Honesty In The Film The Invention Of Lying
The directors Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, of the film The Invention of Lying suggest that honesty is not always the best policy.
Gervais and Robinson support their suggestion by creating a society that has only relied on telling the truth and nothing but it. In this world, the superficial truth is told over and over, where one man, Mark, is told of people’s true feelings more often because of his size. Mark is facing several obstacles during this time, such as his mother dying and losing his job, causing him to be behind on rent. To fix his rent situation, he heads to the bank to collect what little money he has when he realizes the people in his society believe that everyone is telling the truth. With this in mind, Mark tells
the first lie ever, claiming he has $800 in his bank account instead of $300. The lady believes Mark, handing him $800 while stating the system must have made a mistake. Mark decides to test the newly discovered lying on others by telling a woman; he claims, “We have to have sex together or the world will end!” The woman, whom he has never met before, immediately believes him and agrees to this ridiculous claim. Mark, with a new sense of power, uses lying to avoid certain situations by telling “good” lies. One example in the movie is when Mark faces his dying mother who is afraid of eternal nothingness. To comfort her he lies saying that she will live in a happy place with a mansion once a she dies. It is obvious that Mark lied in order to comfort his mother during this time instead of telling her the truth that there is nothing after one dies.
The director's purpose is to point out that white lies can be beneficial within reason. If one is able to use it in a way that will not hurt the other person but help them, then the lie is “good.” The directors create a well-directed film that shocks the viewer when the characters reveal their true thoughts that come off as insulting and hurtful.
The film appeals to teens as well as older adults pointing out that lying can be useful if it is done in way to help a person, rather than hurt them. The directors create a pseudo-situation that does a fine job of making the viewer recognize that sometimes it is acceptable to tell a “good” lie.
Gervais and Robinson support their suggestion by creating a society that has only relied on telling the truth and nothing but it. In this world, the superficial truth is told over and over, where one man, Mark, is told of people’s true feelings more often because of his size. Mark is facing several obstacles during this time, such as his mother dying and losing his job, causing him to be behind on rent. To fix his rent situation, he heads to the bank to collect what little money he has when he realizes the people in his society believe that everyone is telling the truth. With this in mind, Mark tells
the first lie ever, claiming he has $800 in his bank account instead of $300. The lady believes Mark, handing him $800 while stating the system must have made a mistake. Mark decides to test the newly discovered lying on others by telling a woman; he claims, “We have to have sex together or the world will end!” The woman, whom he has never met before, immediately believes him and agrees to this ridiculous claim. Mark, with a new sense of power, uses lying to avoid certain situations by telling “good” lies. One example in the movie is when Mark faces his dying mother who is afraid of eternal nothingness. To comfort her he lies saying that she will live in a happy place with a mansion once a she dies. It is obvious that Mark lied in order to comfort his mother during this time instead of telling her the truth that there is nothing after one dies.
The director's purpose is to point out that white lies can be beneficial within reason. If one is able to use it in a way that will not hurt the other person but help them, then the lie is “good.” The directors create a well-directed film that shocks the viewer when the characters reveal their true thoughts that come off as insulting and hurtful.
The film appeals to teens as well as older adults pointing out that lying can be useful if it is done in way to help a person, rather than hurt them. The directors create a pseudo-situation that does a fine job of making the viewer recognize that sometimes it is acceptable to tell a “good” lie.