10/6 Post

10/6 Post: Is it ever appropriate for a director or author to distort the facts of someone's life in a biographical work?

Everyone sees things differently; therefore, interpretations can vary based on personal experiences. However, when it comes to a biographical work, it is never appropriate to distort the facts of a biography based on personal interpretation. Though, when it comes to film, Hollywood manages to blur reality and imaginary, producing works of art they may have been based on a true story; but after all the blockbuster formulas are added in, the end product is far from truthful. I don’t think its appropriate to stretch the truth for personal gain, as it detracts from the original story. Nowadays, people take what is visualized (either written or in film) as the truth. Therefore, if the story represented is a fictionalized account of the truth, the viewer may take what is represented before them as the an honest account and repeat those falsified facts to more people. The fictionalized account grows larger over time and soon enough we are left with an inability to tell fact from fiction because what was fiction is now fact. This right the author feels entitled to creative license is dangerous and further distorts our view and we are all left in the hazy world of Hollywood’s glamorized world of biopics. Personally, I believe the movie on Harvey Pekar did a good job at mixing Hollywood and historical because the movie interweaves the identity of the real Harvey Pekar with the one portrayed by the actor. Doing so validated this biopic as an account that was given consent by the person (in this case Harvey Pekar) and therefore more honest to Pekar’s actual biography. I understand the innate attraction to re-interpret someone’s biographical account based on our own personal experiences, but I don’t agree with diverging from the facts if it skews/detracts from the character of the person. It’s tough because an author/director wants to make something like a biography interesting, but they have to balance the fine line between Hollywood additives and reality. I think its appropriate and natural to slightly blend together these two ideas, but not if it changes the original story of someone’s life.