TIME.com: What? Sure, whether theater and journalism operate under different standards of truth is an interesting aesthetic debate. There’s certainly a history of personal monologists telling embellished stories of their own lives, with the understanding of their audience that they’re using poetic license. But whatever different license theater has, it’s pretty plain that it surrenders that license when it presents itself as journalism, discussing not personal matters but real-world events–the way thousands of actual people are treated and the way we get one of the most popular consumer products. This is not David Sedaris doctoring a quirky anecdote about his family. For Daisey to shrug this off as simply a poor choice of venue is willfully naive at best.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
This American Life’s Apple Retraction: The Danger of Truthiness
TIME.com: What? Sure, whether theater and journalism operate under different standards of truth is an interesting aesthetic debate. There’s certainly a history of personal monologists telling embellished stories of their own lives, with the understanding of their audience that they’re using poetic license. But whatever different license theater has, it’s pretty plain that it surrenders that license when it presents itself as journalism, discussing not personal matters but real-world events–the way thousands of actual people are treated and the way we get one of the most popular consumer products. This is not David Sedaris doctoring a quirky anecdote about his family. For Daisey to shrug this off as simply a poor choice of venue is willfully naive at best.
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The lines between journalism and entertainment have been blurring for some time; news casters need to be entertainers to get the most viewers, and many people get there news from biased or non-journalistic sources on the web.
This American Life should have checked Mr. Daisy's information before airing it and probably provided a counterpoint to be a balanced news source. On the other hand, it's an interview with an artist, and so the public should realize the potential inveracity of it.
I watched the film Game Change over the weekend, and ran into a similar issue as Mr. Daisy. The film, about Sarah Palin's vice presidential nomination, attempted to tell a through story using fictional dialogue. I think viewers should be responsible enough to get the point without taking this type of thing too literally.
I agree with Daniel-there is a very thin gray line between the rules of theatre and the rules of journalism. Theatre may stretch the truth for the sake of drama and entertainment, but it usually does so with the audience knowing that what they are seeing does not attempt to recreate the truth exactly. The same thing has been happening with the viral video "KONY 2012"- the filmmakers, founders of the charitable organization Invisible Children, are being hounded for oversimplifying the details of the ongoing conflict in Northern Uganda and the surrounding countries. Shows like The Daily Show and the Colbert Report do something similar in reverse-they broadcast real news but through the lens of theatre, specifically comedy and satire. The lines are blurry, which makes it all the more important to check one's sources and make sure to get multiple opinions on any given topic or issue. For artists, it means it's important to know that everyone will be scrutinizing what you say and how it holds up against what others are saying, showing the importance of making clear where truth is and where you want to be in relationship to it.
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