Liked the old version better: Beneath The Mask

You need to focus the description less on finding all the possible ways for the trope to be invoked and more on what the trope actually is.

@all tropers

New version here what you guys think?

Humans are social and duplicitous creature in nature. As such one of the basic needs of humans is being accepted by others, because humans are unable to fulfill their spiritual and physical needs by themselves.

Humans have feelings and desires that are not always viewed as acceptable for the society they live; for instance a girl [[Tomboy acting like a boy]] is not viewed as an acceptable behavior in some social circles. Because of that those hidden feelings and desires, are hidden trough a “mask” that people show to the world.

It’s not a coincidence that the word “personality” comes from the Greek word “prosopon” that means mask. Because we are not always willing to show, how we are on the inside, people use “social masks” to hide their true selves. For example one person may always smile and act polite towards someone, this person, may actually hate. That behavior that hides our true self is called “a mask”.

The secrets this “mask” hides are varied and are not always “dark or evil”; a villain hiding a good action maybe an example of this trope. This mask may hide either small aspects of a personality like a Yandere hiding having a crush or something complex like having a wholeother personality.

It's not necessary for a character to consciously realize they're doing this, nor that they have a hiddden self . For this reason a person may have hidden side of themselves they never knew they had and as such the existence of this “hidden self”can be a surprise even for “the mask wearer”.

A revelation of this hidden self can come through the story in several ways. All of them remove the fears of revealing your true self and the limits.a person imposes to themselves .Its important to note that for this trope power and anonymity are not corruptive but only reveal (“unmask”)how a person really is.

Common ways a true self is revealed are the following:

• Anonymity: This happens when a masked person is free to be how they really are , because no one knows who the person is ,this way a masked person is able to avoid any repercussions . Due to the Law Of Narrative Causality, inevitably someone close to the character will catch them in their vulnerable aspect, and plot ensues. Common ways of anonymity are (secret identities , and online personas.

• Power: If you're powerful enough, you don't have to be hurt by the consequences of showing your unmasked self. This can be either positive or negative: when positive, a character gains the poise, strength and self-confidence so that they need not be afraid to be themselves. On the negative side it may turns out they were masking a particularly nasty streak.

• Confidence: This happens when a character acquires confidence on themselves (for instance thanks to The Power Of Love and/or The Power Of Friendship ) they never had .This way they will stop caring about what others might think about their true selves and therefore ; they will feel comfortable letting down their guard. May lead to Epiphany Therapy in works prone to it.

• Emotional response: This kind of reveal doesn’t happen very often and are almost always against the will of the “masked character” often acting as small hints to a person true self. they are Often revealed in the form of a Berzerk Button being pressed, or trough a Freudian Slip. Often leading to tropes like Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass or Jerk With A Hearth Of Gold.

Its important not to forget that Beneath the Mask only applies when a person is hiding his true self;as such people having other personalities either becuase of psychologial troubles or being possesseed through supernatural means, dont apply to this trope

This hidden self that people dont show to others hidden and the facade"masks" people use not to show them is what Beneath the Mask is about.

May be accompanied by one or more of many tropes: What You Are in the Dark, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Jerkass Façade, Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, Broken Bird, Shrinking Violet, Obfusicating Stupidity, Obfucicating Insanity, You Are What You Hate, Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass and more. Becoming the Mask is when the "mask" personality takes over the inner one

edited 11th Sep '10 4:28:51 PM by masterchief

Way too long. Far too much word cruft. Axe it down to about two paragraphs. Why don't you start by trying to sum up the trope in a sentence? You're getting farther and farther away from something usable. And axe all the bullet points in the description. They aren't helping.

You're turning it back into a sociology essay.

@simaspawn

I have tried before making the descripition shorter but this trope is too complex to be shortened in two paragraphs.its a complex topic that cant be simplified more without losing its essence.perhaps even more complex than the Mary SUE article (wich is longer)

When I made the descriprion shorter , people confused this trope with other related tropes GIFT and A Darker Me and got confused of what the trope actualy meant.

