Fiction and non-fiction supposedly operate in two different realms. Non-fiction is for for education, and fiction for entertainment. But who put that line there in the first place, and who says we always need it now?
Greeks reading The Odyssey knew it wasn't factually true, but also knew it had important truths. Truths that were much greater than, say, a non-fiction piece on how to plant tomatoes. By the time of the Enlightenment science though, things had to be one or the other--facts don't lie, and the truth is what matters.
But that was then. By now we know that on one level (and maybe more than one), fiction and non-fiction do the same thing. They both evoke emotions from viewers, emotions from deep within, formed hours, days, years or maybe even eons ago. Both need that emotion to cause any action.
It can be as simple as shoes, or as serious as children suffering from malaria (or as nefarious as propaganda). I'm not judging the subject matter here, just looking at the mental process.
Say Nike has a new shoe out. It's lighter, more comfortable, more durable, and is now on sale--with free shipping. A well-lit product shot proves it looks good, too. All of these are facts, and they all sound pretty good. Maybe you'll think about getting a pair.
But Nike also has a new ad campaign out for the shoes. A fit, tan woman with mud on her face leaps over a rock as the sun sets deep along a trail overlooking the city below. That's fiction, but it could become fact if you buy those shoes, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. It wouldn't if you don't trail run and have no intention of ever doing so. But it might if you're heading out for a run after work after thinking about a run all day. The facts alone provide the "what," but emotions provide the "why."
Or take the Maleria example. A multi-tabbed spreadsheet complete with pivot tables will provide more than enough facts to understand the global problem. But will it provide enough emotion to propell you into taking action?
No. But a photograph might. And the easy example is one of a child in a dim, shabby, dusty hospital bed. But a picture of a clean, healthy newborn sleeping on its mother's shoulder might do the same thing. Even if it's a posed commercial shot. Over on the spreadsheet, the newborn photo has nothing to do with Maleria in Africa. But in your mind, it might everything to do with it.
Those are extreme examples, and lots of subtlety lies in-between. Just don't make the mistake of thinking it's one or the other.
Greeks reading The Odyssey knew it wasn't factually true, but also knew it had important truths. Truths that were much greater than, say, a non-fiction piece on how to plant tomatoes. By the time of the Enlightenment science though, things had to be one or the other--facts don't lie, and the truth is what matters.
But that was then. By now we know that on one level (and maybe more than one), fiction and non-fiction do the same thing. They both evoke emotions from viewers, emotions from deep within, formed hours, days, years or maybe even eons ago. Both need that emotion to cause any action.
It can be as simple as shoes, or as serious as children suffering from malaria (or as nefarious as propaganda). I'm not judging the subject matter here, just looking at the mental process.
Say Nike has a new shoe out. It's lighter, more comfortable, more durable, and is now on sale--with free shipping. A well-lit product shot proves it looks good, too. All of these are facts, and they all sound pretty good. Maybe you'll think about getting a pair.
But Nike also has a new ad campaign out for the shoes. A fit, tan woman with mud on her face leaps over a rock as the sun sets deep along a trail overlooking the city below. That's fiction, but it could become fact if you buy those shoes, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. It wouldn't if you don't trail run and have no intention of ever doing so. But it might if you're heading out for a run after work after thinking about a run all day. The facts alone provide the "what," but emotions provide the "why."
Or take the Maleria example. A multi-tabbed spreadsheet complete with pivot tables will provide more than enough facts to understand the global problem. But will it provide enough emotion to propell you into taking action?
No. But a photograph might. And the easy example is one of a child in a dim, shabby, dusty hospital bed. But a picture of a clean, healthy newborn sleeping on its mother's shoulder might do the same thing. Even if it's a posed commercial shot. Over on the spreadsheet, the newborn photo has nothing to do with Maleria in Africa. But in your mind, it might everything to do with it.
Those are extreme examples, and lots of subtlety lies in-between. Just don't make the mistake of thinking it's one or the other.
