Essay on Source Memory

Submitted By mmaaddiiee837
Words: 720
Pages: 3

Although many people think all movies based on real experiences are true, not all of these movies are totally factual. According to “Why Movie ‘Facts’ Prevail” by Jeffrey M. Zacks, four of the films nominated for the 2015 Oscar’s Best Picture award have “been criticized for factual inaccuracy,” (Zacks). Multiple studies have shown that if someone watches a film, their beliefs may be change by the false facts portrayed in movies. It is not that people can’t rule out true from false, it is that it is hard for many people to remember where the information came from. People struggle to remember if the information came from the latest action movie or a research essay they read. This causes people to just decide that most facts they heard (whether in the movie or the essay) are true, as they just assume their source was reliable.
To continue, many people would enjoy reading this article. First, many film directors would want to read this. Directors would want to read this article because it may encourage them to make their films more factual. If people watch a more factual movie, then they will be able to obtain true information. Also, many psychologists would want to read this article because the article relates to the brain. The ability to remember the source of the information depends on the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that many psychologists are studying. Finally, any regular person may want to read this article. A regular person would want to read this because it may make them more aware of how information considered to be factual that is portrayed in movies may not always actually be true. The article may help regular people tune out the information from movies unless they know for sure that the information is completely factual.
In addition, the author wants the readers to learn that not everything people hear is true. Many films are categorized as ‘based on a true story’. This does not necessarily make them completely factual, hence the word ‘based’. It just means that an event that happened in real life helped to shape the plot of the film. For example, the film “Selma” is about “the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965,” (Zacks). The Voting Rights Act was a real event that happened in the United States, so the movie’s time period was accurate. However, the respect and friendship between Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lyndon B. Johnson was mischaracterized. Viewers of “Selma” may view the relationship between President Johnson and King as more aggressive than it actually was. Therefore the film would be leaving false information in the minds of the viewers. As Zacks wrote, “Doesn’t “Selma” ignore Lyndon B. Johnson’s dedication to black