Chapter 2: The Issue of Truth
Chapter 2: The Issue of Truth
“Creative nonfiction draws on the material of autobiography, history, journalism, biography, travel writing, etc. and is reliably factual, anchored in real experience, whether the author has lived it or observed and recorded it. Writers sometimes alter the accuracy of events in order to achieve the accuracy of interpretation. The greatest challenge of the memoir is knowing how much we remember is reliable and accepting the likelihood that we are “inventing the truth.” (Root)
Unlike academic and journalistic writing, it's much harder to fact-check creative nonfiction. You simply have to take the author's word that what they are saying is true.
In creative nonfiction, it's important to handle the portrayal of people, especially family members, with sensitivity and respect, even if the personal experiences and relationships are from our view.
Each person has their own life and stories, which may not align with the narratives we wish to tell, so it's important to respect their privacy and autonomy by not disclosing personal details and information without their consent. Sharing personal stories that involve other people without their permission can raise ethical concerns. Misrepresenting or defaming family members in creative nonfiction can lead to legal repercussions, such as libel or defamation lawsuits. Even if the intent is not malicious, inaccurately portraying someone in writing can have serious consequences.
Gilmore Girls was a popular American comedy-drama TV series from 2000 to 2007 and Netflix added a miniseries in 2016, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life . The show follows the life of a single mother, Lorelai Gilmore, and her daughter, Rory. They both have big ambitions with Lorelai wanting to own an inn and Rory wanting to pursue a journalism career and go to Harvard.
In the follow-up miniseries, we see where Lorelai and Rory left off 10 years later. Rory became a freelance journalist and decided to write a memoir about her life with Lorelai. The scene below includes clips from the miniseries with Rory introducing the idea to Lorelai, then continues to show how the plot progresses and Lorelai's reaction to being in Rory's memoir.
(Source: Gilmore Girls, YouTube)
Film Discussion:
1) Think about your own close friends and family members, how do you think they would react if you approached them with the idea of publishing a memoir that could include information about them? What reactions stand out to you?
2) Do you think Lorelai's reaction to Rory's new goals is fair? Why or why not?
Another fantastic work of creative nonfiction is the graphic novel/memoir Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel (2012). This memoir is published after their earlier work Fun Home was published in 2006 which is about Bechdel's relationship with her father and addresses her father's untimely death and suicide while also exploring her own coming-of-age as a lesbian. Both memoirs dive into themes of family dynamics, sexual identity, and the complexities of parental relationships.
(Source: Institute for Women's Leadership, YouTube)
In this interview, Allison Bechdel responds to the question, "What motivates me?" The media elements in this interview include added clips from Alison's childhood or references to things she's explaining (e.g. Leave it to Beaver video clip while she's explaining her childhood).
This interview also uses clips of Allison's interview while using voice-over narration of Allison's interview as video clips and images are used to add additional emphasis to what she's addressing, including examples of her artwork.
Read the first chapter of Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Allison Bechdel. Most public libraries have a copy of this text or you can check out a sample of this text (from Amazon).
Things to notice:
1) Notice how the first chapter is set as Allison is preparing for a conversation she's about to have with her mother, while in the car. Allison skillfully gives small details of her story through these images. For example, unless you are already familiar with Fun Home you may not know that the reference to the semi following behind her in this scene is a Sunbeam Bread truck. This is ironic since her father's suicide described in Fun Home involved getting hit by a Sunbeam Bread truck. It's interesting how this small detail feeds into the conversation Allison is practicing to have with her mom.
2) Review how the action is illustrated in this chapter. There's a lot of action built up, with Allison driving during a high-traffic area, only to transition to when her mother is finally in the car with her. The tension from the traffic is still built up, but Allison's mother's reaction is calm - "I can't help you. You're on your own."