March 22, 2006
Unknown White Male Suspicion
Not long ago I posted a story about an upcoming documentary called "Unknown White Male" that to me just looked fantastic. The basic idea is that it follows the story of a man who just woke up one day on a subway with totally ZERO memory. None. He could speak, and that was about it. Nothing about his life, culture, anything.
However, there are some rumblings going around that some people suspect the guy in the documentary is just faking the whole thing. That it's all just some big scam. Even MSNBC is running with a story about it that reads something like this:
If Bruce's story is a hoax, it is so finely constructed and executed that in some perverse way it deserves a round of applause. Think about it. In the span of days, he may well have devised a cost-free way to upgrade his life, from anonymous student to legendary curiosity.The thing that bothers me about these stories floating around is that none of them are based on fact... just suspicion. No one has any proof that the guy is faking it. As a matter of fact everyone who is close to this guy at all and knew him before he lost him memory is 100% standing behind him and saying this is all real. But the way the media outlets are reporting it, they make it sound like there is some sort of "smoking gun" suggesting he's a con artist. There isn't. There is nothing behind the doubt except doubt itself.According to friends, Bruce's life pre-amnesia was hardly miserable, but he was trolling for dates on the Internet and communing with a crowd far less glamorous than the one he wound up in.
Could this all be an elaborate hoax? Yes, it is within the realm of possibility, and there's nothing wrong with having that opinion. However, I just wish they would report it as just that... OPINION instead of making it look like fact and maybe ruining this guy's life when there is nothing proving he's done anything wrong. Just my two cents worth.
You can see the Unknown White Male trailer here.
Posted by John Campea at March 22, 2006 09:20 AM
Comments
Posted by: Brunk Bluntley at March 22, 2006 09:46 AM
Hey Brunk,
If you took the time to read the whole post, (whic evidently you didn't and were pretty selective with what you read), you'll notice that I have NO PROBLEM with anyone expressing Doubt or opinion. That's totally fair and I do it myslef here.
However... if you read what I wrote, the thing I protested was the way some media outlets were portraying their suspicions and doubt as FACT as if there was some hard evidence of a hoax.
The way a lot of the article out there are writen it makes it look like there is some serious evidence that the guy is faking. There isn't any evidence.
So yeah, write about suspicion... that's fair. Write about doubts. That's fair too. Just don't make it look like it's more than it is. That isn't fair.
Just my two cents worth.
Posted by: John Campea at March 22, 2006 09:53 AM
I'll be seeing this movie this week (probably tomorrow) and I'll post my thought then.
-Drewbacca
MoviePatron.com
Posted by: Drewbacca at March 22, 2006 11:46 AM
Well
I think John was making a point about the state of todays media, not so much about the content of the film, true or not.
Once upon a time, the news was on twice a day, evening and night, half hour to an hour each, maybe. It has become such a competitive industry, entire channels dedicated to news, that now news corps put the pressure on the producers, producers to editors and so on and so on. So much pressure to produce that they latch on to floated supositions, rumors, conjecture, it makes me sick when I see a news station pushing a story that the average Joe knows is most likely not true, hell they will even preface their stories by saying its most likely not true, and the devote a half hour to the subject.
I think more accountability in the news arena is what is needed, some serious legislation to make these hack producers think twice before forcing someone to run a story.
Will Ferrell dies in a hand glidding accident?, fuck sakes, check some facts, make a phone call, good lord!
nord
Posted by: Norddeth at March 22, 2006 04:30 PM
i was going to comment but i suddenly realized i cant remember anything.
what is this keyboard in front of me mean?
what planet is this?
where is xenu?
Posted by: bond, james bond at March 22, 2006 06:34 PM
Wow, that's quite a hysterical little blog you've written there. You're complaining that somebody wrote an article that expressed some skepticism about a documentary. Well whine, whine, whine, why don't you? You even say that such articles could "ruin the guy's life." How would an article that is skeptical ruin his life? It would only ruin his life if it turned out to be true. So I have no idea where you're coming from.
The story certainly deserves to be treated with some skepticism, because the situation is so rare. There are a lot of people on this planet who are creative liars and who can run with a lie for a long time, especially if it results in attention and fame. There are compulsive liars and pathological liars. Chances are this guy is telling the truth. Either way it is an interesting story.
Just don't feign concern over the guy's life. You seem like you're trying to play up your anger just to fan the controversy.