Film "CAPOTE"(2005 Directed by Bennett Research Paper

The ultimate proof of the film's tendency to utilize hyperbole to portray the author as someone whose morality was questionable due to his own pursuit of success, wealth and fame lies in the quantity of interactions that Capote had with the two prisoners. There is certainly evidence in Clarke's biography that implies there was a fondness and physical attraction between the author and Smith. However, the sheer number of visits that the movie portrays is certainly erroneous. In actuality, the writer's "extended prison sojourns in the film are…fictionalized. In five years, Capote…visited his subjects no more than half a dozen times, though he did correspond with [them] weekly... He…was less interested in dealing with the defendants as people (Gibbons)."

As such, it becomes fairly obvious that the film Capote exaggerated a number of different facets of his personality and behavior in order to render the author as a consummate perfectionist who was willing to do anything to ensure the success of his next book. There are several reasons why the filmmakers took this approach, the most salient of which is to portray the writer's tale as a classic morality one in which a good person ultimately turns bad. This is a recurring motif in film and in other areas of art, such as literature and even music. Moreover, the magnitude of the audience that major motion pictures affect today factors heavily into why historical accuracy is readily forsaken for good old fashioned entertainment. The point of making movies is to sell tickets; with voyeurism extremely popular in reality television, historical accountings such as Capote tap into a similar market and provide the same sort of entertainment.People are attracted to such films for the simple fact that they are purportedly based in reality. This attraction to reality is what persuaded Capote to study these Kansas murders and present them in the form of a reality-based novel.

Additionally, in contemporary times people do not take the time to actually research movies that present themselves as biographic. Audiences are simply willing to ingest whatever facts are presented to them via this medium without ever knowing if they are real or not. Therefore, if a few details are exaggerated to make one man symbolic of the contrast between morality and art, friendship and success, the box office sales and accolades of Capote are indicative of how well received such films are.

Works Cited

Blake, Leslie. "True, Man." www.offoffoff.com. 2005. Web. http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2005/capote.php

Dujsik, Mark. "Capote." Mark Reviews Movies. 2005. Web. http://mark-reviews-movies.tripod.com/reviews/C/capote.htm

Gibbons, Phil. "Capote' vs. Capote." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. 2006. Web. http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/icapote-vs.-i-capote/

Leopold, Todd. "Bennett Miller: Fame of 'Capote', Love of 'Cruise'." www.cnn.com. 2006. Web. http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/29/bennett.miller/index.html?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

Steiner, George. "In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote." The Guardian. 1965. Web. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1965/dec/02/classics.....