What can we take away from the Oscar Awards of February 22, 2015 ? Is it just a lot of self-congratulatory film industry glitz
or is there something more meaningful?
“Birdman” won the award for best film and best director.
Although billed as dark comedy, in fact this film had depth in both
characterization and theme. Interestingly, the story line concerns a supposedly
washed up film star, Riggin Thompson, played by Michael Keaton. Riggin had
achieved stardom in the 1990’s playing a superhero called Birdman—similar to
Keaton’s own success as Batman. Perhaps Keaton was the perfect choice for this
part since he could relate his personal experience to the character.
As a writer, I sometimes use life experiences in my work,
drawing on reality in creating fiction. In fact, I often refer to some of my
short stories and novels as faction—fictionalization of reality. It is a good
way to approach writing in my opinion. If writers want readers to believe their
work, they must create verisimilitude, the illusion of reality in fiction. This
is done by creating realistic themes, plots and three-dimensional characters.
Your thoughts and comments welcome here.
