Catalogue

Films:

Item 1: Titanic

Titanic is a fictional recount of the true events of the Titanic. Director James Cameron has mixed fact with fiction throughout the entirety of the film as fictional characters live the true events of the disaster. This film is very relevant in helping me to explore fact in film due to the nature of blurring the line of fact and fiction for a cinematic effect. As a result this film shows signs of portraying the American dream and being exposed to 'cinematic license'. I think this film will be useful in helping me to assess the effects of fact in fiction and why fiction is considered a more effective way of portraying true events.

Item 2: Apollo 13

This film is a documentation of the 'successful failure' by NASA concerning the disaster of Apollo 13. In the film fact is bought to life through the big screen and therefore 'artistic licence'. However, this film uses the real people in the event and tries to be as authentic as possible to the true disaster. As a result this film is relevant to my study as it is way to promote an organisation: NASA and this therefore leads me to assess the truth shown in the film. With a clear goal to show the American dream I feel this film is highly relevant to my chosen topic due to the fact I have access to accurate true fact I can compare with the film and therefore I am able to understand where fiction has been used for the audience and why.

Item 3: The Social Network

With technology slowly becoming more and more important in the world David Fincher took it upon himself to show the world the story behind the creation of Facebook. This is relevant to my topic as it is a factual fiction film made for an audience to understand and enjoy. This therefore means that an element of fiction will have changed some of the fact and therefore 'artistic license' become a key player within the film. The reason I have chosen this film is because through the events of the film it is a clear representation of the American dream. With this in mind I have to consider where fact and fiction cross over and therefore I will be able to assess how far the film has been modified to create 'the perfect story' rather than the possibly boring or condemning true story.

Internet:

Item 4: NASA

NASA (2009) NASA https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo13.html #.WBnumM_tmko (Accessed: 2 November 2016)

I felt that using the NASA website was the most reliable source for finding the true fact behind the Apollo 13 disaster. This is because the organisation would have had a minute by minute recount of the events and they would also have extra information. This is relevant to my topic as it allows me to compare the facts in the film to facts or the real event and therefore asses what fact has been modified for the big screen and why I think that is.

Item 5: Business Insider

Carlson, N (2010) At last -- the full story of how Facebook was founded. http//www. businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3?IR=T (Accessed: 2 November 2016)

This website tells the full story of the founding of Facebook and therefore is an ideal source for me to compare the films fact with. This is relevant particularly as it highlights the controversy of the events. This is useful as it helps me to see where in the film characters (the real people) have been 'let off' instead of being portrayed as the bad guy. As well as this the controversy highlighted may show me that the film was more fictional in its portrayal of the American dream which is very relevant to my topic. I also feel it will help me to gain a fuller understanding of what the American dream is. As a result I feel that this website is useful in helping me assess the ways in which each of my chosen films has decided to portray the American dream. I hope that this will therefore lead onto further development in my research as it may reveal reasons for manipulation in fact by the directors of the films.

Item 6: The American Dream Is Killing Us

Manson, N (2016) The American dream is killing us. https//markmanson.net/American-dream (Accessed 2 November 2016)

I feel that this website is very relevant to my topic as it helps me to gain a fuller understanding of what the American dream is. As a result I feel that this website is useful in helping me assess the ways in which each of my chosen films has decided to portray the American dream. I hope this will lead onto further development in my research as it may reveal reasons for manipulation in fact by the directors of the films.

Item 7: Universe Today

Howell, E (2015) Universe Today. http://www.universetoday.com/101531/ken-mattingly-explains-how-the-apollo-13-movie-differed-from-real-life/# (Accessed 2 November 2016)

This website is very useful as I feel it is reliable. The source offers quotes from the real people who were involved in Apollo 13 and therefore I am able to compare these to the facts given in the film. As well as this the source is relevant to my topic as it highlights a specific scene in the film that is not accurate and therefore I can assess why this is and develop my research of the films fact further to hopefully reveal more scenes like this.

Item 8: Chasing the Frog

ChasingtheFrog (2016) Titanic movie vs. Titanic history - pictures, survivors, facts. http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/titanic.php (Accessed 2 November)

This website is not only relevant to my topic but it is also interesting. This is because it highlights the key characters in Titanic which were real people from the event. This therefore gives me evidence that James Cameron mixed fact with fiction in the film. The reason this is relevant is because it helps me to understand that the film does have some elements of fact in it however the film also includes fiction for the cinematic audience.

