the only way for Clark to regain control of his own body is to kill Dr. Hudson. Clark has to decide if John is telling the truth and Clark really has super powers and needs to kill his psychiatrist or if Hudson is telling the truth and Clark needs to be treated for a schizophrenic break.

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

Note that the greatness doesn't have to be a good thing so she might have good reason to pretend it never really happened.

In either case, her past is likely to catch up with her one day...