Truth And Telling - What is the Truth?

Truth. A word used daily throughout the world, yet it's meaning is far from black and white. What is truth? The answer is not a simple one as there are many definitions of truth. What one perceives as "the truth" may not be to others and that which may be contrived as 'the truth" may have been created by a false truth to begin with. On this basis alone the argument is; how is a filmmaker ever to create a film delivering the complete truth, when there are so many variations of the truth? Here are a couple of differentiating theories I want to explore in more detail...

Correspondence/Observable/Scientific Truth:- "Truth is telling it like it is". This theory works on the principle that a statement/claim has to work with reality for it to be true, example: "It's raining outside", would be a true statement if it's raining in 'reality'. Statement = Fact. If we apply this to reality however, finding the truth works in some cases but is more difficult than it identifies itself to be.

Take social media for example. Social media and the internet has been a huge driving force behind providing the world with false information, so much so, that we almost take every bit of information we read, hear or see with a pinch of salt; fake articles, fraudulent emails, scams, placebos, propaganda, governments, news papers, tv, films, friends and family all lie to us in some way, shape or form daily. You only have to take a look at this graph taken from google to show you that the word truth is over-shadowed by lies.

Word use over time: Truth

Word use over time: Lies

(Images taken from google search)

Science seeks to find the truth almost religiously. It is a source we as a species, rely on to bring us the truth and answers to reality. However nearly all science believed to be true today is always proved to be wrong in the future, bringing me to the conclusion that truth can only belong in 'present' time.

If you plan on constructing a film you are already producing an untrue documentary, as truth can only ever belong in the present; the future is 'unpredictable' and the past 'adaptable'. Images captured in the present will only capture a variation of truth, not an absolute truth. The captured images for the film could be fabricated to represent truth, the footage is then constructed to tell a story created in someones mind to reveal a biased 'Pragmatic Truth' of reality.  

Pragmatic/Subjective Truth:- "Our ideas are 'true' when they work to solve problems". This theory is one that resinates within you personally, generated from your own beliefs and experiences of the world around you. An example of this would be to look at William James' outlook on religion; believing that even with no real proof that God exists, if you find that believing in God helps your life/existence to become more fulfilling, then for you, the truth is there is a God.    

Unlike correspondence, the pragmatic theory believes that truth is changeable, rather than being concrete and absolute; that it can take a long time to discover if something is true or not based on if it does or doesn't work with the individual successfully. Applying this to documentary film, you will discover over time that some your own personal beliefs may change and that your own experiences play a major role in what you take to be truth in the film.

Bringing us to the final conclusion drawn from the 2 theories above; the word truth both does/doesn't exist in reality today. Having both correspondence and pragmatic truths only being able to exist in the present, means that no documentary film will ever be able to make an absolute truthful documentary film. However you as the filmmaker are able to create your own interpretation of the truth and it will be up to the individual viewer to choose what he wishes to believe and take away as the truth from the documentary film.  

So, can we ever film a fully unbiased film conforming to the ideology of 'Truth? I don't believe you can. But how would you create a documentary film to be able to bring the audience the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Please share your thoughts below by dropping a comment...

Chris Deakin