However I will remove remove the bullet points as I think you are right on that matter.

@Madrugada

You are right , however I have tried to make it more simpler in the past and people have started to confuse the real meaning of the trope.

I guess I can modify some things but the truth is that

this is a VERY COMPLEX topic and is very hard to simplyfy

It's not too complicated to fit into two paragraphs. You are just too attached to your digressions and detailed explanations. You aren't writing a trope, you're writing an essay. Tropes are simple concepts — they're shorthand.

Here's the trope:

"Virtually everyone has to wear a public mask in order to be accepted by others. That's a simple fact of human psychology. When circumstances (such as anonymity, strong emotion, or sufficient power) allow a character to take off that mask and act in complete accord with their inclinations, they reveal what's Behind The Mask. Most times the wearer of the mask is aware of what it's hiding, but occasionally they even surprise themselves."

There. There's your trope in one paragraph. No digression about the Greek root of the word 'Personality', no repetition of the main idea, no detailed bullet list of what may allow them to drop the mask.

edited 11th Sep '10 5:21:46 PM by Madrugada

@All tropers

what about now? I made it more simple

Humans have feelings and desires that are not always viewed as acceptable for the society they live; for instance a girl [[Tomboy acting like a boy]] is not viewed as an acceptable behavior in some social circles. Because of that those hidden feelings and desires, are hidden trough a “mask” that people show to the world. Because we are not always willing to show, how we are on the inside, people use “social masks” to hide their true selves. For example one person may always smile and act polite towards someone, this person, may actually hate. That behavior that hides our true self is called “a mask”.

The secrets this “mask” hides are varied and are not always “dark or evil”; a villain hiding a good action maybe an example of this trope. This mask may hide either small aspects of a personality like a Yandere hiding having a crush or something complex like having a wholeother personality.

It's not necessary for a character to consciously realize they're doing this, nor that they have a hiddden self . For this reason a person may have hidden side of themselves they never knew they had and as such the existence of this “hidden self”can be a surprise even for “the mask wearer”.

A revelation of this hidden self can come through the story in several ways. All of them remove the fears of revealing your true self and the limits.a person imposes to themselves .Its important to note that for this trope power and anonymity are not corruptive but only reveal (“unmask”)how a person really is. Common ways a true self is revealed are the following: Anonymity: This happens when a masked person is free to be how they really are , because no one knows who the person is.Common ways of anonymity are (secret identities , and online personas.

Power: If you're powerful enough, you don't have to be hurt by the consequences of showing your unmasked self. This can be either positive or negative: when positive, a character gains the poise, strength and self-confidence so that they need not be afraid to be themselves. On the negative side it may turns out they were masking a particularly nasty streak. Confidence: This happens when a character acquires confidence on themselves (for instance thanks to The Power Of Love and/or The Power Of Friendship ) they never had .This way they will stop caring about what others might think about their true selves and therefore ; they will feel comfortable letting down their guard. May lead to Epiphany Therapy in works prone to it.

Emotional response: This kind of reveal doesn’t happen very often and are almost always against the will of the “masked character” often acting as small hints to a person true self. they are .

Its important not to forget that Beneath the Mask only applies when a person is hiding his true self;as such people having other personalities either becuase of psychologial troubles or being possesseed through supernatural means, dont apply to this trope

This hidden self that people don’t show to others hidden and the "masks" people use not to show them is what Beneath the Mask is about.

May be accompanied by one or more of many tropes: What You Are in the Dark, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Jerkass Façade, Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, Broken Bird, Shrinking Violet, Obfusicating Stupidity, Obfucicating Insanity, You Are What You Hate, Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass and more. Becoming the Mask is when the "mask" personality takes over the inner one

@madrugada

You think having detailed explanations is wrong? I tried to make the best article I could hence the detail

there are other tropes that are very detailed and have no problems (detailed tropes Mary Sue , You Fail Logic Forever You Fail Economics Forever

that short description you made is good but is more worthy of the Laconical description

however if you think being detailed is wrong (you are a mod here after all) can I use your desciption?

edited 11th Sep '10 4:48:43 PM by masterchief

Don't do it because I'm a moderator.

