The Illusion of Truth: Gutsy and Brilliant! (spoiler)

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: The Illusion of Truth: Gutsy and Brilliant! (spoiler)
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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s  1: Mar  9, 1997: Michael Cornall <mcornall at istar.ca>
*  2: Mar 10, 1997: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: Michael Cornall <mcornall at istar.ca>
Lines: 62

>>> Spoiler Alert - Plot elements revealed below <<<

I consider the Babylon 5 episode 'The Illusion of Truth' to be 
among the best things I have ever seen presented on television. 
It was intelligent, insightful, and original.

The episode is gutsy, partly because it violates so many rules of 
mainstream formula television, but mostly because it relies so 
heavily on the intelligence and experience of the viewer. First, 
the entire last half-hour is given over to a fictional newscast on 
one topic, broken only by the real ads which are integrated into 
the story. Conventional studio wisdom would forbid this on the 
grounds that the viewers will get bored. Far from being bored, 
my son and I were on the edges of our seats. As each segment 
unfolded, we kept wondering if the B5 producers would pull their 
punches. Thankfully, they did not. Second, B5 is an action drama, 
yet this episode contains no action in the conventional sense. 
Nevertheless, the drama is intense, with all of the action taking 
place in the minds of the viewers. This time, the battlefield is 
the field of ideas: the battle for truth. Lastly, the episode does 
not use any of the traditional methods for spoonfeeding the viewer. 
There are no interjections by the characters to remind us how to 
feel about what is happening. No one exclaims "but the're lying" or 
"how could they say that about us?". It is left totally up to the 
viewer to make the connections, to see through the lies (even about 
B5 facts not presented during the episode), to feel the outrage, 
and to recognize the similarities to the real world, that is, to 
understand the message. THIS is why I watch Babylon 5.

The episode is brilliant in the presentation of its message: the 
need for vigilance when listening to any media. It is true that 
the point has been made before, but this portrayal had some 
unique aspects, and the message needs to be repeated, constantly. 
The thing I considered new and unique in the episode was its use 
of real (in the story) video footage, shown out-of-context, to 
tell lies and present false impressions. This is the perfect 
answer to those pundits who claim that the new video age, and the 
CNN 'you-are-there' reporting techniques, will bring us closer to 
the truth. Sound-bites and video clips do not bring truth, and the 
viewer must still think for himself. While video has provided us 
with some tremendous insights (Rodney King, Tiananmen Square), it 
does not remove the need for background information and analysis. 
Are the rock-throwers we see on the screen an isolated incident, 
part of a general protest, or just some kids on a lark (with the 
rocks provided by news crews)? Were the Branch Davidians dangerous 
kooks, or were the ATF reckless cowboys? Is the new government 
health-care program a great leap forward, or is it an inefficient 
boondoggle raising taxes and stealing food from the poor? If you 
wonder whether the message bears repeating, just look around. In 
place of thoughtful analysis, you will see emotion and politically 
driven headlines. On any day, you can find two newspapers reporting 
the same story, one with the headline 'Taxes Cut', and the other 
'Jobs Lost', and no background analysis, yet people continue to 
accept this as unvarnished reporting of the facts. This B5 episode 
should be required viewing in University media and history classes.

Thank-you J. Michael Straczynski and the producers of Babylon 5 for 
bringing us this unique piece of dramatic art.

Michael Cornall
mcornall at istar.ca


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 15

"This B5 episode should be required viewing in University media and
history classes."

Funny thing is, I've since received several requests from instructors at
various colleges asking if they could use the show in their classroom to
illustrate the points raised.  Kinda nice....




 jms




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