The Cisco Kid was a friend of mine. Some of you may remember that as a verse from a song by the musical group WAR in 1972. The song is about a character on a TV show. I repeat; the Cisco Kid was a friend of mine. Now I can say that as a declarative sentence because it is true. He actually was a friend of mine. You cannot say that as a statement as it would be false. However, you can sing it and that would be alright. Why is it alright to sing it but not to say it? The reason is the concept known as “artistic license”. This is a concept that allows an artist to change, alter or manipulate information for their own creative purposes. It is fine for fiction but it has been dramatically stretched over the years and has been dangerously applied, too often, to real people and events. A form of it has also been used for commercial purposes, particularly advertising, to the disadvantage of many.
Let’s explore the issue. Who was the boyfriend of Pocahontas? (hint- it’s not Donald Trump) If you referred to the 1995 animated movie, you would say John Smith. Your kids who watched the movie would have been exposed to an historical error. Not only was history impaired but the family of Pocahontas was very upset that their ancestor was being defamed. The Powhatan tribe heard about the production and sent a letter to Disney demanding that the film not be released. Disney, which bills itself as a promoter of families, ignored the tribe’s request and made a lot of money telling lies about a real historical figure. How would you feel about someone doing that to a member of your family.
Let’s examine another. Who was Braveheart? If you saw the Mel Gibson movie, you may have thought it was William Wallace. However, it refers to Robert the Bruce. Actually, to be more precise, it is really the heart of Robert. When he died, they cut out his heart and placed it in a special box which the Scots would carry into battle for inspiration. I believe I have a distant relationship with the Bruce clan and I can say I am upset with Gibson for the use of his “artistic license”, not just for the characterization of Robert but also for numerous historical inaccuracies in the movie.
There is another form of “artistic license” that involves omissions. In the movie, UNBROKEN, Angelina Jolie leaves out a critical piece of information in the life of Louie Zamperini. One of the most important events in his life as written by his biographer and told by Louie himself was his conversion to Christ at a service by the Rev. Billy Graham. This was the turning point in his life that allowed him to move forward from his past and without this experience, it is unlikely anyone would have ever heard of him. You would think in a movie this long, a tiny part of it could have included this very dramatic scene or at least a mention of it.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of “artistic license” is its use by the government and corporations. The evolution of the concept in public information is alarming. As a result, we live in a society that is becoming less informative and less accurate and more misleading.
Consider. The Honest Company, a very interesting name in this context, was started by the actress Jessica Alba. It sold consumer goods advertising all natural ingredients and also a list of chemicals it would never use. It was discovered by the WALL STREET JOURNAL, that part of a prohibited chemical was actually being used in products and there were several lawsuits claiming misleading advertising and deceptive claims centered around the use of synthetics. No serious penalties were levied against the company or Ms. Alba.
If you were using UBER in the early years, you would have been in a rather precarious situation. What if you got into the backseat and saw a posting notifying you that as a paying customer, the driver was violating the terms of his normal auto insurance and warning that you were a passenger at risk. How many customers would have used this service with that disclosure. It was an interesting use of “artistic license” for Uber to say they were not a taxi company as though there was a real difference between calling on the phone, calling from your smart phone or whistling from the street curb. There are many legitimate operators of cabs who were unjustly damaged. Had you invested in a legal cab medallion before Uber, you lost a lot of money.
Speaking of investments, you may have decided to use Merrill Lynch because of its long history. Actually, Charles Merrill, the founder, did not believe in paying his brokers by commission as he considered it a terrible conflict of interest. He also did not like mutual funds. After his death, the brokers were put on sales commissions and began selling a lot of mutual funds. That would seem to be a case of misleading branding. Certainly, all Wall Street has engaged in a lot of “artistic license” which lead to the financial crisis.
“Artistic license” can obviously be used to entertain and enlighten us but its use may also be destroying our history and in many ways it is damaging us now. There appears to be a lot of people pretending to be artists. We live in a society that allows the rich and powerful wide latitude in the accuracy of information and the withholding of the same. There is not much of an obligation to the truth. President Trump proves the point.
Be Careful !