Fake News
News is defined as "newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events". This is especially shown when discussing political debates, which lead to the introduction of fake news. Fake news is defined as "a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes".
One noteworthy example of fake news within New Zealand is the film Forgotten Silver directed by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes. The film in question was a mockumentary with it using various film techniques associated with a documentary and aired on primetime television. The film was stated to be inspired by Peter Jackson finding a chest of old films and featured the discovery of a forgotten film maker, Colin Mckenzie, who invented and revolutionized many film aspects. Among the film's claims for what Mckenzie accomplished were the advents of synchronized sound, colour footage, moving camera shots and even proof that a New Zealand inventor, Richard Pearse, invented the airplane before the Wright Brothers.
The film sparked excitement at these revelations that a New Zealander had been responsible for the creation of many techniques that revolutionized cinematography at the time. This stirred a large amount of controversy when the film was revealed to be a hoax. One viewer wrote to the Evening Post "A pox on Peter Jackson's future efforts and may his worst nightmares be digitally enhanced" (Croot, 2015). The Broadcasting Standards Authority received three complaints referring to Forgotten Silver.
When asked about the film and its negative reception, Botes stated that the dismal assessment of the film only proves its point, "that this country is not very supportive of its artists" with Mckenzie being a metaphor for those talented artists who go unrecognized. This is even reflected in the casting choice for Colin Mckenzie as Thomas Robins was picked purely because he was relatively unknown at the time. However, an argument could easily be made that the country was instead angry at being lied to after being informed that one of their own pioneered the film industry. Botes then went onto say if the film caused people to never take anything at face value, "so much the better" so it could be argued that an additional purpose of the film was to show how unreliable the media is, which is especially topical given the concept of "fake news" nowadays.
The claims made within Forgotten Silver can easily be picked apart with some basic knowledge of film making or even just doing a little research. In particular the claim that supposedly proves Pearse's invention of the airplane has no basis once one realizes that "video enhancing" technology is not at the level it is presented within the film, even in 2018. Any other claim that the film makes was supposedly covered up by legal issues to conveniently explain why the film industry had not evolved until some other person invented the technology. The claim that Mckenzie stole "2000 dozen eggs" (which equates to 24,000 eggs) does not hold up when one puts the slightest amount of thought into it. For example film can not be made with just egg and flax. Botes stated that he wanted to "pile the bullshit so high that people would get it by the first quarter" and is still unsure how the people got taken in by the film so easily (Hunt, 2012)
Colin Mckenzie and subsequently Forgotten Silver were deliberately invented as a means to mispread information whether the directors admit it or not. Their use of an unknown actor at the time shows that this mockumentary of theirs went beyond simply showing how artists often get overlooked. The message would have remained the same regardless of what actor was chosen to play the role of Mckenzie. Though the consequences of this film evaded the thoughts of the directors while making the film, they quickly made themselves known the day it was revealed that the film was all bullshit. However, to this day there are still a small minority of people who believe that Colin Mckenzie was a real person; not helped by the NZ on Screen page that comes up when searching for Mckenzie. It treats Mckenzie as if he actually existed.
One noteworthy example of fake news within New Zealand is the film Forgotten Silver directed by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes. The film in question was a mockumentary with it using various film techniques associated with a documentary and aired on primetime television. The film was stated to be inspired by Peter Jackson finding a chest of old films and featured the discovery of a forgotten film maker, Colin Mckenzie, who invented and revolutionized many film aspects. Among the film's claims for what Mckenzie accomplished were the advents of synchronized sound, colour footage, moving camera shots and even proof that a New Zealand inventor, Richard Pearse, invented the airplane before the Wright Brothers.
The film sparked excitement at these revelations that a New Zealander had been responsible for the creation of many techniques that revolutionized cinematography at the time. This stirred a large amount of controversy when the film was revealed to be a hoax. One viewer wrote to the Evening Post "A pox on Peter Jackson's future efforts and may his worst nightmares be digitally enhanced" (Croot, 2015). The Broadcasting Standards Authority received three complaints referring to Forgotten Silver.
When asked about the film and its negative reception, Botes stated that the dismal assessment of the film only proves its point, "that this country is not very supportive of its artists" with Mckenzie being a metaphor for those talented artists who go unrecognized. This is even reflected in the casting choice for Colin Mckenzie as Thomas Robins was picked purely because he was relatively unknown at the time. However, an argument could easily be made that the country was instead angry at being lied to after being informed that one of their own pioneered the film industry. Botes then went onto say if the film caused people to never take anything at face value, "so much the better" so it could be argued that an additional purpose of the film was to show how unreliable the media is, which is especially topical given the concept of "fake news" nowadays.
The claims made within Forgotten Silver can easily be picked apart with some basic knowledge of film making or even just doing a little research. In particular the claim that supposedly proves Pearse's invention of the airplane has no basis once one realizes that "video enhancing" technology is not at the level it is presented within the film, even in 2018. Any other claim that the film makes was supposedly covered up by legal issues to conveniently explain why the film industry had not evolved until some other person invented the technology. The claim that Mckenzie stole "2000 dozen eggs" (which equates to 24,000 eggs) does not hold up when one puts the slightest amount of thought into it. For example film can not be made with just egg and flax. Botes stated that he wanted to "pile the bullshit so high that people would get it by the first quarter" and is still unsure how the people got taken in by the film so easily (Hunt, 2012)
Colin Mckenzie and subsequently Forgotten Silver were deliberately invented as a means to mispread information whether the directors admit it or not. Their use of an unknown actor at the time shows that this mockumentary of theirs went beyond simply showing how artists often get overlooked. The message would have remained the same regardless of what actor was chosen to play the role of Mckenzie. Though the consequences of this film evaded the thoughts of the directors while making the film, they quickly made themselves known the day it was revealed that the film was all bullshit. However, to this day there are still a small minority of people who believe that Colin Mckenzie was a real person; not helped by the NZ on Screen page that comes up when searching for Mckenzie. It treats Mckenzie as if he actually existed.
Reference List
- Croot, J (2015, October 29); Forgotten Silver remembered 20 years on. Stuff. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/73448145/Forgotten-Silver-remembered-20-years-on
- Hunt, T (2012, October 27); When Peter Jackson hoodwinked the nation. Stuff. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/7872042/When-Peter-Jackson-hoodwinked-the-nation
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