History Main / FakingAmnesia

** In ''Literature/JediApprentice: The Hidden Past'', a dictatorship's favorite punishment is to destroy the memories of anyone who causes trouble. Some of them are left to wander the streets, but the worst troublemakers are shipped to dangerous worlds with floating cameras following them and broadcasting what happens. Thirteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi ends up being put through the procedure. Thanks to TheForce he is able to resist and retain his memories, but he pretends to remember nothing in an act of ObfuscatingStupidity.
** Similarly, in ''Rebel Force'' someone who learned how to make amnesiac assassins [[CriminalAmnesiac captures Luke Skywalker]]. Thanks to TheForce -- and Obi-Wan's spirit -- helping, he remembers everything, but fakes it and does a very good job of acting, for days, in order to lull Soresh into thinking it worked so he could turn on him when the time was right.

* In ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', [[spoiler: D-Boy initially appears to have amnesia, but turns out to be faking it. Late in the series, he starts losing his memory for real.]]

* Creator/DCComics:
** In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'' Batman suspects that Kara is pulling this trick. [[spoiler:However it is subverted: she really suffers from memory loss owing to kryptonite poisoning]].
** The [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Earth-2]] Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} was revealed to have been suffering from AmnesiacDissonance the whole time she'd been Catwoman, and when she regained her original memories she forgot about her time as Catwoman. In a later {{retcon}}, she admitted to making this up in order to make her reformation easier.
%%** The ''ComicBook/New52'' version of ComicBook/{{Superboy|New52}}'s cover story in the "small town" simulation.
* Creator/MarvelComics:

* ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'': Kyle was faking amnesia ([[http://latchkeykingdom.thecomicseries.com/comics/1229 "double" amnesia]], i.e. having lost both his shadow and yuman memories) in order to get closer to Rose, who ''did'' forget most of her past as a shadow after copying Willa's memories.

* ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'': Kyle was faking amnesia ("double" amnesia, i.e. having lost both his shadow and yuman memories) in order to get closer to Rose, who ''did'' forget most of her past as a shadow after copying Willa's memories.

* Inverted in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex''. Touma loses his memory but passes it off as a joke so Index doesn't feel bad.

* In ''Manga/BokuraNoKiseki'', Harusumi pretends to be unable to remember his [[{{Reincarnation}} past-life identity]] to keep himself safe from any enemies he might "inherit" from his previous life as Princess Veronica. The bluff is maintained because everyone has gaps in their past-life memories and another classmate, Zeze, also claims he can't (and doesn't want to) remember.
* ''Manga/DrStone'': When Yo returns after having run away in the night, he finds that his old bosses have been deposed. He pretends to have amnesia to cozy up to the new regime. No one believes him, but they need help so they don't make an issue of it.
-->'''Yo:''' Sweet! So does that mean all my crimes are cleared?\\
'''Chrome:''' ''[flatly]'' What crimes.\\
'''Niki:''' Does that count as a confession?

* In the Creator/{{Marvel comic|s}} ''ComicBook/AgentX'', The Taskmaster accuses Alex Hayden of being [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} Wade Wilson]] pulling this trick. [[spoiler:This ends up being a subversion, as while it's unclear whether he is Deadpool or not, the amnesia is very real. Then, it turns out Alex Hayden isn't even Wade!]]
* About [[EasyAmnesia half]] of ComicBook/NormanOsborn's amnesiac relapses are fake.
%% * The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''Comicbook/{{Superboy|New52}}'''s cover story in the "small town" simulation.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''Comicbook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'' Batman suspects that Kara is pulling this trick. [[spoiler:However it is subverted: she really suffers from memory loss owing to kryptonite poisoning]].
* The [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Earth-2]] Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} was revealed to have been suffering from AmnesiacDissonance the whole time she'd been Catwoman, and when she regained her original memories she forgot about her time as Catwoman. In a later {{retcon}}, she admitted to making this up in order to make her reformation easier.

