The depiction of truth within films and documentaries is a grey area where the line between reality and fiction is blurred. Questioning the truthfulness of a film is rarely considered by viewers, but beyond the captivating cinematic techniques lays suspicion of how much reality is really being portrayed, and how far the truth can be stretched. Films such as Balibo, which portrays real life events, distorts the truth through the use of fiction. Whilst the film reveals truth in the way the story is told, what’s unknown is whether or not the audience is being positioned to adopt a perspective that is purely fact.
The portrayal of reality in film and television is used to draw audiences, as it enhances believability and encourages empathy from the viewer. Labelling a movie as ‘based on a true story’ or throwing real people into a fabricated situation increases the dramatic effect of a story. But there is uncertainty in whether filmmakers and television producers are focusing on educating their audience, or placing their focus purely on entertainment and box-office revenue. Television shows such as Catfish and Undercover Boss, for example, seek to uncover the truth of a situation and tell the story of real life people and outcomes, therefore fitting the ‘reality television’ category. However, whilst these programs strive to portray reality, the scripted and unnatural configuration of events generates ambiguity regarding the line between fact and fiction.
Photo credit: Jason Borneman.
Balibo is based on the story of five Australian journalists who died in Balibo in the early stages of Indonesia’s invasion on East Timor. Whilst the film depicts characters and historical events that are factually true, the majority of occurrences and dialogue are a work of fiction. The personal experience of the journalists and a large portion of the film’s content is unable to be fully known and therefore accurately recreated through the lens of a camera. In an interview, Connelly says, “Cinema can take the audience somewhere and show them a tragedy in a way that creates an empathy in them, which is more powerful than just presenting a series of facts.” Without the actors’ and filmmakers’ manipulation of the realities within the story, there would have been less of an impact on the audience. This shows that films often bend the truth in order to portray realistic emotions and be more engaging for the audience.
Whilst Balibo portrays true events in the fictional style of a movie, documentaries such as The Vice Guide to North Korea depict the opposite – real life journeys that are veiled by planned interactions. This documentary follows Shane Smith, who is provided an exclusive tour through dangerous North Korea, placing emphasis on not so much the danger but the oddity of the North Korean way of living. While the audience is only able to see pieces of restricted footage, he is similarly restricted, seeing only what is shown to him. These filters obscure the audience’s knowledge of the actual reality of life in North Korea and call into question the accuracy of the information being distributed. However, since the documentary contains real life encounters, it cannot necessarily be claimed that The Vice Guide to North Korea is patently false. Whilst the reality of the experience is being manipulated through film, it still captures the unscripted, authentic reactions of Smith and the people he encounters. This indicates that documentaries, like films, are often only able to reveal truth to a certain degree.
The media is constantly producing stories that are claimed to accurately reflect reality, despite the truth being stretched and manipulated to fit the form of entertainment. There are no boundaries for truth in a documentary, or for the term ‘based on a true story’, so the extent of reality being portrayed falls to the judgement of the filmmakers and producers and the extent to which the audience will tolerate being misinformed. In order to persuade the audience to accept the story’s perspective, they must implement entertainment within an educational truth, through the use of characters, plots, and the building of tension. But whilst these added elements can make the audience more empathetic, it can also cause the story to drift further from reality.
It is evident that the barrier between reality and fiction is unable to be consistently distinguished, as seen in Balibo and The Vice Guide to North Korea. Reality based films often depict truth in the storyline, with the inclusion of fictional details to enhance the emotions within the story, while documentaries may follow journeys of real people who are able to manipulate what the audience sees to fit their intent. Therefore, despite the factual correctness of realities revealed in the media, the absolute truth is ultimately unable to be conveyed without elements of fiction.
Velvet is an actress who has starred in many theatre performances and short films for the Griffith University Film School. She is deeply interested in the creative arts, and hopes to study literature at university.