Defining the Genre of "True Story"
If you decide to "Google" the phrase "What does 'Based on a True Story' mean?" you will come up with at least one article criticizing the genre, a Yahoo! Answers pages questioning the phrase, a professional Yahoo! article dealing with the same topic, a Reddit.com thread asking the same and a WikiAnswers yet again addressing the same question. Clearly, audiences are questioning what exactly that "Based on a True Story" tagline means.
Pooled together we can come up with four major genre definitions of a "True Story," and one simple truth to the whole genre.
They are (in order of accuracy of the "truth")...
Pooled together we can come up with four major genre definitions of a "True Story," and one simple truth to the whole genre.
They are (in order of accuracy of the "truth")...
- "Based On a True Story" -
In which the plot is parallel to the true events - "Based on Actual Events" -
In which the plot is embellished to the true events - "Inspired by a True Story" -
In which a story happened and has subsequently been modified significantly for drama - "Inspired by Actual Events" -
In which a story happened and now a brand new story, related in the remotest way, is created
The Simple Truth of It All:
"Based on a true story means some of it is true and some of it is not true."
See a thread? Plot. It is all based around plot, some true, some not true. Sounds simple enough right? Let's see how this applies in the film industry.