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A false document is a form of verisimilitude that attempts to create in the reader (viewer, audience etc) a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief. Verisimilitude in its literary context is defined as the fact or quality of being verisimilar the appearance of being true or real likeness or resemblance of the truth reality or a fact’s Suspension of disbelief or "willing suspension of disbelief" is an aesthetic theory intended to characterize people's relationships to art That is, it wants to fool the audience briefly into thinking that what is being presented is actually a fact. This is not to be confused with a mockumentary, an admittedly fictional film presented in the manner of a documentary. Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work Fictional film or narrative film is film that tells a Fictional story or Narrative.

In various jurisdictions in the United States, it is a false or fraudulent record which when presented to another, especially a government officer or agent, constitutes a crime, often a felony. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor.

In practice, the device takes a very simple form. The work of art (be it a text, a moving image, a comic book or whatever) usually is composed of or includes some piece of forgery. In Fine art, a work of art (or artwork or work) is a creation such as a Song, Book, Film, Video game, Forgery is the process of making adapting or imitating objects statistics or documents (see False document) with the intent to deceive. The false document effect can be achieved in many ways, including faked police reports, newspaper articles, bibliographical references and documentary footage. The effect can be extended outside of the confines of the text by way of supplementary material such as badges, ID cards, diaries, letters or other objects.

The moral and legal implications of false document art are, by necessity, complex and perhaps insoluble. The difference between a great artistic achievement and a stunning forgery is slim. Sometimes the false document technique can be the subject of a work instead of its technique, though these two approaches are not mutually exclusive as many texts which engage falseness do so both on the literal and the thematic level.

Contents

Origin of the false document technique

One of the earliest examples of the technique is the 16th century chivalric romance Amadis of Gaul (1508, Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo). As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative Amadis de Gaula (original Castilian Spanish version ( English: Amadis of Gaul, Spanish: Amadís de Gaula Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (or Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo) (died 1504 was a Spanish author who arranged the modern version of the chivalric romance

False documents in film

The 1973 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (And the 2003 Remake) claims to be based on true events, but this is not the case. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent It is, in reality, only loosely inspired by crimes committed by Ed Gein.

The 1974 film Macon County Line claims to be true but it is fiction. Macon County Line was a very successful independently financed movie made in 1974

Peter Jackson's 1995 film Forgotten Silver was billed and introduced as a serious documentary, purporting to tell the story of 'forgotten' New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing Forgotten Silver ( 1995) is a New Zealand film Mockumentary that purports to tell the story of a pioneering New Zealand filmmaker A large proportion of the viewing audience were fooled until the directors revealed they were "only joking".

A disclaimer before the 1996 film Fargo makes the claim that it is based on a true story, but this was refuted by its creators, the Coen brothers, saying that people would more readily believe something outlandish if told that it actually happened, per the "truth is stranger than fiction" idiom. Fargo is a 1996 American Film produced directed and written by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are four-time Academy Award winning American filmmakers

When the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project was released, the extensive marketing campaign claimed it to be a real documentary, compiled from footage discovered abandoned in a forest. The Blair Witch Project is a low-budget American Horror film released in 1999

The 2008 film Cloverfield purports to be video footage shot by witnesses of a monster attacking New York City and recovered by the Army as evidence. Cloverfield is a 2008 monster / Horror film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J The City of New York The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. It begins with a title screen claiming the footage was found in "US Site 447, formerly known as Central Park. Central Park is a large public Urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually " However, the enormous scale of the disaster shown in the movie makes it impossible that viewers would consider the movie to be true.

False documents in art

Orson Welles' F for Fake is a prime example of a film which is both about falsification (art forgery and the journalism surrounding art forgery) as well as having falsified moments within the film. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television F for Fake ( Vérités et Mensonges) is the last major film completed by Orson Welles. Art forgery refers to creating and in particular selling works of Art that are falsely attributed to be work of another usually more famous artist The movie follows the exploits of a famous art forger, his biographer Clifford Irving, and the subsequent fake autobiography of Howard Hughes that Irving tries to publish. Clifford Michael Irving (born November 5, 1930) is an American writer best known for an "authorized An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" Howard Robard Hughes Jr (December 24 1905 – April 5 1976 was an American Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer / director, Philanthropist The issues of veracity and forgery are explored in the film while at the same time, Welles tricks the audience by incorporating fake bits of narrative alongside the documentary footage.

