This was such an amazing piece! As much as I love 'Elvis,' I totally agree with you on how it strives for a particular narrative that is not the whole truth of who Elvis was. That's why I was grateful 'Priscilla' came out last year to offer a bit of a balance between the two (although, that film had similar problems you listed in your article). The messages biopics try to communicate with audiences never quite land right, and I hope more of them start to become aware of these issues because then maybe they will be taken a bit more seriously lol.
thank you so much!! i love 'priscilla' and totally agree with you; the reaction of lisa marie-presley before her death called the script “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous” is something i find really interesting in comparison to the way the whole presley family supported luhrman's biopic. i didn't mention the film in this post because i hope soon to dive into that film fully, similarly talking about the balance of truth and creative freedom, whilst also unpicking the controversy of why this film wasn't supported by the presley family. i am really curious about the future of biopics, especially with britney spear's getting one, and i at least hope producers try and stop believing that in order to create a film audiences want to watch we need a simplistic good vs bad, hero vs villain which strays away from truth ♡♡ ps i love your blog!
Thank you so much!! Yeah, 'Priscilla' is a lot to take in in terms of its historical context. I even read Priscilla's memoir after watching the film, and there are more shocking tidbits in there that weren't even shown in the film. I really hope they don't mess up the Britney movie. She has been through enough, and her story is too complex to be using these basic storytelling techniques. Biopics are just too much sometimes haha
This was such an amazing piece! As much as I love 'Elvis,' I totally agree with you on how it strives for a particular narrative that is not the whole truth of who Elvis was. That's why I was grateful 'Priscilla' came out last year to offer a bit of a balance between the two (although, that film had similar problems you listed in your article). The messages biopics try to communicate with audiences never quite land right, and I hope more of them start to become aware of these issues because then maybe they will be taken a bit more seriously lol.
thank you so much!! i love 'priscilla' and totally agree with you; the reaction of lisa marie-presley before her death called the script “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous” is something i find really interesting in comparison to the way the whole presley family supported luhrman's biopic. i didn't mention the film in this post because i hope soon to dive into that film fully, similarly talking about the balance of truth and creative freedom, whilst also unpicking the controversy of why this film wasn't supported by the presley family. i am really curious about the future of biopics, especially with britney spear's getting one, and i at least hope producers try and stop believing that in order to create a film audiences want to watch we need a simplistic good vs bad, hero vs villain which strays away from truth ♡♡ ps i love your blog!
Thank you so much!! Yeah, 'Priscilla' is a lot to take in in terms of its historical context. I even read Priscilla's memoir after watching the film, and there are more shocking tidbits in there that weren't even shown in the film. I really hope they don't mess up the Britney movie. She has been through enough, and her story is too complex to be using these basic storytelling techniques. Biopics are just too much sometimes haha