Rss
By Todd Ross
I don’t know about you but as soon as I saw a preview for The Fourth Kind I was hooked. I couldn’t wait for it to come out. All the previews stated that this is based on a true story with actual (REAL!!!) footage of unexplained phenomena taking place in Nome, Alaska during Oct. 2000. Milla Jovovich is the star, and in the beginning of the movie (like she did in previews) she clearly states how what you are about to see is both a dramatization accompanied by “actual archival footage” taken during a sleep disorder study performed by Dr. Abigail Tyler. She then declares that it’s disturbing but it’s up to the audience to make up there own mind.
I left this movie terrified. I was mesmerized by the visual evidence that was documented and put on display before me. When I was being told I was seeing “Actual Footage” I took that at the word of….well, Milla Jovovich, and the basic TRUST that if I am being told that I am watching something real, then it’s supposed to be real..right?? I mean, saying based on actual events or based on a true story…no big deal. That’s been done 100 times. But since when is it ok for a major movie studio, it’s marketing/promotions department, and a very popular actress to have, well, the balls to straight up lie to their audience like that, WITH NO DISCLAIMER!!! I have never seen this before. Not in my lifetime. I grew up in the era of McDonalds having to put on all coffee cups that “contents are hot” because a woman spilled coffee on herself and won millions of dollars in a law-suit.
This is rule-breaker and game changer. If any form of media can legally put out a product that’s identified as “documented archival footage” without a proper “this is for entertainment purposes” disclaimer, then where does that leave us? Is it now OK for some struggling actor (trying to get publicity) to release tapes of how they are dying of cancer? Showing their battles, their family, the hard times, chemo, fighting back and then remission. Is it OK for them to release a documentary showing how they battled and beat cancer with “actual footage” of their fight against this horrible disease? Even if its uplifting, and really gives viewers a better outlook on life, does that make it morally ok? Not to me. Not under bogus pretenses.
Remember on Oprah “A Million Little Pieces” writer James Frey came on her show telling about his life of drug addiction? And then a few weeks later it turned out to be a lie. Oprah completely ripped this guy up because he was putting his book out there as his “memoirs/ actual events”.
Just like everyone else I can suspend reality to be entertained. I don’t need (or want) to be lied to.
Don’t get me wrong. THIS IS GENIUS!!! Awesome way to market a movie and get people excited. You did your job to create hype for a movie and sell more tickets. Congratulations.
But it’s also a cheap shot. It directly betrays the fundamentals of public trust. Is it worth it? Although I was very entertained, I am offended that I was completely misled. I enjoyed the movie and the experience yielded for the next 18 hours, but it was under false pretenses. If you have to lie to me to get me to like your product, well then your product must not be that good. If your success depends on taking advantage of the general trust we have in society then you should redefine your strategy and meaning of success.
I leave it up to you to decide. Watch the trailer and make your own judgment. Is The Fourth Kind evidence of some moral wrong doing? Maybe its just a clever marketing ploy that fooled me and now I’m all pissed off.