"the reveal"

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Feb 15, 2009, at 7:36 AM, i cited:
>
>   There was insufficient lead-up to the reveal at the end and the
> perpetual name-droppingness of all the references was supremely
> annoying.
> apps.facebook.com/facebookshelf/people/1049054081?reviews_page=4

note the nouning of "reveal" here.  fair number of relevant hits,
including this one from a site of tv tropes:

   The pivot in any plotline is often The Reveal. A character is
revealed as another character's mother, a god, or secret suitor or
arch nemesis in disguise. More broadly, the audience is given new
information which had been withheld to create suspense. The Reveal
changes the nature of the plot, often pushing it from suspense towards
action. A good reveal will also create a new set of questions and
further suspense.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheReveal

later the site names some related tropes, including two with un- + N
names:

   If you're set up for this but it's then subverted by not revealing
it, it's The Unreveal. When made too obvious ahead of time, it's The
Untwist. If it comes out of nowhere and serves no purpose other than
to be a twist, it's a Shocking Swerve.

and goes back to Aristotle:

   Aristotle referred to it as anagnorisis (generally translated as
"discovery" or "recognition") in his Poetics ... He considered it one
of the hallmarks of a superior play.

arnold

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