In the wake of its release, Hugh Jackman's "The Greatest Showman" has received a handful of negative reviews due to its inaccurate portrayal of P.T. Barnum. Several negative reviews argue that the film leaves out P.T. Barnum’s true nature and behavior, such as his exploitation of his circus “freaks” and the fact that he and/or his circus abused the animals in the show. Moviegoers have given the film poor reviews simply because they dislike P.T. Barnum and the fact that the film did not portray him as the person he apparently was—not because they dislike the movie.
This then begs the question: How much should we care about accuracy in films? Should we take the film for what it is, a movie intent on promoting whimsy, family fun, great music, amazing dance sequences, and general themes of inclusion and self-love? Or should we care that the film did not show the true, nitty-gritty details of a man who was not as “great” as the film cracks him up to be?
The writer does not have to focus on "The Greatest Showman," of course. S/he can focus on any films that do not accurately portray the person that they are portraying. In doing so, assess the importance of accuracy, its effect on us and our opinions, and perhaps how the alternative truth(s) might affect us and our opinions. What do we gain and what do we lose by receiving an inaccurate portrayal of a person that our culture idolizes and celebrates?
It is apparent that the general public is either not willing to accept, or just simply does not consider, that an adaptation of a narrative or story from one art form to another, will never be a carbon-copy of the original, and will have its own distinctions based on the two art forms. However, more subjectively, there should be an onus on movie studios, or whatever business is adapting an original work, to emphasize that their interpretation of the narrative is different from the original, either through their own artistic vision, or lack of depth of the medium (e.g. novels as movies). An example of this would be how King Arthur (2004) blatantly acknowledged that its story diverged from the traditional Arthurian legend into a Roman empire-inspired piece. Regarding the review of such adapted movies, there will of course be parallels drawn to the source material, especially if the adaptation is marketed as having drawn inspiration from such. However, it is also important to critique films for their own characteristics, such as cinematography and acting, as they can have a significant impact on how the narrative is told. An example of these two lenses would be how Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight was critiqued in accordance to its source material, DC's A Killing Joke. – Gliese436B7 years ago
What I see as central to this topic is the ethical responsibility of art. If we say artists (in this case, filmmakers) have an ethical responsibility, then they should care about accuracy and not sugar coating someone's character for the sake of a warm and fuzzy resolution or better entertainment. However, if creative license is truly creative license, then we cannot critique artists for bending reality. This could even go into the idea of whitewashing--"should we care," or I think, more analytically, do filmmakers have an ethical responsibility to hire actors that accurately represent the ethnicity of the characters portrayed (whether fictional or not)? So when we talk about "accuracy" this is a large term, especially in the context presented here, because it isn't just about making a few small changes (like in a Harry Potter type film), but really about the ethical responsibility to the accuracy of a story and whether or not that choice is erasing difference that is not often represented on screen. – shoberry7 years ago
I'd say those high standards would be warranted for a documentary claiming to be non-fiction, but not a movie telling a story with the purpose of celebrating the good things a person did, or at least the interesting things. The Social Network, Hamilton, and Saving Mr. Banks all may have stretched the truth, but they certainly made the points they were trying to make.
On that note, The Social Network was partially about pulling down a celebrated icon. Is this topic applicable to the inverse concept? – noahspud7 years ago
How is Eminem's star image and musical identity translated, conveyed, continued and affirmed in the semi-biographic film 8 Mile. How is his position as a white rapper in a black musical form negotiated to give him authenticity and credibility more generally?
Night of the Living Dead sparked a whole range of films that are trying to be 'so good that they are bad'. It would make a really interesting article to have a detailed backstory of how the film, and more importantly the culture behind the film, came to be.
It is one of the most haunted movies of all time. I watch both of the parts of this movie and likes the second one. – sarahharvey7 years ago
An explanation of the way time travel works in Donnie Darko, why Donnie was the chosen time traveller, the role of Frank the bunny, and whether or not the events that took place were as a result of time travel or took place within an alternate universe/reality.
For all the DD fans who just can't quite wrap their head around all the theories.
The works of M.C. Escher, especially his fascination with closed loops, would be an important reference – JLaurenceCohen8 years ago
Hey llsebben, love Donnie Darko, great topic idea -- I think filmmaker Richard Kelly was unable to answer the same question in an interview somewhere, might be interesting to get his take on this (if he has one). – cbharris8 years ago
An excellent idea for a topic! I was going to suggest taking a look at the 'Casual Loop' phenomenon, but this has effectively been suggested already by JLaurenceCohen's comment. It might also be worth noting that the director's cut of DD includes more information about 'Grandma Death' (Roberta Sparrow) and her book. I was disappointed with the follow-on film 'S.Darko' though as it just seemed to cover old ground and failed to introduce anything new to the concept. – Amyus7 years ago
Donnie Drako opens up more questions than answers with regards to time travel. We can discuss on this for years and still have no conclusion. Much like Shining being discussed for this long. – theidealstranger7 years ago
Here is a work that may be helpful: http://www.queensu.ca/religion/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rlgnwww/files/files/rels/grad/maessaytitles/mastersessaycoxtwardowski.pdf – oddiem7 years ago
An examination of how color, light, and dark have been used in Tim Burton's films to reflect the view points of his characters and the observance of the mundane vs the outrageous. Specifically looking at how Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children differs from many of of Tim Burton's other films by providing more "grey" spaces that are neither colorful "dream worlds" nor colorless "realities". It would also be interesting to include an analysis of the film Edward Scissorhands and how the "normal"/suburban world is portrayed as the "dream world" through color reflecting Edwards viewpoint.
May I suggest adding Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the article? Not only is the film bursting with color, it's simultaneously similar and different in theme to the other two. You could do the same with Alice in Wonderland. – Stephanie M.7 years ago
This is so specific that I don't feel I can contribute a single thing. – T. Palomino2 years ago
I read another note entitled, 'The effects of Iconic roles on an Actor and his/her career' and I was excited that it might be a topic on something I've long contemplated on, but the description specified a different interest. So I decided to submit my own topic. I'm interested in hearing about the ways in which taking on certain roles have impacted an actor's personal life. By acting as someone else, do they find themselves becoming that character at times in their personal lives? Having had practiced traits that were perhaps new to them before their role, does it change them? Does it help or hinder them? Have they learned about new things because of a specific role, i.e. an actor acting as an astronaut – have they learned about space? This might perhaps be interesting to research into child actors as well. Since they're in a bubble surrounded by adults, is it daunting? Etc. Mainly though how specific roles have impacted their personal lives is my interest.
A new documentary on Netflix called "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond" could be a great source of inspiration for this kind of topic. It shows the drastic effect a character can have on an actor. – Slaidey7 years ago
Of course, every actor is different and has different experiences with their roles. Thus, it might be a bit difficult to narrow down this topic without choosing a few actors and actresses to focus on. Perhaps the article can connect these individuals by ways in which their acting is similar and/or different from the others in the article. I think it would also be beneficial to look into how different techniques of acting can affect the actor. – Kabria7 years ago
When mother! was released earlier this year, it created an inescapable schism between those who saw an ever-shifting always-engaging artistic study of human nature and creationism, and those who saw an over-bloated pretentious meaningless mess of a film with nothing to say. What can the praisers and detractors agree on?
There had been a few reviews on this at the time, but nothing in the months after its release. I applaud you in creating a new spin on this with a comparative format not persuasive. – AbbyMay7 years ago
Discuss common philosophical, social, and psychological themes in David Fincher's films (Alien 3, Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl).
