In the imaginative life of humans MASKS have always been powerful totemic symbols: Comedy, Tragedy, Vader, Boba Fett, Noh, Bauta, V, Stormtrooper, Batman, etc.
Masks both hide and resonate with energy at the same time.
They project symbolic power while hiding the individual personality underneath.
The names and faces of classic authors have also become masks, death-masks: Shakespeare, Hemingway, Kafka, Orwell, Beckett, etc.
They have ceased to be individuals and are represented by their work, what it represents. The ideas their work express are no longer attached to the individual but belong to the world.
What can new writers learn from this?
A very interesting phenomenon indeed. Also fascinating to see the role of masks in the practices and customs of ancient peoples.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, the human face is so interesting, especially when reduced to its core elements and frozen in a mask. It has been important for nearly all human cultures from ancient times to the present.