Our culture is full of references to things we have come to accept as true or real. An amazing proportion of the next generation gets the majority of its news coverage from skewed and challenged sources like social media. There is a naivete evident periodically regarding the Internet; a great commercial years ago noted “They can’t put it on the Internet if it isn’t true (not true).
This came back to me recently when I ran across a news story from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) “I am Legend screenwriter dismisses anti-vax claims based on film’s plot.” The film from 2007 features Wil Smith living alone in New York. No, I mean “alone,” “alone” in New York City, following the onset of a great cataclysm that has turned a great many people into zombies. He lives in a fortified house, kept company only by his dog. It is a worthy film. Hint, for everyone’s comfort and reassurance, it is a fictional movie.
I know that, because the screenwriter responsible for adapting it has come forward to reassure everyone “I made that up. It’s. Not. Real.” Apparently, some of us struggle to discern fact from fiction. This revelation from Akiva Goldsman (the screenwriter) was apparently spurred by a New York Times story regarding a store owner struggling to convince employees to vaccinate. One was reluctant because of her perception that “a vaccine had caused the characters in the film” to “turn to zombies.” (apparently believing Hollywood can’t put it in a movie if it isn’t true?). Apparently, the references to “baseless” connections or conjectures about this movie have been bouncing around the great modern wasteland that is social media.
This led me to why people would be convinced that a movie plot is real or based on reality, rather than the wonderous extension of a vivid imagination. I think of movies like Inception (Warner Brothers, 2010), The Matrix (Warner Brothers, 1999), and Jurassic Park (Universal, 1993). Do people really believe this is real? Do they think Matt Damon actually grew potatoes on Mars, or that Nicholas Cage actually discovered the lost city of gold in South Dakota (of all places). Do they think that Harry Potter is actually battling Voldemort over in Britain? Is it safe for us to be out amongst people that think this is reality?
Possibly, our recent trend toward "reality television" may have caused some to more readily believe in fiction. But, some suggest that these "reality" shows may not be as real as they are portrayed. See What's Real about Reality Television. Others are more critical still, claiming that these programs actually mislead viewers. See Measuring the Digital and Media Literacy Competencies of Children and Teens. Perhaps the "reality" is an extension of the more established "based on a true story" perspective that has been in television and Hollywood for much longer?
It turns out that we may think we have a greater reaction to plots that are “based on a true story,” but science suggests this may be a fallacy. In 2014, a professor at Brandies International Business School led a study that concluded we are not more emotionally tied to the “true story” hook that we hear so often regarding some films or shows. The premise is that “consumers thought that watching a movie would be less thrilling if they knew it was completely fictional,” just like “winning a prize (is) less exciting if they had to wait weeks for it.” Our gratification, thus, is perhaps tied to our own predisposition about “psychologically distant events.”
The study debunked that, at least within its context. In surveying those who participated, the authors concluded that emotions and engagement remained similar regardless of their fictional nature or temporal distance (“a long time ago”). Thus, the stress on “based on a true story” is common not because that will make the story more impactful with the viewer or reader, but because people (us) tend to hear that and believe that it will make the story more impactful. We are more likely to consume based on this representation, despite the scientific possibility that our enjoyment, empathy, etc. may be as engaged with pure fiction.
This is not a new topic. The New York Times in 2010 published “How Real Does it Feel,” in which the author approaches the question not from the standpoint of what is, but what we might believe is. That is, whether it matters that a film “is” a documentary as opposed to our feeling that it is “like a documentary." The author makes multiple interesting points about our perceptions of, and acceptance of, what we see and hear. There are implications for us, and the coming generations, in the onset of “reality television,” and the generally malleable concept of “reality” that this brings to us. Some will remember a very low-budget film released a few years ago, “The Blair Witch Project,” which appealed to our “reality” drive as it was filmed without fancy equipment and special effects. It was intended to “feel” real, gritty, unpolished, and perhaps raw.
Thus, the answer to the question about vaccinations is perhaps simpler than we might think. No, the vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 are not going to turn you into a raving zombie, wandering the great desolation of New York City in hopes of drinking Wil Smith’s blood. No, avoiding the vaccines will not increase the likelihood of your “sole survivor” status (Wil is blessed to drive whoever’s car he wishes, at breakneck speeds through deserted streets, and thus enjoy society without all those pesky other people).
No, the movie is a work of fiction, despite our expectations that it might be more enjoyable if we perceive it as real or “based upon real.” No, the pandemic will not end with a fairy godmother waving a wand (Cinderella), a mystical evolution that inexplicably kills the virus while we sleep (War of the Worlds), or an amazingly lucky treatment connived by the star of the show who miraculously finds the right monkey in the last ten minutes (Outbreak).
The pandemic will end because we, as a species, will ultimately adapt to it. See How Does the Story End (July 2021), in which the science is discussed. It turns out we, as a species, have been here before, in the real world. We have adjusted or evolved as have various viruses and illnesses. That is a fact. In the meantime, if you want to help move us in that direction, get the vaccine. If you don’t want to get the vaccine, that is your business. But if your reasoning has anything to do with what you saw at the movies or read on social media, you might want to reconsider the source. Hollywood is fiction.