Item 9: Chasing the Frog

Chasing the frog (no date) http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/thesocialnetwork.php (Accessed: 2 November 2016).

This website is very useful for not just Titanic but also for The Social Network. I feel this is relevant to my topic as it will help me understand the differences between the people in the film and the real people and as a result I can identify what has been modified about the characters and why. The reason this is useful for The Social Network as well is because it helps me relate it as much as possible to the American dream due to the choice of portrayal of the American people in the film.

Item 10: Film Reference

Advameg (2016) The biographical film - historical films - actor, cinema, story. Available at: http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Historical-Films-THE-BIOGRAPHICAL-FILM.html (Accessed: 17 November 2016).

This website gives an overview of the beginning of biographical films. Therefore this is very useful to me as it allows for me to gain a better knowledge of the topic as a whole and therefore understand the development biographical film has made and understand fact in fiction films better.

 

Books:

Item 11: Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster

Kevin S. Sandler and Gaylyn Studlar, Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster. 1999

This book is relevant to my topic as it highlights the fact that the whole truth is not used in Titanic and that actually the film is not respected by all. This is useful as it shows me that the film although trying to appeal more to an audience through using fiction is as a result less respected as a representation of the events. Therefore this book is relevant to my topic because it highlights the problems faced by film maker when creating films about events and therefore I can develop my argument further using this evidence.

Item 12: Titanic

Lubin, D.M. (1999) ‘Titanic’. London: British Film Institute. Page 23

I feel that this is one of the most useful books for my topic as it highlights issues for all the films. Although basing the fact on Titanic it is also common in both Apollo 13 and The Social Network. The book highlights the fact that films have to accommodate for an audience and therefore fact cannot always be stuck to if it is not exciting enough. Due to this the source is very relevant and extremely helpful in allowing me to understand modifications made by the film director for the big screen.

Item 13: History of Britain and Ireland

Grant, R.G., Kay, A. and Kerrigan, M. (2011) History of Britain & Ireland: The definitive visual guide. New York: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley).

This book has historical documentations of the events that have occurred in Britain and Ireland since the Stone Age. As a result there is a historically accurate recount of the events of the Titanic. This is relevant as it allows me to compare the fact form the film and the fact form the real event. I feel this is useful as it will help me find out what has been modified for the big screen and the impact of this on the story.

14: America on Film

Benshoff, H.M. and Griffin, S. (2009) America on film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies, Second edition. MA: Wiley-Blackwell

This book will help me to focus on the American Dream part of my topic. This is useful because the book highlights issues concerning the American Dream as well as class which I relevant specifically in Titanic.

15: Cinema and History

Chopra-Gant, M. and Kornfeld, M. (2008) Cinema and history: The telling of stories. London: Wallflower Press.

This book will be very helpful when studying the idea of fact in fiction film as the book highlights why we put history in film and what these films are like. By reading this book it will give me a broader knowledge on my topic and therefore a better understanding over all.

 

Articles:

Item 16: Sight & Sound

Martin Walker, 1995, Sight & Sound. http://sightandsounddigitaledition.bfi.org.uk /launch.aspx?eid=2a55121e-583a-4324-a202-66029513f7cf (Accessed 6 October 2016)

This article is relevant to my topic as it explains ways in which the film makers tried to make Apollo 13 as authentic as possible. It also explains how NASA was a key part in the film as well as the actual event which relates to the American dream. This is useful as it helps me to understand the extent a film maker will go to keep authenticity but then question why they then go on to modify the truth.

tem 17: Sight & Sound

Henry K. Miller, 2010, Sight & Sound, http://sightandsounddigitaledition.bfi.org.uk/ launch.aspx?eid=82d37d2b-a614-4255-a12c-6cdd99617d76

This article gives a review of The Social Network. This is relevant to my topic as it helps to highlight the key events portrayed in the film and therefore simply helps me to get a fuller understanding of the plot. This is useful as the story of the film is very confusing due to its facts and true nature of the events. This is relevant because it makes me realised that much of the story may have been enhanced to be more confusing and therefore more entertaining.

 

Videos:

Item 18: YouTube

Brain Linehan’s City Lights (2015) James Cameron Interview 1997 titanic Brian Linehan’s city lights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkdGEdHUec (Accessed 29 September)

This is an interview with James Cameron explaining his process of making Titanic. This is very relevant because he explains why he included a fictional love story but he also goes on to say that he wants to keep the fact. This is useful because with this information it will be more interesting to find out what fact was a lie in the film and why he chose to manipulate the truth after revealing this.