Another artist who has run afoul of the technique is the artist JSG Boggs, whose life and work have been extensively explored by author and journalist Lawrence Weschler. Steve Litzner better known as James Stephen George Boggs is an American artist best known for his hand-drawn one-sided copies of U Lawrence Weschler (born 1952) is an author of works of Creative nonfiction. Boggs draws currency with exceptional care and accuracy, but he only ever draws one side. He then attempts to buy things with the piece of paper upon which he has drawn the currency. His goal is to pass each bill for its face value in common transactions. He buys lunch, clothes, and lodging in this manner, and after the transactions are complete his bills fetch many times their face value on the art market along with accompanying evidence (receipts, photos, and the like) which prove the veracity of the actual transaction. Boggs does not make any money off of the much larger art market value of his work. He only exists on the profit of the actual transaction. He has been arrested in many countries, and there is much controversy surrounding his work.

Mostly, however, the technique is employed in more mundane ways that hark back to its nineteenth century origins. Whether a particular piece of art is a false document, or is using false documentary techniques in a central way, is of course arguable. Usually, the character and extent of the use is examined.

False documents, fakery and forgery

Documentary filmmaking, and other attempts at actual documentation, can wittingly and unwittingly participate in the form as its goals of authenticity are so closely aligned with direct false documentation (that is, in both cases there is an element of authenticity and an element of narrative fudging). In Schwarzenegger's Pumping Iron for example, Arnold talks about how his father died in the months preceding a major body building competition. ---- Pumping Iron is a 1977 Documentary film about the run-up to the 1975 Mr He uses this anecdote to illustrate how important the final months before a competition are to a truly dedicated bodybuilder. For other uses see Anecdota. For a comparison of anecdote with other kinds of stories see Myth legend fairy tale and fable. He says that, though his father's funeral was set during the penultimate month, he did not attend because he could not be distracted from training. However, in the companion book it is revealed that at the time of printing, Arnold's father had not died. It does not say the story was a lie, it merely provides contrary evidence. Schwarzenegger was executive producer of both the film and the companion book. It has been theorized by Professor Sally Robinson that Schwarzenegger was intentionally undermining his own narrative, effectively creating a mildly self-deprecating re-examination of his own obsessions for perfection at any cost. In the end, whether Arnold intentionally fabricated the story for a desired effect is left to the audience.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

In the case of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion there is a very interesting complexity. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ( Protocols of the wise men of Zion, Library of Congress 's Uniform Title; "Протоколы The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ( Protocols of the wise men of Zion, Library of Congress 's Uniform Title; "Протоколы It is an alleged record which was published and printed for the first time in 1903. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Printing is a process for reproducing text and image typically with ink on Paper using a printing press The alleged original manuscript has long since disappeared, and conflicting, and inconsistent, testimony and witness reports about it have been presented at the Berne Trial in 1934 and 1935. A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way "Testify" redirects here For other uses see Testify (disambiguation and Testimony (disambiguation. A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a Crime or dramatic event through their Senses (e The Berne Trial is a famous trial held in Berne, Switzerland between 1934 and 1935 under an Obscenity -related Statute involving the Plagiarism Nevertheless, it has been established that it was a fabrication, a fake, and a hoax created by the Tsar's secret police, the Okhrana. Fake is a term used to describe or imply something which is not real. A hoax is a deliberate attempt to Dupe, Deceive or trick an audience into believing or accepting that something is real when in fact it is not or that Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. Secret police (sometimes political police) are a Police agency which operates in Secrecy to maintain National security against internal The Otdeleniye po Okhraneniyu Obshchestvennoy Bezopasnosti i Poryadka ( Отделение по Охранению Общественной Безопасности и Порядка Furthermore, it has been established that a substantial portion of it were taken, without citation, from a 1864 satire on Napoleon III by one Maurice Joly (his French language work titled, Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu) - so that it also constitutes a plagiarism. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President Maurice Joly (1829—1878 was a French satirist and Lawyer. He was born in Lons-le-Saunier to a French father and an Italian Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work Nevertheless, it has been repeatedly reproduced, in typescript and printed form, by its often anonymous editors as an alleged authentic document taken, or stolen from some vaguely identified Jewish and Masonic organization. A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way Printing is a process for reproducing text and image typically with ink on Paper using a printing press Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ανωνυμία, meaning "without a Name " or "namelessness" A document (noun is a bounded physical representation of body of Information designed with the capacity (and usually intent to Communicate. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ As such, it was presented to Russian Empire censors (1903, 1905, 1906, 1911) who passed it along for publication. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya To publish is to make content Publicly known. The term is most frequently applied to the distribution of text or images on paper or to the placing of content Similarly, it was presented to various government officials, military and diplomatic, in the United States and in Europe (1919-1920), in opposition to the Russian Revolution, and to influence the terms of the peace settlement which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Accordingly, this document, which now only exists in the world as a reproduction, has all the elements of a false document. Reproduction is the Biological process by which new individual Organisms are produced Since it is difficult to imagine a typesetter working without a manuscript, we must assume that one existed. Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on Paper or some other medium. But since this original forged item has long since disappeared, the crimes of fraudulently and repeatedly submitting such a false document as authentic not only cannot be prosecuted, but cannot be studied by historians or subjected to the rigorous requirements of forensics. Forging is the term for shaping metal by using localized compressive forces In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual

