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Truth is never pure and rarely simple. Discuss with references to Frontline. Truth is never pure and rarely simple, however whoever holds the power holds the truth. Truth is a concept employing the conventionality to knowledge, fact, actuality, or logic. Since these elements of truth are constantly changing, so does the truth, as power allows the truth to be manipulated and influenced, hence truth is never pure and rarely simple. This belief of truth is evident in the Frontline episodes, “Smaller fish to fry” and “Add sex and stir”, the film “ The China Syndrome”, directed by Thomas Bridge, and the artwork Slaughter cabinet by Yasumasa Morimura. These texts employ the devices of satirical comedy, utilizing various language techniques like irony, sarcasm, and contrast, sardonic humor and visual devices in order to express the concept of “truth”. The Frontline episode ‘Smaller Fish To Fry’ encompasses the idea of the ‘big fish’ or major issues of the world, which current affairs programs do not pursue. The episode demonstrates the flaws of the characters brought about by issues of corruption, power and more significantly the manipulation and ‘infotainment’ of truth in order to satisfy the main interests of the station proprietors, “ratings, ratings, ratings!” The theme of corruption is illustrated by Brookes comment “You don’t get ahead by pissing people off”. The Frontline crew decides to screen a bank story, however hesitate and drop the story as they realize that Frontline itself has money tied up in the bank under scrutiny. The technique of appropriation has been utilized in order to allow the objectivity and authority of the satirist to reveal the truths, via the conventions behind the successful façade. Undoubtedly all that is important to the Frontline crew are the profit, fame and ‘ratings’ of the industry and not the public. The societal idea that first impression is all that’s important is highlighted via the image conscious attitude of the media. Brooke is the interviewer of the Frontline crew, a typical pompous journalist whom disregards the feelings of her interviewee and acknowledges the fact that she is superior to all. Brooke’s attempt to calculate calories in her food, and Brian placing the bank scandal on the ‘back burner’ due to its lack of vision, “ a pub brawl is better than a massacre of millions if you’ve got pictures” successfully questions and provokes the issue of reality versus appearance. A characteristic of all untruthful affairs programs, the determination to achieve commercial acclaim and importance is what drives the media to control our perceptions via manipulating the truth.
Approximate Word count = 1637
Approximate Pages = 6.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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