Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003)
Questions about the relationship between truth and fiction have a long history in philosophical thinking, going back at least as far as Plato. They re-emerge in more recent philosophical debates on cinema and are powerfully illustrated in Tim Burton’s 2003 film <i>Big Fish</i>, which nar...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/6/138 |
| _version_ | 1797457440733659136 |
|---|---|
| author | Sylvie Magerstädt |
| author_facet | Sylvie Magerstädt |
| author_sort | Sylvie Magerstädt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Questions about the relationship between truth and fiction have a long history in philosophical thinking, going back at least as far as Plato. They re-emerge in more recent philosophical debates on cinema and are powerfully illustrated in Tim Burton’s 2003 film <i>Big Fish</i>, which narrates the story of Edward and his son Will, who tries to uncover the truth behind his father’s tall tales. Will’s desire for honesty—for facts rather stories—has led to a considerable rift between them. While the film extols the beauty of storytelling and the power of myth, it also raises questions about the relationship between honesty and myth, fact and fiction. This article explores these themes from a multidisciplinary perspective by drawing on diverse sources, including Friedrich Nietzsche’s <i>Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben</i><i>/On Truth and Lies in an Nonmoral Sense</i> (1873), contemporary philosophical writings on fiction, the virtues of truthfulness, honesty and sincerity, as well as ideas on memoir and creative life writing drawn from literary studies. Overall, it argues for the positive, creative potential of storytelling and defends the idea that larger truths may often be found behind embellished facts and deceptive fictions. The final section expands this discussion to explore cinema’s power to create what Nietzsche called ‘honesty by myth’. Through the variety of background sources, the article also aims to demonstrate how ideas from multiple disciplinary contexts can be brought together to stimulate fruitful conversations on cinema, myth and the power of storytelling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:21:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f61e78b9925947eb9016bb316f6d002b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:21:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-f61e78b9925947eb9016bb316f6d002b2023-11-24T15:16:57ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872022-10-0111613810.3390/h11060138Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003)Sylvie Magerstädt0School of Arts and Sciences, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, NSW 2007, AustraliaQuestions about the relationship between truth and fiction have a long history in philosophical thinking, going back at least as far as Plato. They re-emerge in more recent philosophical debates on cinema and are powerfully illustrated in Tim Burton’s 2003 film <i>Big Fish</i>, which narrates the story of Edward and his son Will, who tries to uncover the truth behind his father’s tall tales. Will’s desire for honesty—for facts rather stories—has led to a considerable rift between them. While the film extols the beauty of storytelling and the power of myth, it also raises questions about the relationship between honesty and myth, fact and fiction. This article explores these themes from a multidisciplinary perspective by drawing on diverse sources, including Friedrich Nietzsche’s <i>Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben</i><i>/On Truth and Lies in an Nonmoral Sense</i> (1873), contemporary philosophical writings on fiction, the virtues of truthfulness, honesty and sincerity, as well as ideas on memoir and creative life writing drawn from literary studies. Overall, it argues for the positive, creative potential of storytelling and defends the idea that larger truths may often be found behind embellished facts and deceptive fictions. The final section expands this discussion to explore cinema’s power to create what Nietzsche called ‘honesty by myth’. Through the variety of background sources, the article also aims to demonstrate how ideas from multiple disciplinary contexts can be brought together to stimulate fruitful conversations on cinema, myth and the power of storytelling.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/6/138<i>Big Fish</i>Tim Burtonhonestymythmakingtruthfulnessstorytelling |
| spellingShingle | Sylvie Magerstädt Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) Humanities <i>Big Fish</i> Tim Burton honesty mythmaking truthfulness storytelling |
| title | Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) |
| title_full | Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) |
| title_fullStr | Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) |
| title_short | Tall Tales—Myth and Honesty in Tim Burton’s <i>Big</i> <i>Fish</i> (2003) |
| title_sort | tall tales myth and honesty in tim burton s i big i i fish i 2003 |
| topic | <i>Big Fish</i> Tim Burton honesty mythmaking truthfulness storytelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/6/138 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sylviemagerstadt talltalesmythandhonestyintimburtonsibigiifishi2003 |