Lying is wrong. We’re taught that from birth. But when it comes to television and movies, it becomes a somewhat ambiguous rule.
CSI does the technically impossible. 24 bends time. 90210 creates a world of the emaciated teen. And these shows we take with a grain of salt. But after years of “learning” about DNA tests on TV, we begin to question waiting weeks for the results in the real world.
It’s not that the writers lie to us. It’s more of a subtle re-shaping of our knowledge base that comes from thousands of hours of misrepresentation dressed up as fact just to make the story more interesting.
As adults who have witnessed the media explosion of the last two decades, most of us are aware of it. But what about the young minds who didn’t know the world before YouTube? The ones who have given up the news and history books in favour of the most recent “based on a true story” movie – the key word being “based.” Do they realize they are watching a fairy tale?
I loved Oscar-nominated The Blind Side. Unfortunately, Michael Oher’s arrival at the Tuohy home was not exactly as shown. And he did not have to be taught football by his adoptive southern white mama.
Despite being promoted as a brutally honest depiction of the Iraq war, The Hurt Locker has garnered criticism from veterans for its inaccuracy and the depiction of its hero, Sgt. William James. He’s a wild card bomb expert. And exactly the kind of character veterans fear could become an icon for people at home.
Do they really have to worry that those stateside don’t know it’s just a movie? Well, the Iraq war is real. Sgt. James’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team is real. So who’s to know where reality ends and the writer’s fantasy begins?
The film’s screenwriter, Mark Boal, recently told The Washington Post, “screenwriters need ample artistic license to build a compelling – and true – story.” So you need to lie in order to tell the truth?
Do you need to drown in order to swim too?
Boal has further stated that he never felt the need to be completely accurate. But his film isn’t another Bourne Identity fantasy flick. Shouldn’t the line between fact and fiction be clear?
Michael Oher’s story would have been just as powerful had the writer stuck to the truth. And war has enough action and tension to build a scene without faking it. Too many soldiers have sacrificed too much to dishonour their work by lying about it.
Hollywood needs to recognize that it is educating the public, either accurately or not. So if writers are aiming for the truth, they need to be closer to the bull’s-eye.