05-11-2010, 05:27 PM
Hi,
I was just flipping through my TiVo Now Playing List to see what I'd captured overnight and to clear out the deadwood. The description on one of the Law & Order episodes didn't ring a bell, so I started it. The first thing I saw, as I have countless times before, was white letters on a back background saying, "The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event."
Bad enough that the statement is redundant, but have we, as a society, really gotten so brain dead that we can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction? I've watched quiz shows where Horatio Hornblower was given as a famous English admiral of the Napoleonic wars. On a Family Feud, in the category of 'Name a famous marine', both John Wayne and Gomer Pyle where among the right answers -- and IIRC Wayne was at the top.
Brown's The DaVinci Code and to a lesser extent his Angels & Demons have raised a storm of controversy in spite of being fiction. While they are a fun action adventure read (or watch, if you prefer the movie) the 'history' they are based on is actually mangled beyond belief. Not to mention they are poorly written -- but that's another rant.
I'm not sure why I'm posting this, other than to vent. Maybe I should start a blog. But, am I the only one who is bothered by the blurring of fact and fiction? Disturbed by people who think 'reality' shows are real? Upset that so many think professional wrestling isn't faked?
--Pete
Next time: all the things wrong with "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
I was just flipping through my TiVo Now Playing List to see what I'd captured overnight and to clear out the deadwood. The description on one of the Law & Order episodes didn't ring a bell, so I started it. The first thing I saw, as I have countless times before, was white letters on a back background saying, "The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event."
Bad enough that the statement is redundant, but have we, as a society, really gotten so brain dead that we can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction? I've watched quiz shows where Horatio Hornblower was given as a famous English admiral of the Napoleonic wars. On a Family Feud, in the category of 'Name a famous marine', both John Wayne and Gomer Pyle where among the right answers -- and IIRC Wayne was at the top.
Brown's The DaVinci Code and to a lesser extent his Angels & Demons have raised a storm of controversy in spite of being fiction. While they are a fun action adventure read (or watch, if you prefer the movie) the 'history' they are based on is actually mangled beyond belief. Not to mention they are poorly written -- but that's another rant.
I'm not sure why I'm posting this, other than to vent. Maybe I should start a blog. But, am I the only one who is bothered by the blurring of fact and fiction? Disturbed by people who think 'reality' shows are real? Upset that so many think professional wrestling isn't faked?
--Pete
Next time: all the things wrong with "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?