Falsehoods in film: documentary vs fiction
Friend, Stacie (2021) Falsehoods in film: documentary vs fiction. Studies in Documentary Film 15 (1), ISSN 1750-3280.
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Abstract
I claim that we should reject a sharp distinction between fiction and non-fiction according to which documentary is a faithful representation of the facts, whilst fiction films merely invite us to imagine what is made up. Instead, we should think of fiction and non-fiction as genres: categories whose membership is determined by a combination of non-essential features and which influence appreciation in a variety of ways. An objection to this approach is that it renders the distinction too conventional and fragile, undermining our justification for criticising documentaries like Bowling for Columbine or The Hunting Ground for playing fast and loose with the facts. I argue that this objection is misguided, misidentifying the justification for criticising non-fiction films that mislead or deceive. I develop an alternative account that explains why we also criticise many fictions for inaccuracy.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis, available online at the link above. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | documentary, fiction and non-fiction, genre, assertion, belief, imagination |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Stacie Friend |
| Date Deposited: | 12 May 2021 09:31 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 18:09 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/44012 |
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