False documents in theory

False documents in fiction

Several fiction writers use the technique of inventing a piece of literature or non-fiction and referring to this work as if it actually existed, typically by quoting from the work. Lawrence Weschler (born 1952) is an author of works of Creative nonfiction. Simulacra and Simulation ( Simulacres et Simulation in French) is a philosophical Treatise by Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard ( July 29, 1929   – March 6, 2007) (ʒɑ̃ bo

Blurring the line of reality and fiction is an important component of horror, mystery, detective, science fiction and fantasy narratives due to their unusual demands on verisimilitude; a typically descriptive narrative form may not engender in the reader the necessary sense of wonder and danger. Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder Verisimilitude in its literary context is defined as the fact or quality of being verisimilar the appearance of being true or real likeness or resemblance of the truth reality or a fact’s For this reason, false documentary techniques have been in use for at least as long as these literary genres have existed. Frankenstein draws heavily on a forged document feel, as do Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and many of the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary Antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a Novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1886 Jules Gabriel Verne ( February 8 1828 &ndash March 24 1905) was a French Author who pioneered the science-fiction Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire is a particularly elaborate variation. This page is about the novelist For his father the politician see Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov. Pale Fire (1962 is a Novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" by John Shade, a fictional author

The following is a partial list of false supporting documents in fiction:

A special case is represented by two examples fashioned to represent traditional academic scientific publications:

False documents in games

In video games, the adventure genre has most frequently given rise to the use of false documents to create a sense of immersion. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. An adventure game is a type of Video game characterized by investigation exploration puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters and a focus on Narrative The feelies pioneered by text adventure company Infocom include many examples, such as blueprints, maps, documents, and publications designed within the context of each game's fictional setting. Infocom used the term feelie to refer to the extra content included with the boxed versions of their Interactive fiction Computer games Feelies differed Infocom was a Software company, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of Interactive fiction. A more recent development, the alternate reality game, is intrinsically tied to the concept; an ARG may exist solely as a collection of false documents that build a fictional storyline and puzzles connected to it. An alternate reality game ( ARG) is an interactive Narrative that uses the real world as a platform often involving multiple media and game elements to tell

A prominent example of false document in the videogame genre is the Resident Evil series, which, from the first installment, uses newspaper clippings and television news reports that report the alleged cannibalistic murder of the victims found in the Arklay Mountain region. Resident Evil (known in Japan as) is a Survival horror Video game series and Media franchise consisting of Comic books novelizations While the rest of the series does not do this as much as the first, there are still a few cases that it happens, such as the opening sequence of Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as, is a Third-person shooter Video game and the sixth installment in the Resident Evil

A viral marketing campaign ran prior to the release of Shadow of the Colossus, stating the Colossi were actual real statues found by explorers and tourists. Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to Marketing techniques that use pre-existing Social networks to produce increases in Brand awareness Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as, is a Japanese developed action-adventure Video game developed and published by Sony Computer