* In French movie ''[[Film/LeGendarmeDeSaintTropez The Gendarme to Stroll]]'', Gendarme Fougasse suffered only from a short amnesia after an accident, but he likes so much the convalescent home he's staying in, he pretends in order to remain longer.
* In ''Film/{{Tron}}'', Flynn, when befriending Ram and Tron, uses the excuse that he suffered some memory disorientation while being transported to the Game Grid to hide the fact that he's actually a User that got beamed into the computer world by the MCP.
* ''Film/{{Cure}}'': Mamiya seems to exhibit short-term memory loss, and acts constantly confused. It's all a lie to disguise his [[TheSociopath sociopathy.]]

-->-- '''''Literature/DirtyBertie''''', "Worms"

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 2 episode 50, the villain Big M. has an evil plan that involves him faking a case of amnesia. The joke's on him, though, as he later sustains a collision and actually ''does'' get amnesia.
[[/folder]]

* ''{{Film/Cure}}'': Mamiya seems to exhibit short-term memory loss, and acts constantly confused. It's all a lie to disguise his [[TheSociopath sociopathy.]]

* In ''Literature/GoingPostal,'' one of the board members of the Grand Trunk Company tries this, [[spoiler: faking a fit and then claiming amnesia when accusations are levied against the company board about how they exploited and took advantage of the engineers that built the Grand Trunk]], but it's implied that no one is fooled. [[spoiler: It doesn't help that the man in question even mumbles about how he "couldn't possibly testify in court."]]

* After Beckett is shot by a sniper, ''Series/{{Castle}}'' admits his feelings for her. After she wakes up in the hospital, he asks if she remembers anything about the shooting. Beckett claims that she doesn't. At the end of the episode, though, after a psychiatrist asks her what she remembers, she admits that she remembers everything. Castle later finds out and is not amused.

* In ''Series/{{iZombie}}'', Blaine takes the second version of the zombie cure and loses his memory. He becomes a much more pleasant person, and Peyton falls for him again. Ravi's attempt to cure the amnesia fails to work, but Don E suspects that Blaine is lying and tells Ravi. Ravi tells Peyton, who asks Blaine. He admits that he did lose his memories for a few days, but then everything came flooding back. He decided that he liked who he was as an amnesiac far more than his typical persona. Unfortunately for him, Peyton doesn't buy it and leaves, setting Blaine back onto the dark path. Of course, at that point, he can't hide the truth any more, as Major has also taken the cure, which means that everyone will know anyway in a few days.
* In ''Series/KousokuSentaiTurboranger'', Pink Turbo decides to fake memory loss to join the bad guys after taking a blow to the head in a battle, in a gambit to acquire an antitode for the poisoned Blue Turbo.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Dean fakes a case of DeathAmnesia after being pulled out of hell by Castiel.
** A later episode has Dean actually losing his memories from a curse. Rowena saves them in the nick of time, but Dean pretends for a few seconds afterward that he doesn't recogonise Sam.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' Sly pretends to have amnesia in order to get close to Carmelita Fox (and avoid arrest). She tells him that he's her partner.

* Archer in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' claims to not remember which Heroic Spirit he is in order to carry out his plan to kill Shirou while making it seem like he was just another casualty of the Holy Grail War. (A Main/DoubleSubversion, as he mentions that at first he really didn't know who he was, but he remembered fairly quickly. He just never let on that he had.)
* Played with in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''. K [[spoiler: can be one of two people, depending on the timeline. Kyle really is amnesiac, but on one particular timeline Akane pretends to be Kyle and in her case amnesia was a lie.]]

* In ''Webcomic/LostOpportunity'' Louwrens does this after being transported to an alien (but somewhat familiar) planet and transformed into an anthropomorphic dog.
* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Lucrezia [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061117#.VvrgLuIrLIU pulls this]] whilst [[GrandTheftMe possessing Agatha's body]], telling Agatha's rescue party that she's been drugged and can't remember any of them. She manages to pull it off for a while, too, since no-one imagines for a second that it could be anyone ''other'' than Agatha talking to them. It isn't until she encounters someone that knew the original Lucrezia and recognizes her mannerisms that it all goes downhill.

* On a 2006 episode of ''The Late Show With Conan O'Brien,'' Conan shows a visibly disturbed Harrison Ford clips from the ''Star Wars Holiday Special.'' Ford has his head turned away, shaking his head at every question while looking like he had just seen a ghost.

