The Truth in Modern Films

 Are films today an apt reflection of humanity? … Although there are some films that are genuinely based on real-life events, some members of society are still unable to accept that these are ‘real’ for the simple reason that these films have abused the privilege of artistic license by deliberately playing up the controversial elements while downplaying the mundane.

Film-makers like Takashi Miike are inclined to believe that in spite of the controversy surrounding it, movie violence is just a mirror image of what’s wrong with modern society and that the exaggeration of violent acts in any movie scene, especially in his films, are reasonable, … as reasonable perhaps as the concept of the ‘Japanese defense of the Motherland against American aggression’ during the Second World War. After all, everyone knows there is no such thing as an absolute truth since truth is relative, based on an individual’s perspective. And, since it is fair to say that the American interpretation of events during World War Two is bound to be at variance with the Japanese interpretation of the same events, let’s not quibble too much on this issue – the truth element in modern films.

As far as I am concerned, whether real or fake, violence in action movies sells and profit-driven film-makers are bound to play to the gallery, even if at the expense of the truth.

 In many action movies, especially those with political overtones, the plot usually surrounds peace negotiations that fail and the inevitable onset of war, with the fate of millions at stake. I ask: are these films genuine in their depiction of modern realities; that peace treaties are always doomed to failure and that recourse to violence is the only solution? In our globalized world, declaring war is never easy and to do so without the approval of international agencies like the United Nations Security Council is really political suicide. Usually, conflicts of interest are handled and addressed through peaceful means before war is ever declared, quite unlike those screened in the movies. In ‘Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising’, the US and China had fought over control of an oil-rich island due to a fictional global recession. Off-screen, it is patently obvious that even against the backdrop of a global recession in 2009, China’s stout refusal to revalue the yuan, making American exports (the lifeblood of the American economy) less competitive has not even been deemed a reasonable cause célèbre to incite a whimper from the Obama Administration. Clearly, can we say that films are reliable depictions of modern realities?

Another issue worthy of note – when the truth is obscenely distorted and which I find offensive is the typecasting of various ethnic groups in typical Hollywood films. For instance, the Chinese are often stereotyped as members of triads skilled in martial arts or scientific geeks; Indians are perpetually banging on a computer keyboard, Japanese are asexual, hardworking management-types and Americans … well, aren’t they the guys who have to shoulder the burden of saving the world with their cool, monosyllabic names like Jake, Mike and Bob?

In demanding suspension of disbelief in order to enhance the mood and quality of a film, can I implore Hollywood to be less hasty in ignoring the element of truth … For all we know, the truth can sometimes be more fun and interesting than fiction … Just ask Nixon in Watergate, Clinton and Lewinsky or Tiger Woods …