False documents in cross-marketing

There is a long history of producers creating tie-in material to promote and merchandise movies and television shows. Tie-in materials as far-ranging as toys, games, lunch boxes, clothing and so on have all been created and in some cases generate as much or more revenue as the original programming. One big merchandising arena is publishing. In most cases such material is not considered canon within the show's mythology; however, in some instances the books, magazines, etc. This article is not about Literary canons of influential works of fiction but about the concept of a canon which defines the world of a particular fictional series are specifically designed by the creators to be canonical. With the rise of the Internet, in-canon online material has become more prominent.

The following is a list of "false document" in-canon supplemental material:

Additionally, a set of trading cards was produced which are also canon. A trading card (or collectible card) is a small Card, usually made out of Cardboard or thick Paper, which usually contains an image of a

False documents in politics

A forged document, the Zinoviev Letter brought about the downfall of the first Labour Government in Britain. The Lost Experience was an Alternate reality game that was part of the American television drama ''Lost''. Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series. The " Zinoviev Letter " is a 1924 letter that was allegedly addressed from Grigori Zinoviev, president of the presidium of the Executive Committee of the Communist The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the It was likely forged by SIS, the secret service now known as MI6. The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS) colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom 's external Intelligence agency. Conspiracies within secret intelligence services have occurred more recently, and led Harold Wilson in the 1960s to put in place rules to prevent phone tapping of members of parliament for example. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Wiretap redirects here For the radio program see WireTap (radio program Telephone tapping (or wire tapping / wiretapping in A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament.

Hoaxes

Main article: Hoax

A number of hoaxes have involved false documents:

False documents as a field of study

False documents were recently the topic of a graduate level seminar in the humanities at the University of Michigan. The salamander letter was a forged document created by Mark Hofmann in the early 1980s The Journal of Irreproducible Results ( JIR) is a magazine of science humor The Report From Iron Mountain is a book published in 1967 (during the Johnson Administration) by Dial Press, that states that it is the report The Oera Linda Book is a controversial Frisian manuscript covering historical mythological and religious themes that first came to light in the 19th century In April 1983, the German news Magazine Stern published extracts from what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ( Protocols of the wise men of Zion, Library of Congress 's Uniform Title; "Протоколы The Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau ("Secret Files of Henri Lobineau" in English) is a 27 page document that was deposited in the Bibliothèque nationale The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research The seminar was taught by Professor Eileen Pollack. Eileen Pollack (born 1956 is a novelist essayist and author of short fiction While the form has existed for at least two hundred years, focused study is fairly recent.

See also

References

Curtis Peebles (1994). An alternate reality game ( ARG) is an interactive Narrative that uses the real world as a platform often involving multiple media and game elements to tell A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century (occasionally A Radical Program for the Twentieth Century) is an anti-Semitic hoax promoted by A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment The Donation of Constantine ( Latin, Donatio Constantini) is a forged Roman imperial edict devised probably between 750 and 775, the An epistolary novel German Briefroman ---> is a Novel written as a series of documents A fictional book is a non-existent Book (or one created specifically for a work of Fiction) that sometimes provides the basis of the Plot of a story a Some Fictional universes feature useful Guidebooks which assist the hero and friends through difficult situations Forgery is the process of making adapting or imitating objects statistics or documents (see False document) with the intent to deceive. A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc is a narrative technique whereby an introductory main story is composed at least in part for the purpose of Literary forgery, also Literary forgeries and mystifications, pertains to some Writing, especially in Literature, such as a Manuscript, presented A literary technique or literary device is an identifiable Rule of thumb, convention or Structure that is employed in Literature Fictitious entries, also known as fake entries, Mountweazels, and Nihilartikels, are deliberately incorrect entries or articles in reference works such Questioned document examination (QDE is the forensic discipline pertaining to documents that are (or may be in dispute in a court of law An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious illustrated Book written in an indecipherable text Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work Curtis Peebles is an Aerospace Historian for the Smithsonian Institution and the author of several books dealing with Aviation and aerial phenomena Watch the Skies: A Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Myth, Smithsonian Institution, ISBN 1-56098-343-4

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