蜜芽传媒

Good morning.

鈥淭his is a true story.鈥�

No caveats. No 鈥渂ased on鈥� or 鈥渋nspired by鈥�. No surprise, then, that Baby Reindeer 鈥� autobiographical thriller in which a comedian, played by a comedian, is stalked by a woman, claiming to recognise herself 鈥� has prompted a possible eye-watering lawsuit against its creators, Netflix.

A recent headline read, 鈥淲ill Baby Reindeer Scandal Kill True Story TV?鈥� Telling tales means peddling falsehood and one definition of story is lie or untruth. So why have a drama about real life when documentary must be more accurate?

Because story gives power to truth.

As a novelist, I passionately believe in character over actuality. I鈥檝e written several times about autism: not a text book, but a person; one I know. Why? So you too can live life through the spectrum.

Non-fiction gives us facts: fiction, feelings. It has an emotional truth which mere information cannot convey.

We鈥檇 long known of the IT disaster which put innocent people behind bars. But after Mr Bates versus the Post Office the nation cried out for Justice. Jo Hamilton, sub-postmistress, said actor Monica Dolan 鈥渟pent hours with us鈥� I鈥檇 get emails from her at three am鈥� [It] is so true.鈥�

I thought The Crown compulsive鈥� until a scene so obviously unobserved: the Queen and Prince Philip arguing in the privacy of their bedroom. Jane Austen, sharp observer of Regency manners, famously never wrote a scene in which only men are present. Recent accounts of D-Day were so moving because these people were there. They saw, they heard, they smelt鈥� Their truth is far more compelling than any historians鈥�.

鈥淢any have recorded the events we鈥檝e experienced, first hand from eye-witnesses. I鈥檝e carefully researched everything too, so I鈥檓 also writing an organised account.鈥� Thus Luke opens one of four Biblical Gospels which most scholars agree were written in the lifetime of those who were there.

鈥淭he unanimous eye-witness testimony of the gospels, written within short living memory,鈥� says Tom Wright, Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Andrews, 鈥渋s that Jesus of Nazareth really did claim God was becoming king on earth, and was executed for his pains.鈥�

鈥淎nd when Jesus was raised from the dead,鈥� Paul wrote a couple of decades afterwards, 鈥渉e appeared to over five hundred people, many still alive today.鈥�

Also no caveats. No legal riders or careful qualifications.

But unlike with Baby Reindeer none of those still living, who must have recognised themselves and the events Paul claims they witnessed, challenged the story. Or said it wasn鈥檛 true.

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