Clarity in the description is far more important than detailed explanation. Right now, the details are overwheming the clarity.

Try this — write the Laconic version of it. There will be one, even if you don't write it. Someone will. They'll distill it down even further than I did, to one sentence, maybe two. Something like: "Who they are when they aren't wearing any masks. Sometimes they surprise themself."

And sure, you can use what I wrote. It's a wiki.

edited 11th Sep '10 4:50:51 PM by Madrugada

@madrugada

Ok thanks!! for the help just one question

in what instances I can be detailed ( I love doing detailed complex works)?

or I amk supposed to always be Laconical in all my works?

Clear. Be clear. If the details are getting in the way of the clarity, you're on the wrong track. You can put the more detailed stuff after the clear definition.

@thanks madrugada!!

I learned something new today :) giving priority to clarity before detail.

based on that: I made it even more simple and clear.

Virtually everyone has to wear a public mask in order to be accepted by others. That's a simple fact of human psychology. When circumstances (such as anonymity, strong emotion, or sufficient power) allow a character to take off that mask and act in complete accord with their inclinations, they reveal what's Behind The Mask. Most times the wearer of the mask is aware of what it's hiding.

The secrets this “mask” hides are varied and are not always “dark or evil”; a villain hiding a good action maybe an example of this trope. This mask may hide either small aspects of a personality like a Yandere hiding having a crush or something complex like having a wholeother personality.

It's not necessary for a character to consciously realize they're doing this, nor that they have a hiddden self . For this reason a person may have hidden side of themselves they never knew they had and as such the existence of this “hidden self”can be a surprise even for “the mask wearer”.

This hidden self that people don’t show to others and the "masks" people use not to reveal themselves is what Beneath the Mask is about.

May be accompanied by one or more of many tropes: What You Are in the Dark, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Jerkass Façade, Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, Broken Bird, Shrinking Violet, Obfusicating Stupidity, Obfucicating Insanity, You Are What You Hate, Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass and more. Becoming the Mask is when the "mask" personality takes over the inner one

edited 11th Sep '10 5:08:10 PM by masterchief

And remember, to much detail actually makes the trope worse. You're making it so that people can't read and use your trope by adding all that detail in there. It's not needed and it makes it hard to know what the trope actually is.

Cut the wikipedia link and everything between "the mask wearer." and Becoming the Mask. That's just obfuscating the trope.

edited 11th Sep '10 5:01:54 PM by shimaspawn

@simaspawm

Thanks alot!! I will try to be more clear next time :)

" Virtually everyone has to wear a public mask in order to be accepted by others. That's a simple fact of human psychology. When circumstances (such as anonymity, strong emotion, or sufficient power) allow a character to take off that mask and act in complete accord with their inclinations, they reveal what's Behind The Mask. Most times the wearer of the mask is aware of what it's hiding. Add "But sometimes they surprise themself with what they reveal." here.

The secrets this mask hides are varied and are not always dark or evil; a villain hiding a good action maybe Replace with " kind, gentle, or 'good' side is also an example of this trope. This mask may hide either small aspects of a personality like a Yandere hiding having a crush or something complex like having a whole other personality.

It's not necessary for a character to consciously realize they're doing this, nor that they have a for them to be aware that they have a hidden self . For this reason a person may have hidden side of themselves they never knew they had and as such the existence of this “hidden self”can be a surprise even for “the mask wearer”.

A revelation of this hidden self can come through the story in several ways. trough Power, anonimity , confidence and strong emotional responses.

This hidden self that people don’t show to others and the "masks" people use not to reveal themselves is what Beneath The Mask is about. All of that is simply repeating what's already in the first paragraph.

Contrast with Becoming the Mask, when the "mask" personality takes over the inner one. no need to list off all the possible tropes that it can related to.

edited 11th Sep '10 5:20:37 PM by Madrugada

@Madrugadda That concisely gets to the point.

Theres nothing worse than going to a trope, and not understanding what its about.