[Ads-l] disclaimer

[Barretts Mail]

The definition of a notice at the beginning or end of a film would include notices of settings like “Little Rock, 1970” (random example).

If it had been “not based on actual events,” we could understand it to be a disclaimer for legal reasons. Given how widespread such legal disclaimers are, this seems to just be a poor word selection, or else a reasonable word selection since it superficially resembles such disclaimers.

Perhaps related, however, is (postmodern?) notices in movies like “Serial Mom” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Mom <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Mom>) that fakely claim a basis in real events (http://tipsfromchip.blogspot.ca/2012/12/movie-serial-mom-1994.html <http://tipsfromchip.blogspot.ca/2012/12/movie-serial-mom-1994.html>), making it difficult to suss out the truth value of disclaimers.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA

> On 26 Jun 2017, at 06:59, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> 'A notice, as at the beginning or end of a motion picture.'
> 
> Marlow Stern, at_The Daily Beast_, Sept. 6, 2014:
> 
> "The film... bears the disclaimer 'based on actual events.'"
> 
> http://www.thedailybeast.com/ethan-hawkes-good-kill-a-searing-indictment-of-americas-drone-warfare-obsession
> 
> I suppose that could be interpreted as a disavowal of the (correct)
> assumption that the movie is mostly fiction, but it sounds more like an
> endorsement of its level of truth.


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