True Fiction

A friend of mine went out on a date with a rather odd young woman some years ago. At some point in the evening, they were in a bookstore having a discussion about this novel or that. It became increasingly apparent to my friend that his date wasn't quite clear about what a novel was. Finally, she gestured toward the fiction section and said incredulously, "You're telling me that nothing in these books is true?"

In one of those pre-Borat sort of moments, my friend never did figure out if his date was putting him on or not.

But movies and other mass media are sometimes a little like this situation where where it is difficult to figure out what's real and what isn't. An article in the Calendar Section of the Los Angeles Times discussed reaction to the current Hillary Swank film "Freedom Writers" in Long Beach, where the film was set. Quite a few locals believe that the community and one of its public high schools are portrayed unfairly and inaccurately.

So how accurate does a film based on a real situation have to be? Perhaps that is a question best left to lawyers. We weighed in on the related ethical question: How accurate should such a film be?

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #3