The Truth

Whoever holds the power tries to own the truth

There is no universal truth. Truth is an interpretation of a particular circumstance and depending on which interpretation relates to or is influenced upon you, is what you believed to have happened in that circumstance and thus, the interpretation becomes your truth.

Variables such as your source of information, the context and the location of the information will greatly impact a persons perception of truth. For example the “truth” is that World War One began in 1914 , on that date Australia had joined the war, but to some countries who were in battle well before that date, the world war began much earlier.

There are many forms of which we obtain our information, our “truth”. The heaviest, most influential form is media.

The media, especially television, has the power to create truth.

There are many ways in which the “truth” is distorted, usually through bias or hidden agenda. For example when a friend comes back from a fishing trip, there will be the clichйd story of “the one that got away”, the fish that was hooked but became freed before it was reeled up to the inside of the boat. This fish, even tho in reality was no different to any other regular fish, will be exaggerated to be thought of as a giant, prize winning catch. The fisherman can distort his version of events to his audience because in the end, they only have his word for it and there is no possible way in which they could check up on his facts, so this exaggerated, hyped up manipulated version of events becomes a truth and this, as shown in the satirised comedy “Frontline”, is what the media does to achieve audience interest and as a result boost ratings, giving the network a higher salary.

As perceived in “Frontline” the media, in particular current affair programs, does not find it important to deliver an undistorted, clear version of events. Instead, in order to obtain ratings, the truth is manipulated into a form that is entertaining. The basic message of “Frontline” is that the purpose of current affair programs is to entertain and not to inform.

This purpose can be see through a wide range of Frontline episodes, including “Add sex and stir” and “The Siege””.

In the episode of “Add sex and stir, Brooke seeks after a all woman sporting team who have sacked one of their players on the reason of “bad form”. However “Frontline” playing on the stereotype that many sports women are lesbians, see a top rating story in distorting the truth to a one sided opinion that the player was cut because she was the only member of the team who was not a lesbian. The truth is manipulated further in an interview with the cut player, who when asked the question “how many members of the team had it in for you?” replied “um all of them”. Brooke, wanting to legitimise her claim further, “Changes her question slightly” after the player has left, to “how many members of the team were gay?” without changing the players response, it is perceived to be a truth that the player had confirmed stereotypes in stating that “all of them” (the sportswomen) were lesbians