The Deception of Authenticity Mirror, Mirror by Jennifer Allen
“It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter, who on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.” ~ Oscar Wilde Recently I watched the 6-episode first season of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s set during the aftermath of the last two Avengers movies with certain characters who are now gone, other characters who have now returned, and a world that has to cope with the repercussions of both. One of the overlying themes of the show is the search to find the worthiest person to take up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers. The plot then deliberates between four different characters who, in the comic books, had wielded the iconic shield at one point or another. There are two scenes that are particularly important over the course of the show. In both cases, a character donning both the shield and a red, white & blue costume to match with onlookers pulling out their phones to capture that moment. One scene portrays the symbolism of Captain America while at the same time committing murder. In the other, the character uses it in an attempt to build hope. In both scenarios, the characters were not hiding behind the uniform but instead using it as an extension of who they really are. Despite their quite opposite intentions, both men were being authentic. We now live in a world, like it or not, where anything and everything can be captured on camera. With that terrifying realization in mind, there is still that nagging question as to whether anything anymore is absolutely real. Those selfsame scenes captured on our mobile devices can easily be taken out of context given when, where, and how this footage came to pass. The reality shows that have saturated our entertainment outlets are still heavily edited with a general script in mind to highlight the personality traits of certain individuals. While these attributes may indeed be real, the show is often reconstructed to amplify these to the point that this person or people are reduced to a niched archetype instead. continued on page 80 Saathee.com
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