"Based on a True Story"
For my final paper I focused on the differences between real stories and media representations. I argue that the relationship between the viewer and the filmmaker is one of trust in which the viewer trusts that they are being given a true story and the filmmaker trusts that the viewer understands that the film is based on a true story. Therefore in my understanding of films inspired by life, it is the viewer’s responsibility to take that phrase to heart and see that the filmmaker may have employed artistic license in order to create a more coherent film. Therefore, an interested audience member should invest time into researching the events that the film was based on if they are really want to help bring light to the cause. The filmmakers main goal is to see that the issues that the true story represents and the struggle that person underwent are acknowledged by the general public. However, they are creating an artistic film at the same time and artistic license cannot be taken away. So, it is in the viewer’s hands to embrace the subject they are presented and look into the true events that inspired the filmmaker. I based my arguments on Kimberly Pierce's Boys Don't Cry and Lourdes Portillo's Senorita Extraviada. I also made small connections to films not screen in class also based on true stories such as North Country by Niki Caro, Erin Brockovich by Steven Soderbergh, and Iron Jawed Angels by Katja von Garnier.
Works Cited
Enríquez, Alejandro. “Lourdes Portillo’s Senorita Extraviada: The Poetics and Politics of
Femicide.” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 123-136.
Walker, Janet and Diane Waldman. “Introduction.” Feminism and Documentary.
University of Minnesota, 1999.
Willox, Annabelle. “Branding Teena: (Mis)Representations in the Media.” Sexualities.
2003. 407-425.