Very true. Life of Pi--which I just saw recently--used the rhetoric of the better story being the truthful one. When I brought up Jim Morrison and The Doors, I don't feel that the iconic legend of Jim Morrison portrayed by Oliver Stone's film is more truth about Jim Morrison or the Doors. I see it as portraying something altogether different. The documentary on the Doors narrated by Johnny Depp showed a more tragic and less Romantic notion of Jim Morrison and The Doors. It was a real downer in comparison.Fleetfootphil wrote:Yeah, I get that about Jim Morrison and the movie. There is a cliche that, paraphrased, says when confronted with a truth or a fiction about a topic, believe the one that makes the better story. I suspect that is how we get folklore and the like, even Biblical stories. Probably, way back, someone or something unusual occurred and in the retelling it became embellished to the point that it became almost axiomatic. The better story lasts longer and presumably contains more lessons.
Journalism is different from art, as are medical healing and a few other personal-career categories, like militarism. Sadly, in our present state of affairs, journalism has slipped in its ability to remain neutral and simply present information for consideration. The delivery apparatus of current journalism has coupled it with amusement and entertainment, but we all know that. I expect it will clean itself up before long.
I hope journalism will clean itself up.