Special Episode 40: Tropefest: Secret Identities
He’ll never know the real me hiding behind this mask…
Tropefest returns! Aja takes up Flourish’s co-hosting mantle in the long-running series on tropes in fanfiction and broader culture, joining Elizabeth to talk about a personal favorite: secret identities. “Identity porn” in fandom tends to be used in superhero fandoms, but these themes are far older. Why do we love stories about people who wear masks—both literal and metaphorical? Topics discussed include The Shop Around the Corner, Aja’s favorite fairytale, trans themes and ideas about presentation and performance more generally, and how playing a strategy-based game with a rival who can see the real you is the most romantic thing in the world.
Show Notes
[00:00:00] As always, our intro music is “Awel” by stefsax, used under a CC BY 3.0 license. Our cover photograph is courtesy of Rach Teo.
[00:00:57] In case you don’t know Aja, here’s their website! In addition to editing many great Fansplaining pieces, they most recently wrote a feature for us titled “The Global Crackdown on Creativity.”
[00:01:43] Episode #80: “Real Person Fiction”
[00:02:30] The full Tropefest catalog thus far:
“Trapped Together” | “Canon-Divergent AU” | “Enemies to Lovers” | “Omegaverse” | “Found Family” | “Hurt/Comfort” | “Modern AU” | “Soulmate AU” | “Fake Relationships” | “Friends to ?” | “Arranged Marriage”
[00:02:46] Episode #219: Tropefest Speedrun
[00:05:00]
The Shop Around the Corner was based on Miklós László’s 1937 play Parfumerie, and the film’s three remakes were the 1949 Judy Garland musical In the Good Old Summertime, the 1963 musical She Loves Me, and, of course, the 1998 Norah Ephron-written You’ve Got Mail.
[00:08:39] Take the dialect quiz and be subtly insulted when it suggests you are from one state over.
[00:13:13] We Are Robin
[00:17:37]
[00:19:58] Kaleidotrope’s website, or you can listen on YouTube!
[00:22:00]
[00:24:52] The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. A few fic recs from Aja:
- “i’ll tend to the flame (you can worship the ashes)” by owlwinter. (In which the emperor gets yeeted into the multiverse and meets his former self.)
- “you laugh and you gleam with that roguish air” by lindsayraindrops. (This one which is tagged “does it count as identity porn if the pov character knows perfectly well what's going on but everyone else is subject to astronomical levels of dramatic irony?”)
[00:28:48] This American Life’s “Middle School”
[00:36:04] King Thrusbeard, originally titled König Drosselbart, is a Brothers Grimm fairytale. Here’s a 1931 illustration by Rudolf Schiestl:
[00:48:21] That’s Alexandria Bellefleur. Aja specifically recommends The Fiancée Farce.
[00:52:05] One of Aja’s many articles on the construction of celebrity: “John Mulaney was performing a role all along.”
[00:55:02] Richard Dyer’s Stars.
[01:03:29] The official Viz translation of Hikaru no Go—the first three chapters are free! You can watch all 75 episodes of the anime for free as well (dubbed though, sorry). It was also adapted into a Chinese live-action drama that you can watch on Iqiyi.
[01:17:09]
[01:09:12] Our outro music is “Credit roll” by Lee Rosevere, also used under a CC BY 3.0 license.
