Contextual Subgenres

It just occurred to me that the dynamic pair for this might be (for lack of a better term) Burying stories: where the focus is on someone trying to hide or cover up the past. For example, someone who is running from the law, hiding a secret child, ashamed of growing up poor, etc.

The MC Throughline of the first few seasons of Mad Men comes to mind. Don Draper exerts a whole lot of energy to keep his secret past hidden from everyone else.

I noticed that you have stories where people are forced/compelled to be someone they’re not. How about when people voluntarily evolve into or out of playing a role?

Two examples:

  1. Coming of Age/Maturing (going into a role with a new positive effect): a teen coming to terms with adulthood, a man taking on the role of a father

  2. Evolving/Escape (leaving a role which had a negative effect on them): a woman escaping the role of battered wife, a gay man coming out of the closet

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