* In the UpdatedRerelease of ''Video/TalesOfVesperia'', [[spoiler:Patty recovers her memory as soon as she sees the graves of Seifer and her crew at Renansula Hollow, but she feigns having amnesia for the rest of the story even after she finds the Maris Stella until she has to confront Seifer's monster form at the Atherum when she reveals the whole truth, stating that she didn't want to inconvenience the group since they were busy with dealing with Alexei's schemes.]]

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Lucrezia [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061117#.VvrgLuIrLIU pulls this]] whilst [[GrandTheftMe possessing Agatha's body]], telling Agatha's rescue party that she's been drugged and can't remember any of them. She manages to pull it off for a while, too, since no-one imagines for a second that it could be anyone ''other'' than Agatha talking to them. It isn't until she encounters someone that knew the original Lucrezia and recognises her mannerisms that it all goes downhill.

* In an episode of ''LightNovel/OokamiSan'', Ryoko suffers from [[EasyAmnesia actual amnesia]], where she thinks she's thirteen. When she later gets better, she pretends not to remember the entire day due to being embarrassed. [[DeliberatelyCuteChild Ringo]] catches her when she remembers eating.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Kairi claims to remember "nothing at all" about her homeworld. The way the scene is framed in classic Japanese cinematography indicating she's not being truthful. [[spoiler:She later owns up about it… while inside of Sora's heart, no less!]]
** Seemingly subverted but actually played straight by Xehanort. [[spoiler: It's assumed that he lost his memory after the fight against Aqua at the end of Birth By Sleep, but Braig in a flashback in Dream Drop Distance thinks he never lost his memory at all. The truth is he did lose his memory, he just recovered it quicker then people think.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Tidus is pretending to be amnesiac about Spira [[FisOutOfTemporalWater while in reality he doesn't know anything about Spira]]. Because he's at risk of being imprisoned for heresy like his dad, he have to keep his act or he'll be caught. Auron, who is in on the act, encourages him to keep up appearances until they reach Zanarkand.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Vanille pretends that she's forgotten a substantial plot-relevant swath of memory in order to avoid having to share her DarkAndTroubledPast (and its ramifications for their current situation) with the rest of the party. Her partner Fang, who really ''has'' forgotten, eventually tricks her into admitting it by pretending that she's ''also'' been faking her own amnesia.

* The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''Comicbook/{{Superboy|New52}}'''s cover story in the "small town" simulation.

* The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''Comicbook/{{Superboy}}'''s cover story in the "small town" simulation.

* Xander pulls this in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "The Pack", after being possessed by the spirit of a hyena. After Buffy and Willow save him, he tells them that he can't remember a thing and hopes he didn't do anything "too embarrassing". Giles, however, sees right through it.

* In the first ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'', Kairi claims to remember "nothing at all" about her home world. The way the scene is framed is classic Japanese cinematography indicating she's not being truthful. [[spoiler:She later owns up about it…while inside of Sora's heart, no less!]]

* ''Literature/{{Airhead}}'': Emerson Watts, after undergoing an involuntary BrainTransplant into the body of teen supermodel Nikki Howard, is forced by the large corporation Nikki had a contract with to take over her life, despite the two girls' very different personalities and interests. Naturally, Em resorts to this trope, especially as Nikki's collapse at the [=SoHo=] Stark Megastore opening (due to the congenital brain defect that killed her) is publicly known, giving her an explanation to use in public.

->'''Mrs Burns''': "Right, what's this about losing your memory?"
->'''Bertie''': "Um ... yes. It just seems to keep um ... going."
->'''Mrs Burns''': "Really? So you don't remember Angela's invitation?"
->'''Bertie''': "What invitation?"
->'''Mrs Burns''': "That's a pity, because there's a film you wanted to see at the weekend. I expect you've forgotten that too?"
->'''Bertie''': "''Pirates of Blood Island''!"
->'''Mrs Burns''': "Ah, so your memory ''is'' working!"
->'''Bertie''': "I ... um ... remember some things. But other things I forget."

