‘Movies That Exist Merely to Tell Entertaining Lies’?: Biography on Film

Freeman, Thomas S.; Smith, David L.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89408-9_1

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…They gave limitation that a biographical film "may include some fictional characters and some fictional events, but it should make an overall effort to adhere to the known facts and to present its subjects and their careers with some accuracy". It should also depict how its central character or characters influenced, and responded to, the times and circumstances in which they lived (Freeman & Smith, 2019). Based on the definition, the study of two biopic films, entitled Sang Pencerah (2010) and Sang Kiai (2013) focuses on their central characters, KH.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biopic production tends to be more challenging in terms of 'fact and fabrication' composition. Freeman and Smith explained further that the truth claim of biopics asks the filmmakers to respect historical accuracy that will fulfill the desire of the audience for the facts and ideas presented in the biopics (Freeman, 2019). However, it will be a mistake to understand biopics to be mere biographies in the form of audio-visual artifacts.…”

Section: The Biopics In Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Problematizing Contemporary Islamic Discourse: A Conceptual Modeling of New Heroes in Indonesian Islamic Biographical Films

Nurmansyah¹

2023

Buletin Al-Turas

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PurposeThis study problematizes the interconnectedness between religion and media once again within the context of Indonesian biopics. This paper looks at the pattern of transformation of two Islamic elite-authoritative figures into Islamic-popular heroes that are thematically intertwined with Islamic discourse in Indonesia’s reform era. MethodThe research in this article combines several theoretical concepts by examining the relationship between text and context. The social semiotic paradigm of Kress becomes the main theory for disecting the text, while the concept of cultural commodities from Fiske and discourse formation from Foucault become the frame of reference for viewing the relationship between text and context. Results/findingsThe binary modes in those two biopics are not identical, according to this article, but both have transformed the stable concept of historical figures into more complex ones that generate polysemic ideas from an ideological standpoint. This article also explains how the process of meaning formation in the film's two Islamic figures are affected by three entities forming a three-party dialectic model. ConclusionIn the case of two biopics, Sang Pencerah (2010) and Sang Kiai (2013), this article confirms a dynamic model of conceptual design that connects texts and context. It demonstrates the existence of some variables that contribute to the polarization of contemporary Islam discourses in Indonesia.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Biopics In Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematizing Contemporary Islamic Discourse: A Conceptual Modeling of New Heroes in Indonesian Islamic Biographical Films

Nurmansyah¹

2023

Buletin Al-Turas

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“…It exposes a subject's life wholly or partly that is framed within the documentary voice. It usually features a person's life being significant in a particular or reputable field (Freeman & Smith, 2019;Nichols, 2017). This neither concerns the humble origin nor the distinguished one of the subjects being filmed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between the Documentary Voices and the Storytelling Methods of Four Indonesian Biographical Documentaries

Adhyanggono

2022

celt

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This article examines the correlation between the voices of documentary films and the storytelling methods of four Indonesian biographical documentaries as the objects of analysis. They are Mendengar Si Bisu Bernyanyi: Biografi Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Srikaton, 1995), Ki Hadjar Dewantara: Mata Air Kebangsaan (Anshoriy, 2017), Bapak Komik Indonesia: Biografi R.A. Kosasih (Ahdan, 2019), Melawan Lupa: Polisi Jujur itu Bernama Hoegeng (Taharani, 2020). The documentary voice suggests the perspective, argument, or position of the filmmakers expressed in their works. As to the scope of storytelling includes elements of documentary narrative style, modes and power of documentary storytelling, modes of documentary presentation, and montage editing. With these two aspects – the voices and the storytelling methods – the audience has better access to gain insights from the documentaries. The analysis is carried out by making use of the filmic close reading and note-taking method through cinematic observation and interpretation. The finding suggests that the voices of the films are ideationally and aesthetically articulated through their storytelling methods. The documentary voices and their storytelling methods play a crucial part in helping the films build their credibility in line with the evidence employed.

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“…(1943. Of the 3 On historicity (Carnes 1995;de Groot 2008;Freeman and Smith 2019;Hughes-Warrington 2006;Robison 2016a;Rosenstone 2018;Stubbs 2013); for a succinct statement of the postmodern view, see (Munslow 2007). 4 On Goebbels (Longerich 2015;Thacker 2009); on his involvement with film (Moeller 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

Lancastrians, Tudors, and World War II: British and German Historical Films as Propaganda, 1933–1945

Robison

2020

Arts

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In World War II the Allies and Axis deployed propaganda in myriad forms, among which cinema was especially important in arousing patriotism and boosting morale. Britain and Germany made propaganda films from Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 to the war’s end in 1945, most commonly documentaries, historical films, and after 1939, fictional films about the ongoing conflict. Curiously, the historical films included several about fifteenth and sixteenth century England. In The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), director Alexander Korda—an admirer of Winston Churchill and opponent of appeasement—emphasizes the need for a strong navy to defend Tudor England against the ‘German’ Charles V. The same theme appears with Philip II of Spain as an analog for Hitler in Arthur B. Wood’s Drake of England (1935), William Howard’s Fire Over England (1937), parts of which reappear in the propaganda film The Lion Has Wings (1939), and the pro-British American film The Sea Hawk (1940). Meanwhile, two German films little known to present-day English language viewers turned the tables with English villains. In Gustav Ucicky’s Das Mädchen Johanna (Joan of Arc, 1935), Joan is the female embodiment of Hitler and wages heroic warfare against the English. In Carl Froelich’s Das Herz der Königin (The Heart of a Queen, 1940), Elizabeth I is an analog for an imperialistic Churchill and Mary, Queen of Scots an avatar of German virtues. Finally, to boost British morale on D-Day at Churchill’s behest, Laurence Olivier directed a masterly film version of William Shakespeare’s Henry V (1944), edited to emphasize the king’s virtues and courage, as in the St. Crispin’s Day speech with its “We few, we proud, we band of brothers”. This essay examines the aesthetic appeal, the historical accuracy, and the presentist propaganda in such films.

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‘Movies That Exist Merely to Tell Entertaining Lies’?: Biography on Film

Cited by 4 publications

References 24 publications

Problematizing Contemporary Islamic Discourse: A Conceptual Modeling of New Heroes in Indonesian Islamic Biographical Films

Problematizing Contemporary Islamic Discourse: A Conceptual Modeling of New Heroes in Indonesian Islamic Biographical Films

Between the Documentary Voices and the Storytelling Methods of Four Indonesian Biographical Documentaries

Lancastrians, Tudors, and World War II: British and German Historical Films as Propaganda, 1933–1945

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