Philosophy of Film

Re: Deception

As far as manipulation is concerned, I'm much more offended by poorly executed music swells and slow motion.  Even if you're watching a documentary, there's always an element of the artist's stamp.  In Storytelling, there's a character who says "once you start writing, it all becomes fiction," which is certainly true to a degree.

 I was happy to see The Shape of Things brought up almost immediately.  Aside from being one of my favorite films, it brings up one of the key philosophical tenets with I grapple almost daily: all reality is subjective, and our reactions are informed less by what actually happens than by a combination of how we perceive it and how aware we are of the deception and/or our bias.  It isn't the act of deception which offends us so much as admitting that we were deceived.  Would it be simplistic to say that being offended by Fargo's rather daft conceit indicates a more deeply seated sense of gullibility?  Wouldn't that kind of reaction be better suited to something like a Michael Moore film, which shamelessly parades opinions (albeit ones which are largely supported by fact) as fact?

Re: Deception

BigJeffLebowski:

Would it be simplistic to say that being offended by Fargo's rather daft conceit indicates a more deeply seated sense of gullibility?  Wouldn't that kind of reaction be better suited to something like a Michael Moore film, which shamelessly parades opinions (albeit ones which are largely supported by fact) as fact?

I suppose so.

I guess I'm not surprised that people would be fooled by either.  But I can understand why people would be rather upset by the Michael Moore type situation rather than the Coen brothers.  What are the implications for our lives if Fargo isn't what they claim?  Not much I'd suspect.  What about something like Bowling for Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11?  Well the issues are about the government, and the movie itself is a claim that what it's saying is important.  It's argument really.

Fargo is a story.  It doesn't need to justify itself.  The others are claiming to be affecting arguments, calls to action.  If the premises are deceitful, there seems to be more reason to be upset.

But in some ways I would actually hope that people would be more likely to fall for Fargo's deceit than Michael Moore's for this very reason.  If something presents itself as an argument, I think you should be inquisitive from the start.  If it's just a story, whether based on actual events or not, it's still a staged narrative and you can take from it what you will.

Re: Deception

Risselada:

Fargo is a story.  It doesn't need to justify itself.  The others are claiming to be affecting arguments, calls to action.  If the premises are deceitful, there seems to be more reason to be upset.

But in some ways I would actually hope that people would be more likely to fall for Fargo's deceit than Michael Moore's for this very reason.  If something presents itself as an argument, I think you should be inquisitive from the start.  If it's just a story, whether based on actual events or not, it's still a staged narrative and you can take from it what you will.

I agree.  It's troubling to see Moore films paraded as fact when they are really characatures of events or issues.  The general public is told "go see this movie to learn the truth".  Or the opening pages of Dan Brown's "DaVinci Code" saying a large portion of the historical content was actual history.  First Brown said it was factual.  Then people started boycotting, so he made the rounds in Christian circles saying it was fiction.  Then it sold lots of copies and he went back to saying it was factual.  Bah... I digress...

Distortions in "mainline" fiction movies are fun, I think.  As long as the filmmakers don't cheat.  For example, the tricks in The Sixth Sense were effective and "honest" in context.  Bruce Willis was... (dare I even say SPOILER alert?)... dead, but no living person without the special gift ever made contact with him in that state.  I'm racking my brain for the title, but I saw a movie that flat out LIED in its context and I'm not down with that.  When my brain fart passes, I'll jump back on and post the title.

Re: Deception

JScott:

On the note of the Coen's it's not like O Brother is really about Homer's Oddessy.  They love to say one thing and do something completely different.