* The Title character from the Creator/RobinMcKinley novel ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'' pretends she has PTSD that made her forget or block her memories after escaping from being held captive by vampires. She ''does'' have PTSD, but she hadn't forgotten anything; she just didn't want to talk about it or explain A) why she saved a vampire and B) ''how'' she saved a vampire. That is to say, by using her magic that she hadn't used since childhood to make it so a certain vampire could walk under sunlight, which everyone agrees is impossible.
* In ''Literature/TheLegendsongSaga'' Glynn does this to hide her ignorance about Keltor. She ‘regains’ her memory as she learns more and can create a cover story.

* In ''Literature/JediApprentice: The Hidden Past'', a dictatorship's favorite punishment is to destroy the memories of anyone who causes trouble. Some of them are left to wander the streets, but the worst troublemakers are shipped to dangerous worlds with floating cameras following them and broadcasting what happens. Thirteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi ends up being put through the procedure. Thanks to TheForce he is able to resist and retain his memories, but he pretends to remember nothing in an act of ObfuscatingStupidity.
* Similarly, in ''Rebel Force'' someone who learned how to make amnesiac assassins [[CriminalAmnesiac captures Luke Skywalker]]. Thanks to TheForce -- and Obi-Wan's spirit -- helping, he remembers everything, but fakes it and does a very good job of acting, for days, in order to lull Soresh into thinking it worked so he could turn on him when the time was right.
* In the ''Literature/DirtyBertie'' story "Worms!", Bertie pretends to have a very selective form of amnesia to try and get out of going to [[NosyNeighbour Angela]]'s party, but it doesn't work.

* In a late-season arc of ''Series/{{Wonderfalls}}'', Heidi Gotts gets bumped on the head and decides to fake amnesia because so many people think [[EasyAmnesia that's exactly how amnesia works]].
-->'''Heidi Gotts:''' I wasn't faking it at first! I really did still think we were married!... for a few seconds...
* Used by Mrs. Slocomb in a later episode of ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' when she pretended to have forgotten everything since early childhood and spent the majority of the episode acting like a schoolgirl. The ordeal was a ploy to scare the management with a possible lawsuit.
* In ''Series/KousokuSentaiTurboranger'', Pink Turbo decides to fake memory loss to join the bad guys after taking a blow to the head in a battle, in a gambit to acquire an antitode for the poisoned Blue Turbo.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Dean fakes a case of DeathAmnesia after being pulled out of hell by Castiel.
* Inverted in an episode of ''Series/HumanTarget''. A client who has amnesia takes part in a sting to trick the bad guys by pretending not to have amnesia. To do this he has to convince them that he was faking it. It makes sense in context.
* In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "Partners," Hutch apparently gets amnesia from a car crash at the beginning of the episode. It's played as a standard amnesia story for the rest of the episode, with Starsky trying to jog his memory through a ClipShow, until Hutch admits in the last five minutes that he was faking because he was so angry at Starsky for crashing the car.

* After Beckett is shot by a sniper, Series/{{Castle}} admits his feelings for her. After she wakes up in the hospital, he asks if she remembers anything about the shooting. Beckett claims that she doesn't. At the end of the episode, though, after a psychiatrist asks her what she remembers, she admits that she remembers everything. Castle later finds out and is not amused.
** One episode features the "recovers but keeps it secret" variant with a witness who had been mentally stuck in the 1970's.
* An episode of ''Series/PrivatePractice'' has a depressed woman ask to undergo shock therapy in order to be happy again. It appears to work, except she doesn't remember her fiancé anymore. Violet, an experienced psychiatrist, calls bullshit on that, and the woman eventually admits that she pretended, as she feels happy until he walks in the room. In the end, the doctors support her story and tell the fiancé to leave her be.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Walt pretends to not remember anything so he won't have to explain where he's been or what he's done for a period of time. He ''does'' admit to his psychiatrist that he's faking it (so that he can be released from the hospital rather than being held for evaluation), but also points out that doctor/patient confidentiality prevents the psychiatrist from telling anyone else.

* In the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Fallen Idols", a high school cheerleader goes missing after a DeadlyPrank on her cheating boyfriend. When she's found heavily injured later, she pretends not to remember anything, but Grissom quickly calls her out.
-->'''Grissom''': I wish I could get selective amnesia. There's a lot in my past I'd like to forget about.