You don't know the half of it

Time has moved on… the rest of life has continued to pass us by. And I’ve said it before but to reiterate, the past is what makes us who we are.

So often has something happened and I’ve expect its face value as fact. Long ago, I watched movies, or listen to music, and figured it was all the art of an individual. Then looking at it once again, thought there could possibly be a bit of truth; maybe not so much suspicion but perspective. Possibly, the story told before my eyes is not fake, and is fact known only to a few individuals; and maybe something that comes off as entertaining to some, is reality to others.

My daily proceedings take me through a number of different individuals and their stories. Through these discussions, I blindly (with good reason) assume the entire story has been told. How can anyone expect an honest comment without giving honesty to begin with? Or so I would like to believe… But this is not always the case. There are a number of different reasons why people exaggerate things and I don’t have the capacity to list them all. I, myself, exaggerate for entertainment value. My story is more entertaining when exaggerated, “it’s for theatrical effect”—simply put. Sometimes my audience doesn’t have a necessary need to commit my story to memory, so what do the details really matter. There are some instances where entertainment is what everyone around you is expecting, so stand and deliver. But I suppose there’s an opposite of exaggeration.

The jist of it, or so the story goes, is all the audience wants to know. Those that skip to the end of a novel or read the cliff notes, are merely looking for the skinny. But, I’d argue what is told between two people is the slim version of most stories. I don’t think exact emotions or thoughts are actually discussed in these conversations, I suppose their meant to come out during the telling of the story. But isn’t that why we tell the exaggerated version… to make it more theatrical?

I believe what makes a movie good, as apposed to a personal story, is the fact that things happen in real-time and all emotions are conveyed. The dramatic effect that the audience feels happens at the same moment the character on screen is experiencing it. “I guess you had to be there,” applies more than ever. When someone tells a story, and the audience doesn’t respond, there’s a sense of emotion not being conveyed. Before the audience echoes of nothingness… well… I’d take a second thought because maybe…