Page 149 - Lunacy and the Age of Deception

Industrial Light and Magic

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With the invention of television and motion pictures, a powerful new tool was placed into the hands
of those who practice deception. The ability to convince men and women that fabricated events are
in fact reality rose to a new level. Grand illusions could be passed off as fact. From very rudimentary
beginnings, the ability of a skilled cameraman and director to create credible facsimiles of reality
advanced rapidly. Soon, it became difficult to discern what was fake and what was authentic.

All was fine as long as viewers were informed when they were watching a staged studio production.
If a person turns on the television to watch a sitcom (situational comedy), they are informed
beforehand that what they are viewing is fiction. It may appear very real, but the context announces
it to be merely a clever production. Aside from the fact that the television network advertises the
program as “entertainment,” the audio may include canned laughter and other elements which reveal
to the viewer that they are watching a work of fiction.

Many works of fiction include visual elements that appear very real. From meticulously crafted stage
sets, some the size of several city blocks, to recreations of scenes of war such as the opening
moments of the movie Saving Private Ryan, it is very difficult for the viewer to perceive the
falseness of